I've been a on a kick of inducting ladies into the Horror Crushes section, as I been enjoying doing just that. I hope that I continue to do so as 2023 rolls on. And, today I am inducting an absolute blonde stunner, a dream girl come true if you will: the gorgeous Jenny Neumann!
Neumann studied acting at UCLA in the 70s and made her acting debut in Mistress of the Apes (1978). But, her first horror role would come two years later.
That film is the one that inspired me to induct her, the Australian slasher flick: Nightmares (1980). It's also known as Stage Fright and is not to be confused with the 1983 anthology flick Nightmares or the awesome Michelle Soavi giallo Stage Fright. This one deals Cathy (Neumann), who as a little girl watched her mom fuck and mess around with some dude. She accidently cause the car crash in which they both die. Now, she is a gorgeous but sexually repressed actress. And, soon people start dying around her.
It may lack in the suspense and logic departments, but it is still a decent little flick that takes inspiration from American slashers and the Italian giallo. I go further into my thoughts on this film in my review of it. As far as Nuemann, she is really fun to watch, as she has this great, wild look in her eyes. She is also genuinely likable in the role, even when it comes off as over-the-top. She looks breathtaking in her beauty, which certainly doesn't hurt.
A year later, in 1981, she would appear in her next and final horror movie, Hell Night. It's a surprisingly good slasher about a group of college kids staying in a creepy, old house as part of a fraternity hazing. It's got some likable characters and is a really good looking flick with some genuine tension. The flick also has a great climax and stars some lovely ladies. Among them is Linda Blair as the final girl and, of course, Neumman, who plays mean girl May. She ends up losing her head.
One cool thing, is that she appeared in the extra features to Scream Factory's awesome Blu-ray, released a couple of years ago. She still looked beautiful!
She did appear on both "V" and V: The Final Battle (1983 & 84) as good alien Barbara. While, it is definitely not horror, it does feature evil aliens disguised as humans, scared the fuck out of me as a kid, and serves as an excuse to post pics of her in her bra.
Neumann would soon retire and turned to writing instead. Her career was short, and I certainly wish she had done more. But, with her appearances in two slasher movies and her absolutely stunning beauty, it is clear that she is a great addition to Horror Crushes!
I continue my series where I show my Blu-ray/ DVD collection. I start off the video mentioning two DVDs I missed talking about before, Black Christmas (2006) and George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. From there, I continue from where I last off with the letters J-N.
In this, the third part of my vlog series on my Blu-ray and DVD collection, I show off more box sets, series, and special editions. I also continue in alphabetical order, by going on to the letters F-I. But, before, all of that I show some titles, I missed from the last time. I also pay tribute/ respect the legendary beauty Julie Adams from Creature from the Black Lagoon, who sadly passed away Sunday night.
You can see it all in the video below:
Please, be sure to share your collections and/ or your thoughts/ love for the Julie Adams in the comments section below.
The horror genre has a ton of movies that get frequent love from fans, some of which would certainly make mainstream audiences scratch their heads as to what their appeal is. But, one film that seemingly gets overlooked, expect by the most ardent of horror fans, is the truly amazing and bat-shit crazy, cicada monster flick The Beast Within (1982). Directed by Phillippe (The Howling II and III) Mora and written by genre favorite Tom (Fright Night, Child's Play) Holland, this bloody creature feature is unlike anything you've seen or are likely to see.
The bonkers tale, begins like this: Newlyweds Caroline and Eli MacCleary (Bibi Besch and Ronny Cox) are driving through Mississippi. Their car breaks down on a deserted road, cause of course that would happen. Eli has goes looking for help by heading to a gas station, that they passed by earlier. Meanwhile, a creature is being held captive at a nearby house. He breaks free of his chains and escapes. Back at the broken down car, the couple's dog hears something and decides to investigate. Caroline, who allows him to go (who the fuck lets their dog loose in some unknown road, at night no less, in the first place?!), decides it was a dumb idea (well duh, I could've told you that!) and looks for him. Her dog, sadly, gets mauled and killed by the monster. She hits her head on a tree and knocks herself out. The monster then rips her clothes and rapes, yes rapes (!!!) her! Eli and the gas station workers find her unconscious on the forest floor.
Flash forward fifteen years later, the couple's son Michael (Paul Clemens), who actually is a result of the rape, is very sick. The doctor cannot figure why the fuck his pituitary glad is growing out of control. They decide to go back to the town where Caroline was attacked, in case this is some sort of genetic disease. As they ask around, they find out that the town folk ain't very friendly or helpful to their questioning.
They do eventually find some help from Sheriff Poole (L.Q. Jones). And, they eventually end up finding skeletons and chewed up bones buried in the forest. Before the bodies are discovered, though, Michael is being driven to kill and eat (!) town folk by an evil influence. There are also the sounds of the annoying cicada insect that accompanies precedes his kills. After, he offs his first dinner, er, I mean victim, he runs away. He is incoherent and eventually crosses paths with beautiful girl next door Amanda (Katherine Moffat), who he develops a crush on. Her abusive dad ain't to happy about them dating. As he goes in and out of the local hospital, Michael racks up a body count. And, on his last hospital stay fully transforms into something truly hideous, and somewhat cicada inspired, and that is when the body count really starts to rise!
For an admit ably, silly little movie, it sure does have a lot of plot doesn't it? And, there is actually a lot more that happens, but I cut it to the cliff-notes, version if you will. The point is actually just how fucking bonkers the whole movie really is. The Beast Within rocks hard cause it just doesn't give a flying fuck where it goes or how wild the path that route might be.
Mora would go to make a fuck load of movies, and it's kinda sad that garbage like the The Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (actual subtitle, not me attempting to make a bad joke) is more renown than this is. That bag of lupine excrement isn't worth a single frame of the magnificence of this masterpiece. Yet, maybe cause of Sybil Danning's amazing mammories, that ones gets talked about a lot more. To hell with that. I am here to throw some worship to this fucker!
Mora actually keeps things in line and builds some real good tension. The bloody climax is all kinds of ass kicking madness. The one thing this movie is known for, though, is the wild transformation scene. In fact, they must've all known that is the movie's money-shot, as it was part of the advertisement (look at the poster at the top of this article to see what I am talking about)! The movie is accused of having bladder overuse and abuse. Those who complain about this are probably lacking in taste and should go watch ET rip-off Mac and Me, instead, since those crappy FX are probably more their liking.
Said practical effects are incredible! Admit ably some parts don't hold up quite as well, today, but overall the make-up FX work by Tom Burman is superlative. I fucking love the final monster, who is both scary and imposing. The choice of the gross looking, though admit ably harmless, cicada bug is an interesting and crazy choice. The gore here is truly excellent as the movie wallows in cannibalism, decapitation, exploding head, gory squibs, and more. It really is as one of the bloodiest R-rated movies of the early 80s. The fact that monster rape get thrown in, only further pushes this one out of the safer realm that some cookie-cutter slasher movies, from the same era, had chosen to go.
Michael is doing his best impersonation of a character from THE EMOJI MOVIE! Either that or this is his reaction to seeing it!
It should be noted that screenwriter Tom Holland based his script very loosely on a book of the same name by Edward Levy. There is very little that is similar between the book and movie. Holland would go on to prolific work in the genre, including writing some genuine classics like Class of 1984 and Psycho II, and eventually writing and directing other classics like Fright Night and Child's Play. Personally speaking, I think Beast ranks alongside his best work, and it could very well could be his most insane.
Do you think he just wants to listen to Michael Jackson'sTHRILLER? Cause, I sure do!
Another aspect that's crazy about this loony movie is how good is the cast. The movie actually takes itself seriously, as does its cast, and, somehow, it works. As, I stated before, Mora has a good control over the subject matter and drives the plot forward. He could not have done this as well, had the cast not done as well as they do in their roles.
Our ''hero'' Michael is played well by Paul Clemens. He is likable in his more human form, then downright intimidating as he turns evil. I have been a huge fan of Ronny Cox since I first saw him in Robocop as a kid. As the dad, this might be one of his most likable and heroic roles. He and Bibi Besch, as his wife, help to keep all the silliness in some grounded check, making you care. Katherine Moffat, here cast under Kitty Moffat, makes for a very appealing love interest. She is beautiful and sweet and makes for a great and believable girl next door, or at least, girl you wished lived next door. The rest of cast is equally good.
I first caught The Beast Within, when it aired on cable, when I was younger. I had read about it in Fango and Gorezone, and remembered that legendary horror writer, and my idol, Chas. Balun didn't like it all that much. But, that he did think the gore and the FX were great. I actually watched this one with my grandpa. Even though the nudity, rape, and splatter were trimmed down, I still enjoyed it, quite a bit. My grandpa thought it was quite silly, especially the whole monster rape bit, but he at least was mildly entertained by it.
Years, later, I would finally own it when Scream Factory released it on Blu-ray. From the moment they announced that they would be doing the disc, I was excited! On one of their sales, I took the opportunity to buy it. Having not watched it in years, and then only in an edited for TV form, I was pumped to revisit it. And, man, it was even more awesome than I recalled it being! Since, then it has become a perennial revisit favorite, of mine.
The disc itself looks and sounds great. There is not a whole of extra features, just the trailer and two running commentaries (one with Mora, the other Holland), but it still a must own! Especially now, that there has been a price drop in it in many places like Amazon.
Man, a bad migraine will anyone wanna kill!
The Beast Within is just a fucking awesome and wild time. Chock full of graphic gore and a wild transformation, the impressive FX are a feast for the eyes. The plot is increasingly insane, and would probably never be done today, especially the monster rape, which would surely be considered a no-no. Accompanied by some serious talent, in front and behind the cameras, it raises the ridiculous premise to heights that probably are more than it deserves. If you have never seen this, you are doing yourself a disservice. Go now and unleash the beast!
Title: Ghosthouse Director: Umberto Lenzi (as Humphrey Humbert) Writer: Cinthia McGavin Cast: Lara Wendel, Greg Rhodes, Mary Sellers, Ron Houck, Martin Jay, Kate Silver, Donald O'Brien Year: 1988 Min: 95
A creepy and weird little girl has an even creepier toy clown doll, which her dad stole from a corpse for her. When said dad finds out that she has just mutilated a cat, he decides to lock her in the basement. Soon after both he and his wife get sliced and diced. 20 years later, Greg Rhodes (Greg Scott) picks up some screaming on his radio. Using his computer he figures out where it came from. Accompanied by his pretty girlfriend, Martha (Lara Wendell), they head to the source, which is, of course, the house from the prologue! Along the way they meet an annoying hitchhiker with a tendency to play pranks, cause you, that's what stupid and annoying characters did in 80s splatter flicks. They also encounter a group of young friends who decided to check out the house, cause they honestly have nothing better to do with their free time. When the crazy groundskeeper tries to kill one of them with the meat cleaver, the authorities think it's just the dude being a whack-o. However, it's the house who is soon racking more and more of a body count.
Let's call a spade a spade here, and just say that Ghosthouse is an Italian rip-off of Poltergeist with a bit of Amityville for good measure. It was released in Italy as La Casa 3 (The House, if translated to English). In doing this it came come off as a sequel to the Evil Dead films, released there as La Casa 1 & 2. Directed by scholckmeister Umberto (Cannibal Ferox, Rats: Nights of Terror), this flick is by most definitions a pretty bad movie. But, I'll be damned if isn't a fuck of a great time!
The plot, such as it is, is fairly incoherent, dumb, and derivative. You won't find any new ideas here, right down to blood coming out of a faucet. Nor will you find any good acting. In fact, in that department it's downright terrible. Throw in some hilariously bad dialogue and will find much to laugh at, unintentionally of course! There is an annoying as fuck song that is played throughout the movie and is described as a nursery rhyme by one of the characters in the movie. Though, I have no idea what universe that would be the case, other than the universe this silly movie exists in., that is
Oddly enough there are moments of genuine creepiness, that hint at a better movie. But, they are offset by the bits of bad cinema. One thing that is consistently good are the splatter FX. The gore includes blades through the throat, hangings, fan blades to the neck, axe to the head, acid meltdown, corporal bisection, and more. The graphic violence is pushed further than the movies it bites off of, in true Italian fashion. It all gets wrapped up one a cool and decidedly fun ending that will leave you smiling and maybe laughing. I did both!
Ghosthouse is rather silly, unoriginal, and doesn't always make a whole lot of sense. The acting is pretty awful as is the unintentionally hilarious dialogue. But, instead of hurting the movie it just adds to the fun. Fast paced and gory as fuck, the movie is a great treat for undiscriminating gorehounds. It was released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory a few years ago in a double billing with the not as good, but still OK Witchery (which stars Linda Blair and David Hasselhoff and is known in Italy as La Casa 4!). It is also streaming on Shudder, currently.
First off, I hope you are all having a Happy Easter. If you don't celebrate Easter, then I hope you are at least having a happy Sunday! Anyways, I want you to think of me as a special horror loving bunny that brings you horror hotness, today, as I'm giving you a new addition to my Horror Crushes! It might have been a while, since I last gave you one, but I promised there would be more to come! This time it's stunning brunette Cristina Raines!
The beautiful Cristina Raines was born in Manila, Philippines on Feb. 28, 1952. Her parents were American, her father of Colombian and Swedish/ German descent, while her mom was of Scottish/ Irish decent. While, she might be best known for her role the soap Flamingo Road, where she played Lane Ballou, horror fans best know her from Michael (Death Wish 1-3) Winner's Satanic horror flick The Sentinel (1977).
The Sentinel tells the tale of a beautiful model (Raines) who moves to a Brooklyn apartment. She sees that she has some very eccentric neighbors, including a crazy, but seemingly nice old man (Burgess Meredith), a horny and predatory lesbian couple (Sylvia Miles and Beverly D'Angelo), perhaps most creepy of all- a blind priest (horror legend John Carradine) who just sits in front of his window, and others. She is soon haunted by horrific images and apparitions. And, we eventually learn that the building stands on a doorway to hell.
The movie features an amazing cast. Aside from the aforementioned it also has Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Chris Sarandon, Jeff Goldbulm, and more. It's deliberately paced, and very creepy. The climax is really exciting. While, the gore effects by Dick Smith are excellent and quite bloody. Raines is excellent in her role, and she is perfectly cast as a supermodel. You care for her, and admit ably she looks great in her negligee. I think this is a solid movie, that does get some praise but is, at times, underrated. It's also kind of politically incorrect, in it's use of real life freaks and in its portrayal of lesbians, but if you can look over that, you will love this movie. Regardless, of how that makes you feel, I know you will love Raines! Scream Factory put out a blu-ray sometime back that looks and sounds great and has lots of cool extra-features, including running commentary by Raines.
The only other horror flick she did was anthology flick Nightmares. Her story has her driving around with a killer in backseat. I never seen this one, have any of you? If so please share your thoughts with me!
She was also on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but that's where her horror work ends. With dark hair, gorgeous eyes, a stunning face, and a beautiful body Raines is an awe-inspiring vision of beauty. Her acting talent makes her more than just pretty face, though. Having starred in such a great 70s horror film like The Sentinel will keep horror fans talking about her and falling in love with her!
Shocker (1989)- This was the first Wes Craven movie that I ever saw in the movies. And man back then, I was totally in love with it. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! The villain, Horace Pinker (as played by future X-Files actor Mitch Pileggi) was awesome! I had a crush on blonde hottie Cami Cooper, and the FX, to me, where just the coolest. Then, there was the soundtrack, which remains, to this day, a favorite of mine. With music from Megadeth (this is how I got into them), Alice Cooper, Dangerous Toys, Iggy Pop, etc, I was in metal heaven. It was around this time, that Craven became cemented as one of my heroes.
When, I watched again as an adult, I gotta say, it came off rather silly. And, I soon noticed that lead actor Peter Berg was not that great in the role, but he would go on to be a solid director in his own right (witness my favorite of his, Very Bad Things, for proof). But, despite its failings, Shocker remains way more fun than it has a right to be. It is, by far, the best of Craven's "bad" films. And, I CANNOT wait for the Scream Factory blu-ray to come out!
The People Under the Stairs (1990)- This is an odd one. Like Shocker, I LOVED this when I saw it in the movies. And, like that film, it's faults were clearer to me when I watched it again, this time with adult eyes. That said, the first half of the film feels like a throwback to the more hardcore and brutal Craven of old. Had it sustained this feel, it might be a minor classic. Sadly, it is marred by a way to happy ending and very pointless and annoying comedy. Still the villains played by Twin Peaks alumni Everett McGill and Wendy Robie are great, as is future My So Called Life star AJ Langer. I was about her age when this movie came out (like two years younger than her, actually) and developed a little bit of a kid crush on her. In fact, I did wished girls in my school looked like her. She blossomed into a beautiful woman, not surprisingly. Recent;y, Scream Factory did a special edition blu-ray of it, which I need to get.
New Nightmare (1994)- After the absolutely godawful Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (the WORST Freddy flick ever, IMHO), Craven returned to the franchise for this brilliant installment. Stepping out of continuity and into the "real world" with Robert Englund, the gorgeous Heather Langenkamp, and Craven himself, as themselves, he crafted a great meta-horror film, before he did Scream. Like some of his earlier work, he drew inspiration from real life. But, it was more prevalent here, perhaps thanks to whole meta-thing. Personally, speaking I loved the whole real world aspect of it. While, some it's flaws come further in repeated viewings, this remains a strong entry in Craven's work.
Scream (1996)- After the abysmal Vampire in Brooklyn with Eddie Murphy, natch, Craven bounced back with one of his biggest hits and most influential movies ever: Scream!! This one was made by word of mouth and slowly grew to a HUGE hit. I remember being blown away by it. I adored this film when I first saw it. Over the years, it has been tainted by rip-offs and sequels, so I had to pull away from it. In a recent revisit after years of not watching it, I loved it again. It's really a brilliant movie, with one of the greatest beginnings ever. It's influence and importance to the genre CANNOT be measured. While, I am not crazy about some of the slashers that followed, it helped to "rescue" the then floundering genre.
On a side note, I owned an unrated version of this film on lasersdisc. Sadly, we will never see that cut, again. Sucks, cause it was even better uncut. And, one more side note, dear God was Rose McGowan HOT as hell back then!!
Scream 2 (1997)- Hit it, while it's hot, I guess. So horror's new antagonist, Ghostface, along with the last movie's survivors/ heroes return only one year later. Not as good as the first film, by any means, but still a good little flick. But, really this style of slasher film was quickly wearing thin...
Red Eye (2005)- Dear God, Craven made some terrible shit around this time. Scream 3 and, even more so, Cursed were painfully awful, dreadful films. Which is why this one stood out, I think. Not really a horror movie, but more of a thriller; It's a pretty entertaining, even good little movie, whatever genre you refer to it as. Both leads are great. Cillian Murphy is an awesome villain, and Rachel McAdams makes for a very likable heroine. And, she looks great, then she always does. Unfortunately this movie is severely hurt by a ridiculous climax that no amount of suspension of disbelief will help. I remember watching that thinking to myself, "Really?!" *sigh*
Scream 4 (2011)- A true return to form after the unwatchable My Soul to Take (I mean I could not watch it! I switched channels on that shit!), this was his last film, sadly. But, at least it ends the series, and his career, on a high note. A smart, fun, and bloody (by far the bloodiest in the franchise, in fact), this movie is better, no make that A LOT better, than it has any right to be. I really got a kick out of seeing this movies. It also solidified my thoughts that Courteney Cox is one of the yummiest MILFs around. It introduced the horror world to future American Horror Story actress the pretty Emma Roberts. Though her performance here is questionable, to say the least...
I hope you enjoyed this little look and tribute to Wes Craven's directing career. He is already so dearly missed. Thank you for everything, Wes Craven, and may you RIP.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.webp)
.jpg)
