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Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s Diablo kicks off the action with the mysterious Kris Chaney (Scott Adkins) kidnapping the young Elisa (Alanna De La Rossa), who is the daughter of the powerful Colombian gangster Vicente (Lucho Velasco). Kris tells Elisa that he’s only fulfilling a promise he made to her deceased mother years ago, and you can probably guess what the actual twist is here. Vicente isn’t about to let Elisa get away, though, so he puts out a bounty on Kris’ head. One man who answers the call is the unrelenting and unrepentant El Corvo (Marko Zaror), who also has his own violent history with Vicente. Mat Sansom writes the script for Diablo, and it isn’t exactly a story bursting with too much novelty or surprise. It’s an action-centric tale told many times before in movies of the past – particularly in the ’80s and ’90s. Heck,...

It can’t be denied that as far as martial arts movies go, the best ones come from Asia, particularly Hong Kong during their action heyday, which was arguably the 70s, 80s and first half of the ’90s. It’s tough to compete with the likes of the Shaw Brothers and the drunken master known as Jackie Chan. That said, martial arts movies were also making a foothold in the States decades ago, thanks mainly to Bruce Lee-mania following the release of Enter the Dragon. Before that movie, very few actors in Hollywood seemed like they were credible martial artists, except maybe James Coburn, a student of Lee’s, who pulled off some pretty good-looking moves in the otherwise silly Our Man Flint movies. Steve McQueen also had training but didn’t use martial arts on screen. Up to then, though, the most notable uses of martial arts in movies usually revolved around Judo,...

If there’s one universal truth we all come to realize, it’s that success isn’t simply handed to you on a silver platter. It’s earned, often the hard way, as Jean-Claude Van Damme will attest. Before he became synonymous with gravity-defying roundhouse kicks and martial arts glory, his life was far from glamorous.

Yes, the very man who would later rake in millions, kicking his way to stardom, was once struggling to survive on the unforgiving streets of Los Angeles. But Van Damme made a last-ditch effort that would eventually change his fate. Yes, and that’s how he earned his golden ticket: Bloodsport.

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport | Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios The relentless pursuit of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s big break: From streets to stardom

Jean-Claude Van Damme arrived in Hollywood in the 1980s, determined to make it big. But five years later, the best he...

In 1987, Paul Verhoeven and Orion Pictures created RoboCop, a cut-throat, R-Rated, action/sci fi classic and one of the coolest movies ever made. A runaway train on fire destined to create a franchise audiences couldn’t get enough of. The problem that shouldn’t have been a problem is that it happened to sell a hell of a lot of toys. Six years later when it came time to create the third film in the franchise, Orion Pictures altered course, opting for a more family friendly approach. They demanded their newest sequel be more palatable to an audience buying the merchandise of their now household characters. Even included an pre-emptive advertisement on the back of a RoboCop 2 Game Boy box that promises the next RoboCop adventure would be “for all age groups”. It was a course that would jump that same train off the tracks, over the proverbial shark,...

There’s scene in 1984’s Bachelor Party perfectly sums up just how stupid – and hilarious – the movie is. It involves a donkey overdosing on cocaine. Not because anyone gave the donkey cocaine, mind you. No, it’s the donkey’s choice, as he strolls over to a table full of drugs, chops up some lines with his hoof, and goes to town. He then dies of a massive heart attack. A cautionary tale, to be sure. If you haven’t seen Bachelor Party and that joke strikes you as in particularly bad taste, you probably don’t need to track this movie down because it doesn’t get any classier.

However, for a generation of us, Bachelor Party was a late night sleepover classic. It was like The Hangover of the 1980s, albeit not as big of a hit. It’s the raciest movie Tom Hanks ever made, with him...

While Bloodsport, the 1988 martial arts tournament movie, is widely considered by fans to be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best film, it almost never saw the light of day. Indeed, according to Nick De Semlyen’s book, “Last Action Heroes” (buy it here), the film was deemed unreleasable by Cannon Pictures head Menachem Golan. The film sat on the shelf for fourteen months and was considered so bad that Golan intended to release the movie direct-to-video. Things got so heated that Golan refused to go ahead with a proposed sequel to Lone Wolf McQuade, which would have featured Van Damme teaming up with Chuck Norris (who was an early mentor to Jcvd). He wanted Michael Dudikoff instead.

According to the book, Van Damme, who had returned to his old job as a limo driver when Bloodsport wrapped, convinced the studio to allow him to re-edit the film with Towering Inferno editor Carl Press.

While Stallone and Schwarzenegger took the 80s by storm with their famous brand of one-man-army spectacles, the latter part of the decade would also see a new breed of tough guys branch out into a different trend of action. It wasn’t only about the ripped muscles and the gunplay and explosions. After martial arts had gone mainstream, stars such as Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal would carve out their own little place at the box office as they brought their expertise of hand-to-hand combat to the masses.

Naturally, other studios would want to get in on the action and the best thing about jumping on this trend is the fact that there is still an aspect of originality since each star would be spotlighting a specific sect of martial arts. For example, Michael Dudikoff would showcase Ninjitsu, Seagal showcased Aikido, Phillip Rhee showcased Tae Kwan Do,...

We have discussed killers that received slasher movies, folklore turned cannibalism, and plenty of possession via person, home, or even object. What we haven’t done too much of is the good old-fashioned cult. While we took a deep dive into Jim Jones and the tragedy of Jonestown paired with the very well-done Sacrament, there are a ton of real-life cults and cult leaders that have been put to celluloid in an attempt to both cash in and tell a compelling story. I mean, I’m writing this right now on the couch while my wife watches a documentary about a cult on Netflix. True crime and religious cult stuff exist in popular forms like podcasts, shows, and of course movies too. Today we will look at two things that don’t get a lot of widespread attention. The 2007 horror movie Borderland (watch it Here) and what it is loosely...

Fringe movies such as horror and documentary are increasingly turning to digital releases. It allows for creative freedom but doesn’t easily pay the rent

In the pre-internet dark ages, the most ignominious fate that could befall a film was going straight to video. This infernal tier – available to buy from a newsagent bargain bin or service-station rack near you – was reserved for cinema’s bottom-feeders: second-rate Disney spin-offs, dodgy softcore thrillers, Troma offcuts, over-caffeinated ninja rampages starring Michael Dudikoff.

But this cinematic silt had a certain trashy sustenance value and the random delight of the tombola. Now straight-to-video is no more, and instead we have straight-to-streaming: hundreds of feature-length films are dumped online every year. A few of us at the Guardian sift these releases every week, and I am often stunned by the creativity and levels of invention on show down there. Especially since the pandemic, when the number of releases ballooned,...

1990 was a peak year for Van Damage. The Muscles from Brussels was on the way to the big time after Bloodsport and Kickboxer (which made our list of the Best Fighting Movies) proved to be huge moneymakers at the box office. But, Jean-Claude Van Damme was different from some of his contemporaries because he was a hearthrob and a prime butt-kicker. His 1990 movie Lionheart was bought for distribution by Universal, paving the way to his breaking into mainstream studio work. But, before he could jump on that gravy train, he had one more movie left to make on his Cannon movie deal – but ironically, the company itself would not release the film theatrically due to its waning fortunes, with this being Van Damme’s first major studio release after MGM opted to distribute it. The movie? Death Warrant!

In this one, Jcvd plays a cop named Burke, who, after putting...

Plot: The Expendables go after a team of mercenaries connected to a legendary arms dealer whose identity is unknown.

Review: Millennium Media has taken nine years to develop a fourth entry into the Expendables series. Things have changed in the near-decade since the last movie, which is reflected in the fact that this series instalment is much smaller scale than the ones that came before it. It’s primarily a spin-off entry for Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas, with the titular Expendables only supporting our hero on a personal mission, with Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross contributing little more than a cameo.

While that’s undeniably disappointing, Expend4bles is still a fun enough action flick if you keep your expectations in check. The budget seems much smaller than it was for the previous films, with abysmal CGI. Most of the action is confined to a cargo ship, as the Expendables...

If you were a movie fan in the 1980s, then you have at least a little soft spot for the Cannon Group. Walk through any video store, and you’d be greeted by covers featuring oiled up men, steely ninjas, and so many guns. If you wanted low-quality, instantly satisfying trash, you looked for the Cannon logo.

Although it had been around since the late 1960s, Cannon became Cannon in 1979, when Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus took over, ushering in a golden age of low-budget, deeply satisfying shlock. Under the cousins’ reign, the Cannon Group pumped out movie after movie, hitting its peak in 1984, when it put out 42 features in one year. So dominant was Cannon that they very nearly produced a Spider-Man movie directed by none other than James Cameron. However, that same hubris drove the cousins to overreach, and after the flop of their big-budget play...

What do you get if you take The Exorcist, cross it with Flashdance and then add some Ninjas for good measure? The answer, of course, is you get the Cannon Films cult classic Ninja III: The Domination. This was Cannon’s final entry into the Ninja trilogy, which began with Enter the Ninja and continued with Revenge of the Ninja. While Revenge was considered perhaps the greatest Ninja movie made up to that time, for some reason, Cannon decided to downgrade star Sho Kosugi to a supporting role in this wacky action/horror/MTV hybrid. Instead, Breakin’ star Lucinda Dickey plays a telephone lineworker/aerobics instructor who winds up possessed by an evil Ninja, and only a good ninja, played by Kosugi, can save her.

While maybe not a “good” movie, Ninja III is a blast, with some genuinely gonzo moments, including the now infamous V8 juice seduction scene, plus...

“The Cannon Film Guide is a treasure trove of info for Golan/Globus fans. Even diehard Cannon scholars will learn from this tome.” – Paul Talbot, author of the Bronson’s Loose! books

The unbelievable story of the legendary 1980s B-movie studio continues in The Cannon Film Guide Volume II, which covers the company’s output from 1985 to 1987, their peak production years under maverick moguls Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. This highly-anticipated sequel to the original Cannon compendium takes an up-close look at sixty Cannon movies, from deep cuts to cult classics, including American Ninja, The Delta Force, Over the Top, Invasion USA, Masters of the Universe, Runaway Train, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, King Solomon’s Mines, Lifeforce, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and many more. Order the book Here

With hundreds of photos and more than forty interviews with Cannon directors, writers, and stars, this is an indispensable reference book for...

New Indie

Emma Seligman’s impressive “Shiva Baby” (Utopia) premieres on Blu-ray this month, and it’s a blisteringly funny, character-based comedy about a young Danielle (played by Rachel Sennott) whose rootless life when she attends a shiva with her parents (Fred Melamed and Polly Draper), only to encounter the boyfriend who’s financially supporting her, his wife — whom Danielle didn’t know existed — and Danielle’s ex-girlfriend. It’s a full buffet of misunderstandings, awkward encounters, and scene-stealing character actors, with a cast that also includes Jackie Hoffman, Dianna Agron, and Molly Gordon.

Also available: A jaded clickbait reporter has an unforgettable encounter in the indie comedy “15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot” (Kino Lorber); over-the-hill kung fu disciples rouse themselves from mid-life torpor to avenge the death of their master in the martial-arts comedy “The Paper Tigers” (Well Go USA Entertainment).

New Foreign

Eytan Fox’s cultural-generational...

Cannon Films is legendary as far as eighties action flicks go. An independent company headed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, the two became famous (or infamous) for a run of schlocky eighties B-movies. Their action movies, while cheesy, are a ton of fun, with them making icons out of Chuck Norris (with the Missing In Action series), Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja) while also doing a whole slew of movies with an aging Charles Bronson. One of their…...

“Avenging Force” is an underrated, overlooked, action extravaganza starring Michael Dudikoff and Steve James, which was produced between the first two “American Ninja” films. Released by the legendary, mini-studio, “The Cannon Group,” many die hard action fans consider this to be Michael Dudikoff’s onscreen tour de force. Sam Firstenberg agrees, and even believes this is his own best movie out of the 25 films he’s directed.

On the surface “Avenging Force” is a typical slam-bang, exploitation action flick, but the social/political themes of white supremacy and systemic racism are sadly much more relevant today than they were in 1986. The villains of the film, “The Pentangle,” are an extremist militant group of powerful elites that will destroy anyone that opposes their vision of what America should be.

“Avenging Force” was originally conceived as a sequel to the Chuck Norris film, “Invasion USA,” and it is a very unique movie...

Indian actor Asif Basra, known for his starring role in 2006 film “Outsourced,” was found dead in Dharamsala, northern India, on Thursday. He was 53. The police are treating the death as a case of suicide.

Basra was born in Amravati, western India, in 1967. One of the few Indian actors to have several international credits, he debuted in Sam Firstenberg’s U.S./India co-production “Quicksand” (2002), starring Michael Dudikoff. He was also noticed for his roles in acclaimed Indian indies such as Anurag Kashyap’s “Black Friday” (2004) and Rahul Dholakia’s “Parzania” (2005).

Basra rose to international prominence as one of the leads in John Jeffcoat’s “Outsourced” (2006). The same year, he was in Michael O. Sajbel’s “One Night with the King,” where the cast also included Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole.

In Bollywood, Basra had significant roles in “Jab We Met” (2007), “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai” (2010) and “Kai Po Che...

“You fool! You can not stop me! I am the ninja! No one, nothing can stop me!.”

BearManor Media has published The Cannon Film Guide, a Trilogy of Books About the Movies Released By the Legendary 1980s B-Movie Studio, Cannon Films. Order The Cannon Film Guide Here

Volume One Available Now: Over 500 Pages Covering the Company’s First Five Years under the Leadership of B-Movie Icons Golan and Globus

From 1980 until 1994, The Cannon Group was responsible for the production of more than 200 films. Quantity, rather than quality, was the key to Cannon’s game: their output included many of the 1980s’ most beloved (and notorious) b-movies. Along the way they dipped their toes into every imaginable genre of movies, made stars out of Chuck Norris and Michael Dudikoff, kicked off the ninja and breakdancing crazes, and kept Charles Bronson working into the twilight of his career. While it’s rare...

Antonio Sabato Jr and Robert Rabiah.

Antonio Sabato Jr. was one of the few American actors who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election and soon found he was virtually blacklisted in Hollywood.

His agents and manager deserted him and work dried up so after a 30-year-career he decided to move to Florida and get a job in construction.

Now he plans a comeback, producing, co-writing, directing and starring in Trail Blazers, a Western about a band of brothers who were once outlaws and decide to turn their back on their old ways to fulfill their father’s dying wish.

Safe Harbour and Secret City star Robert Rabiah, who has been a mate of Sabato since they worked in Crawford Productions’ Queensland-shot series Tribe in 1999, will play Gabriel, his younger brother.

The brothers take refuge near a small town in Utah and quickly lock horns with the local Sheriff and his deputies.

'Making Love': Groundbreaking romantic gay drama returns to the big screen As part of its Anniversary Classics series, Laemmle Theaters will be presenting Arthur Hiller's groundbreaking 1982 romantic drama Making Love, the first U.S. movie distributed by a major studio that focused on a romantic gay relationship. Michael Ontkean, Harry Hamlin, and Kate Jackson star. The 35th Anniversary Screening of Making Love will be held on Saturday, June 24 – it's Gay Pride month, after all – at 7:30 p.m. at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. The movie will be followed by a Q&A session with Harry Hamlin, screenwriter Barry Sandler, and author A. Scott Berg, who wrote the “story” on which the film is based. 'Making Love' & What lies beneath In this 20th Century Fox release – Sherry Lansing was the studio head at the time – Michael Ontkean plays a...

Director and documentarian Mark Hartley scores both a film history and comedy success with this ‘wild, untold’ account of the 1980s film studio that was both revered and despised by everyone who had contact with it. The ‘cast list’ of interviewees is encyclopedic, everybody has a strong opinion, and some of them don’t need four-letter words to describe their experience!

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

On a double bill with

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

Blu-ray

Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region

2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99

Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...

Stars: Casper Van Dien, Lisa Ciara, Johnny Hawkes, Leah Bateman, John Mack, Jeff Clarke, Bryan Rasmussen, Joe Regalbuto, Tom DeTrinis, Brandy Redd, Eileen Dietz | Written by Larry Bain | Directed by George Erschbamer

When ex-firefighter Scott Nylander (Casper Van Dien) and a group of ecologists approach a silo filled with oil to hang a banner with an eco-message, they suddenly realize they came to the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s a bomb attached which is going to explode in a few seconds! As our heroes are hiding, a mass explosion causes a huge flaming tornado, which starts to destroy everything in its way. It turns out that the silo contained an experimental fuel called Mt-11 crafted by the Synco Company. Scott and his friends are accused of being terrorists that caused the explosion. Chased by Synco mercenaries, they have to stop the fire twister, before it destroys La.

Life - about overly-pretty astronauts finding an alien life form that wants to kill them - seems to be the plot synopsis of a direct-to-vhs film starring Casper Van Dien and Michael Dudikoff that'd collect dust on the wall of a Blockbuster, right? Am I crazy? But that's the beauty of the film, I think. It has a goofy and cliche sci-fi/horror plot, but has... Read More...

Sylvester Stallone is the master at making the most out of simplicity. So good is this action legend at taking a basic idea and making it exist forever, that eventually he tries to give said idea a certain degree of gravitas. How does he do this you say?

Take Rocky Balboa. In the first film, this lovable schlub just wants to have a girlfriend and go the distance in a dream title fight. By the fourth film in this wondrous saga, Rocky is defending America on Russian soil and beating a fighter who (realistically) would have Ko'd the Italian Stallion in 1 round. In fact, Rocky was almost Ko'd in one round, however, the referee let it go on. How's that for Sylvester Stallone making the most of something simple?

He did the same thing with Rambo. In the first film, John Rambo was a simple man who just wanted to...

Just as 2016 was coming to a close, it was confirmed that Lionsgate is moving ahead with The Expendables 4. Now, star and creator of the franchise Sylvester Stallone has offered an update. It sounds like it will be his next project, with shooting to take place in 2017 for a 2018 release date. In a special message delivered high above the skies of Florida via Facebook, Sly promises this final sequel will be something different. And he gives a tantalizing tease as to what, or whom, we may expect.

"Flying high in the sky, come fly with me! Okay, that's right, I know. Frank Sinatra is not rolling over in his grave and I don't blame him! Anyway, I'm on my way to Florida looking forward to that event, and I'm going to start working out. Working out for the next Expendables, that's going to be great! Fingers crossed. We're going to do our best,...

At the bitter end of a ten-year slide into ever-cheaper productions, The Cannon Group sends stars David Bradley (a nice guy), Steve James (everyone's favorite) and Marjoe Gortner (a stiff) to South Africa for an anemic entry in this series. Cannon is considered a 'fun' subject this year because of those funny documentaries that came out. Savant cut the trailer for this particular picture, so takes the opportunity to talk about the wild life and times in the Cannon trailer department. American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Blu-ray Olive Films 19 / B&W / 2:35 1:85 widescreen / 1:37 flat Academy / 90 min. / Street Date August 16, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring David Bradley, Steve James, Marjoe Gortner, Michele Chan,Yehuda Efroni, Alan Swerdlow. Cinematography George Bartels Film Editor Michael J. Duthie Original Music George S. Clinton Written by Gary Conway from characters by Avi Kleinberger & Gideon Amir Produced by Harry Alan Towers Directed...

Welcome to the second installment of VOD Vault, where we take a look at another bunch of direct-to-market releases, many of which hit iTunes and the supermarket shelves without fanfare, walking you – our readers – down the fine line between spending your money wisely, or throwing it away on another slice of Dtv dross. Up this week are Ratter, and Hazard Jack …

Ratter

Stars: Ashley Benson, Matt McGorry, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Alex Cranmer, Michael William Freeman, Kaili Vernoff | Directed by Branden Kramer

Starring Ashley Benson and Matt McGorry, Ratter is the latest in an ever-increasing list of techno-horrors focusing on modern technology being used a tool for evil… The film tells the story of New York graduate Emma (Benson), who is excited about finally getting her own place in the city despite her parents expressing their worry about her living on her own. However when Emma starts receiving weird text messages from an unknown number,...

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Michael Dudikoff chats to us about American Ninja, his Cannon days, Spider-Man and Navy Seals Vs Zombies.

Michael Dudikoff is the American Ninja.

We were thrilled to get an opportunity to chat with the action star, who was doing press to promote the release of the action film Navy Seals Vs Zombies, but were kept at a considerable physical distance. While telephone interviews can be a bit difficult, I was secretly relieved that we wouldn’t have to come face-to-face with a man renowned for his work as a ninja. Safely tucked away in a different continent meant that, no matter how stupid our questions were, we weren’t in danger of being kicked in the chops.

It turns out that we needn’t have worried. Den of Geek found Michael Dudikoff to be a particularly friendly and fun interview subject. It’s great to talk to...

Icon Film Distribution

Eighties action legend Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja, Olympus Has Fallen) stars as Commander Sheer, the leader of a crack team of Navy Seals charged with extracting the Vice President from a situation gone bad as America’s bravest warriors take on the walking dead in Navy Seals Vs Zombies.

Initially not being aware of the magnitude of the problem they are faced with, the SEALs are quickly faced with the realisation that the ‘situation’ is actually a viral outbreak that is very quickly turning the residents of the Big Easy into flesh hungry hoards of ravenous zombies.

This definition of a high octane guilty pleasure also features Molly Hagan (iZombie, True Detective) as a CIA agent, who is shown to know know more than she is letting on. Delivering exactly the kind of thing you would expect from a film called Navy Seals Vs Zombies this is...

America's bravest warriors take on the walking dead in Navy Seals Vs Zombies, a stone cold case of 'does exactly what it says on the tin' coming to DVD from February 15th, 2016, courtesy of Icon Film Distribution. Ed Quinn and Michael Dudikoff star in this apocalyptic action horror and we have 3 copies on DVD up for grabs!. Contest Ends on Friday, February 26, 2016...

To mark the release of Navy SEALs Vs Zombies on 15th February, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD. Eighties action legend Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja, Olympus Has Fallen) stars as Commander Sheer, the leader of a crack team of Navy Seals charged with extracting the Vice President from a situation gone

The post Win Navy SEALs Vs Zombies on DVD appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Cannon Films legend Michael Dudikoff talks to Shock about his career, family and making a comeback in Navy Seals Vs. Zombies. Now on DVD and VOD is first-time director and former Nascar driver Stanton Barrett’s testosterone heavy Navy Seals Vs. Zombies, a tough-as-nails romp about a muscle-bound troupe of battle-scarred vets facing off against a horde…

The post Exclusive Interview: 80’s Action Legend Michael Dudikoff talks Cannon Films and Navy Seals Vs. Zombies appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

You can thank China for this one! The Expendables 4 is officially happening. It will shoot in 2016, and arrive in theaters in 2017. At this time, no cast members have been confirmed, aside from franchise creator Sylvester Stallone. No director is in place yet.

Nu Image / Millennium have struck a deal with China that also includes the thriller Security. This follows deals made between China and Steven Paul's Sp International Pictures on behalf of Ssxh Beijing, as well as Max Screen Film Distribution. The deal between the country and Nu Image / Millennium covers equity investments in both movies. And it will provide Chinese distribution rights.

Both Security and The Expendables 4 will likely use China for on-location shooting, with scenes taking place in the country. But China is not expected to be such a big part of either movie's narrative that that they can be outright called Chinese co-productions. The...

Sneak Peek footage from director Stanton Barrett's horror feature "Navy Seals vs. Zombies", now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment:

"...when the government loses contact with the Vice President during a campaign stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a battle-hardened 'Seal' team just back from Afghanistan is sent in.

"But they’ll soon discover that this is no ordinary tactical rescue: The city is under siege by hordes of fast moving, flesh eating undead.

Urban warfare has been unleashed. With no cure in sight and time running out, can an elite unit of badass warriors now survive their most horrific mission of all?..."

Cast includes Ed Quinn, Michael Dudikoff, Stephanie Honoré, pro wrestling champion Chad 'Gunner' Lail, Molly Hagan, Olympian Lolo Jones, NBA legend Rick Fox and the participation of former Us Navy Seals.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Navy Seals vs. Zombies...

Shock lays out an Exclusive clip from horror hybrid romp. We recently reported on Nascar driver turned director Stanton Barrett’s new hybrid action/horror potboiler Navy Seals Vs. Zombies starring 80’s action hero Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja) and iZOMBIE’s Molly Hagen. From the press release: After losing all contact with the Vice President during a routine campaign…

The post Exclusive Clip: cops and corpses in Navy Seals Vs. Zombies appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Watch a very macho clip from Navy Seals vs. Zombies. Just when you think the ever-abused cannibal corpse sub-genre has run out of gas, someone, somewhere concocts some newfangled scenario to shuffle them around in, like putrescent pawns in the game of life. This time Cannon pictures legend Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja) tenses his aging…

The post See tough guys get the ghoul in this “Navy Seals Vs. Zombies” clip appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Today is a day for crazy trailers. We just showed you the batshit insane sneak peek at acclaimed Japanese cult director Takashi Miike's Yakuza Apocalypse. If you've recovered from that blistering bit of action cinema centering around kung fu, vampires, and killer frogs, then we have something else that might be right up your alley. It involves the Living Dead, an 80s action icon and a former NBA All-Star. I see your face. You're more than intrigued! And we know you want to watch the first trailer for Navy Seals Vs. Zombies.

After losing all contact with the Vice President during a routine campaign stop in Louisiana, the U.S. Government sends in a team of Navy SEALs for the rescue. Dropped into a warzone, the SEALs quickly discover that they aren't dealing with a normal enemy. The city is under siege by hordes of fast moving, flesh eating undead.

Bronson!….Norris!…..Dudikoff!

Electric Boogaloo was the name of the wacky 1985 sequel to the break dance epic Breakin’ – which I don’t know was worthy of a follow-up but if there was one studio up to the effort in the mid-‘80s, it was Cannon Films. Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story Of Cannon Films is the title of a new documentary that plays for one night only in St. Louis at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater Thursday, September 17th at 7pm.

Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, prolific salesmen with little regard for quality, bought Cannon Films for half million dollars in 1979 (it was founded in ’67) and turned it into an efficient assembly line of high-concept, action, and exploitation. Lovers of low-brow cinema could always count on a good time when that Cannon Films logo appeared on-screen. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pt 2, the Sly Stallone arm wrestling opus Over The Top,...

The fourth episode of The Driving Dead premiered yesterday on the series' website. The series focuses on the consequences of reckless driving. Also: Blu-ray release details for Navy SEALs vs. Zombies and the Children of the Corn trilogy.

The Driving Dead: Press Release: "Springfield, Ill. (August 24, 2015) – Actor Michael Rooker returns to his starring role in The Driving Dead Series with a new webisode, “The Chase,” premiering today.

The Driving Dead Series launched in August 2014 by the Illinois Department of Transportation (Idot) to thwart dangerous driving behaviors, like drinking and driving and failure to wear a seatbelt, among the most at-risk audience – young men. According to recent Idot data, seat belt usage in Illinois reached an all-time high of more than 95 percent in 2015. This marks an increase over last year representing an estimated 377 lives saved on Illinois roads.

The web-based Driving Dead Series has amassed more than 2.4 million YouTube views with its first three episodes.

According to The Sun, Arnold Schwarzenegger could be about to appear alongside some furry meerkats in an insurance advert...

The 80s action star assault on British TV adverts continues. According to a story in The Sun, Arnold Schwarzenegger's set to join the furry meerkat cast in a forthcoming Compare The Market commercial.

If true, Arnold's following on the heels of Sylvester Stallone, who was recently revealed as the battle-hardened face of Warburton's bread.

Unfortunately, Compare The Market have yet to reveal a publicity shot of Schwarzenegger posing with his furry co-stars, so we'll have to wait and see just how accurate this story is.

In the meantime, we're placing bets on which of the Austrian Oak's catchphrases will be wheeled out for the British insurance company's ad. "Get to our newly-insured chopper" is our current favourite.

We're also hoping to see Michael Dudikoff star in Monster Munch adverts very soon.

Ryan Lambie Jul 6, 2016

In 1986, Jean-Claude Van Damme was the title alien in Predator before he was hurriedly recast. Ryan looks back at what happened...

In the mid-1980s, Belgian martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme arrived in America with dreams of stardom. Possessing a finely-honed physique, thanks to years of training in (among other things) karate, kickboxing and ballet, he was ambitious and brimming with self-belief.

The acting bug bit Van Damme while he was still in his teens: he played “a bad guy with all the knives” in the 1984 French gangster movie Rue Barbare and, determined to further his goal of becoming an actor, hopped on a plane to Los Angeles. His first few years in America were, however, tough. He slept in a rental car for two weeks, and made money by teaching aerobics and martial arts, delivering pizzas, and working as a doorman at a restaurant belonging to Chuck Norris.

In 1986, Jean-Claude Van Damme was the title alien in Predator before he was hurriedly recast. Ryan looks back at what happened...

In the mid-1980s, Belgian martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme arrived in America with dreams of stardom. Possessing a finely-honed physique, thanks to years of training in (among other things) karate, kickboxing and ballet, he was ambitious and brimming with self-belief.

The acting bug bit Van Damme while he was still in his teens: he played “a bad guy with all the knives” in the 1984 French gangster movie Rue Barbare and, determined to further his goal of becoming an actor, hopped on a plane to Los Angeles. His first few years in America were, however, tough. He slept in a rental car for two weeks, and made money money by teaching aerobics and martial arts, delivering pizzas, and working as a doorman at a restaurant belonging to Chuck Norris.

Plot: The story of Menahem Golan, and Yoram Globus, two Israeli cousins who, in the eighties, ran the exploitation film studio Cannon Pictures. Review: I grew up watching Cannon Films. Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Sly, Dolph, I loved 'em all. Their Ninja movies with Michael Dudikoff or Sho Kosugi were staples of birthday parties everywhere and whenever we'd see the Cannon Films logo with the instantly familiar theme music, we always knew we were in for a good time. Were the movies...

A kids' book based around a violent post-traumatic stress disorder sufferer, played by Sylvester Stallone? We analyse the Rambo annual...

Feature

John Rambo was first introduced to cinema audiences in 1982’s First Blood, based on David Morrell’s novel of the same name. Sylvester Stallone starred as a Rambo, a mentally scared war veteran, clearly suffering from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. His fractured mental state, along with a spate of bad luck, leads him to ultimately commit acts of unacceptable violence.

It is a film with no real heroes, a deep mistrust of authority, and a supporting character who dies of cancer because of extended exposure to Agent Orange. It is not, what you would call, a barrel of laughs.

So of course, they made a kid’s cartoon of it.

This isn’t that unique. R-rated movies being adapted into a Saturday morning cartoon is one of the more...

This week’s Blu-ray and DVD releases are an eclectic bunch, to say the least. Not only is Steve Miner’s criminally overlooked horror/comedy creature feature Lake Placid swimming its way onto Blu-ray, but Severin Films is also releasing a trio of controversial cult classics- Bloody Moon, The Baby and Bloody Birthday-all in high definition for the first time ever.

The Time Machine is also getting a Blu-ray release this week, along with Gareth Evans’ stunning action masterpiece The Raid 2 and a handful of indie horror films, including the wickedly entertaining horror musical Stage Fright starring Minnie Driver and Meat Loaf. Overall, it’s a good week to be a genre fan with oddball tastes because there’s a whole lot of wonderfully weird stuff arriving this Tuesday.

Spotlight Titles:

The Baby (Severin Films, Blu-ray)

An A-list director. A jaw-dropping storyline. And depraved depictions of suburban violence,...

For the week of June 24th, there are a handful of cult classic releases that are finally getting their due on DVD and Blu-ray, including the long-lost Monsters from Beyond the Sun by Francis Ford Coppola. Other releases this week include Wolf Creek 2, The Jungle from writer/director Andrew Traucki (The Reef, The ABC’s of Death) and season 4 of Lost Girl. We’re also seeing the home release of Enemy, the latest collaboration between Dennis Villeneuve and Jake Gyllenhaal, several indie horror thrillers and the UK is bringing Bloody Birthday to hi-def this week as well.

Spotlight Titles:

Bloody Birthday- UK Release (Import, Blu-ray)

Get ready for the rarely seen slasher classic from the 80s that may also be the most disturbing killer kids movies in grindhouse history: Three babies are simultaneously born in the same hospital at the peak of a full solar eclipse. Ten years later,...

Conscious-free kids who kill, a man living like a baby, and a killer stalking Spanish schoolgirls: Severin Films is plucking these three stories from the old-school horror shelf and bringing them to Blu-ray this summer, and we have the release details for you now.

Set for a July 8th home media release, the Blu-ray releases of 1981′s Bloody Birthday, 1973′s The Baby, and 1981′s Bloody Moon should excite fans of these grindhouse films and bring new viewers in, as well. Here are the release details from Severin Films:

Bloody Birthday Blu-ray:

“Get ready for the rarely seen slasher classic from the ’80s that may also be the most disturbing ‘killer kids’ movies in grindhouse history: Three babies are simultaneously born in the same hospital at the peak of a full solar eclipse. Ten years later, these adorable youngsters suddenly begin a kiddie killing spree of stranglings, shootings, stabbings, beatings and beyond.

It's always an exciting thing when horror flicks hit Blu-ray for the very first time, and Severin Films has three such debuts in store for us on July 8, inviting us to a Bloody Birthday, allowing us to hold The Baby, and encouraging us to howl at the Bloody Moon.

Read on for complete release details for all three!

Bloody Birthday Synopsis

Get ready for the rarely seen slasher classic from the 80s that may also be the most disturbing "killer kids" movies in grindhouse history: Three babies are simultaneously born in the same hospital at the peak of a full solar eclipse. Ten years later, these adorable youngsters suddenly begin a kiddie killing spree of stranglings, shootings, stabbings, beatings, and beyond. Can the town's grown-ups stop these pint-sized serial killers before their blood-soaked birthday bash? K.C. Martel (E.T., "Growing Pains"), Joe Penny ("Jake and The Fat Man"), Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja...

Stars: Scott Adkins, Mika Hijii, Kane Kosugi, Shun Sugata, Vithaya Pansringarm, Mukesh Bhatt, Tim Man, Jawed El BerniSaichia Wongwirot, Shogo Tanikawa, Futoshi Hashimoto | Written by David N. White | Directed by Isaac Florentine

I’m a huge fan of 2009′s Ninja, as my signed Blu-ray will atest, so it’s safe to say I was super-excited for the UK release of the sequel Ninja: Shadow of a Tear. Whereas the first film saw Scott Adkins titular hero Casey Bowman using his ninjutsu skills on the streets of New York, this film sees Casey return home from some late night shopping to find someone has brutally killed his wife Namiko (Mika Hijii) and their unborn child. Bereft, Casey has only one thing left to live for… revenge.

The only clues to Namiko’s killer are the barbed wire marks left around her neck. So, with the help of his trusted friend Nakabara...