Another year has come and gone and if you're reading this, well, I guess you made it through it. Me too, it seems. While on a personal level, 2012 was a living hell for myself, but for film, it was a helluva year, you have to admit. Comparing the lists between this and last, just about anything in my top 20 of this year is better than than the top 5 of last year. One of my goals for this year was to stay more current with the year's films and I'd say I succeeded, watching more than double the amount of current year films than last years.

This year's tallies:
Total Films Watched: 514
First Time Viewings: 475
Revisits of previously seen films: 39
Films From 2012: 110

Being able to see so much of the year's offerings lends a much bigger perspective on the year as a whole. The Grey easily took my spot for best movie. It was overwhelmingly emotional for my wife and I as we sat through probably the finest meditation on death and the various ways it approaches in who knows how long. And that was even before things got bad for us personally. Comedies were surprisingly big with me this year. Maybe I just needed the laughs, but it seems like many comedies this year were hitting it out of the park. Also, it seemed like this year, a little more effort was being put into the usual crop of giant CG-laden spectacles than before. Where as in recent years, such films had been rather pedestrian and just passable, while this year many of the tent-pole releases have graced many "best-of" lists with little assist from fanboy-love. However, if you were primarily a horror fan, you were pretty much shit out of luck. Most major releases were middling at best, when there even was one to check out. Even with indie horror, where one can usually count on a couple of widely-accepted great films, most of those entries had extremely mixed reviews.

Below are my top picks of this year's films, ranked in the order of the sheer enjoyment I had with them, as all personal lists should be. You won't any of those hipster-cred "It doesn't come out till next year but I saw it at a festival, shyah" bullshit entries that you see pop up. I like to stick solely to those that got an official U.S. release date in 2012, avoiding any wish-wash. For the ranking of every single 2012 movie I saw this year, you can find it here.

Top 2012 Movies:
1. The Grey
2. Les Miserables
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Lawless
5. Skyfall
6. Killer Joe
7. Safety Not Guaranteed
8. Looper
9. Friends With Kids
10. The Dark Knight Rises
11. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
12. The Hobbit
13. Klown
14. 21 Jump Street
15. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
16. Dredd
17. The Avengers
18. The American Scream
19. Flight
20. The Amazing Spider-Man

Worst Movies of the Year
10. Mirror Mirror
9. What to Expect When You're Expecting
8. The Pact
7. Act of Valor
6. Nazis at the Center of the Earth
5. Gone
4. Rock of Ages
3. Resident Evil Retribution
2. The Lorax
1. Freelancers

Top Movies I Still Need to See as I Write This
1. The Master
2. Argo
3. Django Unchained
4. Cloud Atlas
5. Zero Dark Thirty

Best Trailer
Cloud Atlas bucks the industry standard of a two and a half minute trailer by offering up a nearly six minute introduction to the dense film they're trying to sell you. The end result is a lyrical and arresting short film that drives you to find out more.


Worst Trailer
The trailer for Scary Movie 5 is about as lazy as the writing is in the movie itself. It's like the trailer editor saw the highlights of the dailies the producers were sending him, said "Aw, fuck it", and ran them as-is while tossing on the old Beetlejuice music before ordering out for a burger.


Best Poster
I don't know, man. Throw a fucking rock and hit something and chances are it'll look like a variation of one of four templates. Everything's just bland and badly Photoshopped. At least if you stick to official studio posters. Specialty places like Mondo make some great ones but I wouldn't really call those "official" posters. The poster for Man With Iron Fists is probably the closest I'd get to a favorite thanks to the ornate decorations and the nice color choices.


Worst Poster
What makes The Grey's poster all the worse, after the fact that it's just a big ol' honking shot of Liam Neeson's mug, is that it completely cheapens what is in fact a great movie. "I'm Liam Neeson, and I would like to sell you an off-road ATV."


Best Directing
Rian Johnson for Looper. The subtle but highly effective camera moves along with film's performances, tone, storytelling, and design all combine to show a director that truly knows film language.

Best Photography
Roger Deakins for Skyfall. You could turn off the sound and watch this for the visuals alone. The sequence in Shanghai alone would have won best of the year.

Best Score
Thomas Newman for Skyfall. I had thought for sure Zimmer would have taken if for Dark Knight but then Skyfall came out and surprised me. While the Dark Knight's score is great on it's own, it feels a little clunky within the movie itself. Newman's score blends so many different instruments from all over the world, akin to the globe-trotting Bond himself, and weaves them together in the film that feels organic and serves the story, from smaller moments to the fanfare of the classic Bond theme itself.


Best Actor
Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables. Over the course of nearly three hours, you see him change physically and mentally as he pours everything he is into the film.

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables. Though she's in it all too brief, she is heartbreaking and devastating, outshining everyone else, male or female, in anything this year.

Best Villain
Guy Pearce in Lawless. The guy just oozes sleaze from every pore throughout the film. No one else played a more pure, straight-up evil and twisted sumbitch like he did.

Special Mention
Michael Shannon in Premium Rush. I don't know what the fuck the guy was on while making this but I've never seen such an incompetent, manic, ludicrous man-child in a film before.

How Does He Keep Getting Work?
Ashton Kutcher. Third year in a row! Can he keep on sucking? We'll see!

How Does She Keep Getting Work?
Katherine Heigl. Just...just go away.

Best Fight
The final face-off in Goon. The whole movie builds up to Sean William Scott and Liev Schreiber going at it. When it finally happens, it's as brutal as you could have hopes. To the point that it's hard to watch.

Best Action Sequence
The fight atop the horses in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. While it was CG-ed the fuck out, it was still something unique and had never been seen before. And what made it matter is that the movie spent the previous 20 minutes building up to it so you actually gave shit when it went down, as opposed to most movies like The Avengers where it's fun to watch but it's really just an excuse to see those guys beat shit up with no real emotional resonance. For those that ask what about Batman, I would ask "What action?"

Biggest Fanboy Moment
As a life-long fanatic for Ghost Rider, his first full scene in Spirit of Vengeance was the closest I've ever come to seeing what I used to dream about as a child come to life. For three minutes, I was blown away in nerd heaven. ...then the movie kept going. Still, that three minutes was great. A more complete runner-up for me would probably be any scene with the Hulk in Avengers.

Funniest Scene
Drug trip-out scene in 21 Jump Street. Just flat-out hilarity with such oddball touches like ice-cream head that really pushes it over the edge.

Stupidest Scene
The Subway restaurant robbery in the Red Dawn remake. The lunk of a main character actually utters the line "Hey sandwich artists! Fill the bag with bread and meat!" Fucking kill me.

Most Embarrassing for Both the Filmmakers and Us Watching
Rock of Ages. All of it.

Best So Awful It Was Funny Moment
Alice Cooper being punted by a giant Bigfoot in The Asylum's Bigfoot.

I think that's about everything I had wanted to bring up. 2012 was pretty rocky for me but the high quality of films released this year has helped me keep occupied and find some enjoyment in something. Here's hoping 2013 keeps it up. I know one of my goals for this next year is to get back to my horror roots since 2012 was pretty light for me on that front. I'd also like to hope that I'd have a finished film of my own to throw out for consideration but we'll see. You never know how that goes. Here's to you guys and I hope you have a great 2013 at the movies.

After such a hiatus of blogging, returning to talk about such a mediocre series of films might be an odd choice to spotlight. However, a recent compilation of all eight films was released a week or two back at a cost of about $10, seventy bucks less than what I paid for them originally. I hope this quick look back at the series helps provide some insight for those that were interested in picking up the disc.

Autopsy

An exercise in demented humor, this isn't really anything you haven't seen before, but it sure is fun. A group of friends get stuck in an old hospital that runs with the idea of having the inmates run the asylum. A simple excuse for gross practical gags and nutball characters, it separates itself from other similar films by not holding back and having talented character actors hold it all up. The interactions between Michael Bowen and Robert LaSardo make for a Laurel and Hardy for the mentally disturbed and could hold a movie together just by themselves. A twisted fun time.
Sights within:
-World's longest piece of glass removed from a human body.
-A literal meaning of having to get rid of some fingerprints.
-World's funniest punch in the face.
-Spinal fluid abuse.
-Intestines chandelier.
Grade: 4/5

The Broken

Normally, I'm all for the slow-burn creep out movies. If the film is made well enough, I'll revel in the slow build up as long as the final reveal is worth it. This film does all that, but when it comes time to deliver, there's no oomph there to make it worth it, causing the whole thing to feel a little hollow. It's well acted, well shot, and creates an effective, sterile atmosphere, but the film always pulls back before any real scares can be offered. There's still a few tense scenes but it falls just short of being great. It might be better on a second watch, but I have no idea when I'll get around to it.
Sights within:
-Was that a wooden phone?
-World's longest before credits quote.
-There's been too many uses of doppelgangers in these 8 Films to Die For.
-Mirror abuse.
-Was there any reason why this shit was happening in the first place?
Grade: 3/5

Butterfly Effect 3

I was surprised that this was as good as it was. The first one was decent enough (never saw the second) and you can imagine the kind of downgrade in quality when a series goes DTV. This one had decent acting and an engaging story, even if you could guess the ending about twenty minutes in. It's a much more gruesome film than the original but it's balanced out by some pretty effective humor. Entertaining, even if you don't really take anything away from it.
Sights within:
-After Dark's resident go-to annoying actress Rachel Miner just has to show up huh?
-It's nice how they explain a little why Ashton Kutcher loses his shit in the first one.
-World's most jarring opening.
-Disembodied finger abuse.
Grade: 3/5

Dying Breed

Not a bad entry in the backwoods killer sub-genre. Tying it into the history of Tasmania and the Tasmanian tiger makes it a bit more interesting than most. The interaction between the main characters are good and are much more believable than most films. The townsfolk are dutifully creepy and the random bursts of violence are effective. It starts to lose steam in the third act but overall, it's still a fun enough watch.
-Look, a boat made it from the Waterworld set.
-Puppy abuse.
-World's only CGI Tasmanian tiger.
-Double bear-trap whammy.
-See, Leigh Whannell isn't that bad of an actor.
-Bye-bye, rabbit.
Grade: 3.5/5

From Within

The movie starts out with what seems like a great idea only to turn into the same old shit. I can tell there's a much more interesting story somewhere waiting to be told about the evils of religious fanaticism, but the filmmakers don't have either the talent or the imagination to tell that story. What's left is the same old bullshit about a curse and trying to stop it. The acting's average, with Adam Goldberg turning in a really good performance outside of his usual roles. A decent time-killer but instantly forgettable.
Sights within:
-Man, Rumer Willis really looks like her mom with her dad's jaw welded on.
-World's shortest Jared Harris appearance.
-So is the whole town obsessed with church? Is this Utah?
-World's biggest cry-baby witch boy.
-Wiccan abuse.
-A great final punchline that's hampered by rushing through it too quick.
Grade: 3/5

Perkins' 14

This was created by a group of people voting on message boards, from story to casting and everything else. An interesting idea, even if the movie came out to be a waste of time. The beginning is decent enough, even if the lead of the film is completely awful. Richard Brake turns in the film's only good performance as a child abductor who then unleashes the titular "14" on the town, which is also when the film starts to get worse and worse. It becomes nothing but teenagers in ratty clothes chasing people down with horrible lighting accenting it. The movie becomes more and more tedious to finish until it ends things with a climax that would be disappointing if you still even cared by that point.
Sights within:
-Someone needs to get that actor some fiber or something because that stick up his ass is almost showing.
-Look, it's that Danzig-poser.
-World's most tedious attack scenes.
-Ohhh, look, when it's back-lit and out of focus, that means it's art.
-Richard Brake abuse.
Grade: 2/5

Slaughter

Two girls meet up and one starts sleeping around only to have the men go missing the next morning. No real explanation for that is ever given, instead the ending is more concerned with laying out exposition about woe is me bullshit. The movie is shot well enough and the acting is decent but the story seems like it's being held together by wood glue. Other than the ending running about twenty minutes too long, there's really not too much to comment on here since the whole thing feels vapid. It just simply exists.
Sights within:
-World's best voicemail message.
-The whole thing feels like one of the more forgettable Fear Street books.
-Molar abuse.
-Wah wah wah, shut up already.
Grade: 2/5

Voices

A pretty gruesome Asian horror entry that's thankfully light on the cursed electronics. People are going apeshit and killing those around them with no apparent reason, and one girl tries to survive being the next target. The film delivers random brutal attack sequences with an engaging mystery, even if it's never really explained. I know a lot of people are fed up with Asian horror, but I still find them effective. They have a patience and understanding of the fear of the unknown that usually works on me where American films tend to fail.
Sights within:
-Random falling brides.
-Fencing abuse.
-World's most obtuse ending.
-What the fuck was that burnt thing?
-Talk about paranoia.
Grade: 4/5

So there you go. Eight films you should have died for three years ago, and if not, you can now do so at a much lower entry point. Overall, it wasn't a bad set of films, just mediocre. A few stand outs mixed in with varying degrees of average. I will say that at least there wasn't any true-blue godawful films like the other years' selections. At a below $10 cost, I'd suggest the set for those looking for a handy disc full of titles to kill some time with.

And don't forget to click on the Amazon link on the main page to support the site if you're going that route.

Every once in a while, we are blessed by greatness. A greatness that sweeps through whatever art form it was destined for, changing that medium for patrons and artists alike for decades to come. And sometimes, only sometimes, we are blessed by two such forms of greatness meeting, creating a work so majestic as though to bring you to your knees weeping in exaltation.

In this case, we are graced not only be the supreme acting delights of that thespian of our time, Dennis Quaid, but as well as those touched-by-Michelangelo artists that are entrusted with wrapping Mr. Quaid's talents with such awe-inspiring work of imagery upon their cover (oh, how base a term that is for the likes of these).

I present to you now, only pale imitations of that which you must only truly appreciate whilst clutching it in your pawing hands, preferably while the film unspools in glorious upconverted goodness upon your HDTV. Here is the Top 10 Dennis Quaid DVD Covers!

10. Something to Talk About

We start off with something light, to ease us into Sir Quaid's intensity. We see how happy he is on the surface level, but only with intense scrutiny do we see a man of fortitude. This is a man who knows he's with a hideous woman, a face so malformed it derives snickers from passing children. But he doesn't care. Why? Because he fucking loves her, goddammit, and nothing's going to get in the way of his happiness.

9. The Rookie

We continue with our gentle ease into this man's soul. Here we see him peering into the heavens, thanking all of creation. Even though he has been labeled a "rookie," he now finds himself experienced with that most important thing of all: love.

8. In Good Company

Here, we see the humility of a man. The leading man, a man's man, is graceful enough to share the spotlight. He takes a proud stance, one not without a touch of happiness, as he sees the shining stars rising in Foreman and ScarJo. Their youth and talent in turn seems to de-age him, making him appear a decade younger. Photoshop has nothing on the sheer radiance of bliss!

7. Vantage Point

Here we see the realities of the world begin to enter Sir Quaid's knowing visage, and in doing so we see how vital he is to everyone else. He is placed in the center of the cover's bulls-eye, the calm in the middle of all the chaos. The rock. The pillar. Also, it must be noted how much larger he is opposed to the other actors. Ripley, that guy from Lost, the weirdo crybaby guy from Species, all must take a backseat when Quaid has to take charge of a situation.

6. The Alamo

This is just an example of how timeless Sir Quaid really is. His stoicism is not bounded by petty concepts such as time. Even when not in contemporary settings, he can take command of a situation, nay, one of the most important situations faced in a young America's life, and still keep his wits about him even as chaos reigns around him.

5. Cold Creek Manor

Shhh, don't scare him. This is one of the rarest images of a Quaid. He's looking to his fucking left! Oh my god! Shhh, shhh. Don't get excited. This is how we know things have gotten deadly serious. He must check for obstacles on all sides if he is to make it through this.

4. Savior

At last, we see some of the defenses crumble. Things have finally gotten to the point that Master Quaid must regather himself, a moment of self-clarity that must be pushed through in order to face the coming dangers. Truly, a mountain of a man. But, we have only a moment of reflection before...

3. Beneath the Darkness

...fucking BLAM! Face on, sucka. This is the face of a man who is prepared to face imminent destruction if it means he can preserve all that is dear to him. Even the surrounding image places him rising over death itself within the cemetery images. The gloom will not sway this man as he faces destiny.

2. Horsemen

The intensity is almost unbearable. Here, is a man who has reached the utmost make-or-break point in his life. Rather than back down, here he is, upfront and center. Nothing will overtake this man as he pierces the gloom, shattering the darkness with the light emanating from his god-like countenance.

1. Flight of the Phoenix

This is a man changed by his confrontations. Sir Quaid here portrays the perfect aftermath of all his previous battles. He is victorious, but not unchanged. There is the scars of war scattering upon his face even as he retreats within himself, hiding behind sunglasses as well as bringing up the other co-stars to share some of the burden. His time is over, his stoicism preserved as he faces us, letting us know that should trouble arise once more, he'll be there. Because he's Dennis fucking Quaid. And he's a bad mutha with those sunglasses.

While I was crazed with moving and looking for work, it seems as though Lionsgate released a couple of DVDs with absolutely zero fanfare for the community. Obviously, they underestimated these discs' worth as collectors are working themselves rabid trying to find them. The reason these are so desired is that they contain many films that have never been released here in the States, previously you would have had to import them from other countries, or on the disc for the first time ever. And some of them are sequels that are needed to keep OCD collectors (like me) breathing happy when looking at their shelves.

The trick, apparently, is to keep checking your local Walmart's $5 dump bins, with a few cases of them actually being placed on a shelf. However, since so little stores actually have them at this point, scalpers are taking advantage by taking a $5 item and selling them on ebay for anywhere between $30 and $70. I'd recommend just biding your time and keep checking. It's probably just a matter of some stores releasing stuff before street date, but we would know that if Lionsgate actually had an idea of what they had on their hands and had filled us in on their plans.

Keep in mind, special features for any of these, if they existed, have pretty much been stripped bare.

On the first 6 film set (why one has six films and the other has eight, we'll never know and just add it to this how confounding mystery), we have:
Blood Diner- On disc for the first time, even if it pretty much means Lionsgate's cancelled the solo release Red Shirt Pictures had already started creating special features for. Word is that it's anamorphic and looks great.
Parents- A wonderfully underrated dark comedy, in widescreen.
Earth Girls Are Easy- Kind of out of place on either disc, but it's fun and in widescreen.
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat- A fun movie that for some reason is in fullscreen (the only one like that on this disc) even though the big single release with the special features by Red Shirt Pictures was in widescreen, meaning they had to go out of their way to slap a fullscreen copy on this. Fucking baffling. I'd suggest just picking up the single release if you like it.
Fido- One of the only unique zombie movies released in the last ten years. Sounds like it's the same transfer as the single release.
Boy Eats Girl- I don't know. I haven't heard good things but who knows?

On the 8 disc set, we have:
Waxwork- In fullscreen, but it is the uncut version even though the back of the box is labeled R.
976-Evil 2- On disc for the first time, even though it's fullscreen, much like how Sony screwed up the first film's disc.
Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go To College- On disc for the first time in the States. Supposedly, it looks great even if it's fullscreen, which means it must look better than the German copy I ordered years ago which was a straight VHS rip.
The Unholy- On disc for the first time and is one of the only widescreen movies on this set.
C.H.U.D. 2- For the first time domestically and is the only other movie in widescreen, already better than the R2 I imported.
Chopping Mall- Fullscreen and missing the commentary from the previous release, but still a fun movie.
Slaughter High- Pretty much the same as Lionsgate low-end release from a few years ago.
Class of 1999- Fullscreen when its solo disc was wide. You can make the call.

In addition, there seems to be another set out there containing
Night of the Living Dead 3-D
Return of the Living Dead 3
Return of the Living Dead 4
Return of the Living Dead 5
Bride of Re-Animator
Beyond Re-Animator
which the big questions on that set are whether the Bride of Re-Animator and Return of the Living Dead 3 copies are the uncut versions. Still no word.

There's also this set which no one seems to give a shit about:



Just goes to show you that even though we're supposedly on the brink of destruction as far as physical media is concerned, there's still some surprises out there, even if the decisions behind them are frustrating as all hell. I would like Lionsgate to continue things like this so that we can get some new titles either back in print or on disc for the first time ever. It'd be nice if they re-released Fright Night 2 since I just had to sell mine for $70 and definitely do not feel like paying that much to get it back.

Somehow, there's roughly 58 new Amityville movies rumored or scheduled to be released over the next few years, all at varying degrees of legitimacy. I have no idea what sparked new interest in horror's most recognizable house, probably an executive throwing a dart at a billboard covered in franchise names to exploit, but they're coming.

Now, in my long horror life, I wasn't too familiar with the series growing up. It's one of the few established genre series that didn't cross my path too often. I watched most of the original when I was really young and my parents caught it on tv. I most vividly remembered the window slamming down on the kid's hand and the lady screaming about a "passageway to hell" or something like that. Then, years later, I caught the third movie on TBS one night at 2:00 in the morning, back when they used to show horror movies on cable all night long. And then I had seen the remake from a few years ago and wasn't particularly impressed.

With all this hoopla about the upcoming Amityville projects and a lack of guidance over what to watch next in my time of unemployment, I figured I'd pull out all of the movies and finally dig into them, working my way through one of the remaining horror legacies I hadn't yet tackled, including that in-name-only Canadian cash-in that has the otherwise great Kim Coates garbling around like a momo which I had to stream off of Hulu since nobody's bothered to put it on a disc here in the States. What I found is that the original two films are wonderfully effective horror films that hold up really well today, other than the unfortunate decision to ripoff The Exorcist for the last twenty minutes in the second one. The third is your average 80's horror movie, while the rest of the series alternates between boredom and ridiculously stupid moments before culminating in the lifeless remake. I didn't get to check out The Asylum's recent unofficial entry, but I didn't try very hard.

After all that, I figured I'd put together this little list of the most memorable moments from the films, good or bad, from one of horror's most oddball series. I hope you enjoy.

SPOILERS AHOY!

10. Van Wilder Chops Wood - Remake
While the majority of the remake is a pale imitation of the original, this one scene stands out as being humorous. Throughout the movie, it earnestly tries to sell us on Ryan Reynolds being intimidating, but to no avail. He's just too friendly of a guy, like a fat-faced happy chipmunk. At the most, he looks like he's got sour stomach. But this one scene, he almost gets there. He orders his big-mouthed, flippant new stepson to stack the logs up in order for him to cut the firewood. As he gets more aggressive, he tells the boy to keep his hands there to hold the wood as he brings the axe slamming down, scaring the shit out of the kid. Reynolds leans down to deliver a little smirk to the kid, feeling the same as us after having to sit through the boy's angst for almost an hour now.



9. A Painted Death - A New Generation
The only one of the sequels in the "haunted yard sale items" cycle I thought was decent, this kill carries a nice visual touch to it. This sequel deals with a crew of "artsy" types, including the painter Suki, who creates large canvasses depicting demons and devils that actually aren't bad, kind of like Clive Barker's artwork. Soon, the haunted mirror (yep) brings these paintings to life, jumping up and down before falling all around Suki, creating a labyrinth of macabre art to crawl through. The artwork, sprung from her mind, now haunts her as she tries to make her way to safety, only to meet her demise in the end. In a direct to video, low rent horror quickie, it was a surprising artistic touch to a film that otherwise could have been very workman-like.



8. Shout at the Devil - Dollhouse
By this point in the movie, I had no idea what was going on anymore. So when our heroes, I think they were our heroes anyways, jump through the fireplace rather than get the fuck out of the haunted house and land in some demonic dollhouse version of reality (you see what I mean?), I just about lost it when I saw the Troll 2-style demons lounging around the attic like it's Board Game Day. These things look like a stiff breeze would knock them over and snap their balsa wood limbs so I don't know how scared I was supposed to be. The characters in the film look like they're going to shit their pants, but not from laughter like I was. Then the hippie guy pulls out some mystical diamond dust or something which creates a light prism of protection before mildly bellowing a string of what sounds like Native American swear words, punctuated by "You bastards!" Wowsers.



7. Puddle of Andy - It's About Time
This whole goddamn movie is bizarre. First of all, California's about as far as you can get from Amityville while still staying in the country, so right away you know this one's going to be off from the previous films. After about an hour's worth of unexplainable and slightly uncomfortable scenes, we get this. Andy's looking to score with Megan Ward who woke up one day and decided to be a hooker. Just when he thinks he's getting to home base, she decides to play Godzilla on her dad's model train set, motioning him to join her. As he tries, he steps into a puddle of black goo which slowly devours him, turning into a puddle of flesh and latex. Last words upon this earth? "Help me, you bitch!"



6. Exorcist Raid - Part 4
I don't know if the town just got sick of this bullshit going on or what, but the church supplies a crack team of commando exorcists to lay siege upon the infamous house, slathering holy water and prayers in every nook and cranny. The director, needing to internalize the inner struggle of demonic houses everywhere, spared every expense in rolling out every haunted house cliche while this is going on. Not a single door nor cabinet was idle, slamming constantly like they were auditioning for that George Harrison music video. During the final moments, the house decides that its best chances for escape is to bury its monumental evil into the vessel of...a lamp. Which will then be sold to an old lady at a yard sale. Oh boy.



5. Crispy Critter - Part 3D: The Demon
Only in the 80s could we see such a fairly grisly death in a PG movie, one that comes across as a predecessor of the Final Destination series. Melanie, fresh in her assertion that the house is indeed haunted, loses control of her car, slamming into the back of a parked truck. A steel rod comes loose and slides forward, narrowly spearing her midsection. As she breathes a sigh of relief, the fucking car goes up in flames, burning her alive as she's trapped inside. A passer by comes along and checks the car, hoping to help. Opening the door, we see Melanie's charred and roasted corpse, her hands still in the 2 and 10 positions. Since this is a 3D movie, we get a final shot of the corpse lurching towards the camera, smoking hands at the ready.



4. Father Flies - Amityville Horror
A scene so famous, they recreated it to far less degrees in about half the sequels. Rod Steiger arrives to bless the house for the newly arrived Lutzs but finds he has just missed them. Deciding to continue with his task, he finds himself upstairs, trapped as houseflies overwhelm him. He tries to find solace within his faith while the insects attack him, no CGI either, when the door opens and we hear that voice: "Get ouuut." If you think a haunted house speaking would be corny, this scene exists to prove you wrong. An effective scene, and one that sets the priest up as the one who's most scarred by the evil in the house, even more so than the Lutzs before the film ends.



3. Mongoloid Pedo Chainsaw Massacre - Part 4
First off, the kid in this movie looks like a fucking psycho from frame one. His "not quite right" stare in his eyes, the blubbery cheeks, the wavy near-mullet; I don't know what it is but this kid scares the shit out of me. Now, you place this deranged bastard in a basement with a cat and an apparent fascination with chainsaws, and you get a scene of pure lunacy. This dipshit, and at first I thought he was going to put the cat in the vise, finds a chainsaw and starts making the "You sure got a pretty mouth" noises, pretending to be a lumberjack or some such shit, when the thing turns on. It goes fucking haywire, shredding all of Grandma's preserves and anything else unfortunate enough to be placed on a shelf within the saw's radius of attack, all the while this kid never thinks to just fucking let go of it. He almost saws the housekeeper's head off before causing his grandmother to trip and fall, hitting every single stair on the way down. Then the housekeeper grabs a steel rod and battles the chainsaw like she's fucking Connor MacLeod, knocking the thing out of the lunatic's hands. I couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard at this ridiculous shit. You've got to see it for yourself. (Skip ahead to about five minutes in on the video below.)



2. Family Meltdown - Part 2: The Possession
Screw the ghosts, this family had major problems before they ever set foot in Amityville. Between the siblings flirting and the hints of an abusive father, let's face it, these guys never really started the movie out on the right foot. After some ghostly activity stirs the family up one night, it riles all of the ugliness that lurks just beneath the family's surface. Dad takes off his belt, about to beat his youngest children, when Mom sticks up for them. In return, she gets slapped, she scratches him, he beats her, and soon everyone's screaming and fighting before the oldest son picks up a loaded shotgun and holds it to his father's head. Now, I'd like to think this was just the evil in the house at work, but I have a feeling this would have happened in Manitoba or anywhere else these guys moved to. The scene is very disturbing, probably just as much so as the later massacre, and accomplishes that tone through the unbroken shot. As the camera floats along with the characters without a single edit until the skirmish is over, we feel the intensity as though we're there ourselves. The strobing lights do well to unbalance our subconscious, adding to the scene's effect . Very strong stuff and an overlooked piece of filmmaking.



1. Jody in the Dark - Amityville Horror
A great example of how less is more in a film. What seems very easy to do actually requires a subtle touch to cause fear in the viewer. Throughout the film, we know that this Jody the daughter talks to is a ghost. Most viewers are able to read between the lines long beforehand. Like in other films, i.e. The Shining, we just never expect to see anything from this imaginary friend. We see items moved around, the chair rocks and such, and that's not too big a deal. Towards the end of the film, Jody's presence pays off in one of the most skin-crawling shots in a horror film. For just a second, we see the lights of some...thing in the dark looking back at us. It's horrifying. We're probably as terrified in that fleeting second as Margot Kidder's character is. This is the single moment out of the entire series that my mind flashes back to randomly, giving me a fresh shiver down my spine every time.



Other moments:
Pig in the Window- Amityville Horror
Slamming Window- Amityville Horror
Family Shooting- Part 2: The Possession
Woman Slammed by Flying Door- Part 3: The Demon
Lamp Being Called a Son of a Bitch- Part 4
Lamp Thrown out the Window- Part 4
Death by Duck- It's About Time
Giant Rat Under the Bed- Dollhouse
Kim Coates Gets a Saw Blade to the Knee- Curse

Another Friday the 13th is upon us. Another chance for horror fans to look back and commemorate one of the most iconic slashers in genre history, Jason Vorhees, along with the stand-ins that have filled in for him in a few of the entries. Over the course of 12 movies worth of carnage, there's no shortage of memorable scenes featuring our favorite goalie. In celebration, I figured I'd go through and rank my favorite moments through the series.

Be warned that I'm not going to hold back from spoilers from any of the films, so if you haven't seen them yet, beware.

SPOILERS AHOY!

10. Jason Visits Times Square - Jason Takes Manhattan
I've been obsessed with New York since I was a small child, so when this came out, the promise of Jason tearing up the Big Apple was amazing. Turns out you had to wait a fucking hour tooting around a goddamn boat for over an hour before he even reached the joint. But the small snippets we do get of him in the city were wonderful. Here, Jason shows the low-lives of pre-Giuliani Times Square who's the big guy 'round town. We also learn he hates rap music.



9. Ginny's Mommy Psych-Out - Friday the 13th Part 2
Cornered in his lair, our protagonist realizes that this Jason guy might not be so bright. Maybe it's something about the way he dresses or his monosyllabic way of speech, but Ginny figures that taking advantage of the fact that Jason is missing a few cans short of a six-pack might just might get her out of this mess. Donning the corpse's clothing, she calls to Jason, hoping some motherly-love will buy her time. It almost works, too...



8. Jason's Resurrection - Jason Lives
Tommy had the right intentions. He just wanted to make sure the son of a bitch was dead, and exorcise some personal demons. Too bad that conveniently placed weather vane and fortuitously timed lightning strike manages to revive the murderer into a hulking undead monster, in true Frankenstein style.



7. Paintball Attack - Jason Lives
One big bonus for Part 6 is its sense of humor. When you're marathoning these films, by the time you finish Part 5, the same old routine is starting to dig at you. But Part 6 gives you nice second wind to start up the second half of the series with. The paintball scene in particular is a highlight. A group of office-cubicle types go out for a little weekend warrior paintball and run smack dab into Jason himself. The altercation brings us such sights as a triple decapitation, a guy imprints a smiley-face upon a tree by having his face caved in, and an arm somehow attached to Jason's machete which gives even the big man himself a moment to wonder quizzically how the hell that happened.



6. Corn Rave Attack - Freddy vs. Jason
While I tried to keep this list on the core first eight movies, this scene from Freddy vs. Jason just had to be included as it showcases Jason unleashed. After stealing a victim from his fiercest competitor, he flings a glow-sticked freak about three fucking miles into the air before being set ablaze. Does this slow him down? Not at all. Jason leaves a literal trail of destruction through the corn field until coming upon an all-you-can-slash buffet. Flaming flying machete for the win.



5. Acquiring the Mask - Friday the 13th Part 3-D
Other than giving one of the most celebrated slashers his iconic mask, creating an image that will live on forever, this scene also gets rid of Shelley for the rest of the film. Thank Christ.



4. The Machete Slide - The Final Chapter
It's not often when you actually wince at the pain being induced upon a film's villain, but this one just looks fucking painful, especially in uncut form. Corey Feldman makes himself over into Lil' Jason in order to divert the killer's attention before burying a machete into his temple. What follows is a very uncomfortable slide down the business end of said machete. Ow.



3. Alice's Fate - Friday the 13th Part 2
This one gave me quite the shock upon watching it as a child, so much so that I turned it and didn't finish the rest of the movie until years later. After following Alice survive her ordeal throughout the first film, our precocious heroine is offed rather bluntly in the opening few moments. A swift, unceremonious stab through the fucking temple was an abrupt end to one of horror's most remembered Final Girls.



2. The Dance of a Crispin - The Final Chapter
As a life-long obsessive of Crispin Glover, I could watch his infamous herk and jerk spaz dance all day long if I had to. So what if it doesn't have our boy Jason? It's one of the finest moments in cinema history, right alongside Battleship Potemkin.



1. Mama Vorhees Loses Her Head - Friday the 13th
I was fortunate in how I watched these films originally. I had known of Jason and how he figured into the series, but I didn't know how shit went down in the original. I was actually surprised when I found out the killer wasn't Jason but his mother, a pretty nifty that probably gets spoiled too easily today with the internet. As a kid, that final comeuppance really hit home for me as Alice hefted that machete and give the murderous mommy one clean swipe, leaving only a spurting neck-hole and grasping man-hands with hairy knuckles. It felt almost...righteous.

Another year gone which means it's time once again for countless top lists. Of course, the rest of the world did all this shit like a week ago but everyday life here has been sapping up my time lately. Still, I can't hold off from doing one of these. I love doing year-end wrap up stuff. It's fun to reflect back on what I watched lately, as well as creating an archival post I can look back upon in the future to see what I was watching at the time. For shits and giggles, here's my post from last year.

This was the first year my OCD was successful enough to keep a full list of everything I watched this year. Or, at least most of them, I'm hoping. I'm betting there's a straggler or two that slipped by me by the time I was able to type it down.

The final tallies are:
Total films watched: 540
First time viewings: 460
Revisits of previously seen films: 80
The full list of films seen can be seen here.

This year, by finally taking advantage of Redbox and Netflix for the first time, I was able to stay much more current with this year's releases than I usually do. I was able to watch 37 movies from 2011 this year, much higher than the 16 2010 films I had seen at this point last year. Overall, 2011 was a fairly average year for the most part. Even my favorite movie of the year would only rank somewhere in the middle of its director's catalog.

Ranking of all 2011 films:
1. Midnight in Paris
2. X-Men First Class
3. Insidious
4. Shaolin
5. Rango
6. Kung Fu Panda 2
7. Page One: Inside the New York Times
8. Attack the Block
9. Final Destination 5
10. The Change-Up
11. Thor
12. Take Me Home Tonight
13. True Legend
14. Blitz
15. Crazy Stupid Love
16. Scream 4
17. Bridesmaids
18. William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
19. Horrible Bosses
20. Paul
21. Green Lantern
22. Gnomeo and Juliet
23. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
24. Captain America
25. Your Highness
26. Conan O'Brien: Can't Stop
27. Fast Five
28. Skew
29. Tree of Life
30. Chillerama
31. Fright Night
32. Battle: Los Angeles
33. Super 8
34. Cars 2
35. Paranormal Activity 3
36. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
37. Hobo With a Shotgun


Now, most people while making their lists primarily comment on the films that were released in the last year. I like to look back at all the films I've seen, regardless of year. There's over a century of film to dive into from all over the world and I think discovering new favorites out of older movies are more exciting than the hot new releases. Here's the best ones I caught up with this last year:

Top 25 best movies seen in the last year:
1. Once Upon A Time in the West (1968)
2. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
3. The Wild Bunch (1969)
4. In the Loop (2009)
5. Winter's Bone (2009)
6. Network (1976)
7. The Trip (2010)
8. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
9. After the Fox (1966)
10. Stardust Memories (1980)
11. Best Worst Movie (2009)
12. Do the Right Thing (1989)
13. Suicide Club (2002)
14. Withnail and I (1987)
15. The Prestige (2006)
16. Princess (2006)
17. Kabluey (2007)
18. Rope (1948)
19. Children of Men (2006)
20. Give 'Em Hell Malone (2009)
21. Dear Zachary (2008)
22. Santa Sangre (1989)
23. Dream Home (2010)
24. Marwencol (2010)
25. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

And with the good, must come the bad:

Top 10 worst films watched this year:
1. 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010)
2. Madness (2010)
3. Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
4. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
5. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
6. Savage County (2010)
7. Red Hook (2009)
8. Paranoid Park (2007)
9. The Last Airbender (2010)
10. Hatchet 2 (2010)

And now for some very random awards:

Best Trailer:
Between the visuals, the music, and the creatures, so much of this movie reminds me of Ridley Scott's Legend and other fantasies I loved growing up. Other than the inclusion of Cardboard Stewart, this trailer has me hook, line, and sinker.


Best Poster:
It takes talent to create a stark, simple design and have it deliver such an impact. I'd call this one Criterion-worthy.


How Does He Keep Getting Work?
Ashton Kutcher. Two years in a row! Whooo!

How Does She Keep Getting Work?
Jessica Alba

Most Overrated:
Super 8. Many people worship the film but I found it an unbalanced disappointment. When the movie focuses on just the children and their lives, it's wonderful. Any time the monster aspects are shoved into whatever nook and cranny they find, it goes to hell. The level of unearned schmaltz it tries to feed you doesn't sit well with me either. Coming even from horror freak, I say if they had ditched the monster altogether and made a slice of life tale, it could have been one of the best of the year.

Most Depressing, Soul Shredding Film:
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. This is a Cannibal Holocaust for those that have children. One of the saddest things I've ever sat through.

Most Disgusting:
Chillerama. Toilets and feces are about the most disgusting things in the world to me and the three minutes of Deathication within the film almost had me puke.

Most Under-appreciated:
The Change-Up. This year R-rated comedies hit it big, but they were still stuck dealing with adolescent themes of "I'm not the best friend anymore" or "My boss is a dick", but the one film that truly managed to balance low-brow humor with adult topics was a box office bust. The film deals with the choice of freedom over raising a family, maintaining a healthy marriage, realistic career issues, friendship, and growing up; all while having a baby shit in someone's mouth. The balance actually works amazingly well and older viewers will probably connect with many of the issues here. Not to mention, Jason Bateman gives the best comedic performance of the whole year.

Most WTF?:
Postal (2007). Deliriously crazy.

Funniest Moment:
The Change-Up- When Ryan Reynolds has the kids in the kitchen. I couldn't breathe for minutes.

Runner up:
Coopers' Christmas- When the dad, drunk out of his mind, stumbles into the kitchen and tears apart Christmas dinner.

Surprisingly Wasn't Completely Horrible:
Gnomeo and Juliet

Best Score:
I don't know. Take your pick: droning ambiance or generic electro beats. Nothing really stood out other than scores that reused cues from previous installments, like Transformers or Kung Fu Panda.

Best Song Still Stuck in My Head After Seeing the Movie:
From Pig Hunt:


Top Movies My Son Watched Until My Eyes Bled:
1. Toy Story 1 and 3. The disc for part two skips.
2. Mater's Tall Tales
3. Garfield
4. Monsters, Inc.
5. Up

I think that's all I have. Thank you for reading and here's to a cinematic 2012!

After a bit of a delay, I now bring you the final countdown of the most collectible dvd labels. I'll try to keep the intro brief as most of the relevant information can be found in the opening entry, but I will ask that if you have the means, please support these labels if you can. Some of them are barely hanging on in this rough economic climate. Times are tough on everyone right now but downloading or bootlegging these labels will only hurt the chances of even more genre goodness getting released in the future. Looking around the 'net, I was surprised to see that quite a few people weren't aware of the titles these companies have brought out, or that some of the labels even exist in the first place. If this list does nothing else but raise some exposure for these guys, then I'll be glad. Anyway, enough with the preaching. I hope you enjoy the top 5 most collectible dvd lines!

5. Synapse Films

This next company on the list has become known for their combination of two sterling traits found throughout their catalog: an eclectic film selection and top-notch restoration. Spear-headed by the more public face of the company, Don May, Synapse delivers probably the best quality for your buck than any other label on the list.

You really can't peg down a "type" for what Synapse gives you. There's documentaries, comedies, horror, adult films, domestic titles, foreign films; all placed firmly in the cult fan's wheelhouse. Their titles can range from big-name genre stuff like Maniac Cop and Vampire Circus to unknown bizarre foreign flicks such as Animalada. Synapse gets bonus points for also providing re-releases of Panik House and Casanegra's catalogs after those companies unfortunately folded, giving those titles a second wind for collectors who didn't want to pay the high prices they were commanding. Only Mondo Macabro gives you a more varied selection to pick from.

Besides the quality of titles, Synapse is also known for delivering the best job possible when it comes to picture and sound quality. Don May has justifiably earned a reputation for going the extra mile in personally restoring these films for disc. The movies are cleaned up to the point that many of them appear as though they were filmed just yesterday rather than decades ago. That level of quality, along with their unique choices in movies, makes Synapse one of the titans of genre labels along with Blue Underground.

Favorite titles: 42nd St Forever series, Basket Case 2, Deadly Spawn, Embodiment of Evil, Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural, Brain Damage, Street Trash

Upcoming titles: Thou Shall Not Kill...Except blu, Gurozuka

4. Criterion

It's not really a genre label, but I couldn't in good conscience leave out Criterion, one of the heavyweights in dvd collecting. They might not need any more press but they deserve to be talked about when going into collecting mania being as they pretty much originated that one little trick that drives OCD guys like me crazy: spine numbers.

Man, their spine numbers still drive me crazy. Back in 2000 or so, I bought my first Criterion: Robocop. When I saw that little number on the side, I wandered around the store and found more of them, realizing they were part of the same series which immediately fueled my desires. You mean there's a line of prestigious dvds that encourage you to collect them all? Oh, fuck yes. I only have a little over a hundred or so, but I still take time out of my day to admire them all lined up on the shelf. And I can't forget their Eclipse line of boxsets which look gorgeous next to each other. Oh so satisfying.

That's not to say the films themselves are slouching anywhere, either. While I started with their definitive releases of some of my favorite movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I soon got into the habit of picking up any of their titles when I could, even if I had never heard of them before. Thus far, I've enjoyed every movie I've bought from them on some level (save for Monsoon Wedding which can go to hell), with a few I might have otherwise never seen becoming personal favorites. My only real complaint is their higher prices, but I understand that they aren't a studio and have high licensing costs to cover. If you think about it, a lot of their titles are even more niche than some of the horror labels since genre fans are far more open to trying blind buys than the mainstream. But for the adventurous viewer, Criterion has a lot to offer to both the film fanatic and obsessive collector.

Favorite titles: Blood for Dracula, Fiend Without a Face, America Lost and Found: The BBS Story, Blast of Silence, Brazil, Eclipse Series: Nikkatsu Noir, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Withnail and I, Vampyr

Upcoming titles: The War Room, Anatomy of a Murder, Three Outlaw Samurai, Godzilla, Belle de Jour

3. Something Weird

Now, you wanna talk about a company that knows how to stack them? Something Weird routinely crams as much shit on their discs as possible, creating an archive of psychopathic movies and befuddling educational films that most other companies would never even care about.

When looking through film history, these are the films that are unloved. Scholars would never think twice about them (if they could even sit through them in the first place) and no one's going to be throwing down the big bucks for deluxe anniversary editions of these movies, but there those of us out there that recognize the charm and fun these films have. Something Weird preserves these titles for the likes of us before they're lost forever, creating a kind of Smithsonian for the "other guys." Where else are we going to be able to prove to our grandchildren that employers would educate their employees about job safety with films of a tiny deranged imp sabotaging and maiming men in the workplace?

The films in Something Weird are truly for the "alternative" film fanatic. Their perennial best-sellers are the films of H.G. Lewis, the legendary director who created the gore-movie genre, but the rest of their catalog takes a truly deranged bent. This is true sleaze, grindhouse-style. Badly lit pornos and sadistic slashers; monsters made out of shag carpet and slick-haired gas-huffing deviants. Every disc typically has two full films and then piled with extra features and bonus shorts, bringing every release to run anywhere between three to six hours worth of psychedelia. Taking into account the typical low prices on these discs, I don't think there's a better bargain anywhere else on this list.

Favorite titles: Basket Case, Carnival of Blood/Curse of the Headless Horseman, Blood Freak, The Blood Trilogy, Monsters Crash the Pajama Party, Bloody Pit of Horror, Please Don't Eat My Mother!

Upcoming titles: Unfortunately, it appears Something Weird doesn't release retail discs for the most part anymore apart from their recent blu-rays of Basket Case and their H.G. Lewis stuff. However, they do still sell burned dvd-rs on their website of unreleased titles that they add to periodically.

2. Code Red

If I had the power to rally for a single cause, it would be to keep Code Red afloat. This label has had a special place in my heart for years now and I'm always deathly afraid of it disappearing on me like so many other beloved lines.

The reason I love Code Red so much is because no other company, outside of maybe early-era Anchor Bay, releases so many of the titles I used to study as a child, idling my time away in the video store. Most of their releases even have the same cover as those old VHS tapes, probably the only way I can even remember seeing a lot of these on the shelves since their titles have long ago slipped by me. The fact that I can own the movies that were of such wonder to me as a kid still blows me away. I never would have believed that I would one day have these films on my own personal shelf and have access to them anytime I want, many times with the original cover art. And guess what? Fucking SPINE NUMBERS!

The films released through Code Red are the type that excites me as a movie collector. Little known catalog gems that fulfill that itch a horror hound craves. I've enjoyed every movie I've discovered through Code Red. Some of them have become personal favorites, while others are so horrible that they're hilarious (the wheelchair scene in Don't Go In the Woods had me laughing out loud). The one thing all these films have in common is the nostalgia factor. I watch a Code Red dvd and I'm reminded of all my time staying up late with the lights off to watch dingy horror movies on Up All Night or Monstervision while my parents slept, unaware of the corruption their son was being subjected to. The owner of the company, Bill Olsen, is very upfront and brutally honest about his business on various forums. The discs are selling at appalling numbers when compared to similar releases from the competition and the company's been in red ink for over a year. It's come close to being shut down more than once now which scares the hell out of me. So many great labels have shut down during this rough economy and I just don't know if I can handle losing my favorite distributor.

Favorite titles: Rituals, The Carrier, The Dead Are Alive, Primal Rage, The Visitor, Hot Moves, Night of the Demon

Upcoming Titles: Maria's "B" Movie Mayhem Double Feature: The Severed Arm/So Sad About Gloria, Popcorn

1. Midnite Movies

As much as I love Code Red, I have to give the number one spot to the line that was my first passion project when it comes to collecting dvds, MGM's Midnite Movies. This was the first line that caught my eye as a collector and led to years of hunting before I finally finished the set and I place it here at the top out of honor and respect, even if that's like saying you respect your crack dealer.

While it is an extension of a major studio, I always considered the Midnite line its own separate entity. The titles all fit so well together and cater to a very specific audience that they might as well have come from a boutique label like the others on this list. For lovers of camp and kook, the movies in this line will keep you busy for a long while. From the titans of the Roger Corman/Vincent Price collaborations all the way to the oddities of Konga and The Thing With Two Heads, there's a wide range of genre goodness here. There's even a few Corman biker movies and Beach Party movies to round out the set. The transfers are all as top-notch as you can get for older SD releases from the early days of the format. A few of them, such as the immortal Killer Klowns From Outer Space, have a slew of extras when possible. There's such a history of cult cinema here that genre fans need to take a stroll through the titles if they haven't done so already.

Collecting these discs was probably the most rewarding out of any other line for me. At first, they were easy to get. Since none of them were really deluxe editions or anything, they were usually reasonably priced; about ten bucks or so at a time when most titles still retailed for twenty. As time went on, titles would go out of print at regular intervals due to rights issues or because they were store exclusives, making quite a number of them go up in value. I'm not one to pay high collector prices on Ebay so that left me hunting and picking through every used movie outlet I came across to scrounge these up. All those hours of scanning the racks, looking for that specific label on the side to grab my attention, paid off when I finally would find another disc to add to the collection. All in all, it took me about seven years to finish the set, including grabbing the two pirate themed discs when Sony had the rights for a year and the unofficial entries released before MGM started putting the Midnite Movies label on the cover. While many titles seem to be easier to nab now than when I was going crazy for them, it was the most fun I've had film collecting yet and I miss it dearly. The line hasn't had a new release in over four years and with catalog titles pretty much dead to studio eyes, there's probably not going to be anymore. Some of the films rumored for the line have popped up in MGM's burn on demand service, but it's not really the same. Though, a few custom dvd covers through Photoshop might help with that.

Favorite Titles: Witchfinder General, The Abominable Dr. Phibes/Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Food of the Gods, The Attic/Crawlspace, Invaders from Mars, Tales from the Crypt/Vault of Horror, Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Upcoming titles: Nothing. Done. Dead. Finito. Buried. R.I.P.

Other labels that have passed on:
Subversive Cinema
Panik House
Casanegra
Barrel Entertainment
BCI/Deimos


Other notable labels:
Redemption
Alternative Cinema
Full Moon
Anchor Bay of old
Severin

(I had originally posted under my old blog but thought I'd post it here as I'm working on the second part now. Besides, no one read it over there anyways.)

As someone who's been fanatical about spending any free dime he can (something hard to come by lately) on a disc encased with cinematic goodness, I've found certain labels call to me, much like music fiends who follow specific labels' releases. Whether it's the packaging, the type of movie, or any combination of mitigating factors; these lines are just plain damned fun to collect. You remember as a kid wanting to collect baseball cards? Imagine that thrill but with something you can get at least a few hours of entertainment out of before it takes up shelf space.

The rankings of this list has been decided through taking into account various factors, such as how much enjoyment I get out of the films themselves along with how much fun I get out of hunting them down and the sense of accomplishment I receive.

And here's two words for any label heads that might be looking for ways to grab collectors' attention: Spine Numbers. You throw those on there and you've got me like a fish on a hook.

10. Blue Underground

Started when William Lustig left the Anchor Bay of old, Blue Underground has made a name for itself releasing some of the most primo cult titles. Argentos, Fulcis, and a healthy dose of various gialli help to make up a strong catalog of Euro-horrors that continue to hold a high demand amongst film collectors. That's not to say domestic titles are ignored. Quality titles such as Dead & Buried, The Crazies, and Q: The Winged Serpent leave a testament to American cult. But, and I find this to be true with a lot of labels, the quieter, less notable releases really stand out to me. Oddities such as Larry Cohen's Bone and the new wave Aussie musical Starstruck have become a couple of my personal favorite movies yet there is almost no mention of them amongst cult film circles. With the advent of blu-ray, Blue Underground has also made a name for itself with some of the most outstanding transfers of catalog titles that the medium has seen yet.

Unfortunately, it seems that the release of new titles has slowed to a crawl which is one of the factors in it being placed at only #10. In 2011, they released only two, though very welcome, new titles to their catalog: The Nesting and Quiet Days in Clichy. I'm very glad they're supporting HD with such quality releases though I do wish we would see more unique titles released between the big name catalog reissues.

Still, when you receive a new Blue Underground disc, you know you've got quality. Usually it's a title you've been reading about for a while online and you're excited to just be able to watch the damn thing. But then you get their wonderful covers and a decent sized booklet typically containing a top-notch essay or two by various passionate writers giving each title the star treatment. Their films are typically Euro-centric which, combined with the special treatment BU gives them, gives off a feeling of prestige. Kind of like looking at a vintage Scotch magazine ad from the 60's.

Favorite titles: Bone, Starstruck, Q: The Winged Serpent, Vampyres, The Blind Dead boxset, City of the Living Dead

Upcoming titles: Night Train Murders blu, Baba Yaga blu, Strip Nude for Your Killer blu

9. Dragon Dynasty

Now, other than horror and the like, my favorite type of genre to throw on at any old time would be kung-fu and Asian action films, the love of which is why this line makes the list. The spine numbers aren't hurting it, either. (Note: I'll freely admit that if there was one all-encompassing Shaw Bros. line instead of their titles being spread amongst distributors, it'd probably take the place of this one, and probably move further up the list.)

Dragon Dynasty, owned by the frustrating Weinsteins, has had its fair share of criticisms. Cut releases, dub-titles, confounding commentary tracks, etc., all of which I agree with. None of that shit should have happened, but knowing that the label's existence is really to shuttle out the stuff the Weinsteins have acquired and don't know what to do with, we should be happy that it's only been this bad. If you can get past all that, you have a very nice range of movies that might otherwise have not been released here, remaining as expensive imports; and they definitely wouldn't have had as much mainstream exposure by being carried by big box stores such as Walmart. Because of this line, these movies have a decent chance at being discovered by a completely new audience.

And what movies, indeed. The catalog ranges from the titans of Asian action with The Killer and Hard Boiled to classic Shaw Bros. kung-fu to newer, lesser-known titles such as Seven Swords or Born to Fight. Their release of SPL (unfortunately retitled with the generic Kill Zone) put me over the moon, priming me just in time for the recent wave of Donie Yen goodness with Ip Man and Return of the Fist. Their title Dog Bite Dog, one I had never heard of before or since really, turned out to be one of the most stark and hard-hitting films I had seen in years, becoming one of my favorite films. If there's one title I'd implore people to seek out, it'd be that one. And you can't forget the spine numbers. As any collecting fanatic will tell you, seeing those gaps in the numbering on the shelf with only drive the "gotta collect them all" madness further.

Favorite titles: Dog Bite Dog, Kill Zone, Hard Boiled, The Royal Tramp Collection, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Come Drink With Me

Upcoming titles: Unfortunately, newly announced titles for the line come at random times, usually right around when you start thinking the line's dead. After releasing a flurry of Shaw Bros and blu upgrades to existing titles just in the last few months, they deserve to take a break, I suppose, with their only upcoming title listed on Amazon being the Dragon Dynasty Collection-Volume 2, collecting some of their most recent single releases.

8. Roger Corman's Cult Classics

When BCI/Deimos was sadly disbanded, cult dvd suffered a pretty big blow. One of the only highlights of that event was the main man behind it, Cliff MacMillan, was picked by Shout Factory to head up their newly acquired Roger Corman line of titles, helping to preserve a lineage for future generations.

Some of these titles had been released before through Corman's New Concorde label but most had been out of print and went for a decent price used. Others had never been released at all, some not even on VHS. Shout Factory should be given a medal for saving so many of these movies from getting swept by in time, many of them receiving deluxe special editions that are almost better than the movies deserve. They've got DVD, blu-ray, double, triple, and even quadruple feature discs to contain all this schlock!

I would have fawned over this line anyways, but they get extra points for bringing out one of my favorite movies in a great blu-ray right out of the gate with Rock N' Roll High School as their first release, along with Betty Thomas's Suburbia. They followed that up with the heavy hitters Death Race 2000, Galaxy of Terror, and Forbidden World, all on blu. Rather than taking a chance on the smaller known titles getting overlooked with single title discs, they paired movies up in packs to attract more attention, something I'm more than fine with. While I enjoy special features, I'll always prefer getting as many unique titles on disc as possible, even if the films are light with the extras. I even found a movie I had been wondering about for years through this line. As a kid, I had rented some movie dealing with a space crew and some kind of monster coming on board. Since it's a fairly generic plot, I came across a dozen or so movies it could be but was never sure of what one it was until I got the Terror Within/Dead Space disc I won in the DVDTalk Horror Challenge. One look at Marc Singer and his robot buddy and I knew I had finally got it. No idea if it's still any good yet. That's what I love about this line, they've released so many titles I used to gaze at as a child and can now finally watch. My only small gripe is their releases are heavily skewed towards the 70's stuff while I have a higher interest in the 80's/early 90's Corman stuff which is what was coming out when I was growing up, but I'm definitely not snubbing my nose at the other titles. Great stuff, all of it.

Favorite Titles: Rock 'N' Roll High School blu, Vampires, Mummies & Monsters Collection, The Slumber Party Massacre Collection, Sword & Sorcery Collection

Upcoming Titles: The only upcoming titles with dates to them yet are the Lethal Ladies Collection, Vol. 2 and The Nurses Collection. DVD News Flash has a list of rumored future releases taken from Cliff himself.

7. Shameless

With the number of unique Euro titles being released only at a fraction of what was coming out during the medium's heyday, a company still premiering catalog titles should be commended.

Now there are a few detriments when it comes to Shameless. If you live in the States, like me, then you're going to have to import these which automatically raises the price a bit. Even though the basic price is fairly cheap, about ten dollars when converted, you still have to pay a higher shipping price as well as your bank charging you a conversion fee. Another problem is that many of their titles are easily available here domestically, released through Blue Underground or other cult labels. If you're over in Europe and you're reading this, none of this applies to you since you have to do all this shit when ordering our domestic labels. So you guys don't even have to sweat it. For the Yanks, you're probably asking why the hell I'm even bringing this label up, let alone placing it higher than something like Blue Underground?

Well, it's because they're just so goddamn collectible, which is what this list is all about. The packaging doesn't just catch your eye, it assaults it with bright yellow plastic and covers, harkening back to the Italian pulp novels that gialli get their name from. They not only have the spine numbers racket thing going for them, but the spines also form an image of the company's logo, effectively doubling the fucking spine madness. And that's not to say the films themselves are slouching either. They carry some of the big heavy hitters of grungy Euro horror such as New York Ripper, much of which is readily available here so picking those up would be pretty much for the nutball collectors like me. But they do have titles that are harder to pick up domestically. Phantom of Death is a giallo directed by Cannibal Holocaust's Ruggero Deodato and stars Michael York. The Designated Victim, Escape From the Bronx, Footprints on the Moon, Oasis of Fear, Ratman, and What Have They Done to Your Daughters? are all unavailable with a legitimate release here in the States but are available through Shameless. They recently made the plunge into HD, creating the world's first "yellow"-rays, which frankly are just damned snazzy. With the Shameless label, their strengths are definitely in the physical presentation of their titles and how satisfying it is to collect them, more so than probably any other line on this list.

Favorite Titles: The Bronx Warriors Trilogy, Ratman, What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh

Upcoming Titles: Four Flies on Grey Velvet blu, Cemetery Man

6. Mondo Macabro

Sometimes you need something fresh, something unique, something fucking different. The same old slashers, zombies, ghosts, etc. are feeling stagnant. Hell, even the whackjob giallos are feeling a little too familiar. Well, Mondo Macabro is about as far as you can fucking get from normal when it comes to movies.

If you want a crash course in cult cinema from all around the world, Mondo Macabro's catalog is all you need. I don't believe any of their titles are from American, with only one or two being in English at all. They truly span the globe; France, Spain, Japan, Bollywood, Filipino, they're all represented here with the most outlandish sights you'll see in a film. Even though some of their titles can still be categorized into categories like a giallo or Pinku eiga, they still manage to go past what you could think is capable in their fields. You ever see disembodied head fly around with its spinal cord and internal organs attached fly around and suck the blood of a baby while still in the womb? You sure as shit will here. Or how about a two-hour+ musical Bollywood ripoff of A Nightmare on Elm Street? You're covered. They've even got Paul fuckin' Naschy in there.

Another aspect that I love about this line, speaking as a collector, is their packaging. The plastic used for the cases are always a bright red, making them stand out from the sea of regular ol' black on the shelves. When placed together, the glaring red calls out from the shelf, almost like the Pied Piper of Crazy Shit. "Hey you! You wanna have an acid trip like your daddy used to write home about?" This line just speaks to me. Besides the unique packaging, it brings me sights from the furthest corners of the world. I'm someone who craves new and unique ideas in film. I'm always pushing and scouring for the most obscure titles possible. With Mondo Macabro, that itch is consistently scratched and for the adventurous film freak, I can't recommend them enough.

Favorite Titles: Bollywood Horror Collections 1, 2, and 3, Blood Rose, Don't Deliver Us From Evil, Mystics in Bali,

Upcoming Titles: Their most recent title was the Santa-decimating Don't Open Till Christmas with no other titles announced at the moment, but Mondo Macabro takes their time on releases so I'm sure more will be upcoming.



Holy damn, did this go long. I just clocked it and it's running at almost 2500 words already. I guess you can tell I'm passionate about this, huh? I was really planning on making this all under one post, but I think for both my benefit and for those of you reading, I'll bring it to a close. I'll get the second part of it up within the next day or two. Until then, I bid you adieu and wish you well on your movie hunting.

Hi there!

While riding the bummer of the latest job rejection letter, I decided that maybe joining a new community would pick me up a little. I had found the podcast here at Killer Reviews a few months back and really enjoyed it, to the point of shoving out some of the regular shows I listen to in order to catch up on some of the past shows. I had never checked out the forums or blogs on the site until just recently and saw that it seemed like a very fun place to hang out, free of the annoyances I've found among other sites. I hope I can contribute to the site in my own way.

With that, I figured I'd tell a little about myself as a way to introduce myself here on the site and say hello, and as a way to state where I am right now in life so I can look back and see how far I went, or how far I fell, I suppose.

I've been obsessed with movies ever since I was a child, spending my spare hours in video stores studying the fronts and backs of every genre title I could find. As I grew, that obsession just became more and more a dominant force in my life. Everything I did was for movies and every spare dime I had went towards buying them. My goal that whole time has been to someday make movies.

The old saying is that film school is a waste of money and you should just go out and make a movie. Well, I went to film school anyways. Was it a waste of time and money?

Yes. And no.

I spent about seven years after high school trying but never coming near a production or even a camera. I was only killing myself slowly with general labor jobs and barely getting by. So I decided to commit financial suicide and go to school on nothing but school loans. The school itself didn't teach me a whole lot more than what you can get by just studying films and special features on your own time. But it did enable me with the resources to actually make films, something I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I also got to know and work with some great people there that helped to develop film crews that we can rely on. And, ideally, the credentials I earned there with my degree and the experiences I earned working under various internships should have helped me land some steady job editing industrial or commercial stuff.

But the world went to shit while I was in school. Before I started school, I did my research into what type of jobs I could get upon graduating. At the time, there was plenty of listings for jobs such as cutting stuff like internal company videos and lighting for web-series, even here in Portland, so I thought things would work out. While I was in school, the recession hit and it's only seemed to get worse so when I graduated, those jobs had pretty much dried up.

At the same time, my wife was diagnosed with cancer in her lungs which, at this time, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have proven to be useless. The one fortuitous thing that's happened is that after I was laid off from my warehouse job, I was able to draw unemployment so I could take care of my wife and our two year old son much easier than I would have been able to without it, even if I'm still having no luck trying to get even the most low-level general labor job right now.

That's pretty much where I am now, leaving out a whole bunch of other extraneous stuff. I'm trying to get some kind of job so we can save up to move somewhere where I can find real work. I'm also hoping to try to raise funds in order to get a movie made sometime in 2012 but who knows how that'll go.

I promise my other blogs won't be such a bummer (I hope it doesn't come across as whiny, if so just slap me). I just felt like stating how things are for me right now and if I have any luck in following my goals, I'll post updates, but really I enjoy posting about my OCD with movies so that's mainly what you'll see here. I have a blog over at dvdfiend.blogspot.com but nobody really goes there so I'm hoping to start posting under here. I feel like the structure of the blogs here on the site help to create a community and it's nice feeling like you're contributing to somewhere you enjoy rather posting something in the ass-end of nowhere online.

Anyway, sorry for rambling too much. I figured maybe giving some background on my story might help as I try to fit in here on the boards and the like. Thanks for reading and I look forward to getting to know everybody!