DVD review: Legend of Moonlight Mountain (2005)

A group of people awaken on a desolate mountain. Wandering through the forest, they try to decipher how they arrived there. Soon, they realize that there is more to this story than they know. As the sun goes down, the dead begin to rise and the group's worst nightmares come true. Legend of Moonlight Mountain is written and directed by Timo Rose who also handles the special fx, editing and the sound department. Independent film regulars Andreas Pape, Sebastian Gutsche and Thomas Kercmar have parts in the film.
It´s pretty well shot and edited but sometimes, especially in the beginning, the editing is so quick that we hardly get to so see the gory effects. The editing is sometimes a bit confusing.
Good atmosphere, nice setting and acceptable acting.
The special fx, created and handled by Timo Rose, are both practical and visual (there are some CGI) and there is some pretty cool effects on display, I especially liked the tentacled demons.
The pacing is pretty good and the film is just 79 minutes long, it takes a little while to get going but the last third is almost non stop carnage with monsters and zombies.
The review is based the DVD released by CMV Laservision. The film is uncut and german language only and I´ll have to point out that my understanding of the german language is a bit limited so I´m pretty sure I´m missing out on some of the plot.
Rating: 3½ out of 7. Legend of Moonlight Mountain is fully approved entertainment.

/JL

DVD review: Space Wolf (Video 2003)

A group of criminals gather together for aggression therapy in the forest and things soon deteriorate to arguments, fist fights, thievery, and stabbings. To make things even worse, a vicious space monster is running around slicing up the stray criminals with razor sharp claws. Space Wolf is directed by Timo Rose and we recognize several actors from other german independent flicks (for example Andreas Pape and Sebastian Gutsche). The camera work and editing is so and so and the acting ranges from below average to bad. Pacing is slow and it feels like it takes forever for the monster to arrive and the carnage to begin. Space Wolf is, simply put, a pretty boring film, it´s supposed to be a monster movie but there is a serious lack of monsters and carnage instead we get a lot of youths arguing and fighting with each other. The special fx, gore and creature design, is created by Olaf Ittenbach and as usual he shows that he is a wizard of effects. His effects are without a doubt the high light of Space Wolf.
This review is based on the DVD released by Fleshlight Pictures, it´s uncut and has english subtitles but not all of the dialogue have been translated and the subtitles are not always in sync with the dialogue.
Rating: 1 out of 7. Space Wolf is a failure and a major dissapointment, the concept is good and has potential, someone forgot that it´s a monster movie,  it takes too long for anything to happen and there is not enough carnage. The only saving grace is Olaf Ittenbach´s special fx which are excellent as always.

/JL

DVD review: Rigor Mortis: The Final Colours (2003)

Left alone by the death of their mother, and with no father present, brothers Ritchie(Andreas Pape) and Norman (Sebastian Gutsche) only have each other to rely on. Ritchie struggles to balance his life between looking after Norman and developing a meaningful relationship with his casual girlfriend Nadja (Anja Gebel). One day, when Nadja is out walking Norman in the countryside, a new computer virus falls into the hands of Norman after a person covered in blood gives it to him. Having seen the object passed to Norman, Queens (André Reissig) believes they are part of a conspiracy to rob Denver (Dan van Husen) of the super virulent computer virus that his organisation has created - and intends to sell to the highest bidder. The fact that Nadja is calling Ritchie at the time makes Queens even more convinced of their plot. To find out their involvement and have his property returned, Denver sends his team of sadistic torturers to kidnap Nadja and extract information and they will do anything to get it. Rigor Mortis - The Final Colours is written and directed by Timo Rose The  acting is pretty average, no one stands out as better or worse. It´s obvious that Timo Rose has a lot of ambition and the film isn´t a simple splatter flick such as Violent Shit. The pacing is good, good camera work and editing but the limitations of the budget is visible. The team creating the special fx are Olaf Ittenbach, Timo Rose and Raman Shafai and let´s just say that Rigor Mortis -  The Final Colours features some really well made, gruesome and nasty gore.

The review is based on the DVD released by Neo Cinema, it´s uncut and there is english subtitles available.

Rating: 6½ out of 7. Rigor Mortis - The Final Colours promises and delivers the gore and nastiness. For me the shortcomings in the story and film making are easily overlooked

/JL

DVD review: Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen Part 2 (Video 2002)

A psychopathic sexkiller lives in an abandoned house with his rubber doll Rita. He secretly photographs women, from the photos he chooses who his next victim will be. One of the women he has taken prisoner manages to free herself and..... 
Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen Part 2 is written and directed by Andreas Bethmann under his alias A.M. Bertucci and it´s a offical sequel to Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen.
There´s no need to comment on the acting skills as there is no acting just plenty of sex.
Technically this film is weaker than the previous one, it looks and feels cheaper with porr camera work, the sound track is more or less the same as in part 1 and I´ve already stated that it was one of the strong points and it is in this film also. There is a really pathetic attempts at gore that´s really cheap and badly made.
The review is based the DVD released by X Rated. The film is uncut and german language only but there isn't much in the way of characters or story. Actually I can´t remember any dialogue at all...
Rating: 0½ out of 7. Here we get more of the bad parts of Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen, a lot of over long, repetitive and boring sex scenes. I don´t even think that this does appeal to the forced-sex fetish fans. The good parts of part 1, the scenes with the rapist interacting and tormenting his captive, the scenes that actually had potential and were creepy are nowhere to be found in Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen Part 2


/JL

DVD review: Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen (Video 2000)

A faceless killer keeps a woman chained up in his basement and forces her to watch a film of his past exploits and former victims. Vegetarierinnen zur Fleischeslust gezwungen is written and directed by Andreas Bethmann under his alias A.M. Bertucci. As usual with Andreas Bethmann there is a ton of nudity and explicit sex scenes which take up a majority of the film. I found that the film quickly gets boring because of the repetitive and lengthy sex scenes. All the scenes have the same beginning with a woman masturbating, forced fellatio and so on. The theme should appeal to the forced-sex fetish fans. Keep in mind that this film is in no way as shocking or nasty as Eric Stanze´s Scrapbook. There are some truly creepy and unsettling moments with the rapist vs. the prisoner in the basement that has great potential but Bethmann sadly choose to focus on other things. Technically seen the film isn´t too badly made, it features good camera work, editing and the soundtrack is mostly excellent.
This review is based on the dvd released by X-Rated ( a DVD label owned by Andreas Bethmann), it´s uncut and has english subtitles.
Rating: 1 out of 7. The main problem is the timing in this film, it's a bit over long. Some scenes are just too long and the repetitive sex scenes are not very exciting. More plot, more focus on the rapist and his prisoner would have been a benefit to the film, now it´s just a failed opportunity.

/JL

DVD review: Family Secret (2009)

First of all I´d like to thank Forris Day Jr. for sending me a copy of Family Secret.
Phyliss McGee was a wicked woman when she was alive, but now that she´s dead, she is far worse. Geno McGee (Forris Day Jr), the grandson of Phyliss, is reunited with his family after her death but soon discovers that there is something wrong. There is a family secret. What appears to be the dead grandmother is going around with a meat cleaver in hand and butchering family members. Forced to cover it as a journalist, Geno gets too close and soon finds out what his family has been hiding for years. He discovers the FAMILY SECRET!
Family Secret is written and directed by Geno McGahee. It´s a ambitious film made on a low budget which is quite obvious but it has a lot of charm, some humor and a unexpected hero who looks like a average Joe instead of the . The acting ranges from average to downright bad but this is a independent film made on a very tight budget so you shouldn´t have to high expectations. There are also some bad casting, if a actor is supposed to play the father of a character they shouldn´t be of roughly the same age....
Technically the film isn´t perfect, the camera work, sound and editing is ok by me as I´ve seen far worse. The body count is unexpectedly high but the special fx isn´t very good and several kills occur off screen.
Rating: 5½ out of 7. I did enjoy Family Secret, yes it´s uneven but mostly it´s great fun.


/JL

DVD review: The Hounds (2011)

First I´d like to thank Roberto del Piccolo for sending me a screener, now let´s get to the review.
Sarah (Maddie Moate), Jake (David Drew), Dave (Paul Tonkin) and Martin (John Doughty) at a local pub and we listen in on conversation that ends with them deciding to go camping on the weekend. After pitching their tents and getting comfortable, they make the grisly discovery of a body covered in the ground and their camping trip turns into a nightmare. We also get introduced to Mike (Andy Callaghan) a police officer that is investigating a case that one can interpret as having something to do with the four friends. The plot focuses more on the camping but keeps getting back to Mike's plot line and the two stories will eventually intersect.
The Hounds is written by Roberto del Piccolo who also is one of the three directors, the other two are Maurizo del Piccolo and Trevor Gittings.
The actors are good, better than average and from a technical viewpoint the film is well made with good camera work and editing, the only complaint I do have is that it sometimes sounded as they were in a studio when they are in a tent but mostly the setting is used to good effect.
There is some gore and it´s all practical special fx.
The film can be watched online at http://www.thehounds-themovie.com/
Rating: 5½ out of 7. The Hounds was different to what I expected, there are some good acting on display and a nice twist. Check it out.

/JL

DVD review: Alistair (2010)

First of all I would like to thank Aaron Cartwright for sending me a screener of his film Alistair! Two ruthless killers on the loose pick the wrong house....Waiting is an evil presence beyond their comprehension...And it's hungry. Alistair is a short film (running time 11 minutes) from Australia, it´s written and directed by Aaron Cartwright and it´s tight, tense and well made. Nice use of the setting, good camera work and editing.The acting is average but nothing to complain about.
There is little bit of gore but this film is more about atmosphere than gruesome displays of graphic carnage. It does have couple of good jump scares.
Rating: 5½ out of 7. I will definitely keep a look out for the next film, short or feature length, from Aaron Cartwright. 

/JL

DVD review: Predators Hell´s Tomb (2008)

An ancient tomb, hidden deep in the remote wilderness, its secrets swallowed
by time…
A key that holds the promise of unlocking the tomb’s secrets… But some secrets… should stay buried.
Rune lore specialist, Morgan Sinclair (Sara Rabey), journeys to a remote archeological dig site to discover the fate of her missing brother, Maxvell, who disappeared after opening the tomb of Hadean, an ancient demon bent on the destruction of the earth. Led by a mysterious tracker and accompanied by a team of heavily armed mercenaries, Morgan arrives at the site only to find it abandoned and in bloody shambles. Reconnaissance of the area leads to more questions than answers,and the group quickly find themselves being hunted by the bone-gathering Hadean. Now stranded with no way of contacting help, the survivors must find a way to defeat Hadean before they too fall prey to his reign of terror!
Neil A Wentworth has co-written the story, wrote the screenplay, produced, shot, edited and directed Predators Hell's Tomb (originally simply called Hell's Tomb). He is also involved in creating the soundtrack and has many more credits listed, I counted during the credits and believe it was a total of 26. The acting is pretty bad, the tough and heavily armed mercenaries are a pathetic joke and doesn´t look or act like professional soldiers.
Now Predators Hell's Tomb is a horror film with monsters, and the creature looks pretty original but it also looks pretty ridiculous. The soundtrack is well made and fits the proceedings and helps creating some atmosphere, the camera work and editing is mostly good. It has the obvious color-filtered and slightly distorted monster POV but thank god that is not exaggerated. The running time is barely 80 minutes so Predators Hell´s Tomb does have a pretty high pace. There ain´t enough gore to satisfy the gorehounds, we get practically simple typical indie horror-splatter effects, head off, hand off... They use some CGI towards the end of the film but the creature is all practial man in suit special fx.
The review is based on the DVD released in Germany by KNM Home Entertainment. It has both german and english audiotrack.
Rating: 2 out of 7. The 80 minutes pass quite quickly, it´s a small, inexpensive 80-minute film, it´s not great or original but it´s tolerable entertainment for the moment.

/JL

DVD review: La Petite Mort (I) (2009)

Simon (Andreas Pape), Nina (Inés Zahmoul) and Dodo (Anna Habeck) are three young people on their way to a holiday in the sun, but their flight is delayed in Frankfurt. They decide to take a trip to town to kill time. They stray into the city's poorer neighborhoods, and eventually ends up in a restaurant "Maison de la petite mort" (which roughly means "the little death house"). They soon get in a heated discussion with the employees and it will prove to be costly. The restaurant here is just a cover for a far more lucrative business. In the basement the owner, Madame Fabienne (Manoush) and her psychopathic daughters (Annika Strauss and Magdalena Kalley) runs a torture chamber. There, wealthy businessmen can buy their own victims, to do what they please with. Through its wrangling with the staff, Simon, Nina & Dodo directly placed on Madame Fabienne list of victims that are for sale.
La Petite Mort is written and directed by Marcel Walz and there is no need to deny the similarities to Eli Roth´s Hostel but La Petite Mort is much better and much more extreme.
The acting in La Petite Mort is good and convincing but especially Manoush is really good as Madame Fabienne. Techniqally it´s well made with good camera work, lighting and sound.
It´s a depraved, nasty and sadistic film and there is plenty for the gorehound. It´s special fx wizard Olaf Ittenbach who is responsible for the wonderfully gruesome gore and it´s all practical fx.
This review is based on the DVD released by Dark Entertainment, it´s region 2, has english and swedish subtitles and a german audiotrack.There is a making of documentary, audio commentary included as special features.
Rating: 7 out of 7. La Petite Mort is highly recommended and a must see for gorehounds! If you´re squemish you better stay away!! Now I will have to try to get hold of Marcel Walz earlier film Tortura.

/JL

DVD review: Death Angel December Vengeance Kill (2010)

Decembers´s (Leena Kurishingal) innocence was stolen from her in an instant when she at young age witnessed the rape and murder of her mother and killing of her brother. After years of attempting to leave the tragedy behind, a violent assault brings her face to face with the demons that have haunted her for years. Something triggers deep within December´s psyche, an internal switch  that fuels her tom become a carefully trained, highly-skilled assassin, a vigilante by night and a police investigator by day. She longs not for friends or relationships, instead she lives solely to inflict vengeance for the death of her family.when a weapon surfaces that may prove to be the last piece to her terrible past, December commits to the bloody road ahead with no turning back.
Death Angel December Vengeance Kill is co-written and directed by Bennie Woodell.
Leena Kurishingal delivers the goods but the rest of the acting is more or less bad. The villains are are a bit to campy and over-the-top for my taste, not sure if it´s due to their acting abilities or the script. The film also seems a bit confused sometimes with a little bit to much screen time for the villains and there is a lot of flashbacks which sometimes are in black and white and sometimes in color.  The production values are are low, bad cinematography and the dialogue volume is too low which makes it hard to hear what the characters are saying. For some reason every other scene ends with freeze-frame images, which in my opinion is very annoying.
There's plenty of action, gore and gunplay but the gore varies from badly made CGI created bloodshed to a real awesome highlight which features pratical special fx as December gives a villain a Colombian neck tie. The action sequences are badly shot (shaky cam style) and edited, Leena Kurishingal is supposed to be a highly trained killer and martial artist but it doesn´t look that way on screen. The action just isn´t convincing or exciting..
The review is based on the DVD released by Chemical Burn which is not rated,
Rating: 1½ out of 7. This isn't the most original of films or the best vigilante film but it´s ok for the moment and Leena Kurishingal is not only very attractive, hey I´ll admit it that she´s hot, but also a pretty good actress who can display emotion and physicality.

/JL

DVD review: Ultimate Force (Video 2005)

Taking a break from horror and sleaze and watching a US/Croatian co-production starring K-1 and UFC fighter Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, with a estimated budget of $1,200,000 according to IMDB it certainly has a higher budget than the average film reviewed here on Independent Flicks but it certainly feels and looks low budget. Axon Rey (Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic) is a heavily decorated war hero and former tactical police officer who has been recruited by a covert government organization to fight enemies of the state. Schooled in the martial arts as well as in the latest high tech weapons, Rey, now code-named Sphinx, is a member elite member of the sanction division of SATO (State Anti-Terrorist Organization), a clandestine organization of assassins under the direct control of SIN (State Intelligence Network). During his last assassination mission Sphinx has failed. Normally the state deals with such failures easily; it executes the executioner. Since Sphinx is the top assassin, his controller, Janus, decides not to eliminate him immediately. He sends him to a rehabilitation island called Gulag 7 where he will have to face other government operatives who have been sent to the island for various reasons. Ultimate Force is written and directed by Marc Burson.
Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic might be good as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter but he´s definitely not a good actor, but to be fair he has hardly any dialogue and acts like a robot even during the emotional scenes, but the rest of the cast doesn´t impress either. There is a lot of action but the fight scenes which are choreographed by Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic are badly made, badly shot and edited and downright boring. On the plus side they actually use real firearms firing blanks in the film during the gunplay and not soft air guns and adding CGI muzzle flashes which is common place in low budget films. 
The review is based on a DVD released by Pasadena Pictures i Austria, it´s uncut and has a english audiotrack.
Rating: 1 out of 7.  Ultimate Force could have been a good Direct to Video action but it fails to deliver goods as the action scenes are in most part badly made and usually ends to soon. 

/JL

DVD review: Klagger (Video 2010)

First of all I´d like to thank the team behind Klagger for sending me a screener. Now let´s get to the review. For one man (Matthew Aycock), a routine day on-the-job becomes a hellish nightmare when he encounters a malevolent soul (Matt Willis) trapped in an abandoned factory. Klagger is a short film co-produced, written and directed by Casey Crow. It´s just 12 minutes long but it´s 12 wonderful and quite creepy minutes. Both the cinematography and production design is excellent, the derelict factory is a stunning enviroment and is used to good effect, heck I´ll admit up front that I loved it. The soundtrack is used to good effect and helps set the mood and create a creepy atmosphere. Both the acting and the special fx are good, the special fx are all practical which is nice and the malevolent soul looks great!

Rating: 6½ out of 7. If you like ghost/spirit stories you need to check out Klagger as it´s definitely worth a look

/JL 

DVD review: Diary Of A Sex Offender (2010)

Michael Regardie (Peter Grouse) is a lonely, delusional and sick religous zealot of his own invented faith - a faith that justifies hideous rituals of murder, rape and sexual torture. Absolution from his escalating nihilism and debauchery may lie in his latest victim. But as salvation seems at hand, a specter from his past demands revenge. Diary Of A Sex Offender is shot, produced, written and directed by John Niflheim. The acting performances is mostly average but I think that Peter Grouse is excellent as Michael Regardie. The film is surprisingly well made considering the limited budget at hand. There is sleaze, degradation and a lot of full frontal nudity but no explicit scenes. There is some blood but nothing that would please the gorehounds out there. I´m sure that Diary Of A Sex Offender is a film that provokes a lot of controversy as the main character is rapist/murderer and that it has lenghty and somewhat eroticised scenes of rape.
The review is based on the region 1 DVD released by Independent Entertainment.
Rating: 5½ out of 7. Diary Of A Sex Offender is a unexpectedly well made and well acted independent film.

/JL

DVD review: Defiled (2010)

When Cassidy's (Amanda Myers) parents leave town, she seizes the opportunity to fulfill her darkest fantasy... Cassidy has a taste for rough sex with strangers she meets on the Internet. Never fully satisfied by these encounters, she decides to take things to the next level. Placing her address and phone number online, she receives a phone call from The Man (Jerry Hallman). Unfortunately, he has no intention of leaving once the night is out..
Defiled is shot, edited, written and directed by Zachary Paul. The picture is murky and sometimes it´s so dark that it´s hard to see what´s happening on screen. Unintelligible, muffled audio, poor camera work and editing. The acting ranges between mediocre and bad, unfortunately it´s hard to care for Amandra Myers character and Jerry Hallman character isn´t near as imposing och frightening as he´s intended to be. There is a bit of nudity on behalf of Amanda Myers but not as much as might be expected. The noticeble lack of suspense and tension is a big let down. Gorehounds might like to know that there are some gore and the special fx are pretty good considering the budget.
The review is based on the region 1 DVD released by Independent Entertainment.
Rating: 1 out of 7. All in all Defiled is a big let down..

/JL

DVD review: Psychotica (Video 2006)

A fanatic medical student has developed a serum that causes extremely realistic visions. When a young woman who is a subject of his, begins taking the serum, she has terrifying visions of her own death. Psychotica is written, shot, produced and directed by Sebastian Radtke who also plays a part in the film. The pacing is appropriate and the acting is average. The camera work and editing is good, the soundtrack is mostly very fitting to the on screen proceedings and even though Psychotica obviously is made on a limited budget it is well made. There is some gore as the woman dies gruesomely in her visions and the special fx is decent.
The review is based on the DVD released by Maximum Uncut Productions, it´s a limited edition of 1000 copies, mine is sadly not numbered (guess someone forgot). The release is uncut, it has no subtitles but there is english audio available. 
Rating: 5½ out of 7. Psychotica is another nice effort by Sebastian Radtke who is quickly becoming one of my favorite german independent film directors, with this film and the excellent Sadisticum he  displays real talent 

/JL

DVD review: Mercilessly Betrayed (2006)

Schiller's bar isn't doing very well, a couple men come to collect their money. Since Schiller isn't able to pay, they take him down to his basement and begin to beat him up, he lets the thugs have their way with his wife in order to save his own skin. Now his wife becomes the play thing for the men, but they soon realize Anna isn't as much of a coward as her husband is.
Mercilessly Betrayed is a rape/revenge film from Germany and its directed by A. Simona. The film looks and feels very cheap, the colors shift, it´s very badly shot and edited. The sound is bad, the soundtrack is bad...  As might be expected the acting is bad and once again the actresses are unattractive which is not a good thing when you are making a film which features a lot of nudity and long explicit sex scenes. There is a little more focus on the revenge but that doesn´t help much as violent set pieces lacks any impact and the special fx looks very cheap and consist mostly of putting red paint on someone.
The review is based on a DVD released by A Simona Film. it´s part of a limited print of 1500 numbered copies but sadly my copy isn´t numbered. It is uncut and it´s german language only.
Rating: 0½ out of 7. As it lacks english subtitles I was at first a bit hesitant to review this DVD but Mercilessly Betrayed is more or less straightforward. It´s badly made and fails to deliver but I do have a soft spot for vigilante, sleaze and rape/revenge so it gets half a point for at least trying.

/JL

Upcoming DVD review: Sweet Karma (2009)

Been wanting to see this for some time now and hopefully Andrew Thomas Hunt´s Sweet Karma will arrive by the end of the week. its a vigilante flick where a mute russian girl infiltrates Toronto's underground sex trade to avenge the death of her sister. It´s been Rated R for strong violent content including rape, sexual material, nudity, language and some drug use.

/JL

DVD review: Sadisticum (2008)

Sadisticum is telling the story of a man who seems to have just one challenge in his life, namely the tantalization and killing of his fellow men. At the age of 17, he has killed 2 men already. Then he succeeded to prevent his appetite for many years. Half of his life he spent with working and adapting to the community. But the emptiness in his life increased steadily, until it happened one day, he is killing again. However, this time he wouldn´t stop, this time he would allow free play to his appetite. The brutal killing of his fellow men doesn´t give him satisfaction any longer. The immense growing of his need for recognition is driving him to create some kind of torture course. With this, he would show exclusive like-minded people which way it would be best torturing anyone without killing him early. But there´s not only one course, since his addiction for attention and admiration is increasing vast, he is trying more and more brutal procedures of torture. Still, the story takes an astounding turn one day.
Sadisticum is written and directed by Sebastian Radtke. The film quality is pretty dark at times which can make it hard to see what´s happening on screen. The camera work and editing is good and give the film a dirty creepy atmosphere. The pacing is excellent and the soundtrack is good. The acting is above average. The special fx are very good, there's are not many scenes of torture but the few that are shown are brutal and gory.
The review is based on the DVD released by Maximum Uncut Productions.  The release is uncut and has english subtitles. it´s available from DVDuncut.com. 
Rating: 7 out of 7. Sadisticum is a really nice surprise as I didn´t know what to expect, it´s dark and brutal as hell. The torture scenes are perhaps amongst the most extreme I´ve seen. Sadisticum gets my highest recommendations!


/JL

DVD review: Rape - The Butcher Bitch (2009)

Rape - The Butcher Bitch is a german rape/revenge film, young Silvia is in a psychiatric institution, the martyrdom of their brutal rape again. Her therapist makes the hidden images of physical violence, the abuse and her helplessness flare up again.When he then goes to Silvia and she has only one thought: Merciless bloody revenge ... The film begins almost instantly with a prolonged graphic and brutal rape as two men violate Sylvia, in the tradition of the roughies of the seventies, which I´m sure will appeal to the forced-sex fetish fans. Later in the film Sylvia uses her body and sexuality to get close to the men who have abused her which of course leads to more explicit sex. The film is technically better made than Manniac but the acting is poor. There is some amateurish gore and the special fx are cheap and badly made
The review is based the DVD released by Morbido Films, it´s part of a limited edition of 666 numbered copies but sadly my copy isn´t numbered. The film is uncut and german language only.
Rating: 1½ out of 7. I was at first a bit doubtful to review this film as it lacks english subtitles and my knowledge of the german language is a limited but in Rape - The Butcher Bitch there isn't much in the way of characters or story. The film would have gained a higher rating from me it they had done some editing (less sex) and added a litte more and hopefully better gore.


/JL

DVD review: Manniac

Manni is a looser of epic proportions, he´s a peeping tom, he has no girlfriend, his so called friends ridicule and harass him. Soon Manni  begins to break into the homes of the women he spies on and killing and raping them and that´s just the beginning as he becomes more and more insane.
Manniac is directed by A. Simona, it has a running time of approx 120 minutes and is filled to the brim with nudity, explicit sex and occasional gory killings. The film looks and feels cheap with bad camera work, bad sound effects, lousy acting and bad editing. Manniac features several lengthy scenes of sex and masturbation but the actresses are unattractive and these scenes (which take up the main part of the films running time) quickly become very boring and tiresome.
The special fx is mostly bad and very amateurishly done but there are one or two exceptions but I won´t spoil the fun if you´re still interested in seeing the film (I hate spoilers).
The review is based on a DVD released by A Simona Film. it´s part of a limited print of 1500 numbered copies and I have number 556. It is uncut and it´s german language only.
Rating: 1 out of 7. I was at first a bit hesitant to review this film as it lacks english subtitles and my knowledge of the german language is a bit limited but Manniac is pretty straightforward. I my opinion Manniac is just boring. I have three suggestions to the director. First if you are going to make a film which features gratious nudity and sex you should make an effort to have a attractive female cast. Second shorten the the seemingly neverending sex scenes and thirdly add more killings, add more and better special fx.


/JL

DVD review: Knastjulen 2 - Zur Sau gemacht (Video 2005)

Knastjulen II Zur Sau Gemacht is produced, based on a story by and directed by Andreas Bethmann under his pseudonym A.M Bertucci and released as part of the Bertucci Classics line which is released by his own DVD company X-Rated.
As in the first part the terrible abuse continues in Frauenknastprison. There has not been any improvements. Unfortunately, the situation in the prison has become, if possible, even worse. The guards abuse of the female prisoners has now assumed such proportions that Jennifer Walter, the prison psychiatrist, feels completely powerless in her attempts to try to alleviate the burden. However, a new prisoner, Anna, to the prison. She starts to go into therapy with Jennifer and a strong bond is formed between the two. Jennifer begins to feel strong emotions of his fellow prisoner, but Anna is constantly raped and abused by guards. Jennifer feels in all her helplessness that she must do something. As the previous film Knastjulen 2 - Zur Sau gemacht also contains scenes of explicit sex, lots of nudity and a few scenes of degradation.
As expected the acting is very poor (several actors/actresses from the previous film returns), and as I pointed out in my review of Notgeile Knastjulen Zur Unzucht Erzogen there is a noticeable lack of attractive or sexy actresses. As earlier the pacing is slow and the film quickly becomes repetitive and very boring.
The review is based on the region 2 DVD released by X-Rated, it´s uncut and has english subtitles.Rating: 0 out of 7. Just when you thought it couldn´t get any worse it did... Knastjulen 2 - Zur Sau gemacht is tedious and poor.

/JL

DVD review: Notgeile Knastjulen Zur Unzucht Erzogen (Video 2004)

Jennifer Walter is a psychiatrist. She has spent more than a year locked up in Frauenknast prison. She previously worked for a very famous psychologist who began making sexual advances towards her. She rejected his constant trials and in frustration, he became increasingly anxious and eventually violent. When he tired of being rejected, he had her fired. But when he realized that she could go out in public and talk about his violent sexual orientation, he became afraid and decided to rig a trap for her. he managed to fool the police to believe that she was in the drug business and that is why she now sits in jail. Jennifer is serving her sentence by working as a psychiatrist for the women sharing her ward. After having heard about the horrible sexual assault the guards has subjected them to, she felt that it was her duty to try to help them.
Notgeile Knastjulen Zur Unzucht Erzogen is based on a story, produced and directed by Andreas Bethmann under his pseudonym A.M Bertucci and has been released as part of the Bertucci Classics line by his own DVD company X-Rated. 
In Notgeile Knastjulen Zur Unzucht Erzogen you get sleaze, degradation, sex and lesbian sex in typical Bethmann fashion.
The acting is very poor, with as cast mainly consisting of people from the porn industry that shouldn´t come as a surprise for anybody. But what strikes me as a bit odd is that there are very few actors/actresses in the film that I would regard as attractive or sexy. In this film you get both hetero and gay sex, and it´s perhaps a double standard but the explicit hardcore scenes between two gay men didn´t work at all for me...  The camera work is ok but nothing more than that, the pacing is slow and as with most films of this nature the film quickly becomes repetitive and boring.
The only good thing about Notgeile Knastjulen Zur Unzucht Erzogen is the 1980-synth style soundtrack.
You might note that the plot and the characters also appear in the better and nastier K3: Prison of Hell which I guess is a sort of a sequel to this film.
The review is based on the region 2 DVD released by X-Rated which is uncut and has english subtitles. 
Rating: 0½ out of 7. First of all, if you´re going to make a exploitation film that features lots of nudity and explicit sex you should at least make an effort to cast attractive people. The lack of gratious gore scenes courtesy of Olaf Ittembach´s special fx (which saved K3: Prison of Hell from being a disaster) is also a big letdown.

/JL

DVD review: Svart Död (2011)

First I would like to thank Mikael Stridsson for sending me a screener of the swedish independent horror film Svart Död (which in english means Black Death), I got hold of one of the coveted first copies that is part of a limited prerelease, my copy is numbered 35 of 100. 
An evil mining company is hiding chemical waste in an old disused mine, but a accident occurs and the five miners entrusted with the storage of this waste is trapped and the barrels break ... 30 years later, a group of geology studentsfind the mine by mistake and go into it. Meanwhile, some environmentalists have decided to blow up the entrance to the mine. The students become trapped, and soon blood begins to splatter the walls ...
Svart Död is written and directed by Daniel Lehmussaari. He and Cruzial Film & Media have made four feature films, short films, music videos and documentaries, both long and short.
The pacing is pretty good, the film never gets boring with it´s mix of horror and comedy. The camera work is good, especially the scenes in the mine is good and some of the scenes are really well done as they mix studio footage and filming in a real mine. The acting is uneven, but this is micro budget and the cast are mostly amateurs so I didn´t have any real expectations, I did like Evelina Nilsson as Therese who is a naive Paris Hilton wanna be, she provided a lot of humour and comic relief.
The special fx is uneven, it is a mix of practical and digital fx. There is a fair amount of gore on display and some of the attacks of the zombies are bloody, there is a fair amount of biting at peoples throats and necks almost to the degree that I was starting to wonder if I was watching a vampire flick..
As far as I know Cruzial Film is now looking for a distributor to give Svart Död a wider release.
Rating:  3½ out of 7. Svart Död is more entertaining than I expected it to be, the humour is mostly intentional and the film doesn´t take itself to seriously.

/JL

DVD review: Maximum Impact (Video 1992)

Jerry Handley (Ken Jarosz) is an average guy living the American dream. But while on business in the city, Jerry's friend tries to set him up with a teenage prostitute held captive by a pimp s gang of thugs. Instead, Jerry befriends the girl, stealing her away. The ruthless gang raids Jerry's sleepy community in search of their property, killing Jerry's fianceé in the process. The murder triggers Jerry's deepest emotions, causing him to unlease his revenge upon the gang on their own terms! Maximum Impact is based on a story, produced and directed by indie film maker J.R Bookwalter.
The film looks and feels cheap, we get some really bad acting and bad camera work. The pacing is good/high as the running time of Maximum Impact is just about 61 minutes but unfortunately it takes forever to get to the bloodshed and when it finally starts it´s quickly over. The actionsequences are inept and a big letdown. All this is disappointing as the concept for the film actually is pretty good and in my opinion has some potential but I guess that due to a limited budget (we´re talking micro budget here) and other unknown circumstances some compromises had to be made.
The review is based on the Bad Movie Police Double Feature released by Tempevideo in the USA, the second film included on DVD is Zombie Cop (1991).
Rating: 2½ out of 7. Maximum Impact had some potential but lack of sleaze, nudity, gore and action means that it´s a letdown.

/JL