In high school, I had a friend named Mark. I described him in the introduction to an interview I did years ago with the musical performer, the Great Kat. ___One of my more noteworthy friends in high school was a guy named Mark who had long hair, wore a denim jacket, carried around a briefcase…

At first, I wasn’t even going to review “Striking Distance”. I just found it to be ridiculous and retrograde. It then occurred to me, “If this was a Chuck Norris movie, I would love it.” Why? Well, you just kind of expect Norris’s work to be ridiculous and retrograde. So I thought, “What if I…

“The Banker” might be best thought of as “Rambo” meets “Wall Street.” I’ll try to explain. In this gritty cop thriller from 1989, we learn at the beginning who the villain is. A ultra-rich banker, Spalding Osbourne, is hiring prostitutes, having sex with them, and then killing them with his crossbow. (Interesting choice!) A cop,…

I read John Everson’s “Siren” a few years back and enjoyed it. When I discovered he has a few novels out in the style of classic Italian giallo (pulpy horror slasher) films I was intrigued. “The Bloodstained Doll” is one such book. The plot centers around a young woman who moves in with her relatives…

I was first drawn to “Eyes of a Stranger,” a slasher made in 1981, because there’s a song from the heavy metal band Queensrÿche of the same name (unrelated to the film). It worked out—it’s a decent movie. The plot is as follows. A serial rapist/killer is terrorizing Miami, and television reporter Jane (played by…

I had some trepidation about watching “Graduation Day.” I had it in my head that it was a super-cheeseball horror film with terrible acting and unconvincing gore. That it announced it was a Troma Entertainment release at the beginning didn’t assuage these concerns. (I like a lot of Troma material and once met the production…