Mapi Galan

Director W.D. Hogan's sweeping period epic Soldier of God unfurls in the Middle East of the late Twelfth Century. As the story opens, the Knights Templar, a religious order originally assigned to protect Christian pilgrims, has disintegrated from chivalric order and justice into dissolute chaos, as its individual factions bloodthirstily vie with one another for power and control. Rene (Tim Abell, a 'warrior-monk' who counts himself among the Templars' ranks, watches as the Christian army surrounding him is all but extinguished in the 1187 battle at the Horns of Hattin. At the last minute, with his own execution only minutes away, Rene is abducted by Brigands on the battlefield, then manages to escape his captors and flees into the desert, where he faces almost certain death from dehydration. At the last minute, Hasan, an enigmatic Muslim traveler, saves Rene's life, and Rene thanks his new friend, in return, by saving him from Saladin's invading forces. The two ultimately seek refuge at the home of the widow Sohelia, who nurses the injured Hasan back to full health. Meanwhile, Rene finds himself drawn to the vicissitudes of simple life in this newfound oasis, and to the temptation of sacrificing his vows as a crusader for a romance with Sohelia. But Hasan holds a long-buried secret from his past that will soon bring Saladin's armies raining down onto Sohelia's home - igniting a violent cataclysm that will change the lives of Rene and Hasan, irrevocably. William Mendieta, Mapi Galan, Nicholas Kadi and Scott Cleverdon co-star; Kathryn Kuhlen and producer Mir Bahmanyar co-authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

If nothing else, this throwback to the old low-budget psychotronic films of the '50s and '60s is uniquely stylish, even kitschy. A Spanish-British production it is set in New Mexico (but filmed in Spain) and chronicles the twisted adventures of Candy, a thief and con artist who accidentally ingests part of a meteorite and grows an enormous serpentine talking tongue that has a special taste for human flesh. It all begins after Candy and her partner Johnny pull off their latest job. Johnny gets caught and takes the entire rap and Candy flees to a nunnery/gas station in the desert after hiding their loot. Her four pastel dyed poodles accompany her. Soon after her arrival, the meteor crashes as she eats soup with a bit of the space rock in it. She then gives some to the doggies. While the voracious alien appendage grows in her mouths, her poochies turn into drag queens. They help her procure a steady supply of food. Poor Candy tries to cut the horrible thing out of her mouth but to no avail. She finally begs Johnny to escape and help her. He does, but is pursued by a sadistic prison warden. Unfortunately Johnny gets too close to the meteorite as does a speechless nun. When that happens, real chaos ensues. The film contains gory scenes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This visually inventive French sci-fi/fantasy tale began winning a cult following practically from the moment it was released. Krank (Daniel Emilfork) is a foul, monstrous creature who lords over the inhabitants of a small island; Krank's emotional being is every bit as ugly as his physical personage, largely because he does not have the ability to dream. However, he has developed a machine that can drain the dreams of others from their heads, and he devotes himself to kidnapping children from a nearby harbor town so that he can steal their pleasant dreams. Denree (Joseph Lucien) is one of the children who has been spirited off to the island; Krank discovers that he's an even bigger problem than he imagined when his big brother One (Ron Perlman), a harpoon-wielding mountain of a man, sets out on a rescue mission. Once he arrives on Krank's island, One encounters a brain in a fish tank that has learned to talk, a group of clones who can't decide who is the original, a pair of Siamese twins, an octopus that guides a group of orphaned thieves, and a girl named Miette (Judith Vittet) who says she can guide One to Denree. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An American comic (Patsy Kensit) is trying to make it in the comedy dens of Paris, but her soon-to-expire visa forces her to visit a marriage broker. He fixes her up with a songwriter (Stephane Freiss), but French immigration remains suspicious even after the marriage. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Despite the tendency of the Curse films to bear absolutely no relation to each other, this is perhaps the only film in that series to involve an actual curse. It's also one of the better installments. The curse in question is leveled upon the 16th-century monks of San Pietro by a demonically-possessed man, just prior to his being sealed alive in the catacombs beneath the Abbey. His curse plagues the monks' embittered modern-day descendants, who toil under the strict guidance of Father Marinus (Jeremy West). When an American schoolteacher (Laura Schaefer) comes into their midst to explore the sealed catacombs, Marinus fears the worst: not only does the woman represent a powerful temptation to the repressed brothers, but her tamperings with the 400-year-old seal threaten to unleash the horror lurking behind it. His fears are, of course, well-founded, and the demonic attacks begin. Frequent Charles Band collaborator David Schmoeller directs this demon-possession opus with surprising subtlety, eschewing gore effects and Exorcist-style weirdness in favor of a pervading atmosphere of dread, weighed down only slightly by a rather talky script. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This Italian production was released directly to video, despite the casting of several well-known stars in leading roles. It is also somewhat remarkable for having no less than five alternate titles. In the story, Robert Domenici (Michael York) is a concert pianist suffering from a rare disease which produces super-rapid aging. On a visit to Venice during festival season he decides to take revenge on the world by killing and dismembering former girlfriends. He is nearly impossible to trace, as any description of his appearance rapidly becomes inaccurate. However, he meets his match in the wily Inspector Downey (Donald Pleasance), who persistently pursues him. This mild horror film also features Edwige Fenech, whose uncertain English has great charm. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide