Episode 86 ~ Demolition High (1996)

You aren't seeing double! We watched a movie with a very similar title to the previous one we covered last week. However, these two are very different movies.

1996's Demolition High is a bit of a b-movie gem, a Die Hard-like with style of its own and an unabashed sense of fun and insanity. This setup has been done before, but the cast and the director have so much uniqueness to add that it stands out above the crowd.

Check out today's episode to learn why and how!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Surf II!

Episode 85 ~ Demolition Highway (1996)

This time we decided to go back to basics: real low budget action. We're talking almost no budget and almost no idea what to do with what you have. Time to head back to 1996 where action movies were on the way out. There is some nostalgia here.

Despite all that this is still one weird misfire of a movie that gets by entirely on its charm and nothing else. If that's not enough for you, maybe reconsider. Check in on this episode to see just what madness the infamous Donald Farmer was planning.

Randy's Score: 1/5

JD's Score: 2/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Demolition High!

Episode 84 ~ Nightmare at Noon (1988)

This week we come back with a curveball! In this weird western, horror, and action, hybrid, we get cult favorite Nico Mastorakis' most infamous movie, Nightmare at Noon from 1988! Starring three b-movie titans in Wings Hauser, George Kennedy, and Bo Hopkins, there isn't quite another movie like this out there.

Of course it does have its warts, so be sure to check out today's episode to see what they are! I promise you, there is nothing quite like this movie.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Demolition Highway!

Episode 83 ~ D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)

Another curveball! This week we took a turn into the high concept family films from the 1980s with the oft-forgotten D.A.R.Y.L. from 1985. And make no mistake, it's not quite what you expect from this sort of movie!

That said, there are still some well-worn tropes and ideas you might or might not enjoy. Check out today's episode to see what works!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Nightmare at Noon!

Episode 82 ~ Wolfcop (2014)

Finally out of horror season and we're back with . . . a horror movie? This crowdfunded favorite from a decade ago hasn't been discussed recently, so we're going to do it now.

Is this good as horror and comedy or does it only get one right, or perhaps neither? Check out the new episode to discover if it holds up!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: D.A.R.Y.L!

Halloween Spectacular VIII! (Episode 81)

Welcome back to our eighth Halloween Special since starting Cannon Cruisers! This year we decided on a little bit of a curveball (as we frequently do) and chose a pair of movies you might not expect from us.

This week we covered Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror duology! Separated by an era of horror, these two films have a lot of contrast with each other. Also, despite airing on television instead of the theater, there is quite a lot of horror on screen.

Unlike the V/H/S movies we covered, these anthologies are very different, even from each other. Find out how that is in today's special episode!

That's it for this week. Have yourself a great Halloween and All Saints' Day, and we will see you soon!

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Trilogy of Terror II (1996)

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Wolfcop!

Episode 80 ~ V/H/S/Halloween (2025)

The most recent movie we've ever covered relative to episode recording, the newest instalment in the V/H/S franchise was not even a week old when this episode was made. We decided to strike when the iron was hot and record at the same time this one released, so you almost certainly have not actually seen this one before!

That said, it's a good, despite some weird tonal issues. Find out how dark this one can get in today's episode!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Halloween Special!

Episode 79 ~ V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

Jumping ahead in space and time, we decided to check out one of the more recent entries in the V/H/S franchise, Beyond! This one has a single thematic link between all of its shorts that culminate in a fantastic bit of weird at the end.

This one also turned out to be one of the best entries we've watched so far! Check out how that might be the case in this episode!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: V/H/S/Halloween!

Episode 78 ~ V/H/S/2 (2013)

Surprise! This October season is themed! We kicked it off with the first entry in this currently ongoing anthology series last time, and this week we continued with the sequel to the ambitious but flawed original. So how does it hold up?

Well, we are happy to say that it is a leapfrog over the predecessor. Pretty much every issue with the first entry was improved on, and the overall experience is legitimately fun. We talk about why that is in today's episode!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: V/H/S/Beyond!

Episode 77 ~ V/H/S (2012)

Today's episode is something very out of pocket: we decided to tackle the first instalment in a long running Halloween franchise, though not the one you might figure.

The V/H/S series has been around for over a decade at this point, operating on a sort of found footage approach to horror, with an analog bent. So get ready for this episode where we see just what the fuss is about and if the first entry holds up.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: V/H/S/2!

Episode 76 ~ Remote (1993)

For something a bit out of left field, we decided to take a look at a straight to video family flick from the early '90s. It's as wacky and loony as you might think it is. Does it hold up as good as the other ones we covered?

Unfortunately, no, not really. Find out just why in today's episode!

Randy's Score: 2/5

JD's Score: 2/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: V/H/S!

Episode 75 ~ Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Here is a gem charging in out of left field. Why are the Cannon Cruisers giving a horror movie from the '00s a perfect score, and not only that but a slasher movie on top of it? Shouldn't we be far more critical of it, considering our tastes?

It turns out that Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is part comedy, part horror, part mockumentary, and yet also both a deconstruction and reconstruction of the slasher genre. It highlights what makes it stand out, why it resonates, and why it (at the time) had been so ubiquitous for two decades. In the two decades since its release it has only aged better.

Truth be told, it's nearly flawless. Let's discuss why that is in today's episode!

Randy's Score: 5/5

JD's Score: 5/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Remote!

Episode 74 ~ Happer's Comet (2022)

Welcome back to another exciting episode of Cannon Cruisers where we cover a movie unlike anything we've done before. It's time for something a bit different.

How to describe this film? It can't really be done here in the limited space available, so instead I will leave it vague. Do you like vibes and strange atmosphere? There's nothing quite like this one out there in movie land.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Behind the Mask!

Episode 73 ~ Penitentiary II (1982)

Finally back with a sequel we've been meaning to get to for awhile! It's the follow up to the '70s cult favorite and the prequel to the '80s Cannon gem! Today we get tot talk about the last final flick in the trilogy, 1982's Penitentiary II!

After watching this trilogy out of order we came to a very strange conclusion about it, though maybe not in the way you would think. In many ways this is the perfect middle ground to the more grounded original and the insanity of the Cannon-produced finale. This one is also fortunate enough to have Ernie Hudson's most insane performance ever.

Check out today's episode to learn how they might be the case!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Happer's Comet!

Episode 72 ~ Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

We finally made it to the (original) end to this cult favorite series of dreams, reality, life, love, loss, and death. There's nothing quite like Phantasm, and each entry contributes to the overall picture a little more, delivering a tapestry of weird, horror, action, adventure, and what it all means. This fourth entry really does manage to thread the needle very well.

Even despite the lower budget and clever usages of old footage (much never seen before), there is a lot in Phantasm IV: Oblivion to make it as weird as the original and the most impenetrable so far. That said, it still manages to retain its charm and quality.

For a fourth entry in a horror series to do that is incredibly impressive, never might that this was meant to be the ending at one point. So lets discover today why that might be.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Penitentiary II!

Episode 71 ~ Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

It's very rare that you can get three entries into a series and it manages to retain quality. It's even rarer that a fourth entry manages to stack up and be recommended, but Tremors has not only managed a hat trick, but has scored a fourth goal as well.

Essentially a weird western, Tremors 4 shakes up the formula by not only completing the life cycle of the Graboid (something each movie has contributed to) but also goes as far the formula can go. Check out today's episode to see just what that means.

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Phantasm IV!

Episode 70 ~ Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996)

A sequel to a legendary '80s action movie that was not only locked to video but never got a proper release anywhere else? Surely this doesn't body well for 1996's Bloodsport II. You would certainly not be blamed for thinking so.

However, this sequel not only holds up against the original, it manages to add new wrinkles to it while respecting what came before. Be sure to check out this week's episode to check out a hidden gem you've never seen before!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up next: Tremors 4!

Episode 69 ~ Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985)

We finally get around to the sequel to director Joe Dante's breakout movie, and boy is it not what we expected. I hope you like Christopher Lee and Reb Brown (and you should!) because they are in fine form in this bizarre flick!

I don't know what else to say because there isn't anything about this movie that is straightforward. Check out today's episode to learn why that might be!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Bloodsport II!

Episode 68 ~ Kickboxer II: The Road Back (1991)

Finally we get to another sequel we've meant to cover for some time now! It's the sequel to the Van Damme classic Kickboxer. This one stars Step By Step's Sasha Mitchel and is directed by the one and only Albert Pyun!

However, it might not be the movie you are expecting from either of them, for good or bad. Check out today's episode to see why!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf!

Episode 67 ~ Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

We're finally back to Phantasm! This time around we get to the third entry, released in the mid-90s. Does it hold up well, or does the series finally stumble here? Were the haters right all along? Can the series still surprise 15 years after the original entry?

Well, it turns out, at least in our case, we find it overall makes the second movie stronger in hindsight and adds its own wrinkles on the story. There still isn't anything quite like Phantasm, even in its third entry. Find out why that is in today's episode!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Kickboxer 2!

Episode 66 ~ Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

Finally, we made it back to Perfection! In our sequel summer special we made the jump to the third entry in Tremors! Though there are a lot of different opinions on the movies past the first one, there is one thing that remains true: (so far) they have all been worth watching. The third entry continues the trend.

How do they manage to do it? Find out in this episode where we learn that somehow the crew has still got it!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Phantasm III!

Episode 65 ~ Best of the Best II (1993)

Finally, we return to the world of Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee! How do you make a sequel to a surprise hit sports film? Well, by doing something entirely different! In Best of the Best II, things go sideways, and not in ways you might predict.

Coming at the tail end of the action movie era, this sequel changes genres and manages to sell itself while doing just that. Does it succeed totally? Check out today's episode and learn exactly what is going on here!

Randy's Score: 4/5

JD's Score 5/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Tremors 3!

Episode 64 ~ Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)

It's time for more Critters! We've taken our time to finally get to this sequel that we've wanted to do for some time now. You might expect this one to jus be more of the same, but no, it is a proper sequel to the cult classic original!

What happened after the events of the last movie? And can they possibly top the madness of that one? You might be surprised!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 4/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Best of the Best II!

Episode 63 ~ Troll 2 (1990)

It's about time!

Finally we cover one of the most infamous horror movies of the 20th century. What is it about this "sequel" that makes it so memorable to the point it is seen as the Best Bad Movie? And does it even deserve that title? Check out today's episode to find out!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 2/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Critters 2!

Episode 62 ~ Trancers II (1991)

Welcome to our new sequel special! For the summer we're going to be spending our time looking at the sequels to movies we've already covered before over the years! This week we start with long-awaited follow-up to fan-favorite Trancers!

You might figure this low budget actioner would stumble after years in production hell, but that is not quite the case. Check out today's episode to understand just why that might be. It's as wild and out there as you'd hope!

Randy's Score: 3/5

JD's Score: 3/5

Spotify link here!

Up Next: Troll 2!