Zombiemart.net » 2007

Icons of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman

Posted on 10.29.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 4:47 pm

I think we’re dealing with a watered-down definition of “icon” here; nevertheless, this collection showcasing some of the horror films in producer Sam Katzman’s 200+ title filmography likely fills several gaps in your collection. Included are two titles that concern our subject matter: Creature with the Atomic Brain (1955)…

From the pen of the legendary Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man, Donovan’s Brain) and director Edward L. Cahn (It! The Terror From Beyond Space) comes this smash-bang thriller starring Richard Denning (Creature From The Black Lagoon) as a police doctor hot on the trail of a mob boss who’s hired an ex-Nazi scientist to re-animate his dead thugs to do more dirty work! If it seems like a condensed serial, it shouldn’t be a surprise: the cast is packed with such chapterplay vets as Gregory Gaye, Tristam Coffin, Harry Lauter, Pierre Watkin, Lane Chandler, Don Harvey and Charles Horvath.

…and Zombies of Mora Tau (1957):

Director Edward L. Cahn teams with another great writer, Bernard Gordon (using his blacklist nom de plume Raymond T. Marcus) for this delightfully loopy adventure about a sunken ship whose cargo of diamonds is guarded by its zombified crew members. And wouldn’t ya know it, there’s a bunch of foolhardy scavengers who aren’t scared of The Swimming Dead. The 50’ Woman herself, Allison Hayes, stars along with Gregg Palmer (From Hell It Came), Morris Ankrum (Earth vs. The Flying Saucers), Gene Roth (Attack of the Giant Leeches) and B-western star Ray “Crash” Corrigan.

The other two features in the collection are The Werewolf (1956), and the immortal The Giant Claw (1957), aka “Attack of the Giant Space Turkey Marionette.”

$19.99 from Amazon.com.

Filed under: DVD
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Motocross Zombies From Hell (2007)

Posted on 10.26.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 4:26 pm

Offered without comment:

Up and coming motocross racer Cody (Jason McClain) is on the hottest winning streak of his career…a streak that threatens to unseat the undefeated riders on team Skullz (James Fuentez & Matthew Rege). Little does Cody know that this team’s riders have an edge, they are Zombies! Cody and his tuner Tom (Dave Competello) and friend Lori (Rachel Diana) get more than they bargained for when during the biggest motocross race of the season the Zombies and their un-dead manager Ivan (Chris Saphire) target them for elimination of the deadliest kind. In Motocross Zombies from Hell it takes more than a fast bike to win! It takes guts and a shotgun to survive!

The trailer on the official site looks… not nearly as bad as you would expect it to look.

$17.99 at Amazon.com.

Filed under: DVD
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Horror Rises From the Tomb (1973)

Posted on 10.24.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 4:46 pm

You can’t keep a good zombie down. (Actually, you just can’t keep a zombie down — good, bad, or indifferent. That’s kind of the nature of zombies.) So it is that Paul Naschy’s various horror films from three decades back keep resurfacing, this time from BCI/Eclipse.

In 15th century France, the warlock Alaric de Marnac is beheaded for crimes against humanity and his equally vile mistress viciously killed, but not before the pair put a curse upon the decedents of their executioners. So starts Horror Rises From the Tomb, one of Paul Naschy’s most gruesome and sensational films. With its midnight séances, the undead rising from marshes, generous doses of nudity, blood-drenching heart-ripping and eerie atmosphere, Horror Rises From the Tomb rightfully deserves its place as a hallmark of euro-horror. * For the first time on home video, a classic horror film available in its most complete and uncut original version ever! * New High Definition transfer from the Original Negative for superior picture quality!!!

Gosh, three exclamation points. They must mean it! (…!!)

Directed by Carlos Aured, with Naschy writing (as Jacinto Molina) and starring. The Deimos DVD includes audio tracks in English and Castilian with English subtitles, commentary by Aured and Naschy, stills and poster galleries, and assorted doodads. $14.99 from Amazon.com.

Filed under: DVD
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Fido (2006)

Posted on 10.22.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 3:58 pm

Few indie zombie films have had as much excited buzz as this one, which hits the streets on DVD tomorrow, set in a world which is the living dead equivalent of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).

Timmy Robinson’s best friend in the whole wide world is a six-foot tall rotting zombie named Fido. But when Fido eats the next-door neighbor, Mom and Dad hit the roof, and Timmy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family. A boy-and-his-dog movie for grown ups, Fido will rip your heart out.

It’s like an entire movie centered on “Bub” from Day of the Dead (1985)!

Directed by Andrew Currie, starring Carrie-Ann Moss and Billy Connolly. The DVD contains commentaries, making-of, deleted scenes, and such. $19.99 at Amazon.com.

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Unbox Halloween Specials

Posted on 10.19.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 1:48 pm

Amazon.com is running specials on many of its horror-themed Unbox rental downloads. Among them are several zombie movies, including:

Dead and Deader (2006) for $1.99 (profiled here);

Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead (2005) for $1.99 (profiled here);

Masters of Horror: Homecoming (2005) for $1.99 (profiled here);

and Night of the Living Dorks (2005) for 99 cents (profiled here).

Sit back, relax, and let your broadband connection do the work.

Filed under: DVD
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Planet Terror (2007)

Posted on 10.17.07 by Nathan Shumate @ 2:04 pm

A lot of people expressed surprise that the Tarantino/Rodriguez double-bill Grindhouse tanked at the box office, because a lot of people aren’t as smart as I am. (Hint: Grindhouse was billed as a recreation of the experience of going to the kind of cheap, rundown theatre that most people didn’t like going to. So the problem?) But given that the home theater is, in effect, the new grindhouse, I’m guessing that these linked features are going to clean up on DVD.

Especially when, instead of seeing two shortened features on a single ticket, they’re going to ding you for an extended-and-extended edition on each one. Cha-ching!

The half of the Grindhouse pairing that concerns us is, of course, Planet Terror:

Director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) is back with a rip-roaring, zombie-infested rollercoaster of a movie that “sure as hell keeps you hanging on for the ride” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Bruce Willis, and an all-star cast fight for their lives in the ultimate showdown between an army of flash-eating mutants and a motley group of rag-tag survivors. Featuring one of the most memorable screen heroines ever and the now legendary mock Machete trailer, “Planet Terror is a total blast - funny, gloriously gory and over the top” (Christy Lemire, Associated Press).

See? Even the guy who wrote the back-of-the-box copy hadn’t seen it!

The two-disc set includes a commentary by Rodriguez, an “audience reaction track” (just like having a bunch of drunk strangers in your living room!), a poster and trailer gallery, and a whole second DVD full of behind-the-scenes and cast profiles and general rah-rah stuff.

$22.95 at Amazon.com. And while you’re at it, you can also pick up the similar version of Death Proof for $22.99 (do not ask me about the four-cent difference).

Filed under: DVD
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