Brain Dead and Loving it!

If you really love BLADE RUNNER (Ridley Scott, 1982), you might not care for MUTANT HUNT (1987), a weirdo copy/tribute shot in five fruitful days for a fistful of nickels and dimes by Tim Kincaid in 1987 .   On the other hand, if the prospect of seeing a science fiction film created by a director  usually specializing in gay porn productions under the name of Joe Gage or Mac Larson inspires you, MUTANT HUNT is your film.   Besides, all the actors involved in this joyful mayhem act with all the pathos and realism you would expect from any XXX movie productions.   The story revolves around "Z", a vicious genetic engineer who spends too much time on videophone and  hatches a shaky plan to alter harmless mutant cyborgs into drug crazed bloodthirsty killing machines. Matt Riker (played with bovine intensity by Rick Gianasi), a mercenary for hire, and his crew of inept companions must track the stoned cyborgs down and destroy them, bef...

Any film with a palindrome as a title and such a kick ass poster has to be seen. How can you not be drawn in ? Unfortunately, we never get to see that bad-ass robot, kind of Mad Max in a cyborg style, in this film… But what a film it is all the same. Each scene yells its own incompetence, for our greatest pleasure. The whole debacle is so enjoyable, it's at times heartbreaking to witness such ineptitude, and yet, it's so much fun. R.O.T.O.R. (1987) is 90 minutes of non-stop action, ridiculous dialogue, loathsome actors and full of blatant inspired ideas borrowed from both ROBOCOP (Paul Verhoeven, also released in1987) and TERMINATOR (James Cameron, 1984). Expect a miserly five and dime version of these two classics. R.O.T.O.R. is the abbreviation for “Robotic Officer Tactical Operation Research”, whatever that means! The robot cop is played by a stoic actor wearing a big mustache and dressed in black leather. Closer to a 40-year-old Village People wannab...

“Attention! Ladies and gentlemen there are a heard of killer rabbits heading this way!” Before I get to the terrifying concept of giant rampaging bunny-rabbits, let's remind ourselves why, oh WHY, is a rabbit used to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. From the rebirth of a religious figure to chocolate bunnies, what exactly happened? The most likely explanation is a confluence of different traditions. First, the hare has long been believed to be a hermaphrodite, in the works of ancient philosopher Plutarch for instance, linking his reproduction to the virgin conception of Christ. The rabbit has since been a staple of Christian iconography, even representing the Holy Trinity with the Three Hares motif . The other tradition is more recent, with the late 1600s story of the Easter Bunny, which generated in Germany and told the somewhat familiar story of a mythical being that knows about the good and bad behavior of children, and brings the good ones treats on t...

One of the few redeeming qualities of the film; a glorious poster by Mad artist Jack Davis. One would have a hard time refuting the fact that Kirk Douglas was not only a legendary actor, but an actual icon of cinema. Someone whose rugged features will forever be enshrined in the hallowed temple of the Seventh Art. The man who would bring his intimidating physical presence to Ulysses , Spartacus , Patton and Doc Holliday , but also an artist's vulnerability to Van Gogh and Rick Martin , also offered us the burlesque cartoon styling of the memorable Cactus Jack. Wait. What? When someone is as prolific as Douglas, with nearly 100 films under his belt, it's a given they won't 't all be classics. 1979's THE VILLAIN is certainly not one of them. Unless you consider it a classic flop. The brainchild of former stuntman Hal Needham, his third film as director after SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) and HOOPER (1978) which both starred his buddy and frequ...