Chasing the Muse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npyneWe-ByA link to trailer
http://mvdshop.com/products/euro-sex-pack-dvd
http://mvdshop.com/products/chasing-the-muse-dvd

Follow legendary erotic filmmaker Jean-Francois Davy as he searches through Europe for the lead of his new adult film.

Jean-François Davy is a legendary French director of erotic cinema, whose work was among the most notable European adult film productions of the 1970s and 80s, particularly his documentaries on Parisian sexuality including Prostitution (1975), Les Pornocrates (1976), and the trilogy of Exhibition (1975), Exhibition 2 (1978), and Exhibition 79 (1979). After an absence of several years, Davy now returns to the erotic documentary genre that made him famous, only now he turns his probing camera on himself as well. Davy and his cameraman travel to the major cities of Eastern Europe - from Prague to Budapest, with stops in between - as the filmmaker searches for a beautiful muse to serve as the leading lady of his next carnal opus. As countless gorgeous young women undress to audition for the camera, Davy keeps looking for a girl with a special quality, and when he finds her, he also finds himself falling head over heels for her charms. Sizzling and candid, Transgression is for mature audiences only.

Private Vices, Public Virtues

Director - Miklos Jancso (Winter Wind, The Pacifist)
Starring - Lajos Balazsovits (Hungarian Rhapsody, Mother and Daughter), Pamela Villoresi (I Killed Napoleon, The Great Beauty), and Franco Branciaroli (The Voyeur, Black Angel)
Release Date - 1976
Genre - Comedy/Drama
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     December has been one hell of a month in regards to the films I have reviewed.  The month is almost wrapped up and I have seen more films that deserved a positive review than negative.  Also, I was able to work in some non-horror films that I usually put off to the two months a year that I don't watch horror and review exploitation, sexploitation, and the like.  I decided to mix it up a bit this month and go ahead and toss in the Mondo Macabro release of Private Vices, Public Virtues.  This unique history drama was one I had never heard of before but I was very intrigued by it once I heard that Mondo was behind the release.  I reached out to my friends over at Mondo Macabro and they were kind enough to send a review copy my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows Rudolph who is the next in line to be emperor.  His father forced him to marry someone he does not love resulting in a very stale marriage.  He is actually in love with his sister and her half-brother.  The three are often in the middle of sexual exploits when Rudolph's wife it away.  His father wants him to leave the country and continues to send his military troops in to arrest him and take him away but he fails to listen leading to him mocking the officers.  One day he and his two lovers drug the traveling circus and convinces them to have a wild orgy where they were photographed.  His father finds out and sends the military in to remove his son and his lovers from the property one way or another resulting in their death.

     I honestly had no idea what to expect when I first received the press release for this film.  The cover immediately let me know that the film was very erotic in nature while being a period piece.  What I did not know was how funny the film was.  An erotic drama that is covered in comedy is something that I rarely see so it was a welcomed addition to my viewing.  The acting in this one is fantastic.  The characters come to life on screen at the hands of each and every cast member.  The cast is energetic, charismatic, and very comfortable in their own skin.  This cast carries this film.  The story for this one is very intriguing and leaves very little room for improvement.  The film goes from one strange scene to strange scene before hitting the viewer with a hard ending.  With that being said, there was a few scenes that was a little hard to follow due to the pure chaos that is unfolding on screen.  Finally, those of you looking for blood and gore will be let down but if you want to laugh and see a genuinely fun story unfold then look no further.  Overall, Private Vices, Public Virtues is an outstanding watch.  The film is funny, sexy, and beautifully shot.  I doubt you will be able to find another nudey film that is as fun as this one.  This one is well worth the price so check it out.  

The Trail of Dracula

Director - David Mitchell (Personal Ghosts, Nocturnal)
Release - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "From folklore to screen"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My generation of horror fans grew up in a time when blood, gore and boobs were what defined horror.  When I say my generation I am referring to horror fans that were born at the tail end of 1970s and early 80s.  These people were born or grew up during the golden age of slashers and completely missed the drive-in era.  What set us apart from the previous horror generations was the type of films we had.  We had the Friday the 13th series, A Nightmare on Elm St. series, the works of Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, John Carpenter and so on.  These films are now iconic and whenever you mention horror this is what most people think of.  However, as much as we love these films that does not make them perfect.  Not by any means but prior generations had a different kind of horror.  Sure, it had blood, some gore, and sexy women but they had stories that provoked your imagination.  Until the late 70s and early 80s almost every generation of horror fans prior had an incarnation of Dracula they could latch onto.  The 30s and 40s saw the Universal Dracula that is easily the most recognizable Dracula while the 50s saw the rise of Hammer Horror and their Dracula series that would carry into the 70s where it would die.  Since then horror has been unable to bring a Dracula character that would could love and enjoy as much as previous generations had.  Recently, I was sent the documentary The Trail of Dracula from Intervision Film Crops.  This documentary covers Dracula in a literary sense before going over Dracula in cinema.  This was something I was very interested in so I want to thank them for sending this one my way!

     The documentary begins with a little history of the folklore and myths surround vampires.  What they are like and how Bram Stoker and America changed what they are to what we know them as today.  Prior to this they were almost like modern day zombies until they were romanticized.  We then touch on Stoker's take on vampires with his legendary tale Dracula before touching some on his personal life.  We quickly move to the film Nosferatu which was the first adaptation of Stoker's tale before moving to stage plays and then back to Dracula in context of film starting with the Universal Dracula film starring Bela Lugosi and making its way to the Hammer Horror Dracula series starring Christopher Lee.

     I love documentaries.  I've said this so many times before.  I often catch myself rushing from documentary to documentary on Netflix about stuff I have no knowledge of.  Just recently I finished a documentary on indie games, steampunk, and  revisited one of my favorites, Winnebago Man.  With that being said, I rarely visit a horror themed documentary because they tend to not teach me anything new.  Luckily, The Trail of Dracula was somewhat informative in many aspects.  This documentary has some very interesting interviews ranging from authors and historians to film critics and movie buffs.  The interviews at the beginning of the film are mostly authors of vampire literature, Bram Stoker historians, and anthropolists who study European cultures.  This gives the viewer some insight to the culture and folklore surround vampires before moving on to movie historians and fans of Dracula who have dedicated their lives to the character.  With that being said, the direction of the interviews seems to be lacking.  At the beginning of the documentary we start out with some vampire folklore prior to Stoker's Dracula before we slowly spill into Stoker himself.  This transition is not seamless and we see some jumping back and forth between topics which results in a little confusion.  It feels like the editing is just a little off.  Also, this section of the story is not that in depth.  The myths and folklore around vampires is so rich that a mere 20 to 30 minute segment in the film is nowhere near enough time to cover that enormous topic.  As the documentary progresses we hit Dracula in cinema and this section was more focused towards Universal and Hammer's Dracula.  Some other Dracula films were mentions but very little attention was given to them.  Would have loved to see a more in depth look at some other Dracula films over the years instead of the ones that are the most common and well known.  Finally, this documentary flows very well and seems to be edited together nicely with the exception of the chaotic first quarter of the film.  After this first few hiccups the film runs smoothly and follows one solid topic at a time.  Overall, The Trail of Dracula is a solid horror documentary that explores the myth and legend of Dracula from his literary roots to his larger than life film history.  Very few legends can topple the legend of Dracula and this documentary does him justice.



Rotgut

http://mvdshop.com/products/rotgut-dvd
Drink Up Quick. Happy Hour is Over.

In the vein of '80s cult classics like Basketcase and Slime City comes Rotgut, a terrifying tale in which a group of unlikely heroes battle a growing horde of mutated, worm-infested mindless zombies! A seedy downtown bar on a quiet Sunday morning becomes a battleground for Armageddon when a batch of bad booze contaminates the alcohol supply of the local drunks. Carrying a mutated worm, the tainted tequila infects all who drink it, swiftly turning them into ravenous hosts for brain-eating worms. Luckily, an intrepid group of drunks, losers and lost souls is on hand to save the day! Chocked full of practical FX and gross-out gore, Rotgut is a must-see for fans of independent, DIY throw-back horror. Starring Whitney Moore (Birdemic!)

The Hills Have Eyes

Director - Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm St, Vampire in Brooklyn)
Starring - Robert Houston (1941, Shogun Assassin), Michael Berryman (The X-Files, Tales from the Crypt), and Martin Speer (The Greatest American Hero, Wonder Woman)
Release Date - 1977
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "A nice American family.  They don't want to kill.  But they don't want to die"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sometime when I was in high school, 2001 - 2005, my county finally got a movie theater.  We never had one until then so I was forced to drive an hour or so to see a film.  Traveling those mountainous roads made traveling anywhere troublesome.  Especially during the winter months.  In 2006 a few friends and myself went to that theater to watch Alexandre Aja's remake of The Hills Have Eyes.  We were all fans of Aja after his phenomenal Haute Tension.  I really enjoyed the remake and it made me want to see the original.  I felt like a shitty horror fan because I had never seen the original but the opportunity never presented itself.  I was able to finally watch it while I was in college and a night of heavy drinking was involved so I don't remember much about it.  Not long ago my friends over at MVD and Arrow Video released the original Hills Have Eyes on blu.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to hook me up with a review copy.

     The film follows the Carter family who are traveling to California and decided to make a pit stop at an old mine out in the desert.  That stop by a small gas station and the owner, Fred, warns them about the dangers of the desert.  They do not listen and head out into the dessert anyway.  They have an accident and wreck the car.  Unable to drive, the father Big Bob (Russ Grieve) and his son-in-law head out in opposite directions for help.  Big Bob walks back to Fred's where he learns that Fred had a monstrous son who lives out in the desert with a woman he kidnapped and the their offspring who now hunt down and eat anyone that goes into the desert.  While he is there his family starts to get harassed by Fred's grandchildren forcing them to band together before they are turned to food.
      The Hills Have Eyes remake is one of my favorite remakes aside from John Carpenter's The Thing and House of Wax starring Vincent Price.  I like all of these films for different reasons.  One of the reasons I love the remake of The Hills Have Eyes is because it is raw and unnerving.  I find rape and child endangerment to be very unsettling so this film made me uncomfortable while I was sitting in the theater.  I thought the original film would not be able to capture that same feeling but I was not considering that the film was made by the same demented mind that brought us Last House on the Left.  The acting in this one is good but can easily be split down the middle.  The Carter family is very believable.  The viewer can really sense their turmoil and struggle.  With that being said, Jupiter and his family is a little over-dramatic.  They all felt like characters out of a late 60's b-movie which was out of place for this kind of film.  The film was not that campy and cheesy aside from the cannibals in the desert.  The story for this one is a true horror experience.  By 1977 we had seen horror movies following people stranded in different lands, cannibals, and the rise of the slasher but this film was able to combine them all into one truly terrifying experience.  The cannibals, as I said earlier, did not really fit the rough and raw story but did not really take away from it.  With that being said, the film really delivered on the suspense and tension with just enough action to take away from the slow developing plot.  The viewer will not lose interest or feel bored.  Finally, the film does have a few death scenes but they are really not that graphic or gory.  However, the film does offer up some blood with different bodily injuries that look great.  One in particular is when Pluto gets attacked by the dog.  The effects are great but those of you that dislike the 3M red blood may be turned off with this one.  Overall, The Hills Have Eyes is a welcomed addition to any horror fan's collection.  The story hits hard and this Arrow release is phenomenal.  Check it out.

         

Slime City and Slime City Massacre Double Feature Blu-Ray

http://mvdshop.com/products/slime-city-slime-city-massacre-double-feature-blu-ray

The City Where Slime Never Sleeps

Available for the first time in High Definition, Gregory Lamberson's 1989 cult hit Slime City and 2010 sequel, Slime City Massacre, dripping with gruesome extras! Slime City (1989) - In a run-down apartment building in NYC, a student stumbles across the remains of a cult and transforms into a murderous, slime-dripping monster! Slime City Massacre (2010) - When a greedy real estate tycoon sends mercenaries into a bombed out city to destroy the homeless, they stumble across the remains of a cult of hideous, oozing slime creatures, sparking an all-out war for control of Slime City.

Making Slime
Slime Heads
Slime City original trailer
Slime City Grindhouse Collection trailer
Slime City 2006 trailer
Return to Slime City
Three director commentaries
Slime City Massacre Trailer
Slime City Massacre Behind-the-scenes
Interview with composer Mars
Slime City Survivor (On Set Interviews)
Slime City Massacre Deleted Scenes

Bump in the Night

Director(s) - David Bleiman Ichioka (The Pjs) and Ken Pontac (Clayfighter)
Starring - Jim Cummings (Mickey Mouse, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Rob Paulsen (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire), Gail Matthius (Cow and Chicken, Animaniacs)
Release Date - 1994
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Children's
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I'm a very nostalgic person.  I love movies, television shows, and video games of my youth and I am constantly on the lookout for those that brought me so much joy as a child.  I was a huge television junkie growing up.  I loved watching WCW Nitro, Big Wolf on Campus, Goosebumps, So Weird, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, Aaahh Real Monsters, and Bump in the Night.  As you can see, I had an obsession with monsters and creatures of the night.  My love for horror was not noticeable at first but seeing that these shows are horror based it only makes sense to see that I have always been a fan.  One particular show that I often talk about and not many people remember is the 1994 Claymation show Bump in the Night.  Not many people remember that show and a good portion did not know that the show was such a thing.  Which may account to why it only lasted 2 seasons.  Sometime ago Mill Creek Entertainment released the entire series on DVD.  I had to have it.  I reached out to Mill Creek and they were kind enough to hook me up with a review copy.  Thanks guys.

     The show follows the titular character Mr. Bumpy, his best friend Squishington, and Molly Coddle.  Mr. Bumpy is the dirty monster that lives under your bed and in your walls that loves previously chewed gum, dirty socks, and anything sticky and gross that you want to throw away.  His best friend Squishington is the complete opposite.  He lives in the toilet and prefers to keep things sanitary and clean.  Their mutual friend Molly Coddle is a ragdoll that loves to cuddle and a positive environment.  The three often find themselves in the middle of sticky situations following robots, killer bread, and other monsters that go bump in the night.

      This show holds a lot of memories for me and I have to say that it was just as entertaining watching it now as a grown ass man as it was when I was a child.  I was 8 when this show first aired and it was one that stayed with me over the years.  I still watch the Night of the Living Bread episode yearly.  As for the rest of the show, I could not remember a lot about it other than bits and pieces of it.  This was a great trip down memory lane.  The voice acting in this is great.  The three starring voice actors are legend when it comes to who they have voiced.  Jim Cummings has laid his voice out for Transformers, The Lion King, Hellboy, Mickey Mouse, The Oblongs, and Aladdin.  The man is a living legend.  Rob Paulsen is well known for his voice as well having voiced characters in TMNT, The Fairly Odd Parents, Spider-Man, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Green Lantern, and Kung Fu Panda.  Gail Matthius has had an amazing career as well with her voice appearing in Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, Bobby's World, The Tick, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.  The storyline for this series is fun and caters to the fears of children.  Unlike most shows of the time that exploited these fears, i.e. Goosebumps, this show actually helped children overcome these fears by making light of the situations and showing real world causes.  There is some thought put into each scenario.  The stories are short so no real development is made but they still flow very well and hold the viewer's attention.  Finally, the series has some great animation that we just don't see a lot of.  The creatures and characters are very fun and look great with a keen artistic eye applied to every scene.  Sadly, the quality of this release does not reflect how great the animation is.  The series is not re-mastered and I have actually seen VHS releases of this show that looks better.  Overall, Bump in the Night is a forgotten gem of the 90s.  The show has some laughs, teaches some life lessons, and shows children that not all monsters are bad.  This set is well worth it so check it out.  

Count Dracula's Great Love

Director - Javier Aguirre (Hunchback of the Morgue, Children's War)
Starring - Paul Naschy (Panic Beats, Night of the Howling Beast), Rosanna Yanni (Kiss Me Monster, Sadist Erotica), and Haydee Politoff (Queens of Evil, Hector the Mighty)
Release Date - 1973
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "She's the kind of girl you can sink your teeth into"
Format- Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I really do enjoy the gothic horror films of the 60s and early 70s.  I love the sets, I love the wardrobes, and I love how sexy most films tried to be.  This was the height of the sexual revolution and movie producers used that to their advantage.  Sex sells.  Movies about Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein and his creation, and so on no longer rely on sets, wardrobes, and sex appeal.  They rely on cheap effects, cheaper sets, and sex appeal.  The film's no longer have that look that I love.  Not long ago Vinegar Syndrome released the 1973 film Count Dracula's Great Love which was previously known as just Dracula's Great Love.  Knowing it was a Dracula film from the early 70s I had to see it.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send one my way.  Thanks guys!
     The film follows four beautiful young women and a man who are traveling by coach when the wheel falls off the wagon.  They seek refuge from the night at an old sanitarium that has been closed for sometime now.  Rumor has it that a wealthy doctor has purchased the property so he can reopen it.  When they reach the property they meet the doctor, Dr. Wendell Marlow (Naschy), who allows them to spend the night.  What they don't know is that there is a madman with the mark of the vampire roaming the premises and the women start to go missing one by one along with the man.  The doctor finds love in one of the young women which puts in play the prophecy that he will turn into Dracula.  He loves the young woman deeply and knows that if he turns into Dracula that she will die forcing him to do something very drastic.

     When I received the press release for the film I knew I would like it but I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did.  The film rivaled anything coming out of Hammer or Amicus at the time.  It looked great and really stayed true to the gothic horror films of the time.  The acting in this one is great with Paul Naschy taking center stage.  He delivers an emotional performance that shows the viewer a different side of Dracula that they rarely see.  Almost every tale of Dracula told over the years shows him falling in love but very few shows how emotional he can be.  Naschy nailed it.  The remainder of the cast does a solid job as well including the beautiful women.  They are talented but their selling point is how beautiful they are.  They are absolutely stunning.  The story for this one is a very unique spin on the Dracula mythos.  In this take Dracula is able to be killed or die but can be resurrected depending on the circumstances.  This was clever when added to the sanitarium setting and the love angle which is essential to any Dracula story.  However, the film does get a little confusing in the middle when it reveals he will turn into Dracula or is already Dracula.  It feels like some of the scenes are out of place or completely left out.  Finally, the film has several on screen deaths but they are what you would expect from a vampire film.  Almost all of the kills are bites somewhere on the body.  These are bloody and well done but are not that memorable.  The effects we do get are decent for what we get but nothing memorable there as well.  Overall, Count Dracula's Great Love is an underrated classic.  The cast is brilliant and beautiful and the setting looks amazing.  The story does get a little bumpy at some points but if you stick with it you will really enjoy yourself.  Check it out.