Shout! Factory re-releases Suburbia and Rock N' Roll High School TOMORROW!

The time has come for the great Shout! Factory's re-releases of two punk rock classics, Penelope Spheeris' Suburbia and Allan Arkush's Rock and Roll High School on DVD.  Both part of the new Roger Corman's Cult Classics line, these two releases are remastered and feature a TON of special features.  Both will be released TOMORROW MAY 4th!  Don't be a square, pick 'em up!

For those of you unfamiliar with these films, Suburbia is the story of a group of punks called T.R. (The Rejected) who live in an abandoned house and get hassled by the townspeople.  The pic above left is of Jack Grisham from the legendary punk band T.S.O.L. performing in the film.  Suburbia also features performances by The Vandals and D.I.

Rock N Roll High School is about a high school student named Riff Randell (Halloween's PJ Soles), who is obsessed with The Ramones and gets them to come play at her school starting a battle with the evil principal Miss Togar (Mary Woronov).  Of course the pic above right is a scene with Riff Randell rockin' with The Ramones.

You can pick these up at Amazon using the links below, as well as the Rock N Roll High School Blu-Ray debut (available for pre-order, release date May 11th):

RNRHS DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035CVB1W?ie=UTF8&tag=shofac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0035CVB1W

Suburbia DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035CVB2G?ie=UTF8&tag=shofac-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0035CVB2G

RNRHS BLU-RAY: http://www.amazon.com/School-Roger-Cormans-Classics-Blu-ray/dp/B0035CVB26/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1269622985&sr=1-2-fkmr0

Night of the Zombies (1980, Bruno Mattei)

When I was in high school and Romero's zombie films changed my life, I went in search of anything I could find that was similar.  Not realizing that Romero's films were untoppable, I spent countless hours watching mostly poor Italian imitations.  It was many years before I figured out what the name of this film was after forgetting the title (I knew it had a generic title ripping off Romero's films).  It wasn't until Blue Underground re-released the DVD a couple years ago that I recognized the inimitable zombie on the cover and knew it was the same movie.  Though I didn't recognize the title Hell of the Living Dead, I looked up alternate titles and found the film I saw...NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES!

The film opens in a research facility where a deadly gas is accidentally released into the air.  Two workers find a dead rat that comes to life and kills one of the men, who then becomes a zombie.  Then we meet up with a group of soldiers sent to stop some terrorists in New Guinea.  After succeeding, they lose communication to their superiors and continue on through the jungles to the research facility previously mentioned, which they were sent to investigate.  They meet up with a journalist (Margit Evelyn Newton) and her cameraman as well as a shitload of villagers, who have turned into zombies.  They must get to the research facility to get answers and hopefully find a way to stop this zombie outbreak before they become lunch.

Night of the Zombies is generally regarded as shit.  I'll admit that the film is basically Dawn of the Dead only in the jungle.  The characters, story and several scenes are more than a little reminiscent of Dawn.  Even director Bruno Mattei used the pseudonym Vincent Dawn for this fim.  Despite this factor as well as horrible acting, dubbing and dialogue (or maybe because of it)...I LOVED IT!  I mean really, truly loved it.  Maybe it was the nostalgia, I don't know but the film really delivered.  Ok, so Tom Savini wasn't there to show off his makeup effects genius, but Night of the Zombies had some really nasty zombie killings.  People run by a zombie and he grabs their leg and takes a bite (in close up of course).  I think this film was actually more violent then Dawn of the Dead and featured some really disgusting FX.  The scene towards the end where a character gets their tongue pulled out (I won't spoil the rest) deserves a standing ovation as do many other scenes in the film.  One thing that was unnecessary though was the stock footage of New Guinea that was mainly just showing animals and the native people doin' their thang.  Regardless, this film is exactly what a great exploitation film should be - over the top, gross, silly and very watchable.

RATING:  8/10

Crimewave (1985, Sam Raimi)

Crimewave is one of those films that you'd expect everyone has heard of...or at least somebody.  Not only was it directed by Sam Raimi, but it was co-written (with Raimi) by the Coen Brothers.  Shocking, I know.  I actually read about the film in an old Fangoria and I too was really surprised, even more so when I found out it wasn't even available on DVD in the USA.  Even if the movie was a steaming turd, you'd think people would buy it solely based on Sam Raimi or the Coens.

Crimewave begins with Vic (Reed Birney), a janitor for Trend-Odegard Security who is being sent to the electric chair for murder.  Proclaiming his innocence, he tells the story of what really happened in a series of flashbacks.  A couple of exterminators (Paul L. Smith and Brion James) are hired by Mr. Trend (Edward R. Pressman) to kill his partner for planning to sell the company.  The exterminators succeed but end up killing Mr. Trend as well.  Vic gets involved accidentally and then becomes the exterminator's main target.

Crimewave is like an old film noir crossed with the Three Stooges.  The look, feel and music are trying to emulate the old 30's classics but added are sound effects and performances straight out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.  Raimi's slapstick influences are present in most of his films but are never more obvious than in Crimewave.  You can tell exactly what Raimi was going for and I think his blend of two very different styles was successful.  That being said, the film has problems too.  It's a little too silly and over the top, to the point that you don't find yourself interested in the story.  The performances are really the saving grace, especially Bruce Campbell (who Raimi had written Vic's character for but the producers wanted a more established actor).  Overall I wish there were more good things I could say, but the film just wasn't that great.  It's probably better left in the shadows than tarnishing Saimi and the Coen Brother's mostly great resumes.


RATING:  5/10

Intruder (1989, Scott Spiegel)

Scott Spiegel is best known in association with Sam Raimi.  He has been in several of Raimi's films, including Evil Dead 1 & 2 as well as Spiderman 1 & 2.  He also co-wrote Evil Dead 2 with Raimi and directed a few films, including this one here.  Intruder even stars Sam Raimi and his brother Ted Raimi (another frequent collaborator).  So the mention of Raimi is inevitable, which really isn't a bad thing considering Raimi's large fanbase.  Intruder I stumbled upon mainly because of Raimi and Bruce Campbell (who also has a cameo).

Intruder takes place in a little supermarket at night.  The graveyard shift crew is about to close the store when the ex-boyfriend (David Byrnes) of Jennifer (Elizabeth Cox), one of the cashiers, starts making trouble.  She knows he is trouble and doesn't want anything to do with him but he won't take no for an answer.  After fighting with and being thrown out by some of the other employees, we assume he left.  Right after, the two owners inform the workers that the store will be going out of business and right away each of the employees starts dying one by one.  Looks like there is an Intruder in the store.

Intruder started off slow and a little too "after school special", with a bunch of 80s teens woe-ing over their problems.  At about the half way point, stuff starts gettin' good.  We have the legendary KNB Effects group (Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger) to thank for their realistic, untamed and just downright grody makeup effects.  Ever wondered what it would look like if someone's head got sawed in half?  Check out this film and you'll see!  The film is part whodunnit (you think you know who the killer is but you're not sure, then you know, then you don't) and part gory slasher.  The characters are a little less one dimensional then your average slasher but you'll still find yourself rooting for the next kill (at least I did, but I'm kinda weird).  The actors are another fun thing about the film, including Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Renee Estevez (sister of Emilio and Charlie Sheen, who was also in Sleepaway Camp 2) and a very short cameo by Bruce Campbell.  The setting is also a plus being that you don't see many horror films that take place solely in a supermarket.  The killings really kicked ass but unfortunately I could tell who the killer was shortly into the film so it lessened the impact.  Still, it was a good film that should be a must see for gorehounds or fans of Raimi and Campbell.

RATING:  6/10

Count Zarth Arn says "Buy Starmummy's DVDs - real cheap!"

That's right folks.  The almighty Count Zarth Arn has spoken and he speaks the truth.  I will be listing TONS of DVDs over the course of who knows and I'm sure there's lots of stuff that your horror/exploitation/sleaze lovin' asses will want for yourselves.  Please don't ask me for special deals or anything because I'll tell you to pound sand.  Just bid fer crissakes!  I just bought a house so money is scarce.  CLICK HERE or just do an ebay search for the seller STARMUMMY

Over and out.

Dammit!  Ebay just pulled my Faces of Death 4 Disc collection because it "promotes violence".  Fuckers.  If anyone wants it, I'm selling it for $30.  Email me if you're interested (starmummy@gmail.com)

Beyond the Darkness (1979, Joe D'Amato)

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Eaten Alive (1980, Umberto Lenzi)

Umberto Lenzi is credited with starting the Italian Cannibal craze (for better or worse) with his 1972 film The Man from Deep River.  The film was basically a remake of the Richard Harris film A Man Called Horse, only instead of Richard Harris being captured by Indians and eventually becoming part of their tribe, it was Ivan Rassimov being captured by Cannibals and ...well, I'm sure you can guess.  Several years later, the same year as Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, Lenzi made the second of his three Cannibal films, Mangiati Vivi!...aka Eaten Alive. 

Eaten Alive follows Sheila Morris (Janet Agren), a woman who travels to New York to search for her sister Diana (Paola Senatore), who has gone missing.  Sheila soon finds out that her sister went into the jungles of New Guinea to join a religious cult led by the sadistic Jonas (Ivan Rassimov).  Sheila hires badass Mark Butler (Robert Kerman) to help her travel into the deadly jungle to save her sister (for a mere 80 thousand dollars!).   After arriving at their destination, they are soon captured by Jonas and forced to join the cult.  Can they escape the commune through the Cannibal infested jungles or will they be....EATEN ALIVE?

Mangiati Vivi! is more of an incidental Cannibal film in the regard that the Cannibals are basically just a plot device and are not the main focus of the film.  Actually, the scenes of Cannibalism are mostly cut from previous Cannibal films (including Lenzi's Man from Deep River and Ruggero Deodato's far superior Last Cannibal World).  The characters are all pretty silly, including the Jim Jones-inspired cult leader who uses a dildo covered in snake's blood to defile one of the women.  Acting is pretty much non-existent too and the dubbing is noticeably bad.  One good aspect of the film is that the story is different and not just another "people stuck in the jungle running away from Cannibals" flick.  On the other hand, the films I've seen with that premise have all been superior, so maybe it's not so good.

RATING:  4/10