HELL’S HIGHWAY (2002) ***

A foursome of college students travels through the desert on their way to Los Angeles.  Along the way, they pick up a sexy/scary hitchhiker (Phoebe Dollar from Goth), and it doesn’t take long for her to show her psycho true colors.  Thus begins a game of cat and mouse as she doggedly pursues the quartet of friends through the desert.

Even though Hell’s Highway (Dollar calls the road, “The Devil’s Highway”, but I guess the alliterative “Hell’s Highway” had a better ring to it) was made on an obviously low budget, it gets off to a surprisingly strong start.  The opening sequence where Dollar is picked up by a guy who looks to be a serial killer finishes off with a nice little twist.  

The following sequence had me worried for a second since it features the requisite stereotypical horror movie character who films everything with his camera, which leads to a lot of shaky-cam nonsense.  Usually, that’s a debit in a flick like this.  Luckily for us, it gives Skinamax siren Beverly Lynne an opportunity to gleefully flash her boobs for the camera every chance she gets.  Lynne, it must be said, is excellent in this.  They say the sign of a great actor is that they listen to their fellow actors speak instead of waiting for their turn to talk.  There is one scene where she doesn’t have any dialogue but is held in rapt attention to what the other characters are saying.  Not many actresses can steal a scene without saying anything at all, but Lynne is definitely one of them.  

Dollar is equally good as the psycho hitcher.  I admit, even though I’d be 99% sure she was gonna gut me like a fish, I’d still probably give her a lift.  She also gets to do a great Leatherface-style chainsaw dance and has lots of good lines like, “I’m not gonna kill you in cold blood.  I’m gonna warm you up first!”  There’s also a funny bit by Ron Jeremy as a motorist who gets his dick cut off.  

Sure, there are a couple of “Found Footage” sequences, but they work a lot better than most movies of the subgenre.  That’s because they are used sparingly and don’t have a lot of sequences that are needlessly dragged out.  The filmmakers also seem to be of the mind that these sequences are only here because Found Footage was hot at the time, which explains why a character gripes, “Next time, we bring a fucking tripod!”  That line alone is enough to make it the best Found Footage movie of all time, even if the Found Footage only accounts for about 15% of the running time.

Hell’s Highway is only sixty-nine minutes, so it doesn’t fuck around like many of its contemporaries.  It also boasts some surprisingly strong gore and splatter effects.  (There’s a gut ripping scene that has to break some sort of record.)  Director Jeff (Charlie’s Death Wish) Leroy lends the film some unexpected stylistic touches too, like the scene where the characters wait for a cellphone to ring.  It’s only in the final ten minutes does it stumble and stumble badly as the “twist” ending just doesn’t work at all.  That’s okay though, because there’s still enough fun, gore, and skin to be had in the first hour or so to make Hell’s Highway a winner.

KEKKO KAMEN (1991) **

The Kekko Kamen anime series was such a big hit that this live-action version soon followed.  The show was about the titular superheroine who wore a red mask and nothing else while fighting crime.  While the show was a lot of fun, inevitably, something gets lost in translation when you try to take such a wild cartoon and try to make her into flesh and blood.

An evil guy in a court jester costume assumes control of an all-girl school.  When a pervert teacher (who seems loosely inspired by Dennis Hopper’s character in Blue Velvet) attempts to shave a pussy (as in, cat) as part of his lesson, one of his students tries to prevent the act of animal cruelty.  He then ties her up for her insolence and just as he’s about to torture her, the sexy crimefighter Kekko Kamen arrives on the scene to stop him.  Kekko next socks it to a karate teacher who likes to get handsy with his female students.  Finally, when the headmaster holds an assembly where a student is publicly whipped, Kekko drops in to give him a taste of his own medicine.    

As fun as the idea of having a nude crimefighter is (she hides her face and exposes her body), the execution leaves something to be desired.  One of the problems is that the production values are really shoddy.  It was shot on video, and suffers from a low budget, and some poor acting.  Not that any of those things are necessarily a dealbreaker when you are making a movie about a nude crimefighter.  However, those nude crimefighting scenes are few and far between, and when they finally do arrive, they aren’t particularly well-executed, funny, or even sexy.  I mean, the part where she kills a guy by shooting light out of her vagina is kinda amusing, but it’s a long time… uh… coming.  Besides, all the hammy acting and unfunny comic relief during the fully clothed stretches has a tendency to wear on the nerves.  Still, it clocks in at well under an hour, so at least it’s short.  

SATAN’S STORYBOOK (1989) * ½

Satan’s Storybook looks like one of those deals where the director had two or three unfinished/abandoned/unreleased movies, cobbled them together, and passed them off as an “anthology” horror film.  I’m not saying it’s totally without merit.  I mean, any time you start a flick with Ginger Lynn Allen dressed as a Ninja, you’re doing something right.  However, things go downhill from there awful fast.  

Allen stars in the “Wraparound” (**) segments as a warrior woman sworn to bring her Satanic Queen sister (Leslie Deutsch) to justice.  Her boyfriend just so happens to be Satan (Ray Robert, a beefy guy with a skull face who probably inspired Mortal Kombat’s Shao Kahn), and he sends his minions out to find her.  While waiting for his Queen’s return, he asks his jester (Michael Daevid) to tell him some scary stories.  

The first tale is about a serial killer named “The Demon of Death” (* ½) who likes to pick his victims at random out of the phonebook.  The killer (co-writer Steven K. Arthur) murders a young woman’s parents and is arrested before he can kill her too.  Six years pass, and the killer still hasn’t been executed.  The woman (Leesa Rowland from The Class of Nuke ‘Em High 2, 3, and 4) then turns to black magic to make sure he gets what’s coming to him.  Naturally, things don’t go as planned.

Even though this story starts off well enough, it quickly goes down the tubes once the killer is arrested.  From then on, it just twiddles its thumbs way too much and the twist ending, when it finally does come, is rushed and unsatisfying.  While the wraparound sequences look slightly more polished than your typical SOV horror flick, The Demon of Death is just about what you would expect from the genre.  The lighting is crappy, the cinematography is cruddy, and some of the actors are visibly reading from their scripts.  It also doesn’t help that the so-called Demon of Death just looks and acts like your typical ‘80s metalhead dude, which is to say he isn’t very intimidating.  

The second story is called “Death Among Clowns” (*).  It stars the author of The Howling, Gary Brandner as an alcoholic clown that commits suicide in his dressing room.  A demonic clown (writer/director Michael Rider), sporting a silly looking tail) then arrives to drag him to Hell.  

Sure, it’s funny to see Brandner in his only acting role (a Howling 4 poster is briefly glimpsed in the first story as well), but it’s painfully obvious that he is not an actor.  It doesn’t help that he spends nearly all his screen time in a shoddy looking clown get-up.  As bad as he is, Rider is twice as annoying, and their unending banter makes this story feel like it lasts an eternity.  Another debit is the fact that it’s a straightforward story and no attempt whatsoever is made to give it a twist ending, something that’s a virtual perquisite for an anthology horror movie.

While shot on video, the wraparound sequences of Satan’s Storybook look better than many of its ‘80s SOV contemporaries.  The use of red lights in the opening works rather well, and the throne room scenes are more inventive than many horror flicks that were shot in somebody’s backyard.  That said, once it switches over to the stories, it looks and feels more like your typical SOV crap.  Adding insult to injury is the fact that the wraparound ends with a cliffhanger to a sequel that never happened.  (Thank God.)

I’m sure Ginger worked on pornos that had ten times the budget this one had.  Fortunately, her performance is the best thing about the movie, which helps make it go down smoother than expected.  She looks terrific (I especially liked the scene where Ginger magically transforms from her Ninja get-up to a more sword and sorcery-inspired wardrobe), and even manages not to embarrass herself during her longwinded monologues.  If she can emerge from something like this relatively unscathed, it proves that she has better acting chops than most give her credit for.  

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) ****

When the police fail to find her daughter’s killer, a mother (Frances McDormand) puts up three billboards in her hometown asking why nothing has been done.  The sheriff (Woody Harrelson) is incensed because his name is on the billboard, and he feels he’s being personally attacked.  Her shrewdness eventually spurns him into action, even though the consequences of putting up the billboards makes her a target for the pro-cop community.  

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a triumph through and through.  Written and directed by Martin (In Bruges) McDonagh, it’s a powerful, sad, angry, and wickedly funny movie.  You might be surprised that a movie about rape, murder, cancer, and racism can be so funny, but I assure you, I laughed a lot during the film.  The humor comes out of the characters’ plight and the fact that they don’t act like your ordinary movie characters, but regular human beings.  They are all deeply flawed, wounded, and suffering individuals whose pain and anger propels them to do what they do, so of course, they have to have a sense of humor.  

There are some dark moments to be sure.  And some incredibly sad ones.  I’m not too proud to say that even I got a little choked up on this one, thanks to the strong writing and powerful performances.  

McDormand and Rockwell both deservedly won Oscars for their performances.  McDormand is just as good here if not better than she was in Fargo, which is a crazy high bar.  Likewise, Rockwell is as good as he’s ever been, making what in lesser hands could’ve been a buffoonish and ugly character into something a little sadder and more human.  His racist, drunken, and violent outbursts seem to come less from learned hatred and more from a callow self-loathing.  Harrelson is equally fine as the sheriff who despite outward appearances is carrying his own sense of pain and failure around with him.  The supporting cast is ridiculously stacked with heavy hitters as well, all of whom do fine work.  

PLAYMATE WORKOUT (1983) ***

Playmates Jeana Tomasina and Victoria Cooke host this workout video from Playboy.  During the intro they say, “This workout is for women… but you guys can watch too!”  

Jeana, Victoria, and a bunch of other Playmates stand in front of a white background doing calisthenics while wearing skintight workout clothes.  They start with a warm-up exercise before moving on to scissor kicks.  Eventually, the Playmates disrobe from various exercises like push-ups and lunges.  Sometimes, these nude sequences are set against a red background with a harsh red light shining on the Playmates.  I think they were trying to sell the idea that this was a “hot” workout, but personally, I much preferred the simplicity of the white background.  I could’ve also done without the scenes where the Playmates bring their boyfriends along to workout with them.  (“Exercise is rapidly becoming a co-ed affair!”)

For variety, there are sequences set in the backyard of the Playboy Mansion.  Playmates workout on exercise bikes and rowing machines, before hopping into Hef’s pool for some water exercises as well as a little recreational swimming.  Naturally, the slow-motion scenes of the Playmates jumping up and down on trampolines in slow motion is the highlight.  

Most of the time, the music accompanying the aerobics sessions are generic ‘80s instrumentals.  However, sometimes segments are accompanied by pop music like Paul Davis’s “I Go Crazy”, Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” and “Get Down on It”, Shalamar’s “Night to Remember”, Kenny Nolan’s “Soft Rock, Hard Love”, Frankie Valli’s “My Eyes Adored You”, and The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman”.

As one can expect, there is very little here in the way of aerobic instruction.  There's more slow motion and long gazing shots of the women’s bodies than your typical workout video.  I mean, what did you expect?  This is Playboy after all.  Of course half the workouts are going to be shot like a video pictorial from the Playboy Channel!  If you want actual instruction, go watch that Jane Fonda crap!  

In an age where hardcore pornography is just a click away, all of this seems a little tame and innocent.  If you’re like me and enjoyed those nights back in the ‘80s when the Playboy Channel had their “Free Previews”, you should enjoy Playmate Workout.  If it fails at being a comprehensive workout, or comes up short as erotica, it certainly hits the right notes in the nostalgia department.  

AKA:  Playboy Playmate Workout.

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND (2021) **

In order to entice viewers, studios often put blurbs from critics on the movie poster.  Prisoners of the Ghostland might have the first poster in history that features a blurb from its star.  In this case, it’s Nicolas Cage who proclaims, “The Wildest Movie I’ve Ever Made!” at the bottom of the artwork.  If that doesn’t make you want to see it, nothing will.

Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure I agree with that bold statement.  Sure, there are moments of weirdness that stand out.  It’s just that the flick never really cuts loose and gets crazy enough to live up to Cage’s proclamation.    

Cage stars as a bank robber who is tasked with finding the daughter (Sofia Boutella from The Mummy) of Bill Moseley.  He is outfitted with a suit that is rigged with various bombs, so if he fails to complete his mission and/or gets other ideas, it will detonate and leave Cage without vital parts of his anatomy.  Once he’s suited up, he ventures into the post-apocalyptic wasteland to find her.

Prisoners of the Ghostland is weird, sure, but a lot of it feels like a bunch of weirdness for weirdness’ sake.  Like when Cage is about to leave on his mission and the town stands around and sings a nursery rhyme in unison… because… it’s weird.  Don’t confuse weirdness for originality as much of the film feels like recycled elements from other movies.  There are bits from post-apocalyptic actioners, Spaghetti Westerns, samurai dramas, and even other Cage flicks (like Drive Angry).  However, it never quite feels like a cohesive vision; just parts from other genre pictures that have been slapped together with Krazy Glue.  

Moseley is a lot of fun as the villain.  I’m not sure why it took so long for he and Cage to cross paths in a movie, but he pretty much steals the show as his character is basically a mashup of Colonel Sanders, Boss Hogg, and Foghorn Leghorn.  

Cage’s performance is a disappointing mixed bag.  For much of the running time, he is in Somber Cage Mode, but occasionally (like the movie itself), he hints at something more interesting lurking in the shadows.  Sometimes, he will slide into random outbursts of Cage Rage.  Take for instance, his line reading of the word, “Testicle”.  Only Cage could’ve come up with that.  On the downside, Cage has made so many of these offbeat movies now that he is starting to repeat himself.  Whenever he breaks out his Kung Fu moves in this flick, there’s a hint of Elvis in his posture and facial movements (like Honeymoon in Vegas).  During one such scene, he even blurts out his catchphrase from Deadfall, “Hi-Fuckin’-Ya!”  On one hand, it’s sorta funny for him to do a callback to one of his most famous performances.  On the other, it just sorta reveals that there isn’t a whole lot up his sleeve this time around.  (Aside from the detonator that is.)

Prisoners of the Ghostland is not without its moments.  There just isn’t enough of them to make it worthwhile.  It particularly goes off the rails as it enters the third act.  Not that a movie like this one had a firm grasp of the rails to begin with.

BLOOD SALVAGE (1990) *

Say you’re boxer Evander Holyfield and you’re months away from fighting Buster Douglas for the heavyweight championship of the world. How do you prepare for the fight of your life?  By producing and making a cameo in a shitty low budget horror flick, of course. 

Wheelchair bound teenage beauty queen April (Lori Birdsong) goes up and down the south with her family in their RV participating in beauty pageants. She catches the eye of a seemingly harmless looking tow truck driver named Jake (Danny Nelson) who helps the family when their RV breaks down. Little do they know he’s also in the spare parts business. And we’re not talking auto parts. We’re talking body parts as he keeps half dead people locked in his shed and sells off their organs on the black market to a seedy doctor (Ray Walston). 

Blood Salvage is a turgid mix of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (killer redneck family), Eaten Alive (the family keeps a gator on the premises), and Motel Hell (the half dead victims wailing). If it was just crude and dumb it would be one thing but the constant scenes of a paraplegic in peril are often tasteless and the scene where the killers suck out a little boy’s spinal fluid is borderline reprehensible. Even more offensive is the fact that it clocks in at a whopping ninety-eight minutes, which is about twenty minutes longer than it had any right being. 

If you’re curious to see it just for the participation of Holyfield, you might be disappointed. He’s only in one scene near the beginning as a carnie boxer. It has no bearing on the story whatsoever and his appearance was probably little more than a perk for being a producer. John Saxon also appears as the beauty queen’s father but he’s more or less wasted and gets sidelined for much of the movie once he gets captured. Walston looks like he’d rather be someplace else. Despite the progressive notion of having its main character be a handicapped beauty queen, our heroine is more annoying than sympathetic as her constant whining quickly becomes grating.  

In short, Blood Salvage belongs on the scrap pile.