Bruce Kimball Movies

Rollercoaster was a by-product of the brief "Sensurround" craze of the 1970s. Nutsoid Timothy Bottoms sabotages an amusement-park roller coaster, killing several innocent revelers. After several other acts of terrorism, Bottoms (whose character is credited as Young Man) presents his demands to the authorities via audio tape: one million dollars, or he'll stage five roller-coaster disasters simultaneously in five different parks. Because detective Harry Calder George Segal evinces a grudging respect for the elusive extortionist, Bottoms declares that only Detective Calder will be permitted to deliver the money. Thus the stage is set for an explosive climax, which during the film's original run was accompanied by the Sensurround effect, a gimmick that electronically caused the filmgoer's chairs to begin shaking and vibrating during the "thrill scenes." As with most disaster flicks of the era, Rollercoaster is top-heavy with "guest stars," including Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, and Susan Strasberg. Watch for 13-year-old Helen Hunt as Detective Calder's spunky daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back in the mid-1970s, elaborately appointed vans were all the rage. This film was designed to exploit the craze and centers upon a particularly stupendous vehicle that is even equipped with solar-powered laser beams that the driver hero uses to stop some evil bikers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Basically the final act of Peter Bogdanovich's Targets stretched to feature length (and without any redeeming subtext), this weak slasher thriller involves a psycho who stalks unsuspecting moviegoers with a variety of sharp implements, particularly a massive sword, during a drive-in screening of a cheesy western. This naturally leads to various scenes of necking patrons being shish-kebabbed with the weapon of choice. Although this might have been an amusing novelty when actually shown at a drive-in, it's just a dreary mess on home video, making the otherwise terse 80-minute running time seem like three hours. One trivial point of interest is the behind-the-camera participation of familiar "B"-movie character actor Buck Flower, who collaborated on the screenplay. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The good campy fun in this sci-fi horror movie really begins when the head of a racist mad scientist (Ray Milland) is sewn onto the shoulders of a large black convict (Rosie Grier) and the two heads begin fighting--literally trying to punch each other out--to control their shared body. The whole mess begins because the brain surgeon suffers from terminal cancer. He reasons that he will survive if he can transplant his head onto the shoulders of another. He and his team begin experimenting. First he has his head sewn to a gorilla (featuring a simian created by fledgling make-up artist Rick Baker). Something goes terribly wrong, he goes into a coma and when he wakes up, he finds himself having a permanent tete-a-tete with the wrongfully convicted Grier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

King Amir (Reed Hadley), the beloved leader of a small Middle Eastern country named Khaleed, is sick with terminal cancer and he isn't prepared to die. His confidants arrange with an American scientist to carry out an experimental operation: Amir's brain will be transplanted into the skull of a healthy new body, allowing him to cheat death and continue ruling as a benevolent despot. When he succumbs, the corpse is rushed to the United States, where Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor) immediately removes the brain and places it in a specially prepared receptacle. Trenton sends Amir's associates away so he can finish the procedure, but as they drive down a steep mountain road, their car is besieged by a menacing driver who succeeds in forcing them off a cliff. Robert (Grant Williams) survives, and suspects that someone is trying to usurp Amir's throne. Meanwhile, the mad doctor dispatches his servant Gor (John Bloom) to find him a healthy male body for Amir to inhabit. Gor, a hulking monstrosity with a twisted face and a child's intelligence, is too clumsy in his horrible task, and Dr. Trenton deems the victim unusable. But Amir's brain can only live outside of the body for a matter of hours, even though they keep it nourished with plenty of fresh human blood (obtained by keeping some teenage girls chained in the basement and tapping them like kegs). Gor is picked to host the transplanted brain, despite his hideous scars, and when Amir awakens and discovers the horrific body the doctor has given him, he goes mad. Robert returns to save his leader, but now Dr. Trenton is demanding control over Khaleed, and special electrodes he secretly implanted in Amir's brain mean he might succeed. Directed by Al Adamson, this gory shocker features Adamson regulars like Zandor Vorkov, Angelo Rossitto, and Regina Carrol. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

A motorcycle gang fights a group of dune buggy enthusiasts for the right to occupy the Pismo Beach area. When the girlfriend of the buggy club's leader is raped, they retaliate and catch the bikers off guard during a drunken orgy. Graphic violence ensues. Don Epperson, Robert Dix, Casey Kasem and Terry Stafford are the more memorable names in this forgettable film which originally had an X-rating, but was later edited down to an R. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide