Tarantula is about the time Leo G. Caroll had to find giant spiders that took to the hills. It gave people an awful fright and inspired one of the big songs about movies ever. The film itself was typical for a Jack Arnold production. Nature gone amuck, something from space gone amuck and targeting small towns. Clint Eastwood cameos as a Jet Squadron leader, but this movie belongs to the killer spiders. Releases like this are why I’m loving Scream Factory’s deal with Universal.
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is one of those Hammer films that took forever to get a decent release. Released in America as The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula, the film was an oddity that didn’t quite gel with the Horror or Kung-Fu community. Still, it was a pleasant departure for Shaw Brothers and Hammer Films. The new 2K scan is the selling point of the film, but the commentary is pretty solid too.
Level 16 is a fascinating look at an alternate dystopia to the one we’re currently experiencing. This time, it’s about a future where young girls are forced to conform to the families that adopt them. Naturally, it becomes an escape story through a fascinating found setting. The special features are pretty packed for an indie feature. Still, it suffers from Post Fantastic Fest trappings. There is a great idea at play, but the execution is hit or miss.
