I watched Blood Massacre the other night, which was quite hilarious in such a bad way. Don deserves a poll for that. Vote for your favorite Dohler flick.
Fiend is my favorite, with Alien Factor, and Nightbeast close behind.The rest I can reccomend not seeing them.
Have only seen Nightbeast and Galaxy Invader. Can't imagine anything being better than Nightbeast, so I'll vote for that.
I've only ever seen Alien Factor so I can't fairly vote. Just bumped Nightbeast up to the top of my Netflix list though.
The Alien Factor (1978) for me. Thats the only film I can remember. I can't recall any of the other films at all. I never knew all those films had a mastermind behind them.
Just now getting into Don Dohler. So far Alien Factor and Blood Massacre have been outstanding, maybe not the _best_ movies but Don clearly had REAL passion for filmmaking and for sci-fi and horror in particular... his enthusiasm shines through in his films. Reading about him, fascinating guy.
Love this flick. A friend of mine used to own a 16mm print, which he sold back to Don Dohler's relatives a few years ago. It's arriving on Blu-ray from Retromedia: https://www.facebook.com/1135449486...0.1443024624./977616372281897/?type=3&theater
The one I'd really love to see in Blu is Blood Massacre. That film is so unpredictable in its plot twists. I wonder if good film elements still exist?
I was always a fan of Alien Factor although it's probably been 30 years since I've seen it. I'll be picking up the blu.
I watched the Fiend blu-ray last night, as well as Blood Massacre which is included on the disc as an easter egg. There is a video store scene where a woman is shot in front of an Endless Love poster, her body falling against it, smearing blood all over the poster and tearing it down as she falls to the ground. ...then this morning I wake up to the news that the director of Endless Love has died.
I just watched the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray of Nightbeast, and to be honest, I wasn't as into it as The Alien Factor. I love the low-rent creativity on display in Alien Factor, with its many crazy alien designs. Nightbeast only features one alien, but it has two methods of killing: An extremely powerful laser gun capable of making people and cars vanish in an enjoyably cheesy optical effect, and its bare hands, which can tear flesh and knock limbs clean off. The creature design is okay, though the costume seems very cumbersome and we barely see the creature move, let alone run. Heck, even the zagatile is shown in full figure advancing on its prey, and that costume must have been a real challenge for the actor. Nightbeast takes no chances, and one opportunity for a suspenseful scene in a basement is fumbled badly by having it mostly composed of very tight shots. One character concocts a plan for an escape, and the cinematographer fails to come up with any excuse for the beast not noticing the trap being set other than to not have the character and the beast in the same frame. Nightbeast also adds nudity, most notably with a sex scene between the sheriff and his female deputy. The problem is that both of the participants are kinda bland, and the scene fails to titillate. But hey, on a production of this calibre, maybe they were the only two who were willing to do such a scene. I was reasonably entertained, but I did find it slightly on the repetitive side and - again - lacking the craziness and magic of Alien Factor.
I once picked out The Alien Factor from my video store for my friends and I to watch. I was never allowed to pick a movie again.
Technically, I'd say Nightbeast and Alien Factor occupy the same tier. It would be hard to make a case that one is superior to the other beyond mere personal preference. That said, I don't think any in my friend group would appreciate either movie.
