Turkey Day 2019

“The only bad movie is a boring one”, a statement made by author Stephen Thrower that I not only agree with, but live by as well! This last Turkey Day, we put that statement to the test and proven it to be true! For the most part, that is.

Before we get to our 17th year of holding our annual Turkey Day Marathon, I have to first say how thankful I am to have so many like-minded friends that journey out to the Chicago suburbs twice a year to celebrate the types of films that we watch. They are not only true cinephiles, but know that there is entertainment and enjoyment in even the lowest rated film out there. Well… most of them!

Bloodstalkers Hits Blu-Ray!

Back in the VHS days, this title would draw your attention in right away because it had a woman laying on a table with an axe buried in her chest! How could you not rent it?!?! But this is one of those hidden gems that never got a release on DVD. But now, thanks to the fine folks at Garagehouse Pictures, it is coming to Blu-ray in what looks to be an amazing special edition!

They Came From The Swamp!

What do titles like Sting of Death, Stanley, Mako: The Jaws of Death, Wild Rebels, The Naked Zoo, Death Curse of Tartu, Impulse all have in common? They were just a handful of the films directed by Florida based filmmaker William Grefé! And now, the incredible history of this low budget filmmaker comes to the screens in this new feature lenght documentary, thanks to Ballyhoo Motion Pictures this April!

While other low budget directors were running off the the sunny skies of California to make their independent pictures, William Grefé stayed in the other sunny part fo the country, in Florida everglades area and made that his own little Hollywood. There he created about sharks, snakes, a jellyfish man, bikers, and many more titles that were sure to lure them into the drive-ins. And he always delivered.

Interview: Doug Hobart

Doug Hobart is a name that up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea who he was. But because of an unusual birthday cake my wife Dawn made for me, not only would I find out just who Doug Hobart was, but I would eventually get to interview him. Every year for my birthday, I screen two movies in our backyard for a bunch of friends. This one particular year, the films were two Florida based movies, ZAAT and Sting of Death. For the cake (pictured below), my wife made a battle between the two title creatures from these movies. It was such an amazing cake, that once I posted a photo of it on Facebook, it was getting a lot of responses, even from people like cult directors Frank Henenlotter, Fred Olen Ray, and even William Grefe, who directed Sting of Death. Well, Fred Olen Ray made a comment and tagged someone named Doug Hobart. So I looked up the name on IMDB and was shocked not only to find out that he was the guy who played the jellyfish creature, but was on Facebook as well. So I quicky sent him a note, asking if he’d be willing to do an interview with me. A short time later, I was on the phone with him, hearing some amazing stories of his life in show business, which you’ll find below.