Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco

TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD: A Sacred Knight Of Spanish Terror

If you ask a Euro-horror fanatic about the key titles of Spanish horror cinema, the Blind Dead film series will inevitably be mentioned. This quartet of films directed by talented journeyman Amando De Ossorio rank up there with the work of Paul Naschy and Jesus Franco, spinning out a fascinating mythology connected to Spain's history and using their distinctive ghostly villains, the Knights Templar, as a vehicle for commentary on the real-lifes horrors of Spanish life under the reign of General Franco.

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Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco

BLACK CIRCLE: High-Concept Horror In An Indie Vein

The resulting film evokes a lot of genre touchstones that fans of '70s/'80s horror will love - Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, scientific-minded ghost stories like The Haunting and Hell House, a very distinct influence of David Cronenberg circa The Brood and Scanners - yet it never resorts to simple imitation of those influences. Instead, it mixes them in interesting ways to come up with a fresh hybrid.

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Schlock-Wire Donald Guarisco Schlock-Wire Donald Guarisco

Schlock-Wire: Specs For Grindhouse Releasing's 2 Blu-Ray Set Of IMPULSE

Grindhouse Releasing has announced their latest release - and if you love '70s regional horror, it's a real corker. They're releasing Impulse, a colorful, Florida-set psycho killer tale built around a hothouse performance from William Shatner. They're doing a 2000 unit limited run with some unique goodies that fans of this cult favorite will be intrigued by.

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Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco Schlock-Optic Donald Guarisco

PHENOMENA: Everything But The Lavandino Della Cucina

Argento treats his storyline as a springboard for stylization, mixing delirious horror concepts (a giallo-style killer, nightmares becoming reality, a "thing" chained in a room, a family house with secrets, swarms of insects) with lavish visuals that utilize everything from swooping crane shots to underwater photography.

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