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Bloodeaters (1980)
A Bloodthirsty Gem
In memory of Charles Austin McCrann who along with thousands of other Americans were taken from us at the Twin Towers on 9/11/01, is a review of his underrated undead treasure presented in ghoul form. Ghouls' abilities: They have above average human level strength due to their rabidity, slow to moderate mobility but reflexes are quick upon prey, and they have an understanding in using blunt weapons. Fleasheater: Yes, mostly blood draining but not adverse to getting flesh between their fangs. Virus-The cannibalistic virus is non-contagious. PRO's-The story and acting mostly holds up, pretty tough & fairly clever monsters, nicely crafted fx job by Craig Harris, eerie repetitive John Carpenter type score by Ted Shapiro which may have been constructed before the release of Halloween, the story gets gritty at unsuspecting times, humor was a nice touch and didn't take away from the overall tone of horror & the drug theme remains timely. CON's-The story could use more undead creatures, could use more casualties & the acting gets stiff at times. Conclusion: A plus to a horror collection, especially for those into the living dead.
Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story (2001)
As Heartfelt and Crazy as tv allows
Contrary to what mtv and radio will have you believe, 80's hard rock bands had musical ability behind the image. It is nice to find a story that pays respect to a stand out band in this genre of music.
Def Leppard has persevered through so much adversity that there probably isn't another band more deserving of a movie. Of course there is more to their history than two hours can capture, but resolution was reached even with the events being rushed.
Solid acting made for believable portrayals in various emotion. This is impressive as most of the actors didn't quite resemble the characters they played. This movie would be better suited for at least an R rating due to the wild parties this band is notorious for, but was handled as good as it probably could be in consideration of tv standards.
The perks about having a non-theatrical release is that it presented a lot of new faces that most likely wouldn't get major roles because of the Hollywood bureaucracy that lately only caters to trendy actors and pop stars of the moment. It also brought back another star in Anthony Michael Hall, who played Def Leppard's producer John "Mutt" Lange.
In proving their abilities, this may be the movie that establishes these new actors as the next big wave of movie stars. Also the maturity Hall showcased in his role will hopefully gain him a widely known reputation as a versatile actor.
Overall, this movie was enjoyable and may gain cult status similar to that of This Is Spinal Tap with the exception being that instead of laughing at the band, we are cheering for them. Give me the Spanish archer, I'm outta here! :)
Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story (2001)
As Heartfelt and Crazy as tv allows
Contrary to what mtv and radio will have you believe, 80's hard rock bands had musical ability behind the image. It is nice to find a story that pays respect to a stand out band in this genre of music.
Def Leppard has persevered through so much adversity that there probably isn't another band more deserving of a movie. Of course there is more to their history than two hours can capture, but resolution was reached even with the events being rushed.
Solid acting made for believable portrayals in various emotion. This is impressive as most of the actors didn't quite resemble the characters they played. This movie would be better suited for at least an R rating due to the wild parties this band is notorious for, but was handled as good as it probably could be in consideration of tv standards.
The perks about having a non-theatrical release is that it presented a lot of new faces that most likely wouldn't get major roles because of the Hollywood bureaucracy that lately only caters to trendy actors and pop stars of the moment. It also brought back another star in Anthony Michael Hall, who played Def Leppard's producer John "Mutt" Lange.
In proving their abilities, this may be the movie that establishes these new actors as the next big wave of movie stars. Also the maturity Hall showcased in his role will hopefully gain him a widely known reputation as a versatile actor.
Overall, this movie was enjoyable and may gain cult status similar to that of This Is Spinal Tap with the exception being that instead of laughing at the band, we are cheering for them. Give me the Spanish archer, I'm outta here! :)
FleshEater (1988)
First there was Romero, than Fulci and Mattei, now Hinzman unleashes more undead spendor
Bill Hinzman's creation is one of so much imagination that even a lesser budget couldn't stifle it. I have not seen a film this inventive from a zombie film making newcomer, since Bruno Mattei's Hell of the Living Dead. Definitely the best horror film made in the 90's. Seeing a stellar effort such as this, gives me hope for the future of horror.
Virus (1980)
Traumatizing and Vomitous is a Ghoul's Delight.
If you like (or take as a guilty pleasure) zombies, evisorations, cannibalism and mutilations this film will serve up more of this than most are willing to take. The plot gives another explanation on why there is a zombie epidemic. The hunger of the living dead will eliminate over population. The plan soon becomes beyond the scientist's control and now threatens to consume human existence. The film's atmosphere is abysmally dark and gritty. The reactions to the appaulling horrors in this film are irrationally appropriate. The soundtrack is from Goblin whose music has been featured in another zombie classic Dawn of the Dead, and many Dario Argento films. The music profoundly compliments the vivid and viscerally striking imagery. The most eerily haunting music was not used in Dawn of the Dead score. Complaints about jungle stock footage, dubbing and partial Dawn of the Dead music score no longer seems valid when faced with the ghastly displays of gore and carnage awaiting fans of extreme horror. Some things to look out for (or look away from) are a woman getting her face crunched in a zombies hand with an eye ball popping. A young boy tearing into his father's stomach and eating out his guts. All films leave room for improvement. Horror especially, but beyond the flaws typically found in foreign films, there is little here to fix up. This film is a must see for true zombie enthusiasts.