digitalconquest Blog

Under discussion:

Cruel Jaws  (1995)

Another of Italy’s infamous Jaws-influenced features that even showcases some footage borrowed from L’Ultimo Squalo (Great White – The Last Shark)! In this one, you have the usual town council members who want a regatta no matter what the risk to the citizenry, you have the familiarly staged underwater sequences, and you have the violent shark attack scenes with plenty of blood and screaming! Aside from that, Bruno actually attempts a few tugs at the heartstrings this time out! A group of people are trying to save an ocean side theme park from ruthless business men, a little girl in a wheelchair attempts to be cute and finds herself in danger every now and again, that sort of thing. There’s plenty of action and fun F/X to keep things entertaining throughout!

Under discussion:

Blood Voyage  (1977)

A rich middle-aged psychiatrist is going to marry a young and beautiful woman in Hawaii. He’s traveling there by boat and it’ll take days to arrive so he’s brought along some people in the hopes of turning the whole thing into a pleasure cruise. There’s his buxom, money-hungry stepdaughter, an old friend just back from the war who has been scarred by his experiences there, a bunch of edgy sailors, and a disturbed patient named Amy. Amy gets to go along because the doc is friendly with her father and they both thought the trip would be good for her. There is nobody who is beyond suspicion once the bodies start to fall! This is pure 70’s Drive-In exploitation and that means nothing less than high entertainment! There’s also some gratuitous nudity and violence to make sure things never slow down. Blood Voyage is an extremely rare slasher movie that has been nearly impossible to see for many years!

Under discussion:

Blastfighter  (1985)

Michael Sopkiw is “Tiger” Sharp, an ex-cop fresh off the block after serving eight years for blowing the brains out of the smirking psychopath that murdered his wife. Now he just wants to retreat to his cabin in the woods and relax. Not going to happen. He starts by adopting a baby deer he finds alone in the woods, but the local yokels decapitate the animal in his car while he is buying it some milk and a baby bottle. Conflicts between Sharp and these overly-aggressive poachers escalate steadily and quickly but it really hits the fan after his best friend is killed, his daughter’s boyfriend is killed, and his daughter, whom he is seeing for the first time in years, barely escapes being gang-violated and killed. Now we have action, lots of it, practically non-stop! And oh crap is it violent! Redneck dip-shits are strangled, set on fire, blown to pieces limb by limb, and with increasing frequency as the movie rolls on! Sopkiw really stands out, as usual, as the stone-faced protagonist and Eastman is fun to watch as king-hillbilly-bad-guy. Honestly, everybody does fine with what they are given but nobody was reaching for tremendous emotional depth here! Just kick back, relax, and enjoy the carnage! The soundtrack by the De Angelis brothers is as cool here as it would be in 85’s Massacre In Dinosaur Valley. There’s lots of talent on both sides of the camera and though it all might seem rather brain-dead, it’s certainly never boring. Besides that, this is another great title to play ‘catch the cameo’ with! Somewhere between Southern Comfort and Hunter’s Blood… Blastfighter finds a home. Many versions are cut to 87 minute; make sure and check out Blastfighter uncut at nearly 92 minutes!!!