Zebradelic: horror

Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts

Jennifer Holmes in The Demon

In 1981, Jennifer Holmes starred in a South African horror movie called The Demon. The film also featured the ever-hammy Cameron Mitchell as a psychic.

The Demon is not the best horror movie ever but neither is it the worst. It's just an interesting film that one may see as they traverse the wonderful world of horror cinema. Hey, at least this one has some good ideas and some intriguing camerawork. It's a decent watch for those with time on their hands and fans of Jennifer Holmes won't be disappointed (she appears sans clothing several times).

Meredith Salenger in The Kiss

In 1988, an eighteen year old Meredith Salenger starred in a horror movie called The Kiss. The young actress had already come to the attention of many through several prominent roles (most notably The Journey of Natty Gann) and now she was being given the chance to star in her own horror film. Luckily, given Salenger's considerable appeal and charm, the film and her performance turned out quite well.

Because of the sheer amount of horror films being released in the 1980s, many genuinely excellent movies got lost in the shuffle. The Kiss is a great piece of glossy/trashy horror cinema complete with supernatural elements and teenagers in peril. The busty Meredith Salenger makes for a wonderful leading lady as she deals with the lusty Joanna Pacula becoming her new stepmother. Well-filmed and highly entertaining, The Kiss is a complete success even beyond the greatness of Meredith Salenger.

Janet Julian in Humongous

In 1982, Janet Julian starred in a horror film called Humongous. It should have been a positive step for the career of the young actress, but the movie was not generally well-received and quickly disappeared into the glut of 1980s horror cinema. It was released on VHS but it wasn't particularly popular on home video either. More recently, Humongous has been restored and released to DVD, finally allowing the masses greater access to this fine horror movie.

Humongous has often been the target of criticism from pretentious horror buffs, often people that are so burned out on indiscriminately watching anything and everything horror that they are unable to properly discern the good from the bad. Make no mistake, Humongous is a good movie. It has all the necessary elements to make an entertaining horror film. Even if it didn't, the movie has one incredible asset in the form of it's beautiful leading lady, Janet Julian.

Janet Julian is tremendous to look at in Humongous and she certainly holds the viewer's attention with her pouty lips and barely-there clothing. Throughout her career (when given the opportunity), Janet Julian has always been able to successfully carry a project and this is no exception.

Glynis Barber goes on a Horror Safari

In 1982, Glynis Barber appeared in Horror Safari (also known as Invaders of the Lost Gold).

Horror Safari/Invaders of the Lost Gold has not been generally well received. There are several reasons for this. First, it is ostensibly a horror film which has led many fans of the horror genre to view it. However, the movie is really just a 1950s-style jungle adventure yarn, with some other elements thrown in. Of course horror fans would be disappointed.

Second, Horror Safari is a true B movie, with several name actors appearing in a low-budget project. This fact had led a lot of B movie fans to watch the film and many of these people want what they watch to be bad.

Third, fans of individual performers in the film may be drawn to it. Fans of Stuart Whitman, Edmund Purdom, Woody Strode or Laura Gemser may have taken a look at Horror Safari for the sake of curiosity or completeness and then were disappointed.

I watched Horror Safari strictly due to the presence of Glynis Barber. I was unsure if I even wanted to see it based on the sheer amount of bad reviews I had seen. However, I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, Glynis Barber gets quite a bit of screen-time here and she is strikingly beautiful (she makes her co-star Laura Gemser look like a sack of wet dog meat). She has big, blonde hair and is exceedingly lovely and charming in her role.

Plus, Horror Safari really isn't that bad of a movie. Yes, it is a low budget film with bad editing and dubbing. But it really isn't the mess that some have claimed it to be. The story is straightforward and interesting enough. The characters are generic but reasonably well defined and the movie moves along briskly enough so that the viewer doesn't get too bored. I didn't come into Horror Safari with a notion that it would incredible, I just wanted to watch Glynis Barber and in that respect there was no disappointment to be had.

Here are some images of Glynis Barber in Horror Safari/Invaders of the Lost Gold:

Samantha Eggar in The Dead Are Alive

In 1972, Samantha Eggar co-starred alongside an international cast in the Italian horror-thriller L'etrusco uccide ancora. This film is also known as The Dead Are Alive as well as the literally translated title The Etruscan Kills Again.

The Dead Are Alive is actually a great vehicle for the lovely Samantha Eggar. She looks fantastic and is favored with some beautiful close-up shots throughout the movie. And while the actress is not given much dialogue to work with, she more than makes up for it with deep, soulful eyes and her gorgeous mane of red hair. Samantha Eggar shares many of her scenes with the star of the film, the outrageous Alex Cord (who one can compare to either John Holmes or Ron Burgundy, depending on how you look at it) and the duo have passable chemistry.

Additionally, The Dead Are Alive can be considered the the final triumph of the first stage of the Samantha Eggar's incredible career in cinema. The actress made this film right before she basically abandoned the glory of the big screen for the dubious world of mid-70s American television. The Dead Are Alive is an enjoyable movie (I wasn't sure it would be but it is actually quite entertaining and well made) and it is worth the time of any fan of Samantha Eggar.

Here are two contemporary reviews of The Dead Are Alive, one positive and one negative: