K3: Prison of Hell (2009)

"K3: Prison of Hell" is some pretty straight-forward exploitation-sleaze from Andreas Bethmann - at least it looked that way, considering I couldn't completely understand the German dialog.

The inmates at a female prison, located deep in the jungle, are subjected to cruel, sexual experimentations and brutal torture...

That's basically the bulk of what the flick has to offer and, based on my own particular preference in film, it felt a bit odd being so bored with something like this. I guess I couldn't help but expect a little more. It's literally scene-after-scene of blowjob-by-gunpoint, which gets a tad tiresome when dealing with a 100-minute runtime. Also, maybe if these scenes were a little more on the "rough" side it would've played out a little better for me, but it all seemed too "tame" for my liking (aside from a painful fisting attempt...). The final ten minutes or so DOES depict a nasty scene of gory torture, which was alright, but the majority of the film drags on too much without anything of interest once the third or fourth BJ comes and goes. The few decent scenes don't really make up for what a bore this one is. Bethmann has some better sleaze flicks that I've seen, but I gotta say I'm not his biggest fan, overall.

Night of the Bloody Apes (1969)

The original English title for this flick was "The Horrible Man-Beast", which makes a lot more sense, seeing as how there's only one "bloody ape" in the film and it's hardly what I would even consider an ape. It looks more like bodybuilder in a burn victim mask. Not to say that it isn't an entertaining schlock-fest, regardless...

A doctor is desperate to save his terminally ill son's life, so him and his gimpy henchman steal an ape from the zoo for a monkey-to-man heart transplant operation. Shit doesn't go that smoothly when the new primate heart transforms the boy into a burly, gorilla-faced killer that goes on a rampage throughout the city.

"Night of the Bloody Apes" is like a cross between an old Universal monster movie and an H.G. Lewis proto-gore flick. There's some pretty unyielding carnage strewn about this one - making it pretty graphic for a '60s film - as well as a touch of gratuitous nudity and some implied man-beast rapin'. They also feature several scenes of an actual heart transplant so there was definitely enough on tap here to secure this one a place on the infamous 'video nasties' list. It's an enjoyable Mexican creature movie for lovers of cheezy gore.

Premutos: Lord of the Living Dead (1997)

Some early Olaf Ittenbach shouldn't disappoint if you're into low-budget splatter insanity. "Premutos" is much gorier than his other '97 flick, "The Burning Moon" (though that infamous Hell scene fucking rules!...) and because of that, it's a fun watch.

Via voice-over narration, we get some details on a fallen angel - not unlike Lucifer - whose son has existed throughout various points in history in order to make way for this new God's imminent take-over. In present day Germany, a teenage boy ends up transforming into the demon offspring during his father's birthday party - setting off an undead army.

There's no shortage of gut-munching and heads exploding from excessive fire-power - at one point involving a tank. The premise is pretty ambitious and involved, considering that the film becomes more or less your average zombie-survival fallout. It works, though. Still, you just can't go wrong with such wall-to-wall bloodshed. The effects are good for such an obvious shoe-string budget and it stays consistently entertaining. Definitely along the lines of "Braindead". Check it out.

Blue Ruin (2013)

I really like gritty revenge flicks so I was looking forward to checking out "Blue Ruin", despite it being compared to a Coen Bros. flick, which I don't consider much of a winning endorsement. I like the Coens, I just consider them immensely overrated - especially these days. Anyway, I ended up digging this film quite a bit, though it's not GREAT by any stretch.

A homeless man, scraping by on the beaches of Delaware, receives news one day from a police officer that the man who was charged in the murder of his parents is being released from prison. He swiftly devises a revenge plot, which he orchestrates, but not without egregious flaws that puts his sister and her children in harms way of a now solidified war that has been ignited...

As for the good points, "Blue Ruin" shows a much more unidealistic take on revenge films - not going for the all-out, Death Wish-style romp, but actually a more down-to-earth, somewhat subtle approach. The main character never comes across as the 'hero' type and most of his encounters and brushes with violence turn out to be very clumsy and unfortunate for him. Hell, at a certain point he meekly tries to opt out of the increasingly violent situation. So, I liked that element and thought it was well executed, there. My biggest problem with the film that I couldn't really get past was the weak back story. It's explained, but not much detail is given at all so it ends up feeling kinda glossed over whereas I thought the movie could have benefited from a bit more of a compelling explanation for the film's premise. Overall, it's well worth checking out. Also check out the Australian flick, "The Horseman".

Carver (2008)

Based on the set-up and SOV approach, I wasn't expecting all that much from "Carver", but I'll be damned, it actually wasn't that bad. It's a competently directed, acted and shot backwoods-slasher flick that doesn't skimp on the grisly violence.

Your average 'clique' of body-count reserve are on a camping trip. After stopping at a small town restaurant, they agree to run an errand for the owner in return for a night of comped drinks, which leads them to discover a stash of brutal snuff films. Believing them to just be home-made slasher movies, they ignorantly stumble into the clutches of a fat hillbilly psychopath who takes great joy is slowly torturing and killing people with rusty hand tools...

"Carver" is nothing new, plot wise, but it's an easy flick to enjoy if you dig copious amounts of sadistic gore. We're talking bloody handsaw decapitations, testicle crushing and protracted sledgehammer bone smashing. It's definitely taken a little further than your regular low-budget "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" imitation, which is enough for me to make an exception when it comes to this type of typically redundant 'modern'-slasher fodder. Not to say this is libel to rock your world, but it's got decent enough performances for what it is and it's obvious that they were at least TRYING. So, my hat goes off to the ultra-violent material and the reasonably adept way in which it was shot. Recommended.

Necrophobia (1995)

"Necrophobia" is a decent psychological Dutch horror flick with an agreeable dose of bloody carnage and corpse bangin' throughout it's reasonably short run-time.

A dude's wife is struck and killed by a semi on her way back from the store, leaving him wallowing in depression and loneliness. At the cemetery, he meets a hot blonde who was hanging out around his ol' lady's grave and they arrange a date. Prior to their engagement, however, he is visited by another woman who warns him that the blonde is bad news. He blows her off and on her way home, she is abducted and killed by the evil blonde bitch. Then, during their date, it turns out she has some baggage concerning a traumatic incident involving her past lover's death and she's also under the manipulative clutches of her whacked-out therapist. So, shit ends up hitting the fan down in her dungeon of necrophilia...

This one is a pretty enjoyable and atmospheric watch. Nothing too 'out of control' in the gore department, but there's a few bits of gruesome goodness - such as a chainsaw murder and a nasty shotgun gut blast or two. You also got dildos being strapped to nailed down corpses, which is definitely awesome. "Necrophobia" is worth checking out if you dig grim, necro-themed horror flicks.