KODIE
2010 - NR - 71 Minutes
D: Abel Berry
S: Jennifer Stone - Jayson Champion - Abel Berry - Michael McGibson
DVD Courtesy of http://www.bsentertainmentfilms.com B.S. Entertainment
Widescreen/Stereo
Extras: Screener/None Available

A goat-horned, oatmeal caked demonic witch finds a true heart of malice in Kodie, a young girl she curses to grow up and slaughter anyone in the town that isn't pure. As a young adult and played by the beautiful Jennifer Stone, she now runs around in a teddy bear outfit under a haunted house slaughtering her way through the population in an underground labyrinth of caves. Along comes a paranormal research team with the moniker S.H.A.T.T. on their shirts to give new fodder to Kodie's cannibalistic and gleeful ways of ripping apart human beings. We follow David, a kind of "everybody" dude who is going through a rough time (unable to see his kid, money troubles, etc.). He's a part of the team, but can't believe how obnoxious, arrogant or just plain stupid some of the rest of the crew is. Once the slaughter begins, other characters begin to unfold along with Kodie's back story. It's very tongue & cheek at times and pretty gory considering the budget of only $4,000. While it's impressive what they accomplish, it doesn't mean the movie is entirely successful. Some of the acting is rough, the visual effects (cave falling in) and props are poorly handled, and some of the jokes are stale. That said, there's a lot of fun for low budget gorehound and slasher fans to be had here. The head explosion, piles of bloody bodies, mashed up intestines plopping on the floor, body limbs being torn off, Kodie eating out the throats of her victims or their bowels all make up for a bloody good time. – Mark Engle

KISS OF THE TARANTULA
1975 - PG - 85 Minutes
D: Chris Munger
S: Suzanne Ling - Eric Mason - Herman Wallner - Patricia Landon
DVD Courtesy ofVCI Entertainment
Anamorphic Widescreen/Dolby Digital Stereo
Extras: Double Feature with RUBY - Trailers

Susan lives with her parents in a funeral home. She's definitely Daddy's little girl, but Mommy thinks her daughter's obsession with spiders is very unhealthy. Little Suzy doesn't like this so she torments mother into a heart attack by placing a tarantula on her when she's napping. Years later, in high school, she's pretty much a loner and picked on by her classmates. When a few go too far and end up killing one of her precious bugs and humiliates her, she goes on a tarantula revenge. Now, I'm a sucker for these animal amuck movies and cinema where the loner is friends with a deadly animal and uses them for revenge, but many genre fans might not get into this one. I've been a fan for years, but even I have to admit it is hard to swallow a movie where healthy young people die just because some tarantulas are crawling on them. This isn't the original WILLARD or even STANLEY, but there are some nice claustrophobic scenes and creepy crawlers for anyone with the slightest sense of arachnophobia to freak them out. Even creepier yet is her perverted Uncle, the town's sheriff, who has the hots for her (he used to do Mommy too!). Real spiders are used rather than the rubber variety, but there really are no effects shots throughout. So basically, not nudity and gore yet this was a drive-in exploitation movie from the 70's. Speaking of Drive-Ins, just like RUBY (the other feature available on this disc), both have great scenes involving an actual Drive-In, which makes both movies nostalgic, especially those of us who grew up going and watching horror double features in our cars. However, as much as I like to defend KISS OF THE TARANTULA, because I've been a fan of it for years, it isn't the easiest to recommend to fellow horror enthusiasts. If you are a sucker like I am for this kind of thing, you may want to check it out, all others should watch KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS and GRIZZLY instead. - Mark Engle

THE KOREAN
2008 – NR – 100 Min.
D: Thomas Dixon
S: Josiah D. Lee – Jennifer Vos – Jack Erdie
DVD courtesy of Indican Pictures
Anamorphic Widescreen / Dolby Digital 2.0
Extras: Deleted Scenes – Interview Segment – Trailers – Other Trailers

This is an impressive independent film. That was a feeling I had the first time I sat down with The Korean. Then, I learned that Dixon and friends made this for about seven thousand dollars. Now I refer to it as an extraordinarily impressive independent film. In some unnamed major city there are several factions of organized crime at work. One man sets into motion a plan to get himself a little something extra and that plan brings action to the streets. The unseen victim of this skullduggery is a man we know only as a voice on the phone that everybody calls “C.B.”. C.B. has an ace up his sleeve; a loyal and extremely deadly cleaner known to some as Mister Lee, and to everybody as The Korean. I realize this isn’t much of a plot synopsis but that’s about all I can give. Not for any lack of purpose in the script, but by filmmaker design. The first thirty-five minutes is a fast-paced series of events that often flash forward or backwards to paint an overall picture. The rest of the running time, after the on-screen titles that state “from the beginning”, is where the details get filled in. Slowly, violently, energetically, they get filled in. And even though you may think you know how things are going turn out in the end after only about a half-hour has gone by, you don’t. Surprising first full-length effort from Dixon features a lot of accomplished style and confidence that screams past any small-budget limitations. The acting is generally solid, the soundtrack is terrific, and The Korean himself is lifted to almost mythical heights. The mysterious man at the center of everything is interesting to watch and death dealing criminal though he may be you end up really rooting for the guy. Would you believe they even manage to work in a little romance? Well, they do. The cover is so much marketing ballyhoo, so don’t grab this up expecting to see any exploding cities, but what you do get is a decent and fiery little crime-drama that always tries its best. Definitely not a film for those with an excessive attention deficit disorder, The Korean is a solid effort that demands a little something from you, but gives twice as much back. We hope to see more of Thomas Dixon’s work in the future. - Michael Mackie

KILL DEVIL HILL
2010 – NR – 12 Minutes
D: Ace Jordan
S: Melinda Bennett, Taylor Graham, Aiden Miranda
DVD Provided By Jordanfilm Empirical Pictures
Widescreen/Stereo
No extras

This SOV short subject is sort of a teaser by writer/director Ace Jordan for bigger and better things to come. From what I’ve read on their Facebook wall, Jordanfilm Empirical Pictures intends to expand this short into a feature length movie. Supposedly based on a “true story regarding an unsolved crime that triggered a bizarre series of murders throughout North Carolina,” the plot offers up evil spirits, brutal filicide, and a confusing mystery. While the ominous music score and the “true story” dynamic help build a creepy feeling of impending doom, there are drawbacks. First off, the acting isn’t always the best, which is distracting. The acting needs to be believable if the so-called true story is to be believed. Secondly, some of the scenes are over-lit and there are times when the direction is a touch too passive, given what is taking place on the screen. These issues might be due to the short apparently being shot in 37 hours over a three day period, but even so, they will need to be addressed when the feature goes into production. Should those corrections be made, there is a good chance that filmmaker Jordan will have a winner on his hands. As it is, this short is a capable prologue that sparks interest in the viewer. – Craig Hamann

KILLER'S MOON
1978 - NR - 90 Minutes
D: Alan Birkinshaw
S: Anthony Forrest - Tom Marshall - David Jackson - JoAnne Good
DVD provided by Redemption/Salvation Films
Widescreen/Mono
Extras: Interviews - Commentaries - Trailers - Galleries

Four escaped mental patients stumble on a countryside motel full of school girls. Problem is, these society rejects think they are actually on an experimental LSD trip set up by a psychiatrist and need to be divulging their deepest fantasies no matter how violent. A few acres away are a couple of campers who stumble on one girl (after being raped by all four men) and decide to help the girls escape. Only for some it is too late. This is one depraved movie with gore set pieces, rape scenes, animal cruelty (fake, but animal loves be warned, it is graphic) and insane cinematic moments. Not all of it works and it is dated (the girls talk about rape like it is no big deal!), but horror fans of British cinema will find a lot to like here. There's plenty of style, atmosphere, nudity, violence and pretty UK gals to satisfy most fans of the genre. With the mentally insane all dressed in white, one in a top hat and speaking to each other using proper last names and talking all poetic, one thinks there's a nod towards A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, or at least an attempt to be similar. The low budget shows, especially with the special effects, but the movie benefits from the countryside location and the motel itself. The building is rustic and the forest appropriately foggy. While not the best of its type, I have no problem recommending KILLER'S MOON to those who want to venture into this particular bent world of the horror genre. - Mark Engle

KIRENJI GIRLS’ COMBAT SCHOOL
2008 – NR – 125 Min.
D: Shuya Yoshimoto
S: Maho Rukawa – Miro
DVD courtesy of Switchblade Pictures (Section23 Films)
Anamorphic Widescreen / Dolby Digital Stereo
Japanese with English subtitles
Extras: Trailers

Manga-centric madness from Switchblade Pictures offers up an endless bounty of beautifully bombastic babes bashing brutally. 17 year old Maki just wants to fight; that’s all. To prove it, she wanders the city taking on the leaders of fighting gangs from different schools. Eventually she discovers the Kirenji Combat School for Girls and enrolls with the hopes of finding a worthy adversary. She quickly comes up against two powerful vixens vying for the top spot at Kirenji and they are just as driven and vicious as she is…. Maybe even more-so. The three of them embark on an ass-kicking voyage of emotional turmoil and self discovery that could finally lead them to a better place… if they don’t kill each other first. This story is told in two volumes, presented complete on this DVD and separately selectable. There is something magnetic about these Switchblade releases. In a way it’s inexplicable. The budgets are low, the scope is thin, and in the case of Kirenji you have to acknowledge and embrace that usually suppressed fetishistic fan-boy inside of you that enjoys watching two hours of Japanese women dressed in schoolgirl uniforms kicking the living crap out of each other to admit enjoying yourself! The anime style is amusing and starts over the top with (poor) CGI enhanced punches and kicks, freeze-frame information screens for all the major players, and exaggerated sound effects during the many, many, fight scenes. Unexpected amounts of character depth are reached before the final credits, more than you’d think when first sitting down with such a title, and it helps. The fighting itself ranges from bland and unconvincing to fairly well choreographed and the big three-way brawl actually manages some intensity. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many scenes of people coughing up blood in one movie before. No presence of sex and sleaze this time, Kirenji is all about continuous spleen-shattering combat. As always with these releases, the niche audience they are aimed at will have themselves a heck of a time. As for everybody else? Approach with due caution. - Michael Mackie

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE
1988 – PG-13 – 86Min.
D: Stephen Chiodo
S: Grant Cramer – Suzanne Snyder – John Allen Nelson – John Vernon
MGM Home Entertainment DVD – Released as part of the Midnite Movies line.
Anamorphic Widescreen / Dolby Digital Surround
Extras: Too many to list.

Aliens land their craft in a small town and begin to terrorize the citizenry while a young couple fights to prove the danger to the local authorities before it’s too late for everybody. Think this all sounds familiar? Cliché perhaps? Been there done that? Well, think again! This unbelievably creative example of mad genius from the Chiodo Brothers is unlike anything that came before it… or since. The spaceship is a giant circus tent that contains bloodsucking interstellar clown-creatures hell bent on storing up the town for snacks and, perhaps, other nasty bits of business while they travel through the galaxy. Balloons, popcorn, pies, cotton candy, and puppets are among the weapons used to thin out the local population while Mike (Cramer ~ New Year’s Evil), Debbie (Snyder ~ Return of the Living Dead II), and Debbie’s ex-boyfriend Dave the policeman (Nelson ~ Deathstalker 3) run for their lives. Every time something happens you think can’t be topped… they top it. The F/X are fantastic and man is that theme song catchy! Trying to introduce something like this to the uninitiated might be frustrating, but stick with it. They’ll thank you eventually. Highly imaginative, unique, insane, and even kreepy, Killer Klowns is a kool kult klassic from the 80’s that belongs in your kollection. It’s sad to think that the days when you could see movies like this on the big screen are long gone. If only that statement could be proven wrong… Until then, the Killer Klowns From Outer Space are here and recommended. -Michael Mackie