Psychic Daughter is now the Lead as a Year has passed and she's a Reporter.

She doesn't have enough serum for Blade to be reanimated but kept him all the same.
As is the recent trend with Full Moon and these Films, the Villains are- say it with me- more Nazis.

Yes, another Nazi Scientist and another evil plan.

What are they up to?
Blade gets a few chances to shine here as Nazi Agents work to enact their evil plan, which involves Toulon's Serum and 'a drop of electromagnetic energy.'

Yep, a drop.
Can our Heroine use her newfound/completely changed powers to save America from American Nazis?

Something something Richard Spencer being punched.  You get it.

To find out, stream the Film now.
More of the same, which is not exactly a big compliment.  Puppet Master Films have never been amazing- let's just be honest.  Trust me- I own the first NINE OF THEM.

There are good ones.  There are bad ones.  There are very bad ones!

In this case, nothing really, really bad happens.  The usual cheapness is on display yet again.  To show a new Setting, we get a random shot of a building with minor tweaking- usually CGI to put a sign on it- for a good thirty seconds and then everything plays out on a disconnected Interior Set.

They kept up the trick of having the Puppet move via man in suit digitally composed onto the background, which is nice.  There's not too much of it, unfortunately though.  

In its place, more puppet flailing, hand obviously just out of frame and other such tricks to make it look like this 5–7-inch puppet is somehow taking down fully grown people.

Thankfully there's not much CGI blood here- so another positive.

This is the kind of low-budget Film that doesn't aspire to be much and achieves that goal nicely.  I'm working on my backhanded compliments- I hope you like them.

I'll leave you with this Character making the face I make every time I hear about another Puppet Master or Evil Bong Film...

If you're familiar with how Full Moon Films play and feel today, this is no different.  It's just a shame that Blade is sidelined for 2/3 of the runtime.

They find a Nazi Ship to seek shelter on.
As they explore the Ship, they find some dead bodies and what looks like a clear attempt to make it so that nobody can leave?

What is going on?
They eventually find a missing, but seemingly-somewhat-feral girl.

If she's so innocent, why does the guy they find on board try to shoot her?!?
I'm trying really hard not to SPOIL anything on this one.

As such, I'll just end with a tease about what secrets lie deeper in the Ship.

I really want to say more...but I won't.  

To find out, stream the Film now.
An enjoyable Film for sure.  The Film doesn't exactly break the mold.  It gives you an historical version of a fairly-common Film Plot.

For instance, I've seen Ghost Ship and Death Ship, not to mention Below & Triangle.  In fact, it arguably gives you a slightly-tweaked version of a tale that still- to my knowledge- has yet to be adapted.  If you know the Film, I think you know what I mean.

The Film gives you some pretty basic Characters, but does give many of them some added depth.  One of them is chopped up before they even get on the Ship, so he obviously doesn't.  It's almost a shame that some of them get their stories ended when they do.

Without SPOILing what it is, the secret of the ship is great.  You can probably guess it- and Shudder's art will reveal it- but the execution is top notch.  Some don't look the design of the creatures, but I dug it.  It's a version of them that they we get far less than the more romantic (and cheaper) take.  Big plus.

Ultimately, the Film delivers what you'd hope for, with some twists along the way.  While its nothing major and unique, Vessel is a good time.  Now is it red out or is it just me?

If you're in the mood for a Thriller that is more of what you like, check it out.  It doesn't have too many unique aspects, but it is fun all the same.

Well, unless you're our Heroes- a rich Lady, an Asian Helper, a white Explorer and the Black Helper- who are stranded on a lost Island.  

Well, at least the US isn't about to bomb it.  Oh...they are.
Shock of all shocks- the Black Guy dies first.

To be fair, they left him alone on the Beach in a Horror Film.  It was either that or the titular Blanket Bingo.
Also on the Beach, they find...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*breaths*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

*sigh* They find the body of a She Demon.  It's that or someone killed Penny from Pee Wee's Playhouse.

They meet the other She Devils, who are less silly-looking at the moment.

They hired Dancers, so they are going to dance.

They will also look at the Camera constantly, so f##k you, 4th Wall!
They find out that this is the elaborate plan of a Nazi Scientist who turns lava-based heat into power...that only runs a machine that converts lava-based heat into electricity.

You have to walk before you can run.

Will he kill our Heroes?
Not exactly.

He wants to use the girl- who's real name is Irish BTW- for some experiments, so he won't kill her.

Of course, he's hoisted by his own petard- in this case the Lava- and everyone lives happily ever after.  The End.
A bit of silly, schlocky fun.  It's not going to win any Awards.  It wasn't meant to.

  

You see, it's Director was told that his last Film- Giant from the Unknown- wouldn't be sold to run anywhere without a 2nd Film to run as a Double-Feature.  So he took $65,000 from his advance and shot this in 6 days.

The Film was designed to emulate Men's Magazines from the time, so it included all of the stuff you'd expect.  It's got Nazis.  It's got an Island.  It's got Dancing Ladies.  It has monsters.  It's a 'Check all of the Boxes' Film, not a 'Make Your Passion Project' Film.

Sparse positives include the fact that Sammy- the Asian Lead- is not a Houseboy.  It's a big thing for 1958, alright.  Otherwise, the Film is pretty damn stock, but in a fun way.  

There's also a hint of what the Plot of Eyes Without a Face in here.  It's probably a coincidence, but that's neat.

In summary, She Demons is just schlocky enough to be fun without being too embarrassing.  It's the right kind of cheese, so not limburger.  It also teaches what happens when you mix up sticky tape with bandages...

A silly, but also pretty nothing Film that will amuse you.  You can do worse, if we're being honest.

Another Oscar Winner?  I'm spoiling you, people!  Will this one live up to the hype?  Weiterlesen...
A young boy- nicknamed Jojo- is growing up in Germany during WWII- specifically the tail end of the War.

He's rejected by his peers when he won't kill a rabbit, earning him a nickname and the Film's Title.
After an incident- which I won't SPOIL- his time as a would-be Soldier is over.  His Mother- dual Oscar nominee Johansen- stands by him all the way.
She gets him a job working to spread propaganda in the City, even as things visibly come to more ruin in the background.

This really is a Film that demands that you pay attention to the surroundings more than ever.
Jojo has an imaginary friend to help him make it through his daily life- Hitler.

A reminder- Taika Waititi is actually Jewish (his real name is Taika David Cohen), so I think he gets a pass for playing Fake Hitler.
His life changes even more when he discovers someone living in a hidden room.  Can he turn her in?
Can he live with himself if he doesn't?
Could he life with himself if he did?
As things only get worse for everyone involved, can this Film have a happy ending?

To find out, stream it or rent it via Redbox (which I did).
A fun, but also serious and heartfelt Film.  Jojo is a great focal point character for this whole thing.  He isn't evil, but he's surrounded by evil people.  He's good at heart, but has no way to be like that in a Nazi-ruled Country.  He will eventually do the right thing, which isn't always easy.  What the Film does really well is give every character some humanity to varying degrees.  A Nazi Lieutenant can do a nice thing...even if he's a Nazi.  To be fair and balanced here, the Film has some issues with balancing all of the Characters.  Many characters- like Rockwell and Wilson's- seem very important at first, but then drop in and out of the story.  I get that they aren't the lead, but it feels like parts are missing.  That's a pretty minor nitpick though.  The Film has some good humor.  The Film has some good drama.  The Film has some real sad moments.  Films like this *can* be a bit exploitational with your emotions- I'm looking at you, Life is Beautiful- and it usually works in the Oscar Season.  Thankfully, this managed to not *cheat* or do lazy bits to get emotional reactions.  Instead, it earns them through good setup, good Writing (it earned that Oscar!) and good Acting.  Given how far behind I am on Books to read, it is telling that the Film is so good that it makes me want to read the Book its based on.  Jojo Rabbit is a good Film with a good message.  It has the right mix of humor, drama and sadness.  Just one last visual reminder for how the people involved in the Film feel about actual Nazis...
Having not seen *most* of the other big Oscar Films, I can't tell you if this is the best.  I can tell you that is good and you should see it though.

As I noted in the Review, the Poster for Death Ship is more famous than the actual Film.

Does that same thing hold true for the Japanese Poster?

Well, let's find out...
Nice!

So much to unpack here though...

Giant bloody lady- nice to see you.
George Kennedy's face on a boat- looking good.
Man dangling like a puppet from a string attached to nothing- how are you?

Here's the original...
Yeah, the usual.  Brighter.  Sharper.  All that jazz.

Does a famous Poster a good Movie make?  Let's find out, shall we?  This is Death Ship, a 1980 Horror Film with a Poster more famous than it.  I personally found it years ago while looking for random Film Posters/Box Art, but never actually watched it until yesterday.  It's gotten less rare over time- even getting a Blu-Ray Release, but it's still pretty obscure.  Strangely, that release uses *different* box art!  What is the Film?  Well, despite the Title, it's not a Carnival Cruise Lines Documentary.  No, instead, it is about people trapped on an evil ship.  Basically, just picture the House from The Amityville Horror as a Boat?  Wait- The Amityville Houseboat- nobody steal that!  The events that lead to the scenario are a bit odd too.  Once on the boat, things get all sorts of freaky...eventually.  The Film has some 'curious' pacing, but I'll get to that.  To find out if this is worth the watch (free on Tubi FYI), read on...
 The first several minutes set up the situation: people are on a Cruise Ship and there's some tension.
Most of it involves the Captain- George Kennedy- being on his last trip and the new Captain- Richard Crenna- taking over.

Before this can turn into Even More Beyond The Poseidon Adventure, a strange boat crashes into the ship and it sinks, save for a handful of people.
The group slowly gets on board the creepy, rusty ship.  I mean it when I say 'slowly' too.

They spend ages dragging Kennedy- found floating in the water- up a ladder, which tips over.  They spend end my formative years dragging him and themselves up ropes.
The boat seems to be controlling itself, which it takes them forever to notice.

Before that happens, it grabs the Ship's Comic- a young Saul Rubinek!- and dumps him in the Ocean.  I guess he drowns, but only since he clearly lets go of the ship moments earlier.

If only the ship had life boats...
The ship lets them wander around, but also does some more nefarious things.  It knocks out one of the men- in slow motion, to further pad the runtime- and it seems to 'talk' to an unconscious Kennedy.
One of the women seems to get covered in freaky sores/legions and gets choked by Kennedy.  He's now up and about, but he's definitely off.

To clear things up, they were doused in oil, which is why his outfit is gray.  Also symbolism.
Afterwards, he seems to be fully-possessed by the ship and changes into the uniform of its Captain!

Well, at least he wasn't a Nazi...
As it turns out, the ship was run by Nazis!  It was apparently an 'interrogation vessel,' which is a thing?!?

They find gold teeth and lots of Nazi paraphernalia.  Are you sure it's not just Richard Spencer's Boat?
The body count eventually picks up as the ship and Captain team up on a few notable ones.

In one case, a shower starts spraying blood until the woman passes out.  The Captain tosses her overboard and I guess water = instant death.

The last man besides Crenna left freaks out big time as a reel-to-reel projector starts playing Nazi Film Reels.  He charges at the screen, but is now abruptly outside and falls into a pit full of bodies and water, drowning seconds later.
A big, silly climax involving Crenna fighting Kennedy- badly- and him not able to pursue them takes place.  The titular ship 'sees' another boat and abandons the life raft for it.  Kennedy falls into the gears, joining the crew full of Ghost Nazis.

The Film ends with Crenna escaping with his family and then that boat attack.  I think it's supposed to be two separate incidents, but the Editing doesn't make that clear.  The End?
An interesting Film- at least in spurts.  The Film was made by a long-time Director of British TV/TV Movies and this is his only Horror Film.  It's a weird one to do as a one-off, that's for sure!  The problem with the Film is the pacing.  I mentioned it before, but it bears repeating.  They give you long stretches of stuff that is supposedly-interesting, but really isn't.  Do I need to see them climb that rope in real time?  Do I need what feels like 10 minutes of people freaking out as Nazi Film Reels play?  The big moments do work pretty well- you just need patience for them to come.  The Ship as a set is a good one.  It looks old, rusty and unsafe.  It's a wonder that anyone would go 'yeah, this is better than our debris.'  The whole premise is all sorts of crazy.  What makes the Film pretty enjoyable is that it is taken so seriously, even as it get sillier and sillier.  Death Ship is a bit of a slog at times, but delivers good (or silly) moments throughout.  Incidentally, if you ever wondered what this Film's Poster would look like from a different angle, here you go...
Next up, I start to get festive as Christmas approaches.  What fresh insanity have I been saving up?  Stay tuned...

A Cult Hit that featured Sci-Fi and Nazis got a Sequel.  No, not Kung Fury (yet).  Instead, it's the one with Moon Nazis and boy did it get weirder...
In this Film, we jump ahead a hundred years or so.  The Earth was nuked to near annihilation and we all live on the Moon in the empty Nazi Base.

Me flatly telling you all this is about as exciting as the Film presents it, since they just have this lady flatly telling you this.
Life is hard as resources are limited, very few things work (despite the base being shown as HUGE in CG shots) and a Cult of Steve Jobs-worshipping folks led by Tom Green are in charge.

Good news, Bob- Tom Green is back and now he looks like Eric (of Tim & Eric).
Things get better and worse when the evil Nazi (Udo Kier) from the last Film shows up.

He has a story to tell...
So...bear with me here...

He's a Lizard Person who showed up on Earth eons ago.
His Brother turned out to be Hitler.
They live at the Center of the Earth.
Oh and a bunch of famous, random people from History were also Lizard People, ranging from Stalin to Steve Jobs to Not Sarah Palin.

All good?
Can our Heroes find the power source they need?  Will they stop posing for the Poster they didn't use?
Will the evil Cabal win the day instead?  Will they offend as many people as possible here?

To find out, stream the Film.  It took over 5 years to get made, so don't wait 5 years to see it.
A weird, crazy mess.  The Film isn't good by your standard definition.  Its Plot is a random mess.  Its Acting is only alright.  Its Humor is odd and all over the place.  Its Story introduces a strange mix of fantastical ideas and straight-up clichés.  They think that if they lamp shade them- like joking about muting the 'boring villain monologue- that they can still keep doing them.  On top of that, the Narration is both random, occasionally META and all sorts of lazy.  This is a real Tell, Don't Show affair at many times.  That said, I don't hate the Film.  Is it goofy?   Yes.  It has Lizard Person Steve Jobs interacting with Lizard Person Hitler and Lizard Person Margaret Thatcher.  It has the use of an old Cell Phone as a major Plot Point.  It has a Cult full of people that worship Steve Jobs.  Oh right- that's just reality.  The problem is that the lazy and cliché Writing really takes over the structure of the Film.  The grand adventure with the Lizard People just turns into Action Set Piece Cliché with minor tweaks.  The most interesting people in the Film- the Jobsists- don't make it past the 2nd Act.  The 'will-they-won't-they' stuff and the 'love triangle' bits are pretty unnecessary.  The Film has two good, crazy moments for every one cliché they indulge in, at least.  If you like strange, crazy adventures, this one qualifies.  That said, the 'Teaser' they used to promote their Fundraising promised Trump and Action Jesus, neither of which actually appear...
A big, silly mess.  If you like it for what it is, the Film can be silly, shallow fun.

Another Film that tells a side-story that affects the D-Day Invasion.  Is this Body Horror Film a missed gem or something to bury in a Bunker?
On the eve of D-Day, a group of Soldiers are sent into Occupied France to take out a Church Tower to help the air support.

The Film really nails the chaos of War as our Hero falls through the chaos trying just to survive.
Him and his comrades try to make it on foot, but the journey is far from easy.
In the French Village, our Hero sees people being taken into the basement of the Church and something strange is going on.
They decide to politely ask one of the men to explain it to them while they hide out at a woman's house.

Another Game of Thrones Actor- check.  Spotting these guys and gals is like a really slow drinking game!
What they find inside is too crazy and strange to believed.

Mind you, this is from a time where people *willingly* watched Punch & Judy Shows, so it must be odd!
Will the threat be too much for them?  Can they save the day?

To find out, watch the Film.  It's on VOD, DVD and other acronyms.
A salute to our Troops...but mostly to VFX People.  The Film doesn't have the most complicated Plot.  They add lots of little nuances- like each Soldier having a Character Arc- but it's mostly window-dressing.  What the Film really amounts to is a setup for some freaky effects, mad science and gore.  It takes a bit to get to the big moment, so don't go in expecting an immediate payoff.  Without the big moments, the Film would still actually be a decent Action Film/Drama too.  You care more about these Characters than you expect, making the stakes higher.  The Acting is good here too, with even at least being engaging.  Obviously some of them have more to do and thus more chance to shine.  The big showcase here, as mentioned, is given to the effects.  When things get crazy, they get crazy really quickly!  The visuals are quite inspired and match up well to other Body Horror Films.  In a way, this reminds me of other Films that have, strangely enough, covered similar ground.  The Devil's Rock, for instance, was also built around D-Day, but featured a freaky demon-lady.  Frankenstein's Army featured Nazis, mad science and other crazy transformations.  Of the three, this is arguably the best.  Besides being a salute to the Troops, this is also a salute to That Guy/Girl Actors.  For instance, enjoy Bokeem Woodbine in this (while you can)...
A crazy and overlooked Film that never quite got a chance in Theaters.  Do yourself a favor and enlist for your chance to decide for yourself!