My Dear Killer - aka Mio Caro Assassino. Only giallo made by Tonino Valerii. It is a police-giallo as I call them, about a murder case where you follow the police inspector who sets out to solve this case. I like these giallos less than the ones where non-police individuals (private eyes, or relatives) are trying to find out who the killer is, and this one is no exception. The acting is quite OK, despite the English dubbing it looks good enough. There was one very gruesome killing involving a circlesaw, the others were tamer. The women were beautiful again, but the film couldn't grab me for soem reason. Music was mediocre imo. Still, I'm glad I have this one on DVD now, as the circlesaw scene is one to watch again and again.

Slayer now is a biggest film maniac here in last time! Gold medal for You!

Thanks, simian

So Sweet, So Dead - aka Rivelazioni di un maniaco sessuale al capo della squadra mobile. A woman gets killed and the police inspector finds out that there are incriminating photos on her dead body, showing her being unfaithful. Soon, the killer strikes again and the connection between the two is there are pictures again. Another police giallo, but this one had a nice surprise in store for the final scenes, as are giallos supposed to do. I watched a copy with hardcoded Japanese subs and they sometimes blovked the image in an annoying way, but overall I had fun watching this one. Quite a good giallo.

Black Sunday - aka La Maschera del Demonio. Early Mario Bava film, one of his few which are in black and white. This gives the film a very classic feeling. Barbara Steel stars as a wicth who gets resurrected by accident two centuries after her death at the stake and then tries to take over the body of her descendant. The sets are very nice, but sometimes a bit too stylized for my taste: a spotless basement in a castle is not my kind of thing, there should be dust flying around and some junk lying on the floor for example. But overall I liked this film and I can safely recommend it to anyone.

Going To Pieces, the rise and fall of the slasher film - nice documentary on US slashers, with a focus on the 80s. It has Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean Cunningham and some lesser known directors. It has actresses from Slumber Party Massacre and Friday the 13th and some people who always seem to show up on horror documentaries, like that guy from Fangoria aand that fat dude with glasses and a ring beard who I always forget what his function in the documentary is. It's informative, but again it is quite limited. It has a chapter on "Influences on Slashers" and then it briefly (in 2 minutes) says something about Mario Bava and Dario Argento and then quickly returns to US films, like the makers are afraid that the audience might disconnect when it is not about American films all the damn time. Shame. But on the other hand it is quite good in explaining why the slasher wasn't so popular anymore in the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, and how the genre got resurrected later. So, nice viewing, just keep in mind it is very American focused.

Hatchet for the Honeymoon - aka Il rosso segno della follia. Great giallo by Mario Bava. At first I was like "lame, I already know the killer" but then the twist at the end is about... well, I won't spoil, but I liked it a lot. OK acting for a change and some supercool images, like the scene where John is dancing with Alice in the bridal shop. Music is so-so, but the strength of the storyline kept me interested until the very end. Recommended.

Dr Tarr's Torture Dungeon - the US version of Mansion of Madness. Directed by Moctezuma, this Mexican horror is more weird than scary. It is about an insane asylum where the doctor is in fact an escaped lunatic himself, who imprisoned the staff and now runs the facility with his also very crazy minions. A visiting doctor finds out about it and wants top help, only to fnd himself in deep trouble. Weirdness all along, the cake be taken by "chicken-man", a guy who think he is a chicken. If you'rde into weird cinema, pick this one. If you want a good story or scares, skip it.

La Setta - aka The Sect. The last Michele Soavi horror I hadn't seen yet. It is also his least film, imo. Not so interesting, not so scary and not so much atmosphere as in his other films (La Chiesa/The Church, Deliria/Stagefright and Dellamorte Dellamore/Cemetery Man). It is also pretty long (nearly two hours). But, that aside,m this is still quite an enjoyable film. It is about a woman who almost hits an old guy on the road with her car. She takes him in her house, but then he stays over the night and he turns out to be more than just a simple old man. The woman slowly but steadily comes into the grasp of a satanic cult, the sect of the title. The film has parrallels with The Beyond and with The Church too. The effects are somewhat amateurish, but the story develops nicely, although I didn't like the ending so much. So watch this when you like Soavi or Italian cinema in general. However, if you want to see what Soavi is capable of, I'd recommend one of the other three.

Color Me Blood Red - an early Herschell Gordon Lewis film, about a painter who badly needs some success. When his girlfriend accidentally drops some blood on one of his paintings, he sees the possibilities and starts pursuing mor blood, How? By killing unsuspecting women of course! He "hires" them as models and then hacks them up in order to become a supply of new red for him. Although this sounds great, there isn't so much gore in this one as there is in other Lewis films. The amount of kills is also rather low. But, the bad dialogue (I believe it was intentionally bad) totally makes up for that. Recommended for bad moviefans!

She Killed In Ecstasy - Franco made this film after Vampyros Lesbos and Soledad Miranda stars in this one too. Shortly after she helped making this one she died in a car accident. This gives you a different view on things, but the most important one is that she is an angel of vengeance who is out to kill everyone who drove her husband to committing suicide. First she seduces the targets, then she kills them. Pretty straightforward sleazy killer flick, with fantastic 60s home interiors, clothing and music.

Alien Species - aka Alien Terminator. I read about this one being an Alien rip-off focusing on an alien invasion with bad sfx, so I sat down ready to absorb some extraterrestrial nonsense. When I hadn't seen any UFO after 30 minutes, I was sure something was wtong and I went to investigate. Turned out this was a different film altogether! This one is from 1996 and the other one from 1995 or the other way around. However, this was an Alien rip-off too! The hero is a woman with dark hair, the title (even the other title is a rip-off: I mean, it doesn't matter really if you put Alien and Species together or Alien and Terminator), the company abandoning the crew because it is better for profit, etc, etc. There was even a scene where a guy has an alien coming out of his body (only this time at his backside)! So I had fun after all, a total SBiG fest. It is just that now I want to see that other film too. Recommended for bad moviefans.

Deep in the Woods - aka Promenons-nous dans les bois. An old guy invites a theatrical group to his mansion in the woods to perform the play of Little Red Riding Hood for his catatonic son. Afterwards, people start disappearing, including the old guy. A killer turns up in a wolf costume, but who is he? Nice mystery, not overly intelligent, but still OK. Some nice scenes, atmosphere also good. Not a waste of time, but not superspecial either.

Strip Nude for your Killer - aka Nude per l'Assassino. Sleazy Bianchi giallo, with Italian cinema regular Edwige Fenech as an employee in a model agency where a killer has struck. The killer doesn't stop at one murder, and not only the models are being killed. Police is investigating and Edwige and a photographer do some puzzling too. Although this giallo is quite famous, it isn't a very good one. The music is quite tame and the storyline isn't so gripping as in some others. I guessed the killer right, and although that isn't a bad thing per se, it didn't come as a surprise, while solving the mystery in the end is one of the strongpoints of the giallo as a genre. I'd say go for a different one, except when you want to see a lot of nudity.

Birds of Prey - aka El Ataque de los Pajaros. A Rene Cardona Jr film about birds gone mad. A blonde reporter hhas to go with her cameraman to some farm in the middle of nowhere to report on a bird attack. She wants serious assignments, so she is quite reluctant to take this one, but soon it turns out that this actually is pretty serious. The sotry is overly simple: birds are fed up with humans mistreating them and using them as flying targets for shooting and now they take revenge. Totally noinsensical f course, and the film is a first rate SBiG fest. The gore (of which there is plenty, I might say) is exaggerated and it looks pretty stupid when a dove flies into someone's face, the next shot is about a gauging eye hanging halfway the victim's face with blood squirting from the gaping wound. Many goofs and dumb mistakes, a joy for bad moviefans!

Timber Falls - a couple goes hiking in the mountains, but after a not so nice encounter with some local hunters, they get in even more trouble when the woman is missing one morning and the man goes out to find her. Classic story setup, much like TCM/Hills Have Eyes and other films like that. The goal of the weird family is different and I liked that aspect, but overall it isn't very original and the ending sucked a bit imo. OK acting and good effects, though.

Danger: Diabolik - comic made into a movie by Mario Bava. Diabolik is some kind of Robin Hood who steals from the rich and famous and always finds a way to escape capture. Funny and over the top, with some nice music to accompany the chases and the supertricks Diabolik has up his sleeve everytime, this is a fun ride without any deep thought or theme behind it. Good fun!

Lo Strano Vizio della Signora Wardh - aka The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh. Pretty good Martino giallo. The atmosphere is OK, Edwige Fenech is there again and the story is nice too. Not as strong as some other Martino giallos, but this was his first one, and for a first giallo it is quite good. There is more than one plot, but I thought the first plot was actually the best sso I was a bit disapointed it went further than that. However, it was still an enjoyable film to watch and I can safely recommend this one as much as the other Martinos.

The Legend of Hell House - Roddy McDowall was a 15-year old boy when he was the only survivor of a visit to Hell House, a haunted place which is an attraction to scientists and mediums alike. A new team assembles itself and Roddy goes with them. The ghost stuff is nicely done, although at one point the sheets are drawn from the ebd and the threads are clearly visible, that was quite an immersion breaker for me. But atmosphere picks up soon after that and we get to see how the team fares this time. Good film, I liked it. OK ending.

The Amazing Transplant - Doris Wishman cult flick which, like Deadly Weapons, isn't made for following a storyline. Many goofs and bad dialogues (there are way too many, I don't know where to begin) makes this a feast for bad moviefans. If you are one, I recommend this highly to you, if you're not, think twice as this film is about nothing and only gives you a lot of nudity.

We'reWolves - aka Werewolves, Survivors of the Dark. Mockumentary on modern day life for werewolves. Starts out with a dead body with bitemars, then follows an inspector and a biologist and ends up with werewolves of course. The comtemt of the mockumentary was actually very little, and therefore it felt like it kept dragging and dragging. Although it is quite original in it's approach to lycanthropy, I already had that experience with Skinwalkers and since that was a pretty OK-ish movie, I'd recommend that one before this.

Hitch Hike To Hell - very cheesy B-flick about a not so very clever momma's boy who delivers laundry and in the meantime kills hitchhiking girls who ran away from home. He is pretty dumb, as he keeps doing it over and over agai, even after he loses personal belongings on the crimescene. Very repetitive, only for bad moviefans.

Tikken - Dutch short. Nice atmosphere, I liked the flashbacks. Not much going on of course, because it is only 20 minutes, but some 90 minute movies have even less happening in their films, so it is sort of a compliment. Acting is OK, there is no(t much) gore but overall it was nice enough. Good for when you are short on time like I was last night.

Autopsy - aka Macchie solari. Crispino giallo with giallo-regular Mimsy Farmer as a doctor in a mortuary. The film starts out totally weird, with Mimsy seeing the dead in her mortuary arise, laugh at her and having sex with other dead people. Then when she and her colleague find out that all those dead are suicides, she starts investigating and it turns out that the victims didn't kill themselves after all. Now who did it, then? Is it her father who is entangled in some shady business deal, her colleague, her boyfriend? Or is it the priest who is trying to help her solve the case? Nice atmosphere, music OK-ish, drawback is that most killings are in the first ten minutes. But still, this one delivers. Slightly above average in the giallo genre, I'd say.

Turkey Shoot - Ozploitation about a totalitarian future state where everyone who doesn't walk in line gets areested and put in re-education camps where the regime is at it's harshest. Inmates are beaten up and severely punished for the smallest infringements. From time to time a few inmates are selected to serve as hunting targets/preys for the rich and famous, who come to the wilderness surrounding the camp to shoot the inmates as a sport. Predating Battle Royale by almost 20 years, this one sets the score, so if you liked BR, check out this one too.

The Man with the Severed Head - aka Las Ratas No Duermen De Noche. I don't understand the Spanish title (The Rats Don't Sleep At Night), and in fact this time the English title is closer to the storyline, although the man this story evolves around (played by Paul Naschy) doesn't have his head severed in the film. He does get a bullet in his brain, however, and a brain transplant is needed in order to save his life. Sicne he is a criminal, his friends (who are criminals too) target another criminal to get a brain. Therefore Naschy's character gets "even more violent" according to the backcover of the DVD. This is the part where this movie fails: instead of going on a murderous rampage, the man simply lies in bed and gets out on two occasions to do something threatening. That's it. Quite boring if you ask me. You won't miss a thing, unless you are a huge fan of Naschy.

Ghoulies III ghoulies go to college - very childish humour prevails throughout this film and if you're into fart jokes and stuff like that, this one is for you. Only plus in this film was to see several castmembers who later got some sort of a career in Hollywood: Eva LaRue, Jason Scott Lee and Matthew Lillard. Very forgettable, at least I hope so.

Sadisterotica - Franco film about two female undercover agents who set out to catch a guy who kills people and puts them into art. Yes, literally. Comedy touch is OK-ish, especially if you think this was made in the 1960s. The exploitation is very tame, there isn't a lot of sex going on or anything. It is above Franco average standard and I had fun watching this one, it was actually the best film of the three I watched today.

Psycho Sisters - low budget bad film about two sisters who hate men because their other sister got raped and murdered when they were still children. They are called the Sicole sisters, which spoken of course sounds like Psycho Sisters. If you think this is a great joke, then this film is for you. Bad effects (the blood squirting on the faces is superfake, as is the result: blood everywhere on the face except around the eyes, and no blood on the walls or on the floor whatsoever) and bad acting make this a very long movie to sit through. This one cost me only a few cents on amazon, and it isn't worth any more. Might be interesting for bad moviefans, all others should pass. Oh, and in case you want to look up the film: the imdb page for this one is totally b0rked, with wrong names everywhere.

The Red Monks - aka I Frati Rossi. Produced by Lucio Fulci, this fact lures many fans of Italian horror into buying/watching this one. Me included. This is quite a boring film, it reminded me of Porte dell'Inferno by Lenzi. Not much going on, then all of a sudden a scene with many monks dressed up in red hoods, and back to nothing again. This goes on for almost an hour and then in the last 30 minutes some sort of a plot starts to develop. Fairly late, but it somewhat saves the film from being a total mess. Only for avid fans of Italian horror, or for completists (I learned that word recently).

Watch Me When I Kill - aka Il gatto dagli occhi di giada. Antonio Bido made two giallos, The Bloodstained Shadow and this one. Some say this is an Argento rip-off, some say it is a homage to Argento. It depends on your opinion of this film, I guess. I had heard this one wasn't so good, but I enjoyed it. Bido indeed borrows a lot from Argento, from the stark colours in some scenes to the POV kills in some others. Even the setup of the story could have been something Dario could have written. Some of the kills are gruesome, I thought the bathroom kill was extra gruesome. The solution of the mystery was somewhat meh, but the rest of the film was cool.

Humanoids from the Deep - I had already seen the 90s remake of this one, so I was curious about this original. It is (even more) hilarious. The fishmen are cool and gory, they make gory kills and of course when they appear, a festival is about to begin in the almost deserted village of fishermen, and they don't want to call it off because the village needs the festival to regain economic wealth. So far the cliches, there are more, but I'm not gonna describe them all I really loved the cheesy effects and the goofy stuff, like the first fishman gets shot and then needs 4-5 shots to be downed, and then the rest of the fishmen go down in 1-2 shots. The ending is great! Highly recommended for bad moviefans.

Asylum Erotica - aka La bestia uccide a sangue freddo. My DVD of this is bad: it is 4:3 and in some scenes you can clearly see the persons being cut off at the edges. If I had liked this film a lot, I'd have bought a different DVD of it. But since this isn't a very good film, I won't. Why isn't this good? Acting is quite atrocious at times, the story is boring, the killer appears only a few times, then takes ten minutes time to approach his victim, then quickly does his job and disappears, almost no tension. To guess the killer is easy, even for people who don't pay attention so much. A lot of nudity and a role for Klaus Kinski can't save this flick

St. Andrews Girls - presented as a horrorcomedy I was deeply disappointed in the lack of gore. It is more a highschool kind of comedy with a few drops of blood. And when this would have been very funny, it would be OK-ish, but most of the jokes aren't funny. So while this lasted short (only 75 minutes), I still felt this was a waste of time.

In The Folds of the Flesh - weird giallo, where the mystery isn't about a killer. In the opening sequence you can already see a kill and it is not the question who has done it, but more why he was killed. The plot opens up slowly and in the final scenes the makers go for the rather cliche super improbable plottwist. In the meantime, however, we have seen some nice and very creative kills. This film might be viewed as a blueprint for all exploitation which will come out of Italy in the 70s, as there is incest, other sleaziness, gory kills and even some nazi death camp gas chamber scenes (I never knew the gas chambers actually had large windows, so you could see the people being gassed ). I had fun as it is so f-ed up.

The Wax Mask - a tad disappointed by this one. If you have seen films about wax museums before, you won't see many new things. There is enough gore to go around, but the story is unoriginal and the cast can never step away from that in their performances. Only for fans of Italian cinema because it is nice to watch a film directed by an sfx guy you might know from other films (Stivaletti), and because it is a quite late installment (1990s).

Rabid Dogs - aka Cani Arrabbiati. Crime film by Mario Bava. After a rather violent robbery, where three criminals got some momney and killed a few people, they kidnap a woman who happens to be in the same parking garage. They hijack a guy in his car, the man has a child with him which has to go to the hospital. Now the trio tries to evade the police. In the meantime, the criminals have fun in the backseat with the woman, especially Luigi Montefiori. The trip is hell for her, there is a Last House on the Left-like scene where the criminals force her to pee. Very Italian when it comes to violence, and also when it comes to plot: in the end there is a nice surprise for you in store. I loved it!

Sadomaster - cool cover, but that's it. Very bad low budget Argentinian exploitation film with an overload of fake gory effects, just meant to shock the audience. It runs for only 70 minutes, but they make it feel like 2 hours. Although there are superfake moustaches top laugh at, the total lack of storyline and nothing to compensate kills this film effectively. Not for me.

Horror of the Bloodmonsters - wow, this could also be called Horror of the Filmmakers, because this is a total rip-off! Several movies can be seen cut up and put in a differnt order, colour filter over it: done! How to make a movie within 5 minutes: ask Al Adamson! This guy is even worse than Ed Wood, because he hires a cast just to glue the different parts together. Unbelievable. You have to see this to believe it. Highly recommended for bad moviefans, but RED WARNING for all others.