Castle Freak (1995)

Castle Freak is an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation from the short story “The Outsider”, directed by Stuart Gordon  and released by Full Moon Entertainment. The plot involves a family who inherits a 12^th century mansion in Spain. John Reily (Jeffery Combs), Susan Riley (Barbara Crampton), and Rebecca Reily (Jessica Dollarhide), as their blind daughter, move into the 12^th century mansion. The family is still recovering from a drunken driving accident that killed their son and left the daughter blind. John is a recovering alcoholic and is attempting to win back his families trust. While John combats his own demons, there is something living in the basement. This basement creature is a maniac and eats humans if it isn’t chained to the wall. Strange noises occur throughout the house and the Reily family believes that it’s just the old mansion. The creature becomes loose and wreaks havoc on the mansion murdering guests and leaving John as the prime suspect. John later finds out that the creature in the basement is his brother. His mother locked him in the basement due to her embarrassment of his disfigurement and that his father was not her husband’s. The film is an excellent adaptation to the short story and keeps you in your seat the entire time. It has become one of my favorite films from Full Moon Entertainment. Castle Freak was released recently by Full Moon Entertainment on DVD or BluRay, as well as a UK version on BluRay or DVD by 88 Films. It can be purchased through Amazon on either format and is a must own for any horror fan.

The House on Sorority Row (1983)

The House on Sorority Row is a cult classic in the horror genre known as an American slasher film, directed by Mark Rosman. The plot follows seven young sorority sisters who pull a cruel prank on their strict house mother, Mrs. Slater (Lois Kelso Hunt). The prank involved one of the sorority girls pointing a gun to threaten Mrs. Slater but her heart gave out and she died. Covering up the body of Mrs. Slater, the sorority sisters now have time and the ability to throw a graduation party they always wanted but weren’t allowed. During the graduation party, guests are being targeted along with seven sorority sisters. Little did they know that Mrs. Slater had a disfigured and mentally challenged son, Eric (Charles Serio) who lived in the attic and witnessed the prank.  Eric is now out for revenge. The film is a classic slasher film from the 80’s and has all the criteria for being a cult classic as the sorority sisters think Mrs. Slate was not dead and is getting revenge. Eric is now on the prowl as only one survivor is left to defeat his malicious intentions. The House on Sorority Row needs to be in your horror collection and is a cult masterpiece. Released and re-mastered in widescreen with extras, The House on Sorority Row has been released on BluRay on a 2-Disc set by Scorpion Releasing and is not one to pass up on. It can be purchased through Amazon or directly from Scorpion Releasing as a limited edition to 2200 prints.

The Dead Pit (1989)

The Dead Pit is a thrilling horror directed by Brett Leonard. The film starts with a crazed doctor / serial killer Dr. Ramzi (Danny Gochnauer) who performs open brain experiments on his patients, eventually turning them into crazed blood thirsty zombies. Within the confines of the asylum his colleague Dr. Gerald Swan (Jeremy Slate) finds out what he is doing in the cellar with the missing patients and ends up killing him and sealing up the cellar chamber with the patients and him in it, hoping that he can look past the gruesome experiments’ his partner performed within the asylum. Twenty years later the asylum is run by his partner who is a bit more kind on the human psyche, when one day a Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson) appears complaining that she remembers her memory being removed and nothing else diagnosed with amnesia. Meanwhile during an eruption of earth quakes the seals to the chamber break open releasing the angry spirit of Dr. Ramzi and the zombie patients onto the unsuspecting new patients within the state institute. With Jane Doe’s acquaintance at the hospital Christian Meyers (Stephen Foster) they fight the relentless army of zombies finding their weakness and entombing them back to where they came from. The Dead Pit is a fun Horror/Thriller with many convincing actors and well done effects, this blast from the past is a must see. The Dead Pit is now available on DVD.

Night School Aka Terror Eyes (1981)

Night School Aka Terror Eyes is an American Slasher film directed by Ken Hughes and written by Ruth Avergon. The plot surrounds a series of decapitation of college coeds in Boston. Upon its release, England placed the film under the video nasty category. The film opens up with Anne Barron (Meb Boden) a teacher’s aide at a local daycare center in Boston, waits on a carousel with the last child to be picked up.  Suddenly, a mysterious assailant pulls up in a motorcycle and begins to circle around the carousel pulling out a kukri and decapitates Anne. Detective Judd Austin (Leonard Mann) is assigned to the case and discovers her head in nearby in a bucket of water. He finds out that she had been attending night classes at Wendall College where a series of similar acts of decapitation have been happening to coeds. Detective Austin and his partner Taj (Joseph Sicari) begin to suspect the murders may be linked to Professor Vincent Millett (Drew Snyder) who has a habit of getting too close with his students. Pulse raising chases, a killer wearing a motorcycle helmet and a meat clever and brutal decapitations stream throughout the film, keeping you guessing whether it could be Professor Millet or Eleanor Adjai (Rachel Ward) a foreign exchange student who also has close relationships with the students. Night School is a must see Thriller/Horror Film of the Slasher genre that’s a must see for any fan of the classics. Night School is available for purchase on DVD and available for streaming through Amazon.