Poché Pictures

The Day It Came to Earth (1977) is one of those movies that gives “so bad it’s good” a whole new meaning. Directed by Harry Thomason and written by Paul Fisk, it’s a cinematic masterpiece for all the wrong reasons. This film, made with the aesthetic charm of a high school science project, blends the … Read More “The Day It Came to Earth (1977)” »

If you ever wondered what would happen if you took a nunsploitation flick, stapled it to a rape-revenge movie, and then filmed it with the emotional sensitivity of a cinder block, The Last House on the Beach is your answer. Franco Prosperi’s grimy little “thriller” is less a story and more an endurance test for … Read More “The Last House on the Beach (1978)” »

If Jaws was a cinematic filet mignon, Jaws 2 is the reheated microwave fish stick someone found in the back of the freezer, slapped on a plate, and dared to serve as a sequel. It’s not that it’s inedible—it’s just… the flavor’s familiar, the presentation’s worse, and you’re pretty sure the cook didn’t want to … Read More “Jaws 2 (1978)” »

If Rod Serling had been replaced by a municipal mortician with a hangover and a VHS camcorder, you’d get The House of the Dead. It’s an anthology film where the real horror isn’t the monsters, the murders, or the mysterious caskets—it’s the thought of spending 80 minutes with a production that looks like it was … Read More “The House of the Dead (1978)” »

If you’ve ever thought, You know what the housing market needs? More homes built directly over Hell, Gus Trikonis’ The Evil answers that very specific prayer—and then sets it on fire. This is a haunted house movie that doesn’t waste time with subtle creaks or mysterious drafts. No, the moment you step through the door, … Read More “The Evil (1978)” »

If you’ve ever thought, You know what Venice needs? Less gondolas and more Antichrist pregnancies, then congratulations—you are the exact target audience for Ugo Liberatore’s Damned in Venice. For the rest of us, this Italian horror is less a film and more a cautionary tale about what happens when you pour Catholic guilt, sleazy Eurotrash … Read More “Damned in Venice (1978)” »

If you’ve ever wanted to watch a slasher movie starring a crooner who looks like he wandered in from a Vegas lounge act, The Comeback delivers—though not in the way you’d hope. Directed by Pete Walker, this British psychological horror tries to mix music-industry melodrama with masked murder, and instead serves up a lukewarm pot … Read More “The Comeback (1978)” »

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a disaster movie, a nature documentary, and a daytime soap opera all mated inside a hive—well, The Bees is the answer, and it stings like a cheap tequila hangover. Directed by Alfredo Zacarías, with a script that was supposed to be Jack Hill’s until it was wrestled … Read More “The Bees (1978)” »

If Ed Wood and your high school AV club had a baby—and that baby grew up to blow its entire allowance on latex and fake blood—it would be The Alien Factor. Don Dohler’s $3,500 directorial debut isn’t so much a movie as it is a fever dream you’d have after eating bad gas station sushi … Read More “The Alien Factor (1978)” »

William Grefé’s Whiskey Mountain is the sort of backwoods exploitation film that makes you want to shower with steel wool afterward—but in the best possible way. It’s a sweaty, grimy, and unapologetically 1970s descent into rural hell, where the only things scarier than the drug-dealing hillbillies are the haircuts. The Set-Up: Civil War Rifles and … Read More “Whiskey Mountain (1977)” »