9.29.2020

Blu-Ray News: I Spit On Your Grave 4K Scan 3-Disc Collectors Edition Coming Soon


 Ronin Flix is now taking pre-orders for this insanely impressive new set of one of the most infamous cult classics ever released. Tons of new extras, a brand new 4K scan, posters, a book and well, I'll just let you read the details for yourself below. Pre-ordering now will get you FREE Shipping and $10 OFF. 

via Ronin Flix:

New collector's edition box set set includes New 4K scan of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) from Director Meir Zarchi's UNCUT 35MM original camera negativedeluxe custom slipcase with original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Stothard, 2 collectible fold out mini-posters (16"x20"), 2 replica VHS box-style magnets (2"x3 1/2"), and a newly commissioned 44 page book featuring exclusive historical photos and liner notes by horror writers Michael Gingold and Meagan Navarro. Available while supplies last.



In 1978, one film changed the face of cinema forever: I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. Camille Keaton stars as Jennifer Hills, a young and beautiful career woman who rents a back-woods cabin to write her first novel. Attacked by a group of local lowlifes and left for dead, she devises a horrific plan to inflict revenge in some of the most unforgettable scenes on film. 42 years later, the sequel, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: DEJA VU, sends successful writer Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) back to where it all began to face the wrath of the families of those she left for dead. Kidnapped along with her daughter Christy (Jamie Bernadette), it’s a tense game of hunt or be hunted against a ruthless gang of degenerates overseen by a violently unhinged matriarch Becky (Maria Olsen). Additionally, this box set includes, GROWING UP WITH I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, an exhaustive analysis of the film's history directed by Meir Zarchi's son, Terry Zarchi. Available on Blu-ray for the first time in North America, this feature length documentary is what every I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE fan has been waiting for!


Starring Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Jamie Bernadette, Maria Olsen, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols, Gunter Kleemann, Jim Tavare, Jonathan Peacy, Roy Allen, Alexandra Kenworthy, Meir Zarchi, Terry Zarchi, Tammy Scher (Tammy Zarchi)

Special Features: New 4K scan of I Spit on Your Grave (1978), High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) widescreen presentationsEnglish SDH Subtitles (Feature Presentations Only), A Horde of Special Features, 3 Discs

  • DISC 1 - I Spit on Your Grave (1978): NEW 4K SCAN OF I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) FROM DIRECTOR MEIR ZARCHI'S UNCUT 35 MM ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVENEWLY RESTORED DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO MONO, DTS-HD 5.1, NEW Jennifer’s Journey - the locations of I Spit on Your Grave featurette hosted by writer Michael Gingold, Audio Commentary with writer / director Meir Zarchi, Audio Commentary with Film Critic Joe Bob Briggs, The Value of Vengeance - Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave, Alternate Day of the Woman Opening Title, Theatrical Trailers, TV & Radio Spots, Still Gallery and NEW Slideshow with Rare & Behind-the-Scenes Photos from the Set, Reversible Cover
  • DISC 2: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2019): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround, NEW Audio Commentary with Film Critic Joe Bob Briggs, NEW Cast Interviews, EXCLUSIVE The Making of I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu, Behind-the-Scenes footage with director Meir Zarchi and cast, Theatrical Trailers
  • DISC 3: Growing up with I Spit on Your Grave (2019): New DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround, EXCLUSIVE Deleted Scenes, NEW Terry Zarchi’s 8mm film starring Camille Keaton, NEW Home Movies – Camille and Meir’s wedding, Trailer

Ronin Flix // 1978, 2019, 2019 // 101 Minutes, 148 Minutes, 103 Minutes // Not Rated // Color // English with English SDH Subtitles // Region A

Pre-Order HERE for $59.99

9.28.2020

My Science Project Coming Back To Blu-Ray!


 I recently revisited this out of the blue, for no real reason other than it had just popped in my head and I felt like revisiting it. To my surprise, I quickly discovered this is a very hard film to get your hands on. Or at least in widescreen. From what I could gather, it only ever got a single DVD release, and it was in the dreaded full frame. There are a few uploads on YouTube, but they're all shit quality. Mill Creek actually released this on Blu Ray back in 2016 (I had no clue), and quickly went OOP. So of course it goes for insane money on the secondhand market. I'm talking anywhere from $50-$200 for a film that I barely remember and am not even sure if I'll like at this age. However, I was both lucky and surprised to learn it was released in widescreen on VHS in a Collectors Edition Clamshell Release. So thankfully I did get to finally see it in all it's widescreen glory. As for the film itself, I'll post a review on it sometime soon when I can find the time. But those of you who've wanted to either revisit this 80's cult classic, or check out this oddity for the first time, there's great and "affordable" news. 

Kino Lorber will be releasing this as part of their "Classics" series on December 8th. From the looks of it, we're not getting any special features, which seems to be the norm for KL releases, but we are getting this in HD and in widescreen. Oh, they're also going back to the original "unedited" poster art. If you recall with the Mill Creek release in 2016, they hilariously edited out the machine guns, which was so ridiculous. As you can see here in the cover, guns are in tact. 

Here are the details via Amazon:

• Audio Commentary by Film Historians Mike McPadden and Kat Ellinger
• Lossless 2.0 Stereo Audio
• Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English Subtitles

Color 95 Minutes 2.35:1 Rated PG
Michael Harlan (John Stockwell, Losin’ It, Christine, Top Gun) has procrastinated on his science project until the last minute, and his teacher (Dennis Hopper, River’s Edge, Blue Velvet, Speed) issues him an ultimatum: turn in a science project or flunk. So, Mike scavenges a military base’s junk pile for a suitable gizmo to pass off as his project. He finds one... and unwittingly unleashes the awesome power and energy of the unknown. Twisted dimensions… time warps… a fantastic realm where the past, present and future collide in a whirling vortex that takes the class on a startling adventure through time and space. The wonderful cast includes Danielle von Zerneck (La Bamba), Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit), Richard Masur (Scavenger Hunt), Barry Corbin (Stir Crazy) and Ann Wedgeworth (TV’s Three’s Company).

You can pre-order this directly from Amazon HERE. And I highly suggest you do so, because it will most surely sell out as it did before. My Science Project is set to release on December 8th. 

9.27.2020

Robocop: Prime Directives - The Robocop Mini-Series That Deserves Another Look


Robocop Meets Prime Time

by robotGEEK

Not to be confused with the PG-Rated family-friendly live action Robocop series from 1994, this 4-Episode-Mini-Series from 2001 pretty much delivers the goods within the confines of television, yet it's rarely ever talked about. Sure people love deriding that early 90's atrocity, but it's really surprising that nobody ever mentions this one, because I have to admit, after finally getting to see it, it turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting going in. 

Now, full disclosure. I still haven't seen the 1994 series that only lasted a single season, but just based on it's reputation, it's not popular in the least. In fact, I haven't met a single person who actually likes it. We all know that they decided to follow in the footsteps of Robocop 3 by making it PG, and including a kid as one of the main characters, but seeing how Part 3 crashed and burned so miserably, I'm surprised they would continue down that path just a year later with the series, instead of changing course. Whatever the reasons, the series died a sad death and it would be 7 years until they tried to resurrect it once again. 



Instead of going for the full-on series this time, they decided....."smartly", to make this a mini-series. Only each episode of this mini-series is an hour and a half long (the length of your average film), making the entire endeavor a whopping 6 hour's to sit through. The episodes (Dark Justice, Meltdown, Resurrection and Crash and Burn) all carry their own distinct storylines, but still part of a much larger storyline that spans the entire 4 episodes, so you have to watch them all to know what's going on. 

Prime Directives is awesome. It felt like the kind of Robocop show we all had wished for. I mean, we were never going to get a high dollar show that would match the budget of the films, so all of those people who complain about how low-budget it all looks really must have thought otherwise. But for a television show, Prime Directives looks exactly like what I was expecting it to. And unlike the 1994 PG rated series, they went the R-Rated route here. It's not a hard R, because while I did spot a scene with boobs "once", and maybe a few curse words here and there, I think that rating is strictly for the violence. It's not crazy violence, or even gory for that matter, but there is a helluva lot of action going on in each episode. So much so that sometimes it was exhausting. 



Oddly enough, despite all it has going for it, like nonstop action and impressive Robocop suits, it's also equally bad in the ways that I like. For example, a lot of the acting is laughably awful, the dialogue is really hammy, and the casting is.......not good. There are so many cringe-inducing moments where certain characters are trying to act like badasses or villains that it's entertaining for the wrong reasons. Casting was just way off across the board here. Though I found Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker) to be a decent Alex Murphy/Robocop, he's surprisingly short when compared to any of the actors who played him before in both film and the tv series. It's just hard not to notice, especially when the character of Cable (basically an upgraded 2-gun slinging Robocop) comes into play. He's so badass in so many ways, even if he just looks like a shinier, bigger Robocop. 

I must admit, as much as I enjoyed it, each episode, or I guess technically they'd be considered a TV Movie considering how long they are, was a chore to sit through at times. They're basically too long for their own good. While it's fun seeing a shit ton of action and carnage, there were many times when I felt it overstayed it's welcome. And then there are the many storylines going on simultaneously. While most of them connect in some way, it just felt like there were too many of them and trimming down some of those subplots would have been welcome. 



Yet despite my issues, it's hard to deny it's charm, because it tries really, really hard to capture the magic of the first 2 films, most notably in its attempts at satire. I loved it overall. It's violent, cheesy and gloriously over the top on a budget. It may not be the Robocop series we all dreamed of, but it's the closest thing to capturing the tone of the first 2 films. And let's face it. It's been 33 years since that landmark first film. 2 cartoon series, a live action series, a live action mini-series and a big budget remake later and nothing can match that kind of magic. But for my money, despite the awful acting, casting issues and outdated tv-grade CGI, Prime Directives gets pretty close. 

How to watch it: 

Currently, the entire 4-episode mini-series is streaming for FREE on The Roku Channel, so if you currently use a Roku device to stream apps on your tv, or use a Roku Smart TV, you already have it. I'd take advantage of this opportunity before it's gone. Otherwise, you can purchase them on DVD individually for roughly $10 each new and used. I haven't seen them released as a set yet. 

9.14.2020

Bad Movie Night: Firecracker (1981)


by robotGEEK

Low-budget maestro Cirio H. Santiago (Equilizer 2000, Naked Vengeance, Wheels of Fire) directs this martial arts flick starring the impossibly sexy Jillian Kesner as a woman who travels to Manila to look for her sister who's gone missing. When she arrives, she soon discovers her sister was mixed up with and killed by the local mafia and illegal underground fighting ring organization. Being a martial artist herself, she immerses herself into this seedy underworld to find out what happened and exact revenge.

Firecracker has a lot going for it, but doesn't quite reach the level of Bad Movie Night classic, except for one glorious sequence that really makes the entire experience worth it. There's a scene where our heroin Susanne Carter (Jillian Kesner) is being chased by 2 thugs. While running for her life, her clothes repeatedly get caught on items that rip them off, where she's left in her bra and panties. And then in a surprising role reversal, she then taunts the thugs into chasing her even further where she attempts to take them on using her martial arts skills. Her bra is ripped off in one of these fights and she's left nude and kicking this guys ass. I have to say, this surprisingly long sequence is fucking amazing and even if you find the rest of the film a bit tedious, this sequence is worth the effort. 

That's not to say the film is uneventfully bad all around. While I did find it dull for good portions of it, Santiago sprinkles enough foot chases and old school kung fu fights to keep you invested. They're not great fights by any means, but really harken back to the old school way they used to shoot and edit these fights (with the exaggerated Enter The Dragon-style sound effects taking center stage), which brought back a lot of good memories for me. Much like a lot of these Philippines movies of the 80's, it's a good mix of Filipino and American actors, with Malibu Expresses mustache'd star Darby Hinton sharing the screen here with Kesner. But while Kesner is a true ass-kicking goddess on the screen, I personally found a minor character of Rey, played by martial artist, director, writer and producer Rey Malonzo, to be the real standout. Only popping in from time to time, he steals the scene every time he shows up. He's like a hybrid of Bruce Lee and Yeun Biao, kicking ass and taking names with such ferocity that aside from the nudity, leaves the biggest impression overall. 



There's also a truly bizarre love scene that will blow your mind because it's unlike anything you've ever seen. I can only imagine what was going on in Kesner and Hinton's heads while this was being filmed, yet it adds to the films overall nuttiness. 

While it won't rank up there with the best of the Bad Movie Night classics, it's definitely worth a watch. 



You can currently watch Firecracker on Amazon Prime and for FREE on TubiTV. 

9.11.2020

The Cult Corner: The Boxer's Omen (1983)


One Of The Best And Strangest "WTF?" Movies I've Ever Seen

by robotGEEK

At this stage in my life, having been a fan of cinema for the entirety of it, you'd think that by now I've seen just about everything that could surprise me. Even more so the fact that it's a Hong Kong production, because I had an intense HK phase back in the early 2000's where I devoured every HK fantasy film I could get my hands on, which honestly was during a time when that wasn't so easy, often relying on bootlegs. But I'm always happy to come across something that blows my mind, especially when I've never even heard of it or knew of it's existence. Enter The Boxer's Omen. A fucked up 1983 horror/thriller/fantasy/action/mystical/martial arts film from the legendary Shaw Brothers Studios


To my surprise, I'd never even heard of this film. It was only brought to my attention when it was mentioned in a film group on Facebook that deals with occult films. A quick search revealed that this film, while possessing rave reviews, is really difficult to get your hands on. But that's another story. The short of it is that I got my hands on a copy, and knowing absolutely nothing about it going in, other than it dealt with witchcraft and the occult, it proceeded to literally blow my mind and melt my brain. 

The best way I can describe it is that it's a mixture of Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain (1973) and Giulio Paradisi's brilliant WTF hybrid The Visitor (1979)......with some Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983) and Nicolas Wending Refn thrown in for good measure. It's truly a fantastically bizarre mish-mash of so much random shit that even trying to pin down a narrative won't make you understand what's happening any easier. I can tell you that it begins with a story about revenge when a boxer is permanently paralyzed during a boxing match by the one and only Bolo Yeung, and the paralyzed boxer's brother vows revenge, only to have it veer completely off course into a totally different film about witchcraft, monks, the occult, evil, black magic and a wizard who looks suspiciously like the love child of John Carpenter and Al Leong. Then, only to go back to the story about boxing and revenge in the final act of the film. 



It's this middle part of the film that really throws everything you ever thought about cinema out the window and completely melts your eyes. But in a good way! Filled with so much random fucking imagery (so much of it amazing!) and really insane practical effects work, it's as if they got together, took some acid, and decided to film whatever popped into their heads. That's exactly what it looks and feels like. Being someone who's actually taken a lot of psychedelics in my time, the shit I saw in this film gave me strong flashbacks in the best possible way. Throw in some hot full frontal nudity for no reason, a trippy score, and you've got yourselves the making of a good time. 

In terms of plot and story, it's a fucking mess, with most of it making absolutely zero sense, but in terms of it's visual eye candy, it's superb. Often creative utilizing simple tricks like lens filters to achieve certain effects, and a whole lot of gooey, gory practical effects, there's no mistaking the skilled surreal artistry behind the camera. Nearly every frame of film is a work of pure widescreen cinematic art often reminding me of Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain. You may not know what the whole point of the film was, but you sure as hell can't deny it was one of the most trippy and beautiful things you've ever seen. 



The Boxers Omen has been released on DVD, but is very expensive, going anywhere from $60 to almost $200. It may or may not have been uploaded to YouTube for all I know (I haven't bothered to check), and if you're a much more tech-savy person than I am, you might even find it streaming somewhere on the down-low.  

9.03.2020

90's Action Attack!: The Killing Zone


by robotGEEK

While this particular film had been sitting in my "Amazon Watchlist" for a very long time, it wasn't until watching the Bad Movie Night masterpiece L.A. Wars recently that I finally felt compelled to give this a try. Why you ask? Because this is written and directed by the same guy (Addison Randall) who wrote L.A. Wars, as well as the hilariously awesome Shotgun, and if those films are any indication, I knew I was in for a good time. 

When a Mexican drug kingpin vows to avenge the death of his drug kingpin brother, it's up to ex-con Garret Bodine (Deron McBee) to help the police and keep his town safe. 

While not nearly as great as L.A. Wars, The Killing Zone did not disappoint. And to be quite honest, it was better than I was expecting. So let's get to it. 

Now this is really low-budget. While it may be under the almighty PM Entertainment's banner, I'm pretty sure it was a film they acquired after the fact and released under their name, because PM has a very specific quality to their action, and sadly, none of that is in here. That's not to say that the action scenes aren't entertaining in their own right, because they are. Just in a totally different way. Meaning, they're entertaining because they're so bad. Filled with random shootouts, it's the reaction shots of the people actually getting shot that are hilarious. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud as often as I did by the reactions of those getting killed. It's hilarious! 

The fun doesn't stop there! The film looks so cheap that the opening and ending credits look like it's an 80's TV show. And the music, while highly entertaining, sounds like they're taken right out of vintage Nintendo games. Seriously, you can take so much of the music in here and insert them into any old NES game and it would fit. 

If you've had the pleasure of watching L.A. Wars, then you know what kind of hilarious dialogue to expect. Former American Gladiator and wrestler Daron McBee is amazing as the lead. He's so over the top in so many ways (the way he dresses, acts, and just being so goddamn huge in general) that he sells the shit out of it. It's a shame he never made it as an action hero in the DTV market the way Brian Bosworth and even Roddy Piper did for a brief time. He had the goods!

My only real complaint was that the film did a great job building up to a finale that promised to deliver a really big payoff of revenge. But when it was all said and done, the ending fell flat compared to it's promising conclusion. Nothing in the final act measured up to anything that happened leading up to it. And let me tell you, there's some great stuff in this film. One particular scene that stands out is when a mute bodyguard takes on a whole gang. There's so much fancy handwork going on in this fight that you almost don't even notice that none of his punches land, which is hilarious, and a guy who attempts a karate kick ends up losing a shoe in the middle of a kick as it goes flying clear across the screen!

While the ending is a bit weak, The Killing Zone is still a lot of fun. Hilarious action and dialogue, a larger than life lead, and some of the funniest kills I've ever seen in an action film....ever. Do yourself a favor give this a watch. It was the perfect solution to my dead Saturday night. It's not a good action film, but it sure as hell is a fun one. 

The Killing Zone is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.