The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 12- Cataclysm (1980)

From IMDB- ‘Mitchell, a police detective investigating the death of a victim of a German concentration camp, discovers a nightclubbing playboy who has strange powers over women and is seemingly ageless.’ There really nothing to see here. Poorly acted, terribly directed, photography which is heavy on soft focus, rubbish kills, terrible special effects that really …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 12- Cataclysm (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 11- Terror Express (1980)

Three psychopaths are aboard a sleeper train travelling across Europe. Mayhem and violence ensue. The comparisons with Late Night Trains here is blatantly obvious. But here the premise is more fleshed out. We are presented with a whole range of characters who are also travelling on the train which includes a prost*tute and a cop …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 11- Terror Express (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 9- Madman (1981)

This slasher movie starts in the most obvious seting for a film of this ilk- a campfire! We hear of Madman Marz who was a vile man by all accounts. Abusive to his family until he decides to kill them with an axe. He then casually goes to his local tavern to have a drink …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 9- Madman (1981)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 8- Macabre (1980)

Macabre is based on real events (ahem). A middle-aged woman (Jane) is having an affair. She leaves her young son and daughter alone in their house to meet up with her lover for a passionate tryst. Unfortunately, her daughter is psychopathic and drowns her brother in the bath. Jane learns of this and rushes home …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 8- Macabre (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 7- City of the Living Dead (1980)

A seance goes badly wrong when one of those involved, Mary, has a vision of events that happened in a place called Dunwich years before, when a priest hung himself. Mary freaks out and collapses to the floor. She is later found to have died. The police arrive and think that something underhanded has occurred. …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 7- City of the Living Dead (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 5- Basket Case (1982)

Duane books into the sleazy flophouse Hotel Broslin with a large basket. It's contents consist of his deformed twin brother who he used to be conjoined with. Both Duane and his twin are hellbent on enacting revenge on the surgeons who separated them against their wishes. Basket Case will always occupy a special place in …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 5- Basket Case (1982)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 4- Mother’s Day (1980)

Three friends since high school known as The Rat Pack plan a weekend camping vacation to Deep Barrens in New Jersey. They are suddenly captured by two hillbillies who take the three women home to their demented mother who detains them and plans to torture and kill them one by one. I first learnt of …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 4- Mother’s Day (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 3- Maniac (1980)

William Lustig’s depraved classic Maniac was massively controversial when it was first released in 1980. It garnered the ultimate accolades for an exploitation film- it was HATED by Siskel and Ebert (Gene Siskel said he made it to the shotgun murder then had to leave the preview screening as he couldn’t stomach anymore!) and was …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 3- Maniac (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 1- Alien Terror (1980)

This Italian film was made before the trademark of the better-known Alien film was registered. After the success of Ridley Scott's movie, it was duly released as Alien 2. It may have been cheekily named as if it was a sequel to this film, but it wasn't. Cave explorers find more than they bargained for- …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Anomalies- Day 1- Alien Terror (1980)

The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 3- Day 82- Zombie Lake (1981)

A small French town finds it now has to fend off Nazi zombies that the residents had killed twenty years earlier and then thrown into a local lake. I wanted to really like Zombie Lake. The poster for it is great with a very skeletal looking zombie wearing an SS helmet looking utterly menacing. But …

Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 3- Day 82- Zombie Lake (1981)