Many have but one question when they ponder upon purchasing these collections, for they pose quite the temptation and frequent big box stores more regularly than the plague of the week. Are the movies included any good? Seriously, ten or even twenty movies for close to five dollars (US). This collection is honestly either a hell of a deal or instant thrift store fodder based on its content. My quest therefore is to help shed light on the above enigma. Without further ado a few selections (picked at random) from the collection in question. I’ll keep my thoughts on each brief and blunt.

Guilty pleasure content (TnA), an ominous shovel, main character looks like Uma Therman, interesting premise rather than the obvious, expected  predictable run of the mill degradation rape schnanigans.

Made for TV vibe, iffy storyline, acting and direction. Gets a little silly at times. Little to zero gore content. Predictable story. Corny dialogue/one-liners.

Unapologetic in its B movie nature, though more believable than most in its approach. Familiar actor faces (if you’re old enough to remember Buck Rogers you’ll instantly recognize one of the Generals). Great pace. Small town atmosphere. Oddball character quirks. Bloodthirsty splatter effects and often displayed in great lighting rather than in dimly lit conditions. Dark humor element.

Cardboard acting (a staple of the genre but may turn some folks off). The general believability factor. Creature costume.

Intriguing animation tinged opening credits sequence, excellent 80’s slasher film vibe, creepy atmosphere, great score, instantly dislikable characters, effective tension, good death scenes, vivid warm hues towards the films climax evoke an effective fairy tale type aura. Well produced.

Another cabin in the woods scenario, horrid dubbing in instances, stoopid character decisions and actions. Predictable at times.

Creepy soundtrack. Believable acting. Flashbacks and explanation of back story. Choice to not depict certain scenes and rather “suggest” what’s happening.

Slow pace. Tad confusing at times. Predictability. A little cheesy.

Awkward ‘friend’ and sibling vibe. Humorous dialogue. Effective tension and build up. Good direction.

Dodgy audio mix. Annoying soundtrack/score makes it feel like a softcore adult film as it barely gets going. Nauseous unsteady ‘shaky cam’ work.

Well there you have it. I’m happy to state I’ve found a gem and a few quite watchable movies, and there’s still fifteen more features to find time for. My final verdict therefore…go ahead and splurge for $5 (US) odds are you’ll find at least a few, that have been somewhat resurrected before they found their way into relative obscurity, from those on offer that might surprise you. It’s worth a shot, especially when it’s about the same price as a mocha, latte, frappe, easy on the cream, half caff…you get the idea.

Your slave to cinema rarely spoken of, often forgotten and in some cases deserved of gleefully hollered praise.

Cult