Cult Films

Excellent space vampire flick with some amazing animatronic work that you just can't duplicate with CGI and expect the same level of creepiness. The sets really blew me away considering I've never heard much about this other than seeing the aforementioned fx work in issues of various horror magazines back in the day. Plus lots of gratuitous nudity from one of the sexiest women I've ever seen. Yeah

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I'll be honest, a movie this cheap has no right having a monster this insanely badass and good looking in it. It was literally shocking to see it pop up in a ten dollar movie full of non actors. Even the monster's spawn are great. The photography and lighting is terrible, the sound was recorded through a kid's Mr Microphone, the acting awful, but the monster, the monster saves everything. Gotta see it to believe it.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I really wish I would have seen this before Midsomar, because this is basically the original blueprint. I can't believe how heavily that borrowed from this, even down to the psychedelics. I was fooled into praising its originality.

Would have been great to see this in the theater in '73 when it came out just to see the audience's reaction. A very twisting and winding road of a film that genuinely surprised me at the end when the mystery finally unfolds.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2 out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Basically a master class in photography by director Wong Kar Wai. Every single fucking shot could be framed and hung in some rich twat's house. The plot itself is an understated and subtle slice-of-life tale of romantic longing which is very competently depicted of course, but the real star is the eye behind the lens. The color palette and shot selection are truly a sight to behold. I can see these images staying with me for a long time to come.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2 out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Details:

Get ready for a night of chilling excitement as Texas Horror Cult proudly presents:

🎬 The Texas Horror Cult Film Festival 🎬

🏛️ Historic Texas Theatre

📅 Monday, October 23rd

Prepare to be captivated by the eerie and thrilling world of horror as talented film teams from across Texas unveil their spine-tingling creations. They've toiled relentlessly for 6 weeks, crafting their very own bone-chilling short films, and now, it's time to witness their horrors on the BIG screen!

🌟 What to Expect:

👻 16 Different Short Films (5-8 minutes each)

🕯️ An unforgettable night of Halloween Terror

🧟‍♂️ Reindeer Manor Haunted House's ghouls haunting the premises

You could have given me a thousand tries and I never would have guessed this was a Friedkin movie. There's nothing here that distinguishes it from any other creature horror. The only tip off is the synth score. The premise itself is unique though, as a killer tree must be fed babies by some kind of driad to keep her alive. There's a few pretty insane kills here, and the ending is intense, but not a lot else going on that holds your interest.

⭐ ⭐ 1/2 out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

It's pretty crazy to me that during the 70s and 80s retarded and deformed people were made to be monsters in so many horror movies. I can only imagine being a kid and horror fan back then seeing a retarded person in real life probably scared the shit out of you. Directors would just get a dumpy guy, make him stumble around in a pair of dirty underwear, tell him to grunt a lot and voilà, a living inbred nightmare. It's lazy and pretty cruel and I really don't care for this trope. Having said that, this film is pretty PG for the first 3/4s of its runtime, outside of a brief peeping tom nude scene. The last quarter though delivers the goods, and I was surprised at the genuine emotion it conveyed at the end. Both Lassick and Goldoni give performances better than this film deserves, and though there's barely any fx work to speak of, the atmosphere and tension make up for the budgetary constraints.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I kinda love this and am disappointed I waited so long to see it, although the Blu-ray is worth the wait. The colors and visuals in this are amazing. Although a Shaw Bros production it's not a kung fu movie, and not really a horror either. A mashup of Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain and El Topo, HK Cat 3 witchcraft and demonology, and Buddhist imagery, there's a lot here to take in.

After seeing it I feel it gets unfairly lumped in with the more exploitative trashy HK output of the 80s and early 90s, when it has a lot more to offer (not that I don't like those as well). For one thing just the massive amount of eye candy on screen is reminiscent of movies like Baraka/Samsara, and the force of imagination to come up with so many original set pieces and creatures is insane.

It's not without its faults, an almost inexplicable plot which is the product of being two separate movies mashed into one doesn't help things. But honestly just as a movie to sit back and absorb, it's hard to go wrong with this one.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Classic horror slasher. Needs a sequel. 6 out of 5 stars.

I probably would have liked this as a kid and that's obviously who it's for, but as an adult this is a pretty big mess of a movie. Terrible acting and a truly nonsensical series of events are mixed with flying toys, evil ventriloquist dummies, green screen fx, and an E.T. soundtrack where the director just decided to throw in everything he thought kids would like and plot be damned. Despite that, there's a few things to like, mainly the practical monster fx and well, I guess one thing to like and that's it. I wasn't bored though so there's that.

⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐