White of The Eye (1987)

White of The Eye is set in the isolated deserts of Tucson, Arizona. The story involves a deranged killer on the loose who has a knack for torturing and killing rich beautiful woman. The killer tortures them before killing them to keep their eyes open so he can showcase to them in a vanity mirror, thus the title of the movie “White of The Eye”. The movie is more of a thriller directed by Donald Cammell, adapted by him and his wife China Kong from the 1983 novel “Mrs. White” by Margaret Tracy. During many of the stalking and killing scenes of the actual white of the killers eye is referenced as you can see the pupils of the killer become dilated. It is also referenced to be a saying that the Native Americans use to describe war and revenge. Detective Charles Mendoza (Art Evans) from the homicide department seeks out Paul White (David Keith), who is a specialist installing hi-fi sound systems in wealthy people’s homes. Paul has many special talents such as to make noises echo through the air in his head to show him where the sound of speakers should come from in a room. One problem with this is he can’t do his trick with his eyes open. He is married to Joan White (Cathy Moriarty) and father to a little girl, Danielle White (Danielle Smith). Paul can’t shake the past of his wife who had dated another troubled individual, Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg). Paul has various flashbacks of how he and Joan first met and how it came to be that Mike had come to abandon her. In the first of the murders, the killer even takes a shower as he meticulously leaves a blood bath behind with no clues but signs of a ritualistic murder. Joan is later questioned by Detective Mendoza who suggests that her husband Paul may somehow be involved in the slayings. At Mike’s suggestions Paul and Mike go deer hunting trip together when he first noticed that Paul becomes brutally violent when he shoots and mutilates a deer, demonstrating his twisted fascination with killing. There is a love triangle between the three individuals when Mike comes back into the picture. The movie leaves us to wonder who is capable of the murders happening around Tucson. Distrust and abandonment meet each other again as the murders continue and become more vicious and brutal, even more methodically as concepts of committing these killings in a painted face as an Indian Brave and turning the murders into ritualistically killings. The White of The Eye is a shocking and yet brilliant thriller throughout the entire movie that keeps you guessing who is committing this terror in Tucson. White of the Eye was released by Scream! Factory and is available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Streaming on Amazon Prime.

The Guardian (1990)

For thousands of years a religious order known as the Druids worshiped trees believing that every tree has a guardian spirit. Most of the trees are associated with good but many trees embodied powers of evil and darkness.  In this folktale, The Guardian by director William Friedkin is his first horror film since The Exorcist. The Guardian is based on a parent’s worst fear, losing a child. Parents of two children, Alan (Gary Swanson) and Molly (Natalija Nogulich), decide to take a trip leaving their two children in the care of a guardian, Camilla Grandier (Jenny Seagrove). Camilla’s intentions are quickly revealed as a battle for the child’s soul begins, based on the popular novel by Dan Greenburg, “The Nanny.” As the parent’s leave for their trip, Molly, the wife realizes she left her glasses at home. She returns home to find her youngest child missing and had been taken away by Camilla. Camilla sacrifices the baby to the tree in the woods which leaves the imprint of the baby’s face in its roots. Fast forward to three months later where the story continues with a new couple Phil (Dwier Brown) and Kate (Carey Lowell), and their baby boy Jake who moves into the same house. The parents hire Camilla, as a guardian to look after Jake so they can continue with their advertising jobs. Camilla quickly becomes a part of the new family. Things begin to get strange when the husband begins to have weird dreams about Jake and Camilla that begin to come true. As the story continues, Camilla is caught trying to steal Jake from the hospital after a minor injury. A detective investigating the baby’s injury tells the parents that Camilla doesn’t exist. Camilla begins to turn into part tree and attacks Kate, while Phil attempts to cut down the demonic tree with the embedded baby’s face. As he cuts down the limbs of the tree, pieces of skin start to fall off Camilla and she loses her entire leg after Phil cuts down an entire branch of the tree. The Guardian is an action packed horror film with lots of folklore on the Druids who sacrificed human beings to trees for centuries, and includes ancient evil, and the occult. The film is clearly another well directed movie by the famous William Friedkin, which makes the film a must see for horror fans. Released on Blu-Ray by Scream! Factory is now available for purchase also as DVD on Amazon.

The Nesting (1981)

The Nesting directed by Armand Weston stars Robin Groves, John Carradine, and Gloria Grahame in her final role. The Nesting stars Lauren Cochran (Robin Groves), a woman working on a Gothic novel and not only suffering from writer’s block but agoraphobia as well and seeks the assistance of a psychiatrist. She decides to leave the city for an old Victorian era house in the country in an attempt to cure her writers block. Lauren and her friend Mark (Christopher Loomis) drive out to the country and the car breaks down mid-way. Lauren decides to walk a bit to stretch her legs and follows a trail that leads her directly to an abandon Victorian era mansion. She has a strange feeling of déjà vu that she has seen or been in the house before while working on her book. She sees someone in the window but no one comes to the door. Lauren and Mark go into the house when strange occurrences start happening. She hesitantly decides to leave the house and inquires as to the owners of the house. She meets the owner and his grandson, Daniel and inquires about renting the old mansion. But before she leaves, the owner, the elderly grandfather, suffers a stroke after he first looks at Lauren. Mark returns to the city leaving Lauren to finish moving in to the old mansion. Lauren begins to have vivid nightmares. She also starts to believe the mansion is haunted. Her doctor advises her to leave and go back to the city but she refuses. She finds an antique typewriter in a closet, which gives her writers block a fresh start. At night, Lauren hears music playing up in the attic. Inside the old record player she finds clothing and jewelry she was wearing during her first vivid nightmare. Ghostly apparitions start to fly by as she chases after them room by room discovering mysterious passages and pathways throughout the house slowly unraveling the dark and shockingly violent history of the mansion. Soon after the ghost start to physically haunt various characters in the movie intent in harming Lauren, she is awakened in the middle of that night to sounds in the hall. She follows the sounds which appear to be vivid ghosts from the past haunting and reaches out for her to show her what happened to them. The house is clearly haunted and Lauren begins to slowly loose her mind even further. She asks around town about the house and hears a story about the mansion operating as a brothel in the 50’s and a gruesome bloody massacre that occurred there. The Nesting is a lost gem, now newly transferred to Blu-Ray from the original camera negative by Blue Underground, is also known as Massacre Mansion and Phobia as this haunted mansion film is sure to be a classic and haunt also available in its original format in DVD, VHS, and Streaming on Amazon Prime.

Subspecies (1991)

Subspecies is one of my favorite vampire flicks by Ted Nicholaou and Charles Band from Full Moon Entertainment who team up together to create a suspenseful and dark vampire story featuring Angus Scrimm and Anders Hove. The film begins with two traveling scholar girls, Michelle and Lillian, who team up with Mara, a local girl from native Transylvania, to conduct research on Romanian culture. With a shortage of hostels in Prejnar they find shelter in a historic fortress built from the ancient ruins of Pledmar where the Turks ambushed Romania in the fourteenth century (the historic Pledmar Fortress). Rumor has it that the Fortress itself was where the peasants from Vlad Tepes’ army barricaded themselves inside against the Turks. When food ran out they ventured from the fortress to find dead Turks with blood on their throats, in an apparent vampire attack. The main villain in this excellent vampire flick is Radu (Anders Hove) the evil one. His father (Angus Scrimm), the head vampire, has a precious stone called “The Blood Stone” and it is said to contain the blood of all the Saints. Eternal life and longevity belong to those who drink from the Blood Stone and prevents them from biting the other residents of Pledmar, as if being a vampire wasn’t enough! Radu kills his father in a jealous rage when they argue over the role of a vampire should be. There is beautiful scenery of the Romanian woods where the ground is covered with dead leaves and empty branches in the deep dark woods of mystical Romania. The girls tour the woods and come to the fortress where Lillian wants a picture of her standing in front of the fortress door as a souvenir. They investigate a little further by prying open the door where Radu has been sleeping. Radu awakens to see an arm and he takes a fresh bite. The girls were frightened by what could have bitten Lillian and dusk soon arrives. Radu now has had his first taste of blood from the girl and becomes infatuated with turning them all into vampires. While traveling back through the woods they spot Radu creeping in a tree branch (favorite moment) and they run right into Stefan, he brother, who also studies at the Pledmar Fortress. Lillian, the girl who was bitten by Radu, soon becomes ill and strange occurrences begin to happen. This is the first of a four part series and one of the best. Surely a must see vampire film. Get it now on Blu-Ray, DVD or Stream it instantly on Amazon Prime.