Thirty-One Days O’Horror: The Hearse (1980)

Let’s Ride #6!

Hoping to get a break from traumatic events in her life, Jane Hardy decides to move to the quiet town of Blackford for the summer to live in a home given to her by her deceased aunt. When she arrives, she’s given the cold shoulder by the townspeople, attracts the attention of a handsome neighbor and a young handyman, is haunted by visions of her aunt, and is terrorized by a hearse and its driver. This all takes place in the 1980 film, The Hearse.

Trish Van Devere stars in the film as Jane. She is romanced by Tom Sullivan, portrayed by David Gautreaux. Perry Lang plays Paul, a young local who helps Jane around her home and is one of the few people that is actually friendly to her. He also has a crush on her. The rest of the cast includes Joseph Cotten as Walter Pritchard, a cranky attorney who thinks that he deserves Jane’s home more than she does, Donald Hotton as Reverend Winston, Med Flory as Sheriff Denton, and Donald Petrie as Luke. Also be on the lookout for Christopher McDonald as Pete, one of Paul’s friends, in his earliest credited role.

I personally found the film to be a bit boring. It relies heavily on standard ghost story tropes such as jump scares, visions in mirrors and windows, and dream sequences. The villain is actually very to easy to pick up on in the film, despite director George Bowers attempts to redirect the audience. The plot is interesting, but I feel like the movie missed tons of opportunities to make itself better than it actually is.

The cast is pretty good. I believe that Gautreaux gave the best performance of all, portraying both dashing courter and creepy dude that is a tad too interested in the new gal in town. Van Devere was sufficient, but never really convinced me that she was recovering from a nervous breakdown. I’m not sure if that is her fault or the fault of the director. The hearse itself is a thing of beauty, a 1952 Packard Funeral Coach, that looks great on the screen.

The Hearse is a decent horror film, especially if you like ghost stories in the vein of The Skeleton Key (2005). You’ll most likely figure out the plot for yourself before the credits roll, and for that reason, and the fact that the pacing is slow, I don’t necessarily recommend watching this film. It’s okay, but nothing special.

Thanks for checking out my review. See you tomorrow!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Super Hybrid (2010)

Let’s Ride #5!

Trapped in a Chicago police garage, a shapeshifting car looks for an escape route, killing any and every single city worker that stands in its way in the 2010 killer car flick, Super Hybrid. The film stars Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Melanie Papalia, Adrien Dorval, and Ryan Kennedy. It’s a good film with an interesting premise and I was actually surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

In the film, Beckner portrays a character named Tilda, an ambitious mechanic that works in the city garage who discovers that it’s a car that is killing people. Her co-workers don’t believe her at first, but once they realize that she is telling the truth, they devise a plan to capture the creature for profit. Heading up the rest of the group is their supervisor, a greedy, seedy jerk named Ray (Fehr). Tilda is just trying to survive and save her friends, but Ray has more sinister plans in mind. You’ll have to watch Super Hybrid to find out what happens.

Fehr is the most recognizable face in the film. He played Ardeth Bay in the Brendan Fraser-starring The Mummy franchise and has also had roles in the Resident Evil franchise. He does a great job at being a sleazeball boss. The rest of the cast do decent jobs as well. Beckner is solid in the lead role of Tilda. I really liked Adrien Dorval as Gordy. Melanie Papalia was great as the garage secretary, Maria.

The real star of the film, however, was the bizarre creature that transformed into a number of vehicles throughout the film. It would lure drivers into its cab and then use tentacles to squeeze the life out of them. It also used the more traditional killing technique of running people over and ramming into them.

I’ll admit that the premise of the film sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it works just fine. In fact, a similar type of alien/vehicle hybrid plot worked just as well, if not better, in the 2016 children’s film Monster Trucks. That movie didn’t feature killer cars, however.

Super Hybrid manages to be a decent little flick, even with its absurd plot. It’s worth a look if you enjoy science fiction thrillers. It has a good cast, some nice action, crappy CGI, and some pretty sweet cars. Give it a look if you’d like. Thanks for reading my post.

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Crash! (1976)

Let’s Ride #4!

Kim Denne (Sue Lyon) purchases an ancient Hittite charm that unleashes its fury via a black 1967 Chevy Camaro in the 1976/77 feature film Crash!. In the movie, Kim is married to a wheelchair-bound professor named Marc (Jose Ferrer) who forbids her to leave their home. When she sneaks away one day, Marc has his Doberman attack Kim while driving her car. She has a terrible accident and ends up in a hospital, clutching the charm that she purchased. She has no memory of the wreck, only flashes of what might have happened. As she recovers, a mysterious, driver-less Camaro begins terrorizing the highways around San Cecilia, killing dozens of people and causing major damage to multiple vehicles. A young doctor named Gregg Martin (John Ericson) attempts to discover what powers the charm holds….and why it might be possessing Kim. Top it all off with the fact that Dr. Martin’s primary source of information also happens to be Marc Denne, and you’ve got quite the conundrum. Watch Crash to find out what happens!

The film isn’t that bad. It has a disjointed beginning and some pretty questionable special effects, but overall the movie is a decent effort from Charles Band, who would go on to direct and/or produce such cult classics like The Dungeonmaster (1984), Puppet Master (1989), and Trancers (1984).

The cast does a decent job as well. Lyon, Ferrer, and Ericson all give solid performances despite the jumbled plot of the film. John Carradine has a cameo as a professor who assists Dr. Martin. Leslie Parish is solid in a small supporting role as Nurse Kathy, and Jerome Guardino is very good as Lt. Pegler, who also assists Dr. Martin.

Crash is a decent B-movie with lots of explosions, insane wrecks, and a killer wheelchair. I don’t feel like I wasted my time watching this film. Just give it a few minutes to get going and I think that you’ll like it as well.

Thanks for checking out my post. See you tomorrow!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Let’s Ride #3!

Stephen King may be a much beloved horror novelist, but he is definitely NOT a good director. His first and only directing gig put him in control of 1986’s Maximum Overdrive. Based upon Trucks, a story included in King’s first short story collection, Night Shift, the film stars Emilio Estevez, Laura Harrington, Pat Hingle, Yeardley Smith, and John Short. As someone who loves many of King’s books and the countless films that are based upon his work, it’s a bit of a letdown to watch Maximum Overdrive.

The film is centered on the Dixie Boy Truck Stop near Wilmington, North Carolina. Earth is passing through the tail of a comet and machines take on a life of their own, maiming and killing any and every human that they can find. Lawnmowers run over people. Chainsaws cut through people. Arcade games hypnotize people and electrocute them. Heck, even a soda machine takes out an entire Little League team and their coach! At the Dixie Boy Truck Stop, one particularly nasty looking eighteen-wheeler, with a massive Green Goblin face on the front, seems to take charge of all of the other vehicles at the truck stop and leads them on a rampage, trapping people inside of the stop’s diner. The humans trapped in the diner form a small resistance group and attempt to escape to an island where no vehicles are allowed. Will they make it? Unfortunately you have to watch Maximum Overdrive to find out their fate.

What’s sad is the fact that this film, in the right hands, could have been a great flick. Instead, Stephen King drags the movie into a stale direction where it actually becomes boring. King was given a great cast, decent special effects, and a starring truck that could have been a merchandising juggernaut. He even got AC/DC to do the film’s soundtrack. What he does with all of these great things? He makes a boring film with zero thrills or laughs.

I wanted this film to be good, but it fails miserably. I say this as someone who appreciates bad movies. I say this as someone who intentionally paid money to see Cats in the theater. I say this as someone who loves films like Abominable and Frankenhooker. Despite all of this, I cannot stand Maximum Overdrive. It cannot decide if it wants to be a dark comedy, a sci-fi thriller, or a horror film. It’s a B-movie with a big budget that just doesn’t work.

Thanks for checking out my review. I know that this film has a cult following and I will admit that I enjoyed Yeardley Smith’s performance, but overall, this is not the movie for me.

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Joy Ride (2001)

Let’s Ride #2!

The late Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, and Leelee Sobieski star in the 2001 thriller, Joy Ride. In the film, Walker portrays Lewis Thomas, an all-around decent guy who is on his way to pick up his friend, Venna (Sobieski), whom he has been crushing over for a long time. While en route, Lewis bails his brother, Fuller, out of jail. Fuller has a tendency to make poor decisions, and one of his worst decisions is to install a CB in Lewis’ car and then convince Lewis to play a joke on a trucker that goes by the handle of “Rusty Nail.” When their prank causes a man to get beaten into a coma, they attract the attention of the police. When Lewis decides that he needs to apologize to “Rusty Nail,” he and his brother find themselves in a life or death race with a the vengeful trucker.

This is a surprisingly good film. The action is suspenseful and fast-paced. Zahn delivers one of his best performances as Fuller. Walker and Sobieski also put in great performances. I actually found myself pulling for their characters as they attempted to escape from ol’ Rusty.

The film is a great example of how thrillers can be done right without relying on cheap thrills or gore. With a solid cast, strong direction, and excellent writing, Joy Ride takes a B-movie plot and makes it ten times better than other films with similar stories.

Thanks for checking out my review. The tank is still full on Thirty-One Days O’Horror, so get ready for the long haul!

Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Blood Car (2007)

Let’s Ride #1!

With gas prices skyrocketing to over thirty bucks a gallon, Archie Andrews, a kindly vegan elementary teacher, decides to build an engine that runs on wheatgrass. He purchases wheatgrass from Lorraine, who runs a vegetarian stand. Lorraine has a huge crush on Archie, but he dismisses her advances and sticks to buying wheatgrass from her. All of his attempts to create an engine fail until he accidentally cuts himself one night and he discovers that the engine he is working on runs on blood. Archie quickly becomes the most popular guy in town, attracting the attention of numerous women, a carjacker, and others who believe that he is wealthy. He also attracts the attention of the federal government, who discover that he has created a blood car, and they want him to build more for them. Archie initially hunts down animals to fuel his car, but he soon realizes that his new monstrosity only runs on human blood…..lots of human blood.

Blood Car is a ridiculous dark comedy that, despite its cheap look and feel, is much better than I expected. Mike Brune does a great job as Archie, who goes from awkward school teacher to awkward killer. Anna Chlumsky shouldn’t be in this film. She’s much better than this movie, but she works great as Lorraine. My favorite character in the whole film, however, is Denise, the meat-selling loose woman that throws herself at Archie. Played by Katie Rowlett, Denise has the best one-liners in the film.

Blood Car is no masterpiece. It knows this. That said, it plays to its strengths of being ridiculous and dark. It has plenty of over-the-top gore, tosses in a bit of T & A for folks that want that sort of thing, and delivers some big laughs. I recommend it, but only to independent film fans that get this type of dark humor.

Thanks for checking out my review. I’m just getting started on this year’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror! I hope that you’re revved up for a wild October ride!

Let’s Ride! Thirty-One Days O’Horror Starts October 1st!

“I’m not going in that car again.”

Put on your seat belts, crank up some tunes, and hit the highway of horror with me as I take a look at thirty-one horror films featuring vehicles. From classics like Christine to more recent fare like Unhinged, I’m taking you on a road trip that you’ll never forget! The fun starts on October 1st and will tear up the highway until Halloween! Ken’s Alternate Universe may have slowed down over the last couple of years, but Thirty-One Days O’Horror never stops!

Spin Master 6″ Superman Figures (BAF) 2025

“I’m punk rock.”

With Superman (2025) hitting HBO Max on September 19th, I decided to dig into the ol’ vault and review this set of six Spin Master Superman 2025 six inch action figures that also include a seventh Build-A-Figure. This particular set of figures is budget-friendly, coming in at around seven to eight bucks apiece depending on where you purchase them. Scalpers are selling them at a much higher price on the web, but you can still find many of them in stores. In fact, I’ve been seeing all of the figures in this line at a number of Walmart locations in my region.

The set of figures, each sold separately, features Superman, the Engineer, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner (Green Lantern), and Metamorpho. If you collect all six of the figures, you can then build Robot #4, better known as Gary. The packaging for each figure is the same and only Hawkgirl technically comes with an accessory (her wings). The articulation is the same as well, with each figure featuring nine points of articulation. POAs can be found at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. The Build-A-Figure Robot #4 does not move at the head, but does have a POA at the waist, which the other figures lack.

This line is geared toward children, but it is still surprisingly well done. The face sculpts don’t look quite like their film counterparts, although Guy Gardner and Mr. Terrific bear very striking resemblances to Nathan Fillion and Edi Gathegi. The suits look pretty cool as well, especially the matching uniforms of the Justice Gang. Also, while I appreciate the fact that Spin Master put the yellow “S” on the back of Superman’s cape, I don’t care for the way that the cloth cape is attached to the Superman figure. The same can be said for Robot #4’s cape.

If you’re looking for a cheaper option for collecting figures from the Superman film, these Spin Master figures are the way to go. They are brightly colored, very sturdy, and look pretty cool on the display shelf. They are also a few steps down from the looks and quality of the McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse line, but younger fans will definitely love them. I’ve included individual galleries of each figure in the line below, highlighting each figure and the Build-A-Figure piece that they come with in the packaging.

Superman:

Mr. Terrific:

Green Lantern (Guy Gardner):

Hawkgirl:

The Engineer:

Metamorpho:

Robot #4 (Gary):

Thanks for checking out my review. These figures really are pretty cool to own and kids will get plenty of playtime out of them!

M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

Going In A New Direction

I saw M3GAN 2.0 way back on its opening weekend. Sadly, I’m just now finding the time to give a brief review of the film. The film pits an upgraded version of Megan against a rogue version of herself dubbed AMELIA, a self-aware android that looks even more human than Megan. The film brings back all of the key survivors from the first film, but dials down Megan and turns her into an action star instead. It was a miscalculation for the franchise, as fans loved how brutal and vicious the original Megan was in the first film. Despite this, M3GAN 2.0 isn’t a terrible film. It’s just not a good M3GAN film.

The returning cast includes Allison Williams as Gemma, M3GAN’s creator, and Violet McGraw as Cady, Gemma’s niece. Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps reprise their roles as Cole and Tess, and get a lot more time on the screen this go round. Amie Donald returns as Megan’s body and Jenna Davis provides her voice. Ivanna Sakhno takes on the role of AMELIA. Jemaine Clement has a small role as Alton Appleton, a brilliant but corrupt tech billionaire.

The cast is fine and the action and special effects in the film are great, but Megan is neutered quite a bit in this film and she has lost a little bit of her bite. Hopefully she will return in a third film with a lust for blood, as I believe that this is what most fans hoped for in this film.

I recommend this film to fans of the first one, but only if they want to see the title character go into a tech and action heavy film.

Superman (2025)

“You have a dog???”

Despite resistance from a healthy heaping of naysayers and supposed Snyderverse supporters, James Gunn’s vision of Superman took flight on July 11, 2025. I managed to watch it today, July 13th, and have to admit, it’s a great film. It’s hilarious at times, full of action and witty dialogue, and takes a couple of extremely violent and dark turns that reminds the audience that villains are evil.

My review is spoiler-free, so read on with confidence if you haven’t seen the film.

The movie opens three years into Superman’s public life, when his actions to prevent a war between two nations has many of his supporters losing faith in him. Lex Luthor, ever the opportunist, decides to use Superman’s drop in popularity to attempt to finally put an end to his alien menace. Of course, Luthor’s true intentions are much more sinister, and it’s up to Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and the Justice Gang to find out what’s really going on and put a stop to his plans.

Superman is portrayed as honest, loyal to a fault, and almost too trustworthy. He’s the Big Blue Boy Scout in all of his fresh-from-the-comic-page glory, and I’m all for it. The Justice Gang provides additional muscle and plenty of laughs as well, with Mr. Terrific stealing almost all of the scenes that he appears in and Guy Gardner being the lovable douche we all expected him to be in this film. Hawkgirl has a limited role in the film, but she does deliver one of the coolest lines in the film. Metamorpho also appears in the film and is involved with quite possibly the darkest scene in the movie. Krypto is also in the film, and as hilarious as he is, he never gets to be too annoying or overused. Lex Luthor’s cohorts, Ultraman and the Engineer, provide plenty of action in the movie and feature in some excellent action sequences.

The entire cast is excellent. David Corenswet pulls double duty as Superman and Clark Kent, although we don’t get a lot of Clark in the film. His portrayal reminds us of the classic Superman that is both funny and just. Rachel Brosnahan delivers a spunky performance as Lois Lane, calling back to the character as portrayed by the legendary Noel Neill, the original big screen version of Lois. Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific is, well, terrific! He’s funny and cool all at the same time. Nathan Fillion was perfect as Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced swooped in and out of scenes with class as Hawkgirl. Maria Galbriela de Faria does fine as the Engineer. The rest of the cast, which includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, and many, many more, all do fine jobs.

As excellent as the cast is in this film, two actors in particular deserve special attention. Nicholas Hoult is, in my opinion, the best live-action version of Lex Luthor ever to hit the screen. He utilizes his devious mind to best Superman on a number of occasions and also knows when to tuck tail and run. He’s both sinister and funny at the same time. I expected Hoult to do a fine job, but he blew me away with his performance. Even more shocking was the portrayal of Eve Teschmacher by Sara Sampaio. Sampaio was AMAZING in the role, making an oft-ignored secondary character into one of the most important pieces of the film.

The film’s special effects are very good. There are some limitations to the CGI, especially during sequences involving a black hole, but they are no worse than the best CGI in recent Marvel films. The music was very well done and honored its roots by calling back to John Williams’ legendary score. My only issues with the film are that Ultraman is something of a dullard and I don’t like a certain plot twist involving Superman’s biological parents.

Overall, the film is a bright, loud action film with hilarious moments and a couple of very disturbing dark moments. There’s a bit of strong language at times, but for the most part the film is friendly to fans ages seven and up in my opinion.

I highly recommend this film. It’s the best DC/Warner Bros. film to come out in a long time. It reminded me of the innocence of the Christopher Reeve films but features action above and beyond the recent Snyder films. Go see it now!