Review Roundup

This Review Roundup comes from Mill Creek Entertainment. Two releases came out last week, two this week. I’ll start with my favorite of the bunch, The Zombie Collection. This is a collection of 4 zombie films you probably haven’t heard of. I had actually seen two of them previously because I love B-movie horror. Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies is a ton of fun. It takes place on a mountain and has some great practical effects kills with snowboards and skis. It’s probably my favorite of the 4. Granny of the Dead makes old people the zombies. It’s campy and has some good practical effects as well. It’s not quite Shaun of the Dead funny, but it’s fun and worth watching. Attack of the Killer Donuts is a cult flick that’s been around a few years. The special effects come from a guy who worked on Sharknado. I liked it, but did want a bit more from it. It could have been more over-the-top but it’s definitely worth the watch. Harold’s Gone Stiff is a mockumentary type about men getting zombified by eating meat treats. Harold is patient zero but doesn’t go full zombie like others. He has a nurse who takes care of him and there’s a group of guys who go around killing the zombies. It’s not bad and I can see myself watching it again as well.

Next is Last of the Grads. This slasher is about a school being attacked by a serial killer. The school has a yearly lock-in with the graduating class getting together for one last night. Of course that’s perfect for a pair of killers who have been traveling the country for years dropping bodies. The acting is pretty bad, but the practical effects are great. It has some tremendous kills which I liked a lot. I don’t know if I liked the explanation of the killers and the cold open wasn’t overly necessary either. I can’t see too many actors from it going far, but for an unknown slasher it’s pretty good. I’d consider watching it again for the kills.

The next two releases are collections of films (12 and 11 each) from the 1960s and 1970s. I won’t get into each film because that would take too long, but I’ll give a brief overrun. Through the Decades: 1960s Collection has big names like Jack Lemmon, Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Steve McQueen, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The films are: Who Was That Lady?, The Notorious Landlady, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Good Neighbor Sam, Lilith, Baby the Rain Must Fall, Genghis Khan, Mickey One, The Chase, Luv, How To Save A Marriage (And Ruin Your Life), and Hook, Line and Sinker. The Chase and Mickey One are probably my favorites of the bunch although I’m always a sucker for a Steve McQueen film (Baby the Rain Must Fall). They may not be the big named movies you remember from the 1960s but they have huge named actors.

Through the Decades: 1970s is very similar. Movies you may not have seen over and over again, but full of big named actors. Names include Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Sidney Poitier, Jane Fonda, George Segal, Omar Sharif, Charles Bronson, Warren Beatty, and Ingrid Bergman. The films are: The Owl and the Pussycat, A Walk in The Spring Rain, $ (Dollars), The Anderson Tapes, Brother John, The Horsemen, Gumshoe, The Last Detail, The Stone Killer, For Pete’s Sake, Fun with Dick and Jane. That last film is probably the most popular, but I know I had seen The Last Detail with Jack Nicholson before. Both collections certainly give you something to binge over the weekend and I look forward to seeing other decade releases.