Torso Movie Review 231

Torso is a 1973 Italian horror movie in the giallo fashion. It is directed by Sergio Martino and it stars Suzy Kendall( The Bird with the Crystal Plumage).

The movie begins on a college campus. Jane(Kendall) and her pal Dani are hanging out together. Dani is getting some unwanted attention from Stefano who likes her a bit too much. One of their college pals,Florence and her boyfriend are making out in their car when someone shows up making noise. Her boyfriend goes to investigate and doesn't return. Florence gets attacked by a masked man. The next day, the cops are investigating the death at the college. Jane and her friends are shocked and upset. Carol, a pal of Jane's gets killed by the same killer after running out of a party. He pokes her eyes out. The killer uses a scarf to strangle his victims and the cops go to the college students and ask them if they have seen anyone wearing one. Dani thinks that she can vaguely remember the scarf from somewhere but it doesn't come to her.

Dani gets a phone call telling her to keep quiet about the scarf or else. Her uncle tells her that she should go to the country to relax with her friends. Dani remembers that Stefano had a scarf like the one the cops had and she thinks that it might be him. She tells Jane and Jane goes to talk to Stefano but he isn't around. The friends go to the country where Dani's uncle has a villa. The problem is the killer has arrived there too and he is waiting to get the girls!!!It becomes a game of cat and mouse as the killer picks the girls off one by one until

Jane is the only one left alive. The killer slaughters all of her friends and he leaves but he realises that she is there and they have a standoff. Jane locks herself into a room. The local doctor had called earlier as Jane hurt her ankle and he comes back to check on her but she can't answer the front door. He comes upon the killer and they fight. The killer is revealed as Jane's professor at college. He has some serious problems and he wants to kill Jane and the doctor. The doctor manages to overpower him and he falls. The professor is killed and Jane and the doctor go to get the police.

This is an entertaining giallo movie and there is some blood and gore as you would expect. There is a good story and I liked it a lot. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Italian horror genre.It gets a 7/10.

The Walking Dead, Season Two Finale!!!

 Last episode, Rick killed Shane in a confrontation between the two. Then Carl had to shoot him when Shane turned into a walker. But, why did he and Randall turn when they weren't bitten???

This week, the walkers edge closer to the farm. Rick sees them at the last minute and everyone else gets ready for battle. The walkers take over the farm and they kill Jimmy and Patricia. Hershel defends the farm but the walkers are coming closer and he has to move away from his home. Rick and Carl get stuck in the barn and they have no choice but to set it alight and escape onto the roof. The walkers burn and Carl and Rick get rescued when they jump onto the Winnebago. Carol gets cornered by the walkers, but is saved by Andrea. Andrea gets caught by a large group of walkers, but escapes through the woods, chased by them. The group are running low on ammo and they have to get away from the farm. Glenn and Maggie jump into a car and drive away. Daryl picks up Carol and they leave. Rick, Carl and Hershel leave not knowing where Lori is. Lori is with Beth and T-Dog.

Andrea finds herself out of ammo in the woods and the walkers keep coming. Suddenly, when all hope is lost, a mysterious hooded figure with two armless walkers on a chain(who is Michonne but we don't know that yet!) and the figure saves her.Cut back to Rick, Carl and Hershel who go back to the spot on the highway where they were waiting for Sophia in previous episodes. They think that the others will come to the spot which they do. Everyone is reunited, except for Andrea. They drive on regardless and then run out of gas. They have to make a camp. People seem to be doubting Rick's leadership and he tells them that if they want to step up and do it, they can. Nobody does so he tells them from now on, what he says goes. He also tells them that Jenner( in the end of season one in the CDC, Jenner whispered something to Rick) told him that everyone is infected and that it why Shane and Randall turned into walkers without being bitten. The group are stunned. He tells Lori what happened with Shane and she is horrified and disgusted with him. The group don't realise that they are camped next to a large prison....

All in all, this was a good season. I liked the episodes. The only thing that annoyed me was the eternal love triangle with Rick, Shane and Lori. Lori's character leaves me irritated. I just don't like her at all and I can't  root for her. Rick is still a weak leader, but he is showing some signs of being tough which he should have been from day one. It is good that the group are moving away from the farm as it was getting a bit mundane, so now, there will be a whole new adventure in season three, which I am really looking forward to. This series is well made and it has kept me eagerly watching every week. Bring on season 3!!!!

Sweet Sixteen Movie Review 230

Sweet Sixteen is a 1983 movie starring Bo Hopkins,Susan Strasberg and Patrick Macnee. It is directed by 

Jim Sotos.

The movie begins with a Native American called Greyfeather( Henry Wilcoxon) going into a local bar and the locals start to give him hassle until his grandson, Jason(Don Shanks) comes in and there is a huge fight.

Jason takes his grandad out of the bar and while he is in the parking lot he gets chatted up by a young woman.

He tells her that he isn't interested and she isn't pleased. She meets a local teen called Johnny and she gets into his truck and he takes her to local Indian burial ground. She wants to leave as she is nervous so they do. Her name is Melissa(Aleisa Shirley) and her dad is Dr. John Morgan(Mcnee) who is working on a local archaeological dig with Jason. She will be turning sixteen next week(hence the title of the movie!). Johnny gets killed on his way home. Johnny's pal, Hank(Steve Antin) is talking to his dad, Sheriff Dan Burke(Hopkins) about it. Hank's sister Marci( Dana Kimmell) is a bit of a detective too so she wonders what happened to Johnny.

Johnny, Dan and Marci go out to where Johnny's truck was found and Marci discovers Johnny's bloody corpse. Dan finds out that Melissa was the last one to see Johnny alive so he questions her. She tells them about her meeting with Jason in the parking lot and she says that he grabbed her. Jason denies it. Melissa's mother is Joanne Morgan(Strasberg) and she grew up in the town. She is planning a huge party for her daughter's 16th birthday. Meanwhile, Melissa meets another young man and she agrees to meet him later. When she turns up, he is already dead and Greyfeather is nearby. The townsfolk are starting to blame the Native Americans for the killings, even though Dan warns them not to. Greyfeather ends up dead, killed by the locals in a revenge attack.

Dan has no choice but to arrest Jason when missing knives used in an attack are found in his house. He escapes from jail and he ends up meeting two locals who attack him. While this is going on, Melissa and Hank are having a swim and the two locals chase Melissa. Hank tries to find her.Melissa is being attacked when Marci sees her. She has wandered into the woods and sees what is going on. Suddenly, she is attacked by the killer. Who is it???Why it is Joanne Morgan, Melissa's mother! There is some silly reason why she has gone off the deep end but I can't be bothered to write about it. Her mother stabs herself and everything is fine. Or is it? The movie ends with Melissa wielding a knife. Has she gone nuts too????

This is a very mediocre horror movie. It is dull in parts and I wasn't mad about it. It is okay to pass some time if you are bored, but I wouldn't be watching this again. The cast wasn't bad, but I think that the movie was just poor. It  gets a 4/10.

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 12

Last episode, Dale was killed by a rogue walker and Carl felt guilty because he had the chance to kill the walker earlier.

This week, the group bury Dale. Then they all get ready for more walkers to come. They think that there will be more walkers and they need to move into the house together. They are going to lock down everything. Rick and Shane have another argument and Rick asks Andrea to keep an eye on him. Carl tells Shane what happened with the gun and he gives it to him. Lori talks to Shane about everything and she tells him that she is sorry for everything that went wrong between them. She thanks him for saving her life when the zombies first attacked. Glenn is upset over Dale. Shane gives Rick the gun and tells him that Carl had it. Rick talks to Carl and he tells him to hang on to the gun for protection. Meanwhile, Shane goes into the barn to the prisoner Randall and he releases him and takes him into the woods. He breaks his neck and leaves him there.

The others realise that Randall has gone and assume he found some way out. Shane hits his nose against a tree to break it and make it seem as if he was after Randall and Randall jumped him. He comes back to the farm and tells them that Randall escaped and he is in the woods. Rick and Shane pair up and go to look for him. Daryl and Glenn go too and they find evidence that Shane killed Randall. Randall has turned into a walker and he attacks them. They kill him. Rick is beginning to have doubts about Shane's story and he realises that Shane has brought him into the woods to kill him. Rick kills Shane instead and when he is upset, Shane comes back as a walker and Carl shoots him with the gun his dad gave him. The episode ends with a huge number of walkers coming to the farm...

Good episode. Obviously, I am disappointed that Shane has gone. I liked the character and I thought that it was good to have a dissenting voice in the group. Hopefully, they can come up with another character as good.

Road Games Movie Review 229

 Road Games is an 1981 Australian thriller staring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. It is directed by Richard Franklin who also did the fantastic Psycho 2 which is one of my all time favourite movies.

Pat Quid(Keach) is a long distance haulier who drives around in his huge truck with his pet dingo, Buzzy. He is driving a trailer full of meat to Perth when he sees a weird guy in a green van acting suspiciously. He sees him check into a motel with a girl and the next morning, he sees him driving in his van alone and he looks weird.He hears on the news that there is a serial killer on the loose and he thinks that the guy in the van is him. He starts to keep an eye on him, but the problem is that the man in the van is starting to keep an eye on Pat too and this makes him edgy. He calls the cops and tells them what he thinks, but they don't show any interest. He gets mad when the guy hurts his dingo and he chases after him. He loses him and manages to pick up a hitchhiker(Curtis).They talk about the killer.

The cops follow him and they tell him that he is under suspicion because he used his name to get a room in the motel last night. Pat tries to explain that he is being framed, but they are still wary of him. Hitch(Curtis) and Pat drive along and when they stop for a rest, they notice the green van is there too. They stop at a truck stop the next day and the green van is there. It is empty. Pat goes into the bathroom to find the guy but he ends up scaring a tourist. Hitch looks inside the van while Pat is gone and the killer is in the back and he kidnaps her.

Pat comes out and knows that the killer has Hitch. Then he begins to wonder if he was right about the guy. Maybe she went with him for money or for sex. He begins to doubt himself. Maybe she wanted to go. His tiredness clouds his thoughts.

He sees the green van again and he chases it. The cops are after him and they all chase after each other.

Pat ends up crashing his truck and he chases the killer on foot. They face off and fight. The cops take him and arrest him for the murders. He tries to explain that it is the other guy. Buzzy leads the cops to the van where Hitch is and she tells them the truth. She is happy to see Pat and he is glad to see her. The movie ends with Pat, Hitch and Buzzy walking along in the sunshine while a human head is found in the meat trailer letting us know that the killer hid human body parts in Pat's trailer and that was why he was after Pat all along.

This is a very good thriller. Keach is very good as the trucker and it is an action packed, interesting movie. I would highly recommend it. It gets a solid 7/10.

 

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 11

We left Rick and Shane driving back to the house with Randall in the boot in the last episode. Episode 11 begins with  Daryl interrogating Randall and giving him a good hiding. Randall tells him that there is around 30 people in the group and that some of the guys in the group went around raping girls. He begs Daryl for mercy. Rick decides that the best thing to do is to kill him. He could lead his group back to the farm otherwise and all hell would break loose. Dale thinks that they shouldn't do it and goes around trying to convince everyone in the group to show mercy to Randall. Shane talks to Andrea about taking charge of the group and overthrowing Rick as the leader. Randall listens to this conversation. Carl goes into the barn and talks to Randall and when Shane catches him, he is furious. Carl takes Daryl's gun and runs into the woods and finds a walker who he teases as the walker is stuck in the mud. The walker gets loose and Carl drops the gun and runs home, telling nobody about the gun.

Dale is on his misson of mercy trying to get people to agree with him about Randall. They all have a meeting and most people agree with Rick about killing Randall. Dale freaks out and gives a speech about humanity. Rick, Daryl and Shane are going to execute Randall when Carl shows up and messes everything up. Rick then decides to spare Randall. Dale gets attacked by a walker and he is almost dead. Daryl has to shoot him in the head which he does. Carl realises that this is the same walker he was teasing earlier and he could have shot him but he didn't.This episode was not too bad. I have to say that I never really liked the character of Dale and he irritated me in this episode. Randall is a danger to the group and as such, he should have been killed to protect everyone, but Rick couldn't stand up and make the decision. He let himself be weak once again. I have a feeling that there will be a showdown between Shane and Rick and I don't see Shane lasting much longer in the series. I hope that I am wrong!!!

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 10

Episode 10 begins with Rick and Shane trying to get away from the walkers. Cut back to Rick and Shane talking about Otis and what happened. Rick figures out that Shane left Otis behind. Rick tells Shane that the baby is his and Laurie is his wife. He tells him that that won't change. He tells him that he will protect them any way he can. He wants to make plans for the coming winter. They have Randall in the boot of their car. They are trying to think of what to do with him. Rick tells Shane that he thinks they should use knives to kill the walkers to save ammo. They haul Randall from the car and are going to dump him when he tells them that he used to go to school with Maggie who is part of their group.

Shane wants to kill him but Rick stops him. They argue over him and then get into a fist fight. That brings on the walkers and the place is overrun with them. Shane is chased by them. Randall is tied up on the ground. There is a knife near him and he tries to get it. Shane gets stuck inside a schoolbus and it is packed outside with walkers. He has a knife and things are looking pretty bleak for him. Randall gets free and meets Rick. They see Shane inside the bus and Randall urges him to go with him and leave Shane. Rick goes but he finds the bodies of two cops and he thinks of Shane, his friend. He goes back and manages to save Shane. They get away and Rick tells him that he needs him to back him up as leader of the group. They put Randall back in the boot and go home.

A good episode mostly. There is a split coming and I think that the newcomer Randall is not as innocent as he seems. I think that he will cause trouble. That's my opinion!

Don't Go In The House Movie Review 228

   

Don't Go in the House is a 1980 horror movie directed by Joseph Ellison and stars Dan Grimaldi(best known for his part in The Sopranos).

Donny Kohler(Grimaldi) is a quiet guy who lives in a huge old house with his mother. He arrives back from work one evening to find that she has died. Instead of calling the cops etc he decides to leave her body in her chair and put on his music loudly and dance around. He hears voices in his head telling him that he is finally free. His thoughts go back to his childhood when his mother punished him by holding his arms over a flame and burning them. He decides that he will do it to her. He thinks that he hears his mother's voice. He begins to pick up young women and bring them back to his homemade incinerator where he ties them up and burns them alive.

When he starts to miss work, his pal Bobby(Robert Osth)gets worried and calls him to see what is going on. Donny makes up stories about his mother being sick and that he is in trouble and Bobby wants to help. Bobby takes him to a disco to meet women, but he can't communicate with them at all and he ends up picking up two young girls who are drunk. He tells them that they can have a party at his house and they can call up their friends and bring them over too. They think that this is a great idea and they go with him. Meanwhile, Bobby goes to see the local priest, Fr.Gerritty(Ralph D. Bowman) and gets him to go to the house to help his pal. The two girls have figured out that Donny is not a nice guy and he has them in his incinerator waiting.

He goes upstairs to change into his fireproof suit and gets his flamethrower! Bobby and the priest break in and find the girls. They release them, but Fr Gerritty gets barbecued by Donny. Bobby helps him and they all run out of the house as Donny is faced with the dead corpses he had been keeping. They come to life and he sets fire to the house and burns it down with him inside. The movie ends with a young kid being slapped by his mother. He starts to hear the voices too, so here we go again !

This movie is OK. It isn't anything special and I thought that it was a bit dull in places. The premise was good, but the execution was not. Just a mediocre 80's horror. It gets 4/10.

The House of a Thousand Dolls Movie Review 227

The House of a Thousand Dolls is a 1967 thriller starring Vincent Price,George Nader and Maria Rohm.

It is directed by Jeremy Summers who directed loads of TV stuff including the brilliant Randall and Hopkirk(Deceased) original series.

The movie begins with a funeral. There is a young woman in the coffin and it is brought to a large house. It is brought into a room where Felix Manderville(Price) and his wife Rebecca(Martha Hyer) are standing. Felix snaps his fingers and the girl in coffin awakens and screams. Cut to a man called Fernando(Sancho Gracia) who is looking for his girlfriend, Diana(Maria Rohm). He talks to friends of his, Stephen Armstrong(Nader) and his wife Marie(Ann Smyrner) and tells them that he is going to investigate it himself. They tell him to go to the cops, but he won't. Meanwhile a woman called Madame Viera tells them that the King of Hearts is very pleased with them for their part in getting the young girl to the house which is called House of a Thousand Dolls. Fernando goes to a nightclub and meets some sleazy guy. They chat and Fernando tells him that he is looking for a 'special' girl. The guy gives him a little doll and tells him to show it at the front door of a house that he will take Fernando to.

They reach the House of a Thousand Dolls and he sees the girls that have been taken and kept prisoner there.

He sees Diana and he chooses her. They talk and Diana tells him what happened to her. She is a prisoner and she has no choice but to do what they say. Fernando wants to get her out. Unfortunately, Madame Viera has been listening to their chat and she tells the heavies to kill Fernando which they do. Meanwhile, Felix and Rebecca are discussing their magic act. Felix lured young girls into his glass box and makes them disappear and then they are taken to the House of a Thousand Dolls to become prostitutes. Stephen is asked by the local cops to identify Fernando's body and he does. He is suspicious now and he wants to find out what happened to his pal. At the house, Diana and another girl try to escape from their prison,but they are caught and brought back.

Felix decides that Stephen is getting too nosy and he finds out that Marie will be in the audience at the magic show. He and Rebecca decide to take her. They do the trick and she is taken but they are unaware that Stephen was meeting his wife and he comes looking for her and he is very angry. Rebecca makes up some story about her being faint and that is why it took so long for him to find her. Stephen is a bit suspicious.He tells Felix about Fernando and Felix offers to help him to look for some clues. A local photographer offers information to Stephen,but he is killed before he can say anything. The next day, Marie is contacted by Rebecca who tells her that Stephen needs her and she will take her to him. Marie is overpowered and taken to the House of a Thousand Dolls.

Stephen gets a note telling him to meet Rebecca after the show. He calls the cops and tells them what happened. They tell Stephen to meet her and see what happens. He does. He tries to bargain with her and she agrees to get his wife out in return for help in escaping. Felix finds out about this and he tries to stop it. All hell breaks loose at the house and Stephen and Felix fight. Felix falls to his death and it is discovered that Rebecca is the fictional King of Hearts and this was all her operation. The cops come and the girls are free and the baddies are shipped off to prison.

This is a really cheap movie, but it isn't that bad. I enjoyed it and it had an interesting story. Vincent Price was just doing it for the money, I would say. It is worth a watch, though as it isn't as bad as you would think. It gets a 5/10.

The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 9

Last episode we saw Rick shoot two survivors who were trying to find out where their farm was so they could get their hands on their stuff.

Laurie is in her car after her crash and there are walkers around her trying to get in. Cut to Rick and co. who are going to leave when they hear people looking for the two survivors Rick shot. Rick tells them what happened and there is a shootout. Back at the farm, Carol tells Daryl what is happening. He is still trying to cut himself off from the rest of the group after what happened to Sophia. Shane goes to find Laurie. Back at the bar, Glenn goes into the back to see if the new people are trying to get in . Rick and Hershel decide to try and get the car. Glenn gets shot at and he hides, thinking of Maggie. Hershel shoots one of them and the walkers get him. The shooters have to take off .Another one is impaled on a railing. His name is Randall and he begs them to save him from the walkers. They pull him off the railing and take him with them.

Meanwhile. Shane finds Laurie and  takes her back to the farm, telling her that Rick and the others are fine and waiting for her. When Laurie finds out that he lied, she is not happy with him. She wonders what happened with Otis. She tells him that she told Rick about their affair and Shane isn't pleased. They are going to look for Rick when he arrives back with Randall. Shane and Rick argue over him. Shane wants to kill him because he will run back and tell his friends where the farm is. Rick thinks that he won't. Andrea and Shane talk and he tells her that he should have left with her when he had the chance. Rick and Laurie talk about Shane and she tells him that she thinks Shane is dangerous.

I have to say that I like the character of Shane. I think that he is just reacting to the situation at hand and that he is not bad. Rick is a little too soft and righteous for my liking. I can see a split coming between Rick's gang  who would be Laurie and his son, Glenn and Dale and maybe Carol. Shane would have Andrea and T-Dog. Maybe Daryl, I'm not too sure, but I just think that if there is a split, I would much rather Shane be in charge...Just my opinion. Who would you prefer in charge??