It seems like only last week I was discussing the legendary Kevin S. Tenney, director of such ‘80s horror cult classics as Witchboard and Night of the Demons. Wait a minute, it was only last week. Weird. Anyway, the Universe must have been listening, because a couple of days ago I got an email from Tenney with some great news for horror fans everywhere. On October 5, Brain Dead, Tenney’s latest film, is coming to DVD courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures. That’s right, just in time for all your Halloween shopping needs.
Brain Dead is a kickass mutant space zombie movie that hearkens back to the days when horror flicks aspired to entertain, rather than repulse, an audience. Full of ingenious gore effects, gratuitous nudity and witty repartee, Brain Dead is as much a parody of classic zombie flicks as it is a clever update of this much-loved genre. After playing the film fest circuit, it took home 12 awards, including Best Feature at the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival and Best Horror Feature at San Francisco Indiefest, as well as accolades for special effects at the B-Movie Film Festival and the Phoenix International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival.
As I mentioned above, Brain Dead is a bit of throwback. An extraterrestrial parasite crash-lands in a backwoods American town and sparks a fast-spreading zombie infestation. As the brain-hungry monsters multiply, three pairs of unlucky misfits gather in a deserted fishing lodge for shelter. With zombies pounding at the door, the stranded travelers have only two choices: band together to stop the invasion, or serve themselves up as a main course. Will the ill-assorted victims snap and kill each other before the zombies get the chance to do it for them? Or will the ravenous astro-zombies be slaughtered by this rag-tag bunch of characters? You’ll have to check out the DVD to discover the fate of those involved—but no matter how it ends, I promise you’ll have a blast watching it, because Tenney has delivered a totally entertaining little flick.
Tenney has filled Brain Dead with versatile performers, such as Joshua Benton, Michelle Tomlinson and Sarah Grant Brendecke, who are a lot of fun to watch. They can handle the snark as well as the gore—and there’s plenty of both here. Much like Sam Raimi, Tenney can balance humor with horror, and Brain Dead is a perfect example of his skill.
So, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Brain Dead this October. It’ll be available from Amazon.com and Netflix, so you won’t have to work hard to find it. And while you’re at it, get yourself a copy of Tenney’s Night of the Demons too. Together, they’ll make the perfect Halloween double feature: Tenney—past and present. It also presents an interesting topic for debate. Which does Tenney handle better, demons or zombies? Discuss among yourselves and get back to me with your arguments. And remember, it’s pass/fail, so no pressure.
~Theron Neel
Here’s a recent news item that doesn’t apply exclusively to horror fans, but we are definitely affected. I don’t know if you heard, but a few weeks ago Netflix made a somewhat controversial deal with Warner Brothers. Netflix has agreed to not ship new Warner Brothers DVDs for 28 days after their release date. For this, Netflix will get better prices on Warner Brothers product and, more important, access to hundreds of more films for its “Watch Instantly” option.
In honor of the recently knighted Christopher Lee, I declare it Hammer time at Slammed & Damned. In my opinion, you can’t touch Sir Christopher’s portrayal of Count Dracula in the films produced by Hammer studios. So today, we’re going to look at what is usually thought of as the last of Lee’s truly great Dracula movies, 
Young Lord Courtley promises the men delights previously unimagined, if only they trust him and pony up 1,000 guineas ($5,250). For this then-kingly sum, they will purchase Dracula’s cape, signet clasp and a vial of his powdered blood. With that, they will supposedly be able to resurrect the Master by performing a satanic rite and, apparently, enjoy pleasures not of this world. Granted, it’s all rather vague but they go along with it, fools that they are. And as any sane person might expect, these fools are soon in fear for their lives as an annoyed Dracula hunts them down to take vengeance for Lord Courtley, who died in the ceremony. Here’s the twist: Dracula uses the men’s teen children to exact his revenge.
Taste the Blood of Dracula, directed by Peter Sasdy, picks up right where Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (directed by Freddie Francis) ends, and it’s an interesting contrast. Sasdy started directing in the late ‘50s and Taste the Blood of Dracula looks like a film directed by a journeyman trying to adapt to a new era. It moves slowly, but has a few of the “freak-out” camera moves popular at the time. Freddie Francis got his start as a camera assistant in the ‘30s and moved up to cinematographer, working on classic films such as 
But even if he becomes king, Sir Christopher Lee will always be Count Dracula to me. His Dracula wasn’t the suave bloodsucker that Bela Lugosi gave us. Lee’s Dracula was a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” fanged feral animal. He might not have been politically correct, but he knew what he wanted and he got it. Actually, his Dracula really did get it. I believe he died at the end of each of his films but, like Jason Vorhees today, he always managed to come back. Now that I think of it, that’s not a bad description of Christopher Lee himself.
