Gory greetings horroryearbok alumni! This week’s PICKS FROM THE CRYPT are another terrible trio of truly odd and often overlooked horror flicks from the early eighties. Best of all, all three of these classic flicks are now available on dvd and can be easily found at a reasonable price. Let the bloodshed begin!

“Superstition” (1982)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0084739/

A very gory 1982 shocker about a large house that is haunted by the vengeful spirit of a witch who was executed in the backyard pond centuries before. The witch Elondra vows revenge on her persecutors and lives up to her promise over the years by killing anyone who steps foot in the house. This flick begins with a great splattery sequence where a pair of teenaged pranksters scare off a couple necking in a car outside of the house and are then butchered by the witch for their efforts. This shocking scene sets the tone for the mayhem that follows.

Shortly afterwards a geeky looking minister moves into the house along with a recovering alcoholic reverend, and the reverend’s family which includes his wife, (Lynn Carlin, who also starred in Bob Clark’s classic “Deathdream”) his two tasty teenage daughters, and young son. (Billy Jayne aka Billy Jacoby of “Hospital Massacre” and “Nightmares” infamy!) The minister is supposed to be counseling the family but seems more interested in getting the girls in the sack! The clan is immediately put off by the houses’ rather freaky acting caretaker and his even more cracked out mother. Then things take a turn for the brutal and bizarre as a reverend who visits the house is ripped apart by a flying saw blade! Oddly, no one seems particularly disturbed by this horrific death and moves into the house as planned. It takes a severed arm in the backyard swimming hole to really unnerve the family and get authorities involved.

The film then takes a trip down memory lane, as we are treated to extended scenes of Elondra’s past. Her trial, possession, and execution via drowning are all shown in detail and pulled off very nicely, especially considering the low budget of the film. Things get significantly less interesting when we spend time with the reverend’s family as they argue with each other (“Shut your bitchy mouth!”) and lounge around the aforementioned swimming hole. I do credit director James W. Roberson for his decision to keep the girls in bikinis as much as possible though. Sadly, there’s no nudity or sex but the wholesale slaughter of almost every member of the cast more than makes up for it. But are the victims that died the lucky ones?

This flick is a must for fans of over the top gore. Heads explode in microwaves, people are cut in half, nailed in the head, hung in elevator shafts, crushed in a wine press, ripped apart by a flying saw blade and more! There are lots of creative death scenes to enjoy in this one. The splatter was impressive enough to earn “Superstition” a spot on the infamous “Video Nasty” list in the UK back in the day. It’s also an effective “old dark house” horror that features a genuinely creepy atmosphere with plenty of ghosts and witchcraft. The pacing is slack and the acting is awful, but the movie is well made and still works.

This is a very cool old school horror flick that deserves a larger audience. I think if this flick had more promotion behind it when it was released back in 1985 it would have become more of a cult classic along the lines of “Evil Dead” or “Phantasm.” It’s now available on dvd thanks to the fine folks at Anchor Bay.

“Midnight” (1982)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0082744/

A teenage girl named Nancy runs away from home on Easter weekend after her drunken Stepfather (played by Lawrence Tierney!) attempts to molest her. She leaves in a haste without thinking things through and has little pocket money and no car. In desperation she attempts to hitch hike to California to visit her older sister. After an encounter with another pervert offering her a ride she winds up heading south instead, riding along with a pair of traveling friends headed to Fort Lauderdale in their van.

The pair of freewheelin’ freeloaders are themselves strapped for cash, and have to steal gas and groceries whenever possible. Nancy hesitatingly agrees to help them steal in exchange for a free ride.The trio stop at a small town grocery store and have a good old time loading up their carts before running to the van with the groceries and heading for the hills. The local police give chase and the kids barely manage to escape in the nearby woods. They set up camp for the night and crash after a few hours spent smoking hash and arguing with each other.

The next morning things take a turn for the worse as two racist police officers show up at the camp and confront the kids. The cops wind up being two hicks in disguise and things quickly turn deadly. Soon the girl is the only one left alive and is forced to run for her life. She winds up the captive of a deranged family of blood drinking Satanists that kidnap young girls for slaughter. The clan plans on sacrificing Nancy to their master Satan at (you guessed it) MIDNIGHT, in an effort to bring their long dead mother’s rotting corpse back to life. The family worships their dead mother, who had taught them to kill young “demonic” girls when they were children.

John A. Russo of “Night Of The Living Dead” fame wrote and directed this 1982 film which was based on his original novel of the same name. Russo does a great job here creating a bizarre backwoods horror flick. In addition to the creepy death cult, there’s also a twisted sex abuse subplot and a lot of hamfisted religious overtones. This flick is a lot of trashy fun in the proud old school tradition of grindhouse horror. I think this film may have had an influence on Rob Zombie’s “House Of 1000 Corpses” as well. They both share similar stories and the same gritty homemade claustrophobic vibe.

Despite a shoestring budget this film features a plentiful amount of bloody mayhem which was provided by none other than Tom Savini! The stabbings, throat slittings, and splashy gunshot wounds on display are all very impressive. This film should also be of interest to Romero fans for featuring John “Martin/Martinez” Amplas in a supporting role. Legendary actor Lawrence Tierney turns in a great sleazy performance as the drunken child molesting police officer turned attempted hero. I just wish we could have seen more of him here. He’s easily the best actor involved in the picture.

This relatively obscure but very worthwhile horror flick is now available on a bare bones dvd thanks to Lions Gate. Better than nothing I guess. It can be found for cheap and is certainly worth a look for 80′s horror enthusiasts. Fans of flicks like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Mother’s Day,” “Last House On The Left,” and of course “House Of 1000 Corpses” should appreciate this.

“Xtro” (1983)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0086610/

A young lad named Tony is playing with his father Sam outside of their country cottage one day when the skies unexpectedly turn black and Daddy gets abducted by a large alien spaceship! Three years later Sam returns, but much different than before. He shows up at home one day, much to the shock of his former wife Rachel (played by the odd looking Bernice Stegers of “Macabre” infamy) who has shacked up with a guy named Joe. Joe is immediately distrustful of Sam, Rachel is torn between two lovers, and Tony is delighted to have his daddy back. Then Sam’s true motives are revealed and a tense custody battle ensues. This flick could be described as a nightmarish combination of “Kramer Vs. Kramer” and “Alien.”

This incredibly fucked up 1983 sci-fi/horror hybrid, which is often dismissed as a mere “Alien” clone by people who have never seen it, defies all logic. It was largely written by director Harry Bromley Davenport during an admitted drug binge! The working title “Judas Goat” gives you a hint at his mind state at the time. Then a trio of other writers and even New Line producer Robert Shaye got involved and began contributing off the wall ideas. The end result is a brutal and bizarre horror film full of surreal scenes that are completely unrelated to each other.

The numerous highlights which I purposefully avoided in my opening synopsis include a killer dwarf clown with a lethal yo-yo, killer toy tanks, a toy soldier that grows to human size and turns murderous, a woman raped orally by an alien, rapid fire pregnancy capped off with giving birth to a full grown adult male, said altered male breathing deadly gas and eating snake eggs, an extraterrestrial shriek which melts telephones and makes ears bleed, death by black panther (the animal, not the militant Negro), gobs of green goo, and last but certainly not least some beautiful gratuitous nudity provided by the stunning Maryam D’Abo, who is turned into an alien egg incubator!

The effects are hit and miss in my opinion, but two scenes in particular really stand out. First is the introduction of the alien, which is a nasty looking crab like creature that walks on all fours. It’s only briefly seen in this form, but it’s creepy as hell. This memorable effect was achieved by hiring a contortionist mime that could crawl on his back! The other scene that deserves special mention is the incredibly disgusting sequence where an unlucky woman gives birth to a full grown man! This gruesome birth scene is shown in sickening flesh ripping detail and never fails to make me retch. I’m guessing it was this scene that helped the film win an International Fantasy Film Award for Best Special Effects.

This delightful film is a personal favorite of mine and is currently available on dvd thanks to Image Entertainment. I highly recommend purchasing the double feature dvd which also includes the vastly inferior yet oddly entertaining Jan Michael Vincent epic “Xtro 2.” The best part of the dvd has to be the tell-all interview with director Harry Bromley Davenport, where Harry shares a lot of great stories about the making of the films and offers his very honest opinions on them! It’s hilarious stuff that will make you appreciate the film even more. Fans of twisted sci-fi and horror should definitely seek this one out! A good time is guaranteed.

Check out this very cool German theatrical trailer for “Xtro!” No dialog needed.

KEEP THE BLOOD FLOWING!!!

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