Apatros Review Ep-0037: Children of The Living Dead [2001]
AR-0037: This was perhaps the very first zombie film of the 2000s & was for a time one of the most infamous, although it seems to have slipped into obscurity nowadays. An alternate sequel to the original "Night of The Living Dead" that was only possible due to the split copyright between George Romero & his Image Ten partners, this unholy beast was the brainchild of female producer Karen Lee Wolf who was given half a million dollars by her father & told to go & make a horror movie. Getting into contact with John Russo, this clueless sheila wrote a poor script, hired Russo & original zombie Bill Hinzman as DP on ridiculous salaries, got a newbie director right out of film school & effectively micromanaged the whole production in a way that would make Stalin proud.
In short, the production was a disaster of epic proportions.
A sobering lesson on the pitfalls of filmmaking.
This was released in Australia on DVD through Force Entertainment twice - originally with an R18+ rating [Aussie equivalent of American NC-17] but then reissued a very short time later with the rating downgraded to an MA15+ [Aussie version of American R rating]. The disc quickly went out of print & the film has never been reissued again.
My Grade: D- [Atrocious]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 37 - Thrusters
Another space shooter on the original NES multicart of Action 52, but this is in the middle of the road of the complement of Action 52's space shooter arsenal. You control a space fighter that travels through a space filled with used condoms & Jupiterian Christmas Trees while shooting enemy spaceships that on rare occasions can retreat to give you a kicking. Certainly not the best Action 52 has to offer in this particular genre, but it is a reasonable time killer if you're a masochist.
My Grade: D+ [Disappointing]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Review Ep-0036: The Woman Hunt [1972]
AR-0036: Now for a turn into the nasty world of Filipino exploitation of the 1970s, this [somewhat hard to find] nasty thriller about a group of women being abducted by a scuzzy-as-hell businessman who wants to use them first as his personal harem for his clients then as sport to be hunted down [so yeah, this is an unofficial adaptation of "The Most Dangerous Game"] but the head of his team of mercenaries gets other ideas & decides to help the lovely ladies escape... but not before helping themselves to the mansion's armoury to give them a fighting chance.
As far as 1970s exploitation goes [remember that "grindhouse" is NOT the correct term for these kinds of movies], this is pretty standard for that decade. Not a good movie by any standard - poorly written, flatly directed & the action only takes place at the final ten to fifteen minutes of a 70-something minute movie - but almost every chick in the cast whips their boobs out at least once & Sid Haig is awesome in this.
He even gets the best line in the movie: "My nose ain't the thing that grows..."
Very hard to find on DVD, although in Australia this was released [from a ripped VHS] onto a double feature DVD with "TNT Jackson" by Umbrella Entertainment [the Aussie equivalent of something like Blue Underground]. Only a trailer is provided for supplemental value.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 36 - Silver Sword
A top-down vertical scrolling action game where the player controls a knight trekking through a forest destroying enemy creatures made of random sprites.
The game does have some of the typical nonsense the Action 52 devs infused into their games - the enemy creatures all use the Action 52 Boss AI - but this is a possible candidate for a time killer if you're a Zelda fan who wants to play a cheap quick-&-dirty knockoff.
My Grade: D+ [Disappointing]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Review Ep-0035: The Dungeon of Harrow [1962]
AR-0035: A low budget Gothic horror flick made by a comic book illustrator, this tale of a rich merchant who survives a shipwreck only to find himself stranded on a remote leprosy-ridden island & at the mercy of an insane aristocrat who hates pirates is interesting in concept but unfortunately the mediocre execution robs this one of much of its potential to be effective. Oh, & the visual effects are crap, too.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Review Ep-0034: In The Year 2889 [1969] (Halloween '23 Part 3)
AR-0034: Another of a number of low budget telepics [movies made specifically for television] Larry Buchanan made from remaking old Roger Corman monster movies, this extremely faithful [still has some differences, though] yet even worse treatment of the story about a group of strangers attempting to survive radiation, mutants & each other in the weeks following nuclear war was actually done better by Corman himself in his original film.
My Grade: D- [Atrocious]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Review Ep-0033: The Occultist [1988] (Halloween '23 Part 2)
AR-0033: The last of the original line of direct-to-video [DTV] genre films Tim Kincaid made for Charles Band, this low budget turkey has future Sgt. Kabukiman Rick Giannasi play a cyborg private eye who helps his boss's clueless son land a lucrative gig providing security for the President of a Caribbean island nation, only to go up against a rival security company, revolutionaries & El Presidente's voodoo queen mother-in-law. The concept feels crazy enough to fit this kind of market, but the quality of the film is nothing short of abysmal.
My Grade: D- [Atrocious]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Review Ep-0032: Hard Rock Zombies [1985] (Halloween '23 Part 1)
AR-0032: In this first of three reviews I'm doing for Halloween 2023, we take a look at an obscure horror comedy that was originally meant to be a background prop for another movie, but the director loved the idea so much he extended this prop to feature length.
A hair metal band from the depths of the 1980s find themselves in some hot water when they arrive in a small hick town to perform at a do-or-die audition for a talent scout, only to get killed by a family of Nazis led by the Austrian Painter himself but the band's frontman had the foresight to record a black magic spell to resurrect the dead on his mixtape, which succeeds in bringing them back as a zombie version of KISS.
An atrociously put together movie that has some seriously wrongheaded story turns, although the frontman's relationship with a young fan is definitely something that should be condemned.
My Grade: D- [Atrocious]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Killjoy's Exploits: Operation Full Moon [Action 52 NES Game 10] (Full Run)
KEP-2H: This is as full a run as possible on the tenth game of the infamous original NES multicart of "Action 52". A land-based schmup where you control a technical [with a rotating cannon that always fires forward] blasting enemy gun turrets across eight almost identical levels...
...the reason why this isn't exactly a true full run is because due to an issue with the original game code, all known copies of this particular game freeze up halfway through Level 8. So it is best to treat this game as being won at the completion of Level 7 & consider Level 8 a sorta victory lap.
I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy [which you can discover for yourself at the start of this playthrough if you're observant].
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't Be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [But only in Single Player Games]
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Killjoy's Exploits: Dam Busters [Action 52 NES Game 11] (Multiple Full Run)
KEP-2J: This is a multiple full run of the eleventh game on the infamous original NES multicart of "Action 52".
Here, the player controls a beaver who has to navigate a path, fending off rival animals by tossing cookies at them. There are only two levels & the game has a design flaw where the terrain only scrolls one way, meaning that if the player takes a wrong path & reaches a dead end, they might find themselves stuck without being able to return to the right path if the screen has scrolled too far.
I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy [which you can discover for yourself at the start of the playthrough if you're observant].
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't Be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [But only in Single Player Games]
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Killjoy's Exploits: Chill Out [Action 52 NES Game 14] (Full Run)
KEP-2I: This is a full run of the fourteenth game on the infamous NES multicart of "Action 52", a ladder platformer where the player controls an Eskimo who has to do an assault on rival Eskimos during a snowy turf war.
The objective of the game is to head up & down ladders, taking out enemy Eskimos using snowballs until they stop respawning.
I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy [which you can discover for yourself at the beginning of the playthrough if you're observant], although that cheat doesn't protect you against dying from falling too far off a platform.
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't Be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [But only in single player games].
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 35 - Firebreathers
The only game on the infamous NES multicart of "Action 52" that is a purely two-player game, this has two players riding fire-breating dragons battling each other. There are a total of eight rounds & also some sprite traps randomly placed around the playing field. Even if you're able to get someone else to play your opponent, this game ain't anything more than a poor choice for a time waster.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 34 - Operation Full Moon
The "Action 52" equivalent of the classic arcade game "Jackal", you control a technical with a rotating cannon that always shoots forward, blasting enemy gun turrets on what appears to be the Moon [as implied by the game's title], but in different coloured sections. The game is technically impossible to beat as the eighth level always locks up halfway through so consider getting up to Level 7 as a de facto full run & treat Level 8 as a free victory lap. As for actual gameplay, well, it sucks.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 33 - Dam Busters
In this platformer on the original NES multicart of "Action 52", you play a beaver who has to traverse a twisting path, taking out rival animals with poisoned cookies. This particular game has a significant design issue where if you take the wrong path & the screen has scrolled too far forward, you will find yourself stuck & unable to return to the proper path. Also notable are the useless 1UPs.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 32 - Chill Out
Another of those ladder platformers based on the infamous vampire-hunting game "Illuminator" on this original NES multicart of "Action 52", this one is almost identical in gameplay, although this should be called "The Alaskan Snowball Massacre" as you play an Eskimo [or Inuit, as modern language standards seem to recommend], who heads out to give a one-man-@$$-kicking to a rival gang of Eskimos [or Inuit]. Pretty bog-standard Action 52 bullcrap, but at least it is a little easier than "Illuminator" was, so there's that...
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia on this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Killjoy's Exploits: Sharks [Action 52 NES Game 15] (Full Run)
KEP-2H: This is a full run of the fifteenth game on the original NES multicart of "Action 52", this particular one being a cheap knockoff of the NES "Jaws" game where you play a diver armed with a harpoon gun with infinite harpoons who has to rid the ocean of sharks. That's it, really...
The problem with this game is that the sharks can take their sweet @$$ time showing up, so there will be long moments of you waiting for them to appear. A pretty boring game, to be sure, but if you're after a full run of this game, then this playthrough will probably be the only one you will find on this site...
I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy, which you can discover for yourself at the start of this playthrough [if you're observant enough].
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't Be A Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [for single player campaigns only].
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Killjoy's Exploits: Space Dreams [Action 52 NES Game 20] (Full Run)
KEP-2G: This is a full run of the twentieth game on the infamous original NES multicart of "Action 52" - this particular one being a space shooter where the player controls a pacifier [in Australia we call them "dummies"] that must blast away random baby toys.
A very simple game that is easy to play, but has an almost unbearingly boring gameplay, fit only for hardcore gaming masochists. I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for this playthrough [for infinite energy, which you can discover for yourself at the start of the video if you're observant].
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't Be A Masochist - Winners Use Cheats [but only for single player games].
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Killjoy's Exploits: Spread Fire [Action 52 NES Game 22] (Full Run)
KEP-2F: This is a full run of Game 22 on the infamous original NES multicart of "Action 52". A space shooter [or schmup], this has the player control what could either be a blocky lobster or an 8-bit simplified representation of a human woman's reproductive system [once you notice this, it is extremely difficult to avoid taking it for anything else].
Unlike most of these NES "Action 52" games, this one I decided to only do a single loop as there are something like nineteen levels here of almost identical gameplay so doing a second loop was pointless. I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite health which you can discover for yourself at the start of this playthrough if you're observant enough.
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [in single player games only].
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Killjoy's Exploits: Underground [Action 52 NES Game 25] (Full Run)
KEP-2E: In this platformer for the infamous original NES multicart of "Action 52", you play a soldier with a mushroom allergy who has to infiltrate the underground tunnels of Vietnam, fighting Vietcong [depicted as stereotypical diamond heads] & killer birds.
This is a full run of a single loop of the game. I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code which gave me infinite energy [useful here since the enemies respawn on an infinite basis & are tricky to take down without sustaining damage if played normally]. You can discover the relevant codes for yourself if you are observant at the beginning of this playthrough.
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist - Winners Use Cheats [but only in single player games].
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
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Killjoy's Exploits: Rocket Jockey [Action 52 NES Game26] (Endurance Run)
KEP-2D: This is an endurance run [several full runs] of the twenty-sixth game on the original NES multicart of Action 52. Here the player controls a cowboy in some kind of "Red Meatball Space" riding a rocket & corralling space cows while warding off rustlers riding their own rockets.
Not a hard game to play - all you need to do for the two levels is to position yourself in one area & simply blast anything coming at you. The game does get awfully boring as there really isn't any depth to the gameplay at all - it is as simple as it gets.
I simply played the two levels over & over until I decided I've had enough & let a rustler get to me to end my run.
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats [in single player games only]
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Killjoy's Exploits: Cry Baby [Action 52 NES Game 28] (Full Run)
KEP-2C: This is a full run of a ladder platformer where the player controls a baby that has to defend his multistory house from ambulatory dolls, creepy old men & onions with legs. The player's only means of attack is by squirting his milk bottle, but this has a very short range, necessitating the player to get in close to use it. The only way to travel between floors is by climbing up & down furniture, although some are actually stationary hazards which will make the baby cry, thus losing the game [the identity of these hazards is obvious to anybody who has small children].
For my playthrough I used a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite health that you can discover at the start of the playthrough if you're the observant type.
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats!
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
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Apatros Review Ep-0031: The Last Patrol [2000]
AR-0031: An interestingly daft direct-to-video post-apocalyptic B-actioner from veteran director Sheldon Lettich & starring Dolph Lundgren as a military officer who has to protect a small group of survivors in what remains of California after The Big One's arrival from a prison full of inmates who use the bodies of the dead as fertilizer for their opium crops & who have resorted to drinking their own piss.
The only reason Lundgren & Lettich signed onto this project was on the condition the writers rewrote their stupid script, but they refused [they were also the producers] & the Swedish Beefcake was trapped into a no-win situation. But at least he gives a good performance here, as do the rest of the cast [surprisingly enough]...
"The Last Patrol" isn't a very good movie - in fact it is pretty damn bad - but it has at least one scene that will give you something of a shock [in the climax, but I won't spoil it here - watch this review for that particular piece of info] & the one positive I can give a rather low-rent post-apocalyptic flick like this one is that it has a rather nice Christian morality to it, so this one has an appeal to families who want something safe for their kids...
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Apatros Action 52 Masochist: Chapter 31 - Sharks
I guess you can consider this something of an 8-bit version of "Jaws" in some esoteric manner...
Anyway, this is a game on the NES multicart of "Action 52" where you play a diver armed with what could either be a harpoon gun or an underwater blaster [whichever the case, it has infinite ammo] which you use to blast away any shark that shows up. There are grey sharks & white sharks, which makes this a bit of a challenge as they come from both sides & while you can turn in either direction, take care when moving yourself into the right position to make a kill.
Other than that, this is a pretty dodgy game as the sharks you need to kill to clear each level is pretty significant & they take ages to spawn in, making this something of a test of the player's patience.
My Grade: D [Bad]
Any questions, comments or associated trivia for this review subject, please leave in the comments for this particular video.
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Killjoy's Exploits: Mash Man [Action 52 NES Game 37] [Full Run x3]
KEP-2B: Another run-&-stomper from the original NES multicart of Action 52, this has the player control some bloke with big feet who has to run a marathon where the objective is to stomp everything in his way...
Except for the thumbtacks & other pointy hazards in his way. The eyeball creatures are enemies & must be stomped out to win.
A very simple & crudely formulated three-level game, this game loops upon itself infinitely [once you beat Level 3, it brings you back to Level 1 to start all over again, except for your score kept intact so you can keep building up your score until you get tired].
With the aid of a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy [which you can discover for yourself at the start of this playthrough if you're observant], I made three full runs in a row before deciding to end my run at 13,800 points.
Recommended for Masochists who enjoy 8-bit NES pain.
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist, Winners Use Cheats! [but only for single player games...]
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Killjoy's Exploits: Bits & Pieces [Action 52 NES Game 42] (Full Run x3)
KEP-2A: This is a triple-full-run of the 42nd game on the original NES multicart of the infamous "Action 52". In this particular game, you play Dracula [looking more like an 8-bit version of the Dracula featured in the original 1922 movie "Nosferatu"] who must assert his dominance over all the other spooks & ghouls in the graveyard while out on his nightly walk...
Mainly by stomping on them, that is...
This is a very simple run-&-stomper with no frills in the gameplay department. With the use of a Game Genie hacking cheat code for infinite energy [which you can discover for yourself at the start of this playthrough if you're observant], I made three full runs in a row [this game loops upon itself endlessly - beating the final level brings you back to the first, with your total score being unaffected, thus allowing you to continue to boost your score].
Recommended for Masochists with a preference for 8-bit pain.
The Killjoy: Mile Sipka
Remember My Advice: Don't be a Masochist - Winners Use Cheats! [for single player games only].
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