DVD Collectors Online

Don't Answer the Phone!, a review by Jimmy

Title : Don't Answer the Phone! (1980)

Overview
A Vietnam veteran/photographer terrorizes Los Angeles by going around strangling young women in their homes while taunting psychologist Lindsay Gale by calling her radio call-in show to describe his misogynistic ways. Meanwhile, the police detectives are close behind the psycho hoping he'll slip up and make a mistake.

My Impression
Another personal favorite of mine, it's the movie I've bough the most often (five times : the original VHS released, the first dvd released by Rhino (the only dvd I've thrown in the garbage with all the violence and nudity cut), an uncut bootleg on dvd-r, the uncut version released by Deimos Entertainment and, finally, another uncut version in a 8 movies set). This is the kind of movie that doesn't had a lot of blood, in fact the mood of the film is created by the great performance of Nicholas Worth (who had sadly died not too long after the released of this dvd). No blood doesn't mean that this movie isn't violent, in fact I seriously doubt that you will appreciate it if you are a woman (all the victims are women and their killing is not really pleasant). Like I've said Nicholas Worth made this movie by his interpretation of the murderer (he can switch really fast to a good guy to a creepy guy to a complete psycho). It was also great to see James Westmoreland again in a first role (he is credited as Rad Fulton in The Undertaker and His Pals one of the first movie I've reviewed here). of course a lot of beautifull women appear also like Pamela Jean Bryant (Playboy Playmate of the month of april 78), Susanne Severeid, Denise Galik, ... Another note worthy cast member of this film is Chuck Mitchell, the name probably doesn't ring a bell for you but if I say that he had played Porky Wallace I'm sure that you know who he is.

Certainly not a bad film and a must in every film collection if you are a fan of crime horror film.

Rating :

(From Jimmy's 2009 Horror Marathon on October 24th, 2009)

The Living Dead Girl, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante)Overview:
THE LIVING DEAD GIRL (La Morte VivanteMy Thoughts:
I'd seen two of Rollin's films before this (Iron Rose and Lips of Blood) and really enjoyed his style. I was leery going into this one, since everyone talks about this film featuring much more gore than most of Rollin's filmography. That is definitely true - there is a lot of blood, quite a bit of gore, and the camera lingers over it, especially in the last scene. It does feel somewhat excessive, but it might not be. It offers a contrast with the beautiful visuals Rollin sets up. The shots of Catherine walking in the field in her white dress are gorgeous. Setting aside the gory bits, you do see Rollin's dreamy, atmospheric qualities here - the girls with the music box, the scene of Helene washing Catherine, the set up of the chateau and crypts.

It also packs a surprisingly emotional punch for a horror film. The story of Catherine and Helene's love for one another and the tragedy of what happens to them has a greater depth then you might be expecting, especially if you aren't familiar with Rollin or have only heard about his reputation for erotica.

As I said in my reviews of the other two Rollin films I watched, I can't give this a blanket recommendation. The gore would likely appeal to fans of more traditional horror, but the parts in between kills are much slower and focus on creating atmosphere and growing tragedy - there's little action and no jump scares.

Watched For: Scavenger Hunt #18, Hoop-tober 3.0

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 1st, 2016)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

The Ellen Show


Pilot
After both her business and her social life go belly-up, Ellen deides to trade in the stress of her fast-track, big-city life for the slower pace of her small hometown.

My Thoughts:
This series is pretty funny too. I enjoyed it. Unfortunately it didn't last past the one season (18  episodes), But it definitely had it's laughs. I especially liked the scene where Ellen was giving a speech in her old high school when her cell phone rang. She had a bad connection so she walked up to a kid with braces and moved held his head... moving his head around till her phone came in clear.  

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on January 24th, 2010)