Cult Classic: Night Of The Comet (1984)

“Daddy would have gotten us Uzis.”

With a perfect blend of horror, humor, and science fiction, Night Of The Comet (1984) is easily one of the best end-of-the-world films from the 1980s. Writer/Director Thom Eberhardt dumps the audience directly into the film from the the very beginning and allows the viewer to ride along with the Belmont sisters as they try to survive in a world where zombies roam, humans are scarce, and many of them can’t be trusted. The movie is a great time capsule for early 1980s culture as well, and I absolutely love it.

In the film, Earth passes through the tail of a comet that previously crossed the planet’s path sixty-five million years earlier and is believed to have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Reggie Belmont (Catherine Mary Stewart) decides to spend the evening of the comet’s passing with her boyfriend in the projection room of the theater she works at while her sister, Sam (Kelli Maroney) gets into a fight with their stepmother and sleeps off the argument in a shed. When Reggie wakes up the next morning, she discovers a world where almost all humans and animals have turned into red dust and a few have mutated into murderous zombies. Reggie’s boyfriend is quickly dispatched by one of the zombies and Reggie makes her escape on his motorcycle, hoping to find her sister and others alive and well.

The sisters reunite and decide to head to the local radio station where a DJ is playing the latest hits of the 80s. When they arrive, however, they learn that the program is pre-recorded. They also run into Hector (Robert Beltran), a trucker who spent the night inside his rig, safe from the comet. The trio then make contact with a research facility located in the desert. Hector decides to check on his mother and while waiting for him, Reggie and Sam visit the local mall for a fashion montage. Unfortunately for them, zombified workers at the mall take them prisoner, planning to have a little fun with them before the kill them. Thankfully, the research team shows up just in time to save the girls and Reggie is trucked off to the research center while Sam is left behind with a couple of the research scientists in order to wait for Hector to return. Once Reggie arrives at the facility, however, she notices that the researchers aren’t necessarily on a rescue mission. Can Reggie, Sam, and Hector survive in this fresh, new dystopia? Check out Night Of The Comet to find out what happens!

This film is awesome. It’s one of my favorite science fiction/horror/comedies of all time. While it appears that Reggie (Stewart) is meant to be the star, Sam (Maroney) steals the show. Maroney’s comedic timing is brilliant and you can’t help but cheer on her and Reggie as they navigate their new world. Beltran does a great job as Hector as well, with his encounter with a security guard at the research facility and his role in the film’s climax being two of the best moments in the film. Stewart does a great job as the “straight man” in her comedy duo with Maroney. The rest of the cast give excellent performances as well, especially Geoffrey Lewis as one of the research scientists and Mary Woronov as another of the facility’s researchers.

Eberhardt proves that a low budget is perfectly fine to make an excellent film if you know how to use it. He told his cast to react in character any time that something went wrong in order to cut down on the number of retakes, and these reactions, especially those of Maroney, are what make this film so wonderful. The film has good music, amazing cinematography, and some great action sequences. It’s lightning in a bottle!

I highly recommend this film. It’s funny, creepy at times, and all around just a wonderful low-budget flick. Make sure to check it out and let me know what you think about it! Thanks for checking out my review!

Return To Sleepaway Camp (2008)

“Why can’t they leave me alone?”

Despite financial issues that went back nearly a decade and the occasional natural disaster, Return To Sleepaway Camp managed to be released direct to video in 2008. The film is a direct sequel to the cult classic Sleepaway Camp (1983). The film features the return of the original film’s writer and director, Robert Hiltzik, original film actors Jonathan Tiersten and Paul DeAngelo, and (spoiler alert) the triumphant return of Felissa Rose to the role of Angela Baker! The film also features Vincent Pastore, Isaac Hayes (in a small role), Adam Wylie, Erin Broderick, Kate Simses, Jackie Tohn, and Michael Gibney.

In the film, troubled camper Alan (Gibney) is the victim of relentless bullying at the hands of his fellow campers. He dishes out quite a bit of his own mischief as well, but the other campers (and some of the staff) humiliate him at every turn. As the film moves along, people begin to die in strange ways. When bodies start to pile up, Sheriff Jerry is brought in to investigate the killings. Ronnie (DeAngelo), who was a camp counselor at Camp Arawak when Angela Baker went on her brutal killing spree, believes that Angela has returned. Everybody else has different theories as to what is going on at the camp. Is Angela back to kill again? Perhaps her cousin, Ricky, has picked up her cause? Watch Return To Sleepaway Camp to find out who the killer really is!

This film is bad. I hate to say it because I love the original film and have grown fond of the two Sleepaway Camp sequels, Unhappy Campers and Teenage Wasteland, starring Pamela Springsteen in the role of Angela. Those two films went a little heavier on the humor than the original film, but they were still enjoyable for the most part. I have not seen Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, so I cannot comment on that particular film at the moment. It was nice to see Felissa Rose, even if it was briefly, back on the screen and I also appreciated the return of Tiersten and DeAngelo. None of the kids in the film are likeable, but I did enjoy counselors Petey (Simses) and Linda (Tohn), although they portrayed characters on different ends of of the spectrum. Petey was quick to defend Alan whenever he screwed up and eventually becomes a suspect in the murders. Linda feels a lot like the original film’s Judy (Karen Fields). Had that character survived the first film, I believe that Linda is exactly who that character would have become.

The practical effects are pretty good and the kills are okay, but overall this film feels like something that could have been so much better. The acting is hit-and-miss and the reveal at the end lacks the punch of the original movie’s legendary reveal. If you just have to watch every Sleepaway Camp film, give it a look. If you love Felissa Rose, watch it. Otherwise, this isn’t a film that I necessarily recommend.

Thanks for checking out my review. I hope to continue posting more often as this year continues.

Calcasieu Parish Short Film Festival

“Avast, me hearties!”

On May 30, 2026 at the Brimstone Museum Annex located at 923 South Ruth Street in Sulphur, LA, the Calcasieu Parish Short Film Festival returns for its ninth year! This year will feature an excellent selection of short films from all over the United States. Selections have been announced in the official schedule and are being individually listed on the festival’s Facebook page. The Facebook page is also where you can find out all of the other information about the event, including contact information and GPS coordinates to the event.

Along with the regular short film presentations throughout the day, the Filmsquatch Podcast will be presenting a special block of Bigfoot-themed short films including co-host Patrick Bennett’s own project Ta-Tai Maudit. The podcast’s other co-host, myself, will be presenting a panel about Bigfoot’s cinematic history. The festival will also feature a special One Hundredth Anniversary screening of “The Battling Kangaroo.”

Be sure to join me and everybody else at southwest Louisana’s first and best short film festival! There’s also still time to to enter the festival’s Forty-Eight Hour Film Sprint. Visit the festival Facebook page for more information! I hope that I get to see you there!

Classic Cinema: Stranger From Venus (1954)

“I am drunk, or you are dead.”

Whether you call it Stranger From Venus, The Venusian, or Immediate Disaster, this pleasantly reserved 1954 science fiction drama is an extremely well done film with a direct message that resembles the same message from 1951’s The Day The Earth Stood Still. It features a small but exceptional cast and well-paced direction from Burt Balaban. The film stars Patricia Neal (who also appeared in The Day The Earth Stood Still), Helmut Dantine, and Derek Bond, with a supporting cast that includes Willoughby Gray, Cyril Luckham, and Marigold Russell.

The film tells the story of a mysterious stranger that arrives in what appears to be the United Kingdom, requesting an audience with all of the world’s leaders, intending to deliver a warning to the planet, in order to save the entire solar system. When he lands on Earth, his craft unintentionally mortally wounds Susan North (Neal), so he heals her and heads to a local inn, where he makes his request to meet with our planet’s leaders. When the local government and a nosy reporter get involved, however, they attempt to use the information received from the stranger in order to take full control of the planet. Do things pan out for the wicked men of Earth, or is the stranger simply setting up a sinister plan to take over our world? Watch Stranger From Venus to find out what happens.

This character-driven film is more drama than science fiction. Susan struggles with falling in love with the stranger (Dantine) or choosing to remain with her soon-to-be-betrothed boyfriend, Arthur Walker (Bond). Walker has to decide whether he wants to do what is best for the planet or for his country. His choice could decide the fate of the entire planet. The rest of the cast is excellent. Of particular note is Cyril Luckham being quite enjoyable as Dr. Meinard and the lovely Marigold Russell charming her way through scenes as Gretchen Harding, the innkeeper’s daughter. The special effects are limited, but sufficient for a 1950’s science fiction film that actually plays out much better than its contemporaries.

Yes, the comparisons to The Day The Earth Stood Still are justified. It may not be as good as that film but, at least in my opinion, it’s pretty darn good. Check out Stranger From Venus for yourself and let me know what you think of it in the comments section.

Thanks for checking out my review!

Classic Cinema: Phantom From Space (1953)

“There wasn’t any head in that helmet!”

Phantom From Space isn’t a bad film. It isn’t a good film, either. Instead, it’s…..just another film about an alien invader that never really gets going. It gets bogged down in excessively long scenes cluttered with dialogue. There is some action in the film, but none of it really ends in a satisfying way. To top it all off, the film’s conclusion hits with a dull thud. It’s quite a boring film, but it does have a few good things going for it.

What works in this movie is the performances of its stars, Ted Cooper and Noreen Nash. This duo, who are part of a team attempting to capture a mysterious visitor from another world who travels around in a highly radioactive suit (and also happens to be invisible when not wearing the suit), go out of their way to give excellence performances in an otherwise slow and plodding film. The rest of the cast is okay, but none of them perform at the same level as Cooper and Nash. The plot is also very good, but executed in the most bland way possible. The alien is interesting enough, but he doesn’t get much time to shine in the film.

I don’t dislike this film, but it’s just too boring to recommend to viewers. If you have a little over an hour to kill and want to watch folks smoke A LOT of cigarettes and discuss alien visitation, this is your film. If you want anything else, pass on Phantom From Space.

Thanks for checking out my review. I know that this one is shorter than usual, but there’s really not much to say about this film.

Classic Cinema: The Giant Claw (1957)

“Oh, nothing so domestic as a flying saucer. Just a flying battleship.”

Slammed by critics at the time, 1957’s The Giant Claw may have one of the goofiest looking monsters of all time, but I really enjoy this movie. Born in the Atomic Age of film, the movie gives us the story of a giant vulture-like bird terrorizing the world and a small band of scientists, mathematicians, military leaders, and a hotshot aeronautical engineer that are desperately trying to stop it. The plot features the standard tech talk that was rampant in 50’s science fiction and quite a few violent deaths that I suspect could have been quite scary for youngsters to witness.

The film stars Jeff Morrow as Mitch MacAfee, a civil aeronautical engineer that is assisting the military with radar testing, and Mara Corday as mathematician Sally Caldwell, who is working alongside Mitch and the military. The rest of the cast includes Morris Ankrum (Lt. General Considine), Edgar Barrier (Dr. Noymann), and Robert Shayne (General Van Buskirk). The film also features Lou Merrill as Pierre Broussard, a French Canadian farmer who helps Mitch and Sally and believes that the giant bird is La Carcagne, a legendary creature that, if seen by a person, is a harbinger of death.

The creature initially attacks aircraft, but when Mitch discovers its flight pattern, all planes are grounded and the creature begins attacking any and everything on the ground. Some of the attacks are especially violent, in particular the murder of a group of men investigating the sightings, who are eaten one by one as they attempt to parachute to safety when their plane is attacked. There is also a big battle in Manhattan, showing many of the city’s famous buildings being destroyed or damaged by the creature.

Sure, the creature looks ridiculous, but the story itself is very good. The creature is protected by an antimatter shield that our fearless team must find a way to penetrate in order to stop the flying beast. The entire cast does a fine job in their roles. Just look past the marionette creature and you will most likely enjoy this film.

The Giant Claw is a hokey, fun ride that fans of classic science fiction will enjoy. It has decent plot, excellent performances from the cast, and a truly unforgettable, hilarious-looking giant bird. Give it a shot, you might like it.

Thanks for checking out my review.

Shiver Me Timbers (2025)

“Chainsaws are for children.”

The final Popeye-inspired horror film in 2025 was Shiver Me Timbers. It’s also the best or worst of the trio depending on who you ask. While I don’t consider it the best, I don’t believe that it is necessarily the worst. The plot is ridiculous. The acting is sketchy at best. The film has entirely too many bad CGI effects. All of these things are true, but Shiver Me Timbers plays out knowing full well that it’s a bad movie and for that, I have to respect it just a little bit.

It’s (supposed to be 1986) and a group of young adults are heading out to the coast to witness the rare Halley’s Comet meteor shower. They briefly encounter a fisherman on the way to their campsite, almost hitting him with their car. They apologize and he goes along about his business, excited for the good fishing he expects that evening. The group then encounters a homeless man being harassed by ne’er-do-wells and they help him. When they finally arrive at the campsite, they do all of the normal things that young adults do in films of this nature. They drink alcohol, smoke weed, dance, and then split up so that they can easily be picked off by the local slasher. That local slasher turns out to be the old fisherman whenever a piece of a meteor lands in his corncob pipe and causes him to mutate into a violent killing machine.

Shiver Me Timbers is really, really bad. The heavy reliance on CGI takes away from the overall comedic tone of the film and the goriness of the kills. All of the kills are over-the-top, but not as funny as they could have been with better direction and practical effects. The acting is subpar and the pothead humor will only be funny to potheads while they are smoking pot. Most of the characters are forgettable, with the exception of Olive Oyl, who manages to be the most interesting character in the film. She is portrayed by Amy Mackie. The only other actor worth mentioning is Niamh Parrington as Cylinda, one of Olive’s friends and a mild love interest of Castor, Olive’s brother. Popeye is portrayed by David Hallows (old fisherman) and Tony Greer (killer fisherman).

Mackie (L) with Parrington in an interview.

As bad as Shiver Me Timbers may be, it appears to be quite comfortable with what it is: a B-movie intentionally being as bad as it can be. For that, I have to give the film a mild thumbs up. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all and never tries to be more than a bad film. It also gives a sweet nod to Army Of Darkness and that’s mighty fine of them in my book.

If you want to watch a bad movie that relishes in its badness, Shiver Me Timbers is for you. You definitely have to be in a specific mood to enjoy this film. I personally recommend Popeye The Slayer Man over this film and Popeye’s Revenge, but I know that there is a select audience for Shiver Me Timbers. A sequel is in the works and it will bring Tarzan and Betty Boop into the fray. Will it be just as terrible? Probably. Amy Mackie will be reprising her role as Olive Oyl. No word on whether or not any of the other survivors will show up for the sequel.

Thanks for checking out my review.

Popeye The Slayer Man (2025)

“I am what I am.”

The second Popeye-themed film of 2025, released in March of that year about five weeks after Popeye’s Revenge, Popeye The Slayer Man does what its predecessor and successor fail to do: place Popeye in a believable scenario where he actually fits into the story. In this horror version of the character, Popeye supposedly “haunts” a shuttered spinach cannery and a group of college students decide to visit the place to film a documentary and discover if the ghost of the sailor man actually exists. In actuality, Popeye is no ghost. He’s a sailor that has lost his family due to a cover-up by the shady owner of the cannery and has mutated into a beastly strong man due to consuming tainted spinach. His mission is to protect the place where he lost his family from being torn down by the owner. Anybody that gets in his way faces a violent end.

The film is actually pretty good. It’s the best of the three Popeye horror films for sure, and I’d love to see it get a sequel. The film features a fairly good cast that includes Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Richard Lounello, Mabel Thomas, and Angela Relucio. Popeye is portrayed by Jason Robert Stephens under a heaping helping of prosthetics. It also has some pretty amazing practical effects and a nice collection of kills. My favorite scenes involve Relucio’s character, Harrigan, facing off against Popeye and the film’s opening sequence featuring Sarah Nicklin, Joel Frometa, and Christian Elan Ortiz.

I also love the fact that this film features more winks, callbacks, and nods to a number of classic Popeye characters and sayings. Keep an eye out for a quick reference to Wimpy, his love of hamburgers, and his use of IOUs. Olive Oyl is also mentioned in the film as is Sweet Pea. I also believe, but am not entirely sure, that one other character is directly inspired by Bluto.

Popeye is given quite a bit of depth in this film, especially when it comes to slasher films. There’s a subplot that involves domestic abuse that grabbed my attention, and it plays out in the background of the film. Popeye’s character development is influenced by this subplot, and I believe that it brings a little more legitimacy to the character in the film. It’s a welcome plot device in a film that could have been nothing more than a standard slasher film.

While Popeye The Sailor Man isn’t perfect, but it has enough nuance to it that raises it above the other Popeye horror films and other films that have been released in recent years that give us horror versions of characters that have entered the public domain. It’s a fairly smart movie with excellent effects, nice acting, and some cool Easter eggs for fans of the classic comic strip.

Give Popeye The Slayer Man a look. I think that you might be surprised at how good it actually is. Oh, and be sure to check out some of the interviews with Sarah Nicklin. She did a promotional photo shoot with Popeye/Jason Robert Stephens that features a nautical theme. The photos were taken by Ama Lea, and I’ve included one of the photos below. The interviews with Nicklin are pretty awesome and the photos are amazing. Thanks for checking out my review, and get ready for my next post featuring the third film featuring Popeye as a horror character, Shiver Me Timbers.

Promotional photo featuring Sarah Nicklin and Jason Robert Stephens. Photo by Ama Lea.

Popeye’s Revenge (2025)

“Well blow me down!”

A trio of Popeye-based horror films were released in 2025 after the strong-armed sailor entered the public domain. Popeye’s Revenge was the first of these films, released in February of that year. Although it isn’t a part of the Twisted Childhood Universe, it is produced by ITN Studios, who produced all of the films in that series, and it features a number of actors from those films. It also features a below average plot that tries to force Popeye into a dark origin story. Had Harry Boxley, the film’s writer, created a standalone slasher without using Popeye, it might have worked. He didn’t do that, however, and the entire film feels forced and sort of pointless.

Popeye’s Revenge has an animated opening that sets up the reasons for Popeye’s murderous run in the film, but it just does not work for the character. It also has a little bit of sex and nudity to draw in certain demographics, but even that feels forced and unnecessary. What it gets right, though, is the cinematography and the atmosphere of the film. It also has an attractive cast with decent acting chops for the most part. You hated to see some of the characters meet their end and had no issues when Popeye dispatched others. The kills aren’t overly creative but they are executed extremely well and, at least to me, it seems like the effects were almost, if not all, completely practical.

The cast is headed up by Emily Mogilner as the overly enthusiastic Tara, who takes a group of her friends out to the old “Popeye” house to renovate it and turn it into camp that her parents will own and run. Connor Powles portrays Tara’s loyal boyfriend, Dylan. The rest of the group includes Fyn Phoenixx, Karolina Ugrenyuk, Bruno Cryan, Atlanta Moreno, and the strikingly gorgeous Danielle Ronald. Popeye is portrayed by Steven Murphy while Kelly Rian Sanson plays Olive Oyl. Some of the supporting cast includes Eva Ray, Oliver Mason, Danielle Scott, and Kathi DeCouto. As I already mentioned, many of these actors have appeared in other ITN films such as Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey.

Popeye’s Revenge would have been much better if it wasn’t a Popeye-based film. Simply slapping a sailor suit on a kid and giving him brute strength doesn’t make him Popeye. If the character were a new, nautical-themed slasher, it would have worked much better. That said, I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed if you watch this film.

Thanks for checking out my post.

Throwback Thursday: Ticks (1993)

“I’m infested!!!!!!”

Loaded with successful actors in various stages of their careers, 1993’s Ticks is a lot better than it should be considering the fact that it was a direct-to-home video release. The movie tells us the story of a group of teens facing various personal demons who go out for a little natural therapy with counselors, only to find themselves face-to-face with mutated, steroid-infested ticks. Yep, steroid-infested ticks that are a result of run-off from a local drug dealer’s marijuana plot that’s trying to boost the strength of his crop by using steroids. It all sounds a little ridiculous, but it’s such great fun.

The special effects in the film are all practical and the result of a team that includes Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero. The ticks grow larger as they feed and in what is probably the coolest effect in the film, one of them grows from within one of its victims and bursts out of the person in all of its gory glory. While you have to suspend disbelief at times, the effects are a welcome sight when today’s “movie magic” is almost always created with lacking CGI.

The film doesn’t stray too far from the standard “monster in the woods” flick. The troubled teens and their leaders get in bad situations and have to use their wits to battle not just the ticks, but the drug dealers trying to protect their crops. There are a few victims, of course, but really only a couple of heart-tugging deaths. There’s no nudity and the language isn’t too strong, but the gore is top notch.

Fans of television and film will recognize many of the names of the film’s cast. It includes a young Seth Green, who would go on to much bigger and better things in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series and many, many more projects later, and Alfonso Ribeiro, who was in the middle of a highly successful run as cousin Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The film also stars Peter Scolari, who maintained a very successful career in television for decades, appearing on shows like Bosom Buddies, Newhart, and Evil, and in films like That Thing You Do!, The Polar Express, and Looks That Kill. Another name that viewers may recognize is Ami Dolenz, an actress who found consistent work in television and film throughout the 1990s. Oh, and let’s not forget Clint and Rance Howard, who both have small roles in the film.

Ticks was a nice surprise that I found while looking for something to watch one evening. I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of gory monster films. Plus, it’s pretty cool to take a trip down memory lane with Scolari, Ribeiro, Green, Dolenz, and the Howard boys. Give it a look if you get a chance.

Thanks for checking out my post.