Wednesday, December 3, 2014

CHEEZY HORROR VOL. 1 & 2: THE DRIVE IN CAPTURED CORRECTLY

I’m a sucker for trailer compilations. If you don’t know what the term trailer refers to those are the previews for upcoming attractions seen before your movie starts. There are at least 2 companies devoted to trailers it seems. One is Synapse with their 42nd Street collections. The other is Cheezy Flicks. If you’ve not heard of Cheezy Flicks then you need to start looking into them. They seem to be devoted to capturing some of the classic drive in/grind house movies that are out there and offering them at minimal prices. To do so they don’t overdo the movies by including tons of extras or trying to reconstruct each movie with the highest tech available. They just present the movies as they were when released, scratches and all in some cases.

So back to these two titles. Both are compilations of some of the biggest horror drive in titles ever released. Included are such gems as BLACULA, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, EATEN ALIVE, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and more. The trailers play one after the other and as I said are filled with the true scratches directors trying to pay homage to these films use as effects with their movies today. Does it matter that they look this way? Yes but in a positive sense.

If, like myself, the drive in was a big part of your movie going experience while growing up then this will offer you a sense of nostalgia that borders on giddiness. While watching I kept seeing the names of old companies that put forth so much product back in the day that just seeing these brought back memories. Jack Harris Productions, Crown International, American International and more all made a business of creating films for the drive in circuit. They might not have been Oscar material but they offered something that many current Oscar contenders don’t which is entertainment. Watching these trailers like this brought back memories of summer nights under the stars, small window attached speakers offering tin sounding tracks and movies that we thrilled to or riffed at all night long.

Some may think that the just under 60 minute running time is bad but for me it’s just right. You want to get a feeling of what the trailers offered but not go overboard. As a collector of trailers the hour long program seemed just right. Add in the extras, because these do have extras, and it makes for just over that. Those extras include previews of titles that Cheezy Flicks carries, information on the company and intermission trailers as well. All combined they help the drive in memories move forward as well.

There are a few trailers that carry over on both discs but not so much that you’ll notice or feel short changed by. One even has two trailers for the same movie. But if you love trailers that won’t matter. Just sit back and enjoy what you see on your TV and travel back in time.

At $7.95 on amazon.com and $2.99 on Cheezy Flicks own web page you can’t go wrong with these compilations. While at the Cheezy site you can see the other trailer compilations they carry as well including Exploitation, Science Fiction, Action and Fantasy.

Make an event of discs like these. Have some friends over and make a drive in night of it. Pop some popcorn, pour some sodas, make a pizza burger or two or perhaps some Castleberry pit cooked barbecue and pick up some boxed candy. Pop in one of these discs and then find a classic drive in flick in your collection to follow. Maybe DEATH RACE 2000 or FROM HELL IT CAME. Who knows, it might become a monthly event. Give it a chance and have some fun remembering.

Here is what you'll find on Volume 1 :
 
  1. Curse of the Undead
  2. Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde
  3. Equinox
  4. Berserk
  5. Horror Hotel
  6. Leech Woman
  7. Humanoids from the Deep
  8. Abby
  9. Horrors of the Black Museum
  10. Seizure
  11. The Sinful Dwarf
  12. Eaten Alive
  13. Fearless Vampire Killers
  14. House on Haunted Hill
  15. Dr.Phibes
  16. The Children
  17. Werewolf VS. Vampire Woman
  18. Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride
  19. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
  20. Old Dark House
  21. Werewolf
  22. Premature Burial
  23. Chosen
  24. Man Without a Body
  25. Tales from the Crypt
  26. House of Fright
  27. Cyclops
  28. Terror in the Wax Museum
  29. Blacula
  30. Sugar Hill
  31. My Bloody Valentine
  32. Terror
  33. Friday the 13th
And on Volume 2:


  1. Return of Dracula
  2. Curse of the Demon
  3. Indestructible Man
  4. Black Zoo
  5. Fright
  6. Giant from the Unknown
  7. Tingler
  8. Axe
  9. Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride
  10. Something is Out There
  11. Tales from the Crypt
  12. Raw Meat
  13. The Exorcist
  14. Circus of Horrors
  15. Horror of Dracula
  16. The Werewolf VS The Vampire Women
  17. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
  18. Dracula Prince of Darkness
  19. The Legend of Hell House
  20. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
  21. The House Where Death Lives
  22. Sugar Hill
  23. My Bloody Valentine
  24. The Woman Eater
  25. Tales of Terror
  26. The House of the Damned
  27. Night Creatures
  28. Captain Kronos : Vampire Hunter
  29. The Sinful Dwarf
  30. Eaten Alive
  31. Blacula
  32. Friday the 13th
  33. Terror
  34. The Velvet Vampire
  35. Scream of the Demon Lover
  36. Rabid
  37. The Chosen
  38. Dr.Phibes Rises Again



Click here to order Vol. 1

Click here to order Vol. 2
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