Deadtime Stories - 10 Movies

Rating:
Summary: Rancid Picture Quality. Not worth even for Blind Dead 3 & 4
Review: I should have known better than to buy this "value" pack. 10 movies for 15 bucks..there's gotta be a catch. The catch is that these films have absolutly terrible picture quality. Usually I'm not too picky about picture quality. There are plenty of cheapy DVD company's out there such as Diamond Entertainment that release cheap DVD's with at least watchable picture quality, but Brentwood Entertainment (the creator of this monstrosity) is one company to run the other direction from! I guess what finally drove me to buy this is that it contains both Blind Dead 3 & 4 (Under the titles Zombie Flesh Eater and Night of the Death Cult). Brentwood got their hands on terrible negatives and seemed it necessary to release them onto the unsuspecting world. Most of these films look like they were transfered fom wore out BETA tapes! I was horrified that Blind Dead 3 had the worst picture out of all of the movies! Plus it was blatantly obvious that the title ZOMBIE FLESH EATER was added by computer because it does not match the other credits of the movie. I kept squinting to get past the blur and lines but of course that didn't work. The only film that is somewhat watchable is the film Horror Rises From The Tomb, which picture quality looks like a woreout bootleg copy on VHS. What a shame because this is a nice collection of rare and obscure horror films. If only they were presented in a watchable manner. Lets hope someday Anchor Bay Entertainemnt picks up some of these movies (especially Blind Dead 3 & 4) so they can be presented properly.

One film that is presented on this DVD that is somewhat good is called The Demon. You are better off going off and hunting the Diamond Entertainment release of it on DVD. That DVD is of MUCH higher quality and you can usually find it pretty cheap.

Rating:
Summary: Rancid Picture Quality. Not worth even for Blind Dead 3 & 4
Review: I should have known better than to buy this "value" pack. 10 movies for 15 bucks..there's gotta be a catch. The catch is that these films have absolutly terrible picture quality. Usually I'm not too picky about picture quality. There are plenty of cheapy DVD company's out there such as Diamond Entertainment that release cheap DVD's with at least watchable picture quality, but Brentwood Entertainment (the creator of this monstrosity) is one company to run the other direction from! I guess what finally drove me to buy this is that it contains both Blind Dead 3 & 4 (Under the titles Zombie Flesh Eater and Night of the Death Cult). Brentwood got their hands on terrible negatives and seemed it necessary to release them onto the unsuspecting world. Most of these films look like they were transfered fom wore out BETA tapes! I was horrified that Blind Dead 3 had the worst picture out of all of the movies! Plus it was blatantly obvious that the title ZOMBIE FLESH EATER was added by computer because it does not match the other credits of the movie. I kept squinting to get past the blur and lines but of course that didn't work. The only film that is somewhat watchable is the film Horror Rises From The Tomb, which picture quality looks like a woreout bootleg copy on VHS. What a shame because this is a nice collection of rare and obscure horror films. If only they were presented in a watchable manner. Lets hope someday Anchor Bay Entertainemnt picks up some of these movies (especially Blind Dead 3 & 4) so they can be presented properly.

One film that is presented on this DVD that is somewhat good is called The Demon. You are better off going off and hunting the Diamond Entertainment release of it on DVD. That DVD is of MUCH higher quality and you can usually find it pretty cheap.

Rating:
Summary: Cheapers creepers...
Review: OK, so the picture quality wasn't great on all the movies...but for the price I thought it was worth it. Zombie Flesh Eater probably had the worst picture of all, but hey the set was cheap and I liked most of the movies, so...

I'm totally addicted to these 10-movie packs anyway. You can call me "Slave of the BCI Eclipse God," and no, I don't work for the company. Now for the breakdown, worst to best:

(10) The Demon. HORRIBLE excuse for an 80's slasher, and I live for the damn things. The only items of interest were the fact that he suffocated victims with plastic bags, and a neon sign that said "BOOBS DISCO." Mostly shot in the dark, so violent scenes that may have been otherwise good were barely visible.

(9) Memorial Valley Massacre. Can you say "extra cheese?" Inept 80's campfest (no pun intended) about campers at a newly opened park that are stalked and killed by a caveman type guy. Worth watching if you drink as much beer as the characters in the film, and it gets points for being the first movie where I've noticed them drinking Milwaukee's Best! Cheep cheep!!

(8) Slave of the Cannibal God. I would have rated this one much higher, but I have the uncut version so this one fell a little short. Sexy Ursula Andress, Stacy Koke (I mean Keach), your basic Italian cannibal gorefest. Fun if you haven't seen the uncut one.

(7) Zombie Flesh Eater. Spanish Blind Dead movie where they're on the ship, I think the original title was Horror of the Zombies. Besides the picture quality, the drawbacks here are an overall lack of blood n'gore (no flesh eating) and the fact that it takes forever to show the frickin' zombies at all.

(6) Fangs of the Living Dead. Early 70's Spanish vampire movie directed by Amando De Ossorio who also directed and wrote the two Blind Dead movies in this set. Bawdy humor and beautiful women, including the lovely Anita Ekberg. Thumbs up.

(5) The Severed Arm. Friends trapped in a cave-in cut off the arm of one guy to fight off starvation, then get rescued. Sorry dude, haha! Then they start getting killed off one by one, hmmm. 70's fun with weird electronic music and a great ending.

(4) Night of the Death Cult. Another Blind Dead one, I think the original title was Night of the Seagulls. Faster-paced than Zombie Flesh Eater, the Blind Dead look cool, and an opening scene that was gory as hell.

(3) Night Train to Terror. If you live for 80's B-movie insanity like me, you'll love this 3-story anthology. First story features Richard "Night Court" Moll and was over-the-top gore that made no sense, whoohoo! Second story was about a "Death Club." The third story, with Moll and Cameron Mitchell, concerns devil worship; parts were used in the vastly inferior movie "Shiver." I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the horrible dialogue throughout the film, and the mullet-rock band that plays on the train was beyond belief. Fun.

(2) Night of the Ghoul. AKA "The Ghoul," as far as filmmaking goes this was probably the best one of the bunch. 1975 British horror with Peter Cushing and John Hurt, who turns in a good nutty performance.

(1) Horror Rises From the Tomb. Paul Naschy stars in this one as a warlock who comes back from the grave for revenge, yeah!! Cool zombies, lots of blood and guts, bad dubbing...this one has it all. Possibly an uncut version?!? Not sure, enjoyable nonetheless.

So if you like your horror cheaply made and cheaply obtainable, and you're not terribly picky about picture quality, Dead Time Stories gets the recommendation.



Rating:
Summary: Laugh, cry, vomit.
Review: Okay, I'll try to stay organized here, difficult as it may be. This ten-pronged stinkbomb is worth getting for certain movies, and others, well...

1. Horror Rises from the Tomb: One of the worst of the worst of the worst. The death of all that is entertaining in the universe. But, it does prove that you can defeat the power of Satan will good, old-fashioned, non-Christian Thor's Hammers.

2. Zombie Flesh Eater: Not a zombie movie at all, but instead the third installment in the wacky saga of those fun-loving templars, the Blind Dead. But this time, they're on a haunted ship, and the Satan skull they worship looks like the cross-eyed stage backdrop from Spinal Tap. In here your biggest actor is Prof. Brown from Pieces, acting giant, master of the dramatic and macabre, lord and master of all he surveys. Love, exciting and new, come aboard, we're expecting you...

3. The Demon: The "demon" is just this tall guy that wears a mask modeled after his existing face for no earthly reason. In extremely desultory fashion, he goes around killing his victims. At the end, a chick strips down to her underwear, then throws on a shower curtain and shower cap to kill the guy.

4. Night of the Ghoul: zzzzzzzzzz, huh, I must have fallen asleep. The "ghoul" is just a flabby bald guy in a skirt. About the only thing they got right with the title was the "night" part.

5. Night of the Death Cult: The 4th installment in the saga of the Blind Dead. This time, the kooky templars worship some kind of bulging tripped-out frog god---and they have the ability to turn into crabs. Pretty girls are given to them as sacrifices. And that chick Lucy, oooh, ahhh, she is hot! So, for me, it was worth watching the movie to watch her.

6. Fangs of the Living Dead: More like fangs of the living dud.

7. Night Train to Terror: Now this one is special. Picture God and Satan on a train, hammering out the affairs of mortal man, having to use a night porter as their intermediary. In the car up ahead you've got a "rock band" that respresents all that is most hideous about the 80's. Anyhoo, God and Satan balance the souls of those taking part in three putrid tales, Bodies for Money, the Dork Club, and Disco Demon. Memorable quote: "I can laugh and cry at the same time; that's what I listen for in their music."

8. Memorial Day Massacre: The WORST camp slasher I have ever seen. A camp opens to the most obnoxious campers in the universe, and they are stalked by a caveman with buck teeth and a mullet. Most memorable moment: The closing credits.

9. Slave of the Cannibal God: It's got that Mike Hammer guy, and that long-legged blonde chick from Dr. No. There's a jungle, cannibals, and a whole lot of baaaad acting. A word of warning: this movie obviously took place before animal rights were an issue, and there are scenes that the Humane Society wouldn't allow for two minutes. You might just want to skip this one.

10. The Severed Arm: A bunch of guys get caught in an avalanche, and decide to resort to cannabalism to surive. They draw straws, and the unlucky loser gets his arm lopped off. Three seconds later, the group is recued. Whoops. What follows is a journey of epic discovery, sensitive and heartfelt, as the killer returns to chop off a whole bunch of arms.