Dollar Bin Film:Visiting Hours

By Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/

[Obligatory disclaimer:I HATE WILLIAM SHATNER!]

Seriously, I despise Mr. Priceline Negotiator, but as a writer on dbh, it is my duty to be objective when it comes to reviewing movies. It's the right thing to do. Having said that, mercifully Mr.Shatner does not have a whole lot to do in this 1982 film directed by Jean-Claude Lord. The focus instead is on Academy Award-winner Lee Grant who plays a t.v. commentator and campaigner of women's rights.

After a rather heated discussion with an attorney prosecuting a woman who murdered her abusive husband, she becomes the victim of an attacker(played by semi-legendary Michael Ironside). She survives and winds up in the hospital, only to be pursued by her misogynistic stalker. The body count rises as his hunt continues.

This movie seems to have been lost in the early-80's slasher shuffle. I really don't know why. Unlike many horror films of the time, we get a decent backstory as to why the killer has a hatred for women, though it is rather obvious. The cat-n-mouse game is done rather well. The gore is somewhat minimal, this movie preferring to build suspense rather than hack-n-slash.

The acting is pretty good, hell even Shatner manages to go light on the ham for this one(My guess was he was saving that for the then upcoming Star Trek II at the time.KHANNNNNN!!!!!). The ending is a bit long winded and predictable but other than that, Visiting Hours is a lost gem worth a view.

8/10

Prom Night (1980) - Dollar Bin Film

By: Brandon Sites - http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/

Back when I was a little kid, I had a big crush on Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. I watched the film over and over again just to see my favorite leading lady. Back in the early 90's Blockbuster came to town for the first time. I was surprised my mom got a membership there since it was on the other side of town, but she did. She told me to go find something to watch and as I was strolling the horror aisle, I discovered another horror film with Jamie Lee Curtis in it - PROM NIGHT! I immediately grabbed it off the shelf and took it to my mom and later on that night me and her were sitting in the basement eating chedder flavored popcorn to this masterpiece.

The film deals with a group of kids who play a game called Killer in an old abandoned house. The game is a variation on hide and seek. Well, one kid wants to join this group up and play along with them. She sneeks into the house and places herself into the center of the action. Unfortunately for her, these kids don't play well with others and gang up on her resulting in her falling through a window to her death. Skip to years later as this group of kids are now full fledged teens about to attend their senior prom. However, a killer lurks in the shadows ready for revenge for what happened all those years earlier.

This was one of my favorite slashers of all time back when I viewed it as a kid and still remains so to this day. As the film Scream told us, this is the film that introduced the rules to the slasher genre. It also introduced Jamie Lee Curtis's disco dancing skills! I have to say she sure knows how to move it and looks like she is giving her all her to put on a good show. What more could you want- disco dancing from a major league scream queen, creepy kids who cause other kids to fall to their death, and all the rules of the slasher genre fully realized? If that wasn't enough, make sure to stay through with this untill the ending. The identity of the killer is obvious, but the way it is presented, it sure does pack an emotional wallop.

And The Contest Winner is....

Nathan Hamilton!!! Congrats! You won ANY shirt from nachomamatees.com under $15!!! Check your email soon for more info about where to send your info! Congrats! Come back to DBH next month for a month long T-Shirt giveaway extravaganza!!!!! You DON'T wanna miss out!

Dollar Bin Film: The Changeling

By Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com

Released in 1980 and directed by Peter Medak, The Changeling is a ghost story based on the experiences of writer Russell Hunter during his stay at the Henry Treat Rogers mansion in Denver,Colorado. The movie stars Academy Award winner George C.Scott(Patton, Firestarter) as a classical music composer who moves to Seattle and a Victoria-era mansion following the deaths of his wife and daughter in a traffic accident in upstate New York.Soon he discovers the house is haunted by the spirit of a murdered young boy who is linked to powerful United States Senator and his family.

This movie is a slow tension builder(the way these kind of films should be). There are plenty of jump scares to go along with the eerie little boy haunting the house. While there is nothing in the way of gore, there are a few disturbing scenes to satisfy the horror cravings in us all. The acting is top-notch though Mr. Scott seems subdued alot of the time.

This isn't a dumb hack-n-slash or breakneck-pace piece of cinema. It takes it's time establishing itself, but once it gets going, I think you will enjoy this classic horror movie.
9/10

DBH is a Versatile Blog!

A HUGE thanks to Jinx from http://jinx-totallyjinxed.blogspot.com for bestowing this wonderful award on DBH! Brandon, Eric, and Myself all want to say thank you for thinking of us and we greatly appreciate it!

The rules attached to this award are:

• Thank the person who gave it to you.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Pass the award along to 15 who you have recently discovered and who you think fantastic for whatever reason.
• Contact the blogs you picked and let them know about the award.

Well I thanked Jinx but I think she deserves another big THANK YOU!

I am gonna work on getting Brandon and Eric to post 7 things about themselves and pick their 5 fave blogs (we'll all pick 5) but here are my seven fun facts!:
1. I LOVE to sing Evanescence!
2. I'm a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory and Glee
3. I adore Happy Feet!
4. I still listen to the Backstreet Boys
5. I'm a book worm who loves zombie books
6. I read Tarot cards
7. I'm of Ukrainian descent

And for my 5 fav blogs to pass the award on to:
http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/
http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/
http://www.undeadinthehead.com/
http://aleataillusion.blogspot.com/
http://zombiesdontrun.blogspot.com/

From Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/
Hey Reaplings! I am honored to be a member of the award-winning dollarbinhorror team. Thank you so much Jinx!

Now for 7 fun-filled facts about yours truly:
1. I am a huge KISS fan(though I love most genres of music)
2. My favorite dramatic movie is The Godfather
3. My favorite movie of all time is Star Wars:Episode IV
4. I proudly wear a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey on top of my Star Trek:The Next Generation t-shirt on my days off
5. Stephen King is my favorite author though I also enjoy Ray Bradbury, Ed McBain, Peter Straub, Richard Matheson, and J.D. Robb to name a few.
6. I am the author of the short stories Rhapsody in Black and From A Serpent's Kiss.
I'm also a contributing author to the upcoming Dead on Earth novel.
7. I had and continue to have a crush on Stevie Nicks

My five favorite blogs I bestow The Versatile Award to are
1. http://jenniferdelucy.blogspot.com/
2. http://patrick.wonderal.com/
3. http://thekidinthehall.blogspot.com/
4. http://angelicaraene.blogspot.com/
5. http://xtopher.wordpress.com/

From Brandon Sites of http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/ . Thanks Jinx for choosing us to receive this nifty little award. I am truly honered! Thanks again.

Seven fun little facts about me:

1. Favorite non horror film of all time- Jackie Brown
2. I love reading children's horror books like Short & Shivery, Goosebumps, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, etc.
3. I study astrology in my spare time
4. I never miss an episode of shows like Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, Shear Genius, Top Chef, The Next Great Artist, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Best Dance Crew, Glee, or American Idol.
5. I'm guilty of listening to Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber. (Hopefully, none of the videos of me dancing to these artists at work never get leaked onto Youtube, LOL!)
6. I still play Yu-Gi-Oh! cards with my little brother and watch the show. I guess my inner kid and nerd will always be a part of me.
7. My first childhood crush, celeb wise, was Ali MacGraw from The Getaway, Love Story, Just Tell Me What You Want, Goodbye Columbus. I had to track down every film she was in and watch them all as a kid!

The five blogs I bestow THE VERSATILE AWARD to are:
1. http://www.jadedviewer.com/
2. http://www.evilontwolegs.com/
3. http://www.fullmoonreviews.net/
4. http://www.liberaldead.com/
5. http://www.disturbingentertainment.blogspot.com/

Some Great News on my Personal blog!

Two more of my short stories are being published! "The Hive Will Perish" will appear in Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine and "Merry Christmas, Sarah!" will appear in the anthology The Undead That Saved Christmas (raising funds for charity). For more information about where you'll be able to find them, head over to http://rhonnyreaper.blogspot.com/ and read about it! (And hey, while you're there how about following the blog!)

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight:David Cronenberg

By Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/

Canadian-born director David Cronenberg is, in my view, an underappreciated talent in the world of horror. His movies walk a fine line between gore and sensuality few can possibly match. Born in Toronto, his directorial debut was the 1975 classic They Came From Within, a fantastic variation of a vampire tale in which the monsters fill their victims with a parasite, turning them into mindless, sex fiends(I guess he predicted Jersey Shore by about 30 some-odd years). Next came 1977's Rabid featuring porn star Marilyn Chambers in the lead as a blood-thirsty, rabid zombie.


Following another classic with 1979's The Brood, he broke into the mainstream with the explosive(hehe) 1981's Scanners, the James Woods vehicle Videodrome(1983), and the somewhat lackluster movie version of Stephen King's The Dead Zone (1983). He made up for this misstep with the awesome remake of The Fly(1986) featuring Jeff Goldblum with a bad case of shedding.

He finally achieved critical fame with both 1988's Dead Ringers and 1991's Naked Lunch(birthplace of the term Heavy Metal). In recent years, he's directed 1996's Crash(not to be confused with 2004's Academy Award winner), 1999's eXistenz, and is currently directing next year's A Dangerous Method.

As a horror fan, I highly recommend his early work. Appreciate his visceral talent and sociological undertones in these works or if not, just enjoy Jeff Goldblum literally falling apart.

Check out The Underground Lounge!

Hey little reapers! I recently got an email from this really cool online show called The Underground Lounge. It's a horror show thats full of humor and will leave you in stitches! Their latest show has a Zombie Luau theme and is just so fun to watch (not to mention how awesome "Boner" is, you must watch it to know what I mean)! Their next show will be up on the 31st and DBH will be mentioned! So definitely take a peek at the awesomeness that is The Underground Lounge (or little demons will eat your souls, I'm serious!). You can check them out on Myspace, Facebook, and watch all their episodes for FREE HERE!!!!

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - The Golden Age of Crap (Book Review)

Just because you can't respect a movie doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. The Golden Age of Crap serves up a sampling of junk-food flicks that gained their audiences on videocassette rental shelves during the '80s and '90s, a time when one couldn't visit the video rental store without being tempted by Italian post-apocalyptic adventures, ninja revenge yarns, and zombie-filled "camcorder epics." The movies covered here run from sleeper hits (Phantasm II) to cult favorites (The Dead Next Door), from unknown stinkers (Plutonium Baby) to undiscovered gems (America's Deadliest Home Video).

This book is a movie lovers dream. It's full to the brim with funny and well written reviews of all the b-movies we all adore (and some I've never heard of, but thanks to this book I plan on watching). The reviews are a bit more in depth and longer than most blog reviews, but definitely no boring to read. The author uses wit and humor to keep you interested and at the end of each review, he lets you know how readily available the film is incase you plan on making it a movie night. The book covers every b-movie you could possibly imagine and I can guarantee there is going to be at least one film reviewed in this book you haven't heard of (unless your a b-movie god, then I bow to your greatness). Long story short, I loved this book and you should absolutley check it out! You can pic up a copy HERE.