HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1974)

 

 This one was a real slog to get through. Retitled to make people think it's some kinda zombie flick, which it very much is not, what you actually get is a very slow-moving story of a mad doctor who's trying to transfer souls between living things or something like that. He's also really freaked out by horses and enjoys bloody player pianos and abusing monkeys. This has a very lively and loud final scene which might help wake you up after you've slept through the rest of this clunker. 

 AKA CURSE OF THE DEAD and DOCTOR MANIAC(this title is the closest to what you actually get). IMDB claims this was released on video as KILL, BABY, KILL but I think they might be confusing the fact that the Mario Bava movie with that title was also known as CURSE OF THE DEAD.

DEMON LUST (1980)

  While this is technically a rape/revenge movie it has to be one of the tamest and slowest-moving examples of that sleazy subgenre of thriller. It does have some parallels to the vastly superior STRAW DOGS in that it deals with a couple having marital problems tasked to deal with some local scumbag rape-happy hooligans.  Most of the movie sadly features our main couple forlornly looking at each other, the rape scenes happen off-screen and the revenge isn't all that particularly enthralling. I did read somewhere that this was a made-for-TV deal but unless South Africa(where this was made) had some weird idea of wholesome family entertainment in the 80s, given the subject matter here, that seems a little hard to believe. AKA SAVAGE ENCOUNTER

There aren't any actual "demons" in this and it's not even really a horror film but I'm sure this title helped rent a few VHS tapes back in the day!:

KILL AND KILL AGAIN (1981)

  In another great example of how the 70s didn't really end until a few years into the 80s we have this martial arts extravaganza from South Africa starring South African martial artist James Ryan. It is technically the sequel to 1976's KILL OR BE KILLED so that kinda explains the 70s feel. What's harder to explain, at least to your sensitive PC friends, is a burly black man(Ken Gampu) named Gorilla but it was a different world back then and South Africa at the time was certainly different. The film itself moves at a nice pace and has the feel of a Bruce Lee American production but with a way less charismatic star. 

 On a side not I recall my parents taking me to see a movie called FORCE FIVE, which came out the same year as this and featured a very similar plot, including 5 kung fu-ing maniacs sent in to rescue someone. Must have been something in the air. That one was actually directed by the guy who directed Bruce Lee in his big films, Robert Clouse. The black guy in this one is not named Gorilla but Lockjaw and my foggy childhood memory recalled pro wrestling terror Abdullah The Butcher playing that role(It was in fact Sonny Barnes). I remember this movie being amazing at the time but I was only 10 so maybe I should give it a re-evaluation sometime.   

HELLGATE (1989)

  This one of those 80s movies that doesn't really make any sense but is basically just an excuse to show off some makeup fx work. Horseshack(Ron Palillo) from WELCOME BACK KOTTER stars and if you ever wanted to see his naked ass here you go. The plot, from what I can decipher, concerns a magic crystal that can revive life or just make things mutate and explode depending on what the story needs to do. There's a cool mutant fish that doesn't last long enough and a ridiculous biker gang comprised of old people. A bunch of stupid crap happens and the characters are all pretty annoying too which doesn't help make this much of an enjoyable watch.  One big plus is main zombie/ghost gal Abigail Wolcott spends a good portion of the film mostly naked showing off her fake boobs. Besides that and one cool decapitation scene it's pretty dire stuff.