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Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection

Blu ray

Severin Films

1965 – 1989 / 2841 min.

Starring Russ Tamblyn, Regina Carrol, Lon Chaney

Cinematography by Gary Graver, Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács

Directed by Al Adamson, David Gregory

The titles grab you by the collar like a desperate carny barker – Psycho A Go-Go, Blood of Ghastly Horror, Satan’s Sadists – then something for the raincoat crowd – Girls For Rent, Nurses For Sale, The Naughty Stewardesses. The rant turns political, incendiary: Black Heat, Mean Mother, Black Samurai. His last gasp – Cinderella 2000, Nurse Sherri, The Happy Hobo. The Happy Hobo?

Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection is an alarming new release from Severin Films presenting 32 of the director’s misbegotten “masterpieces” in beautifully restored transfers with enough added attractions to choke a horse. It’s the story of one man’s twenty year run in exploitation cinema that may be too exhausting for the casual viewer to contemplate. But...

Don’t call them Bad Movies — when something’s this enjoyable, other verbal put-downs are more appropriate. This low-grade German sexploitation horror pic spent its full budget on its roster of frisky Berlin showgirls. After years of study, experts have finally proven that it was filmed with a camera. Severin’s special edition does justice to a cult non-classic with an uncut original German version, plus a second American version and extra alternate scenes. Alexander D’Arcy’s scary horror-face is a childhood monster magazine memory. The creepy title critter looks like a land crab morphed with a really pissed-off Woody Woodpecker.

Horrors of Spider Island

Blu-ray

Severin Films

1960 / B&w / 1:665 widescreen / 84, 79 min. / Ein Toter hing im Netz, It’s Hot in Paradise / Street Date June 16, 2020 /

Starring: Harald Maresch (Temple Foster), Helga Franck, Alexander D’Arcy, Helga Neuner, Rainer Brandt, Dorothee Parker, Gerry Sammer, Eva Schauland, Helma Vandenberg (Helma van den...

After last week’s home media offerings were rather meager, this Tuesday’s releases have come back with a vengeance, as we have a ton of fun titles to get excited about that are coming our way tomorrow.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, the original Friday the 13th is getting a Limited Edition Steelbook release this week, and in terms of modern slashers, you’ll definitely want to pick up The Hills Run Red from Scream Factory. The fine fiends at Scream Factory also have the next Universal Horror Collection on tap this Tuesday, and if you happen to dig exploitation movies, you’ll definitely want to check out Horrors of Spider Island from Severin Films.

Other releases for June 16th include Wrestlemassacre, The Marshes, Kill Mode, The Mermaid’s Curse, Deadly Crush, Primal Scream, and Voodoo.

Friday the 13th: 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook

Rip into a chilling...

The irrepressible Sam Fuller fashions a crime thriller for German TV with his expected eccentricity: old-fashioned hardboiled scripting, freeform direction and bits of graffiti from the French New Wave. Christa Lang is the femme fatale and Glenn Corbett is the twofisted American hero, whose name is Not Griff. And yes, a pigeon does bite the pavement on Beethoven Street, and I tell you, that's one dead pigeon. Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street Blu-ray Olive Films 1974 / Color / 1:33 flat full frame (for German TV / 127 min. / Tote Taube in der Beethovenstraße / Street Date April 19, 2016 / / available through the Olive Films website / 29.95 Starring Glenn Corbett, Christa Lang, Sieghardt Rupp, Anton Diffring, Stéphane Audran, Alexander D'Arcy, Anthony Chinn. Cinematography Jerzy Lipman Film Editor Liesgret Schmitt-Klink Original Music The Can German dialogue by Manfred R. Köhler Produced by Joachim von Mengershausen Written and Directed by Samuel Fuller

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Not that it helped Sam Fuller's career much,...

Simone Simon: Remembering the 'Cat People' and 'La Bête Humaine' star (photo: Simone Simon 'Cat People' publicity) Pert, pretty, pouty, and fiery-tempered Simone Simon – who died at age 94 ten years ago, on Feb. 22, 2005 – is best known for her starring role in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic Cat People (1942). Those aware of the existence of film industries outside Hollywood will also remember Simon for her button-nosed femme fatale in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938).[1] In fact, long before Brigitte Bardot, Annette Stroyberg, Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, and Barbarella's Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm – with a tad of puppy dog wistfulness – in a film career that spanned two continents and a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both...

Tony Sokol Oct 21, 2019

While variations on the Dracula legend are among the most oft-told tales in movies and television, some stand out from the pack.

Dracula, the name is legendary. The First Vampire of both literature and film, he also rose to dominate pages of history. Dracula has been vilified for years. Vlad Tepes is painted as a cruel tyrant who impaled people who defied him, nailed hats onto the heads of monks who didn’t deify him, and who dipped his bread in the blood of armies defeated by him.

Cruel? Maybe. But not when you remember that after Spartacus’ slave rebellion was put down, Rome lined miles of roads with crucified dissidents. There was no internet back then and when you wanted to send a message you had to make it big. The Turks knew enough not to fuck with Vlad the Impaler or they’d get a...