October Horror Movie Challenge - Blade: The Iron Cross (2020)

Plot

A psychic Russian agent searches for a Nazi scientist on America shores. To aid her in her quest, she has one of Toulon's puppets, Blade. 

Review

 This film has the charm of most Full Moon flicks. Even though it was released this year, it feels like something from the 90's. Personally I'm a fan of that, but I could see how others might not be. I enjoyed this film, but I did have some issues with it too. The story of the psychic investigator worked. I also liked the Overlord-esque Nazi plot. My main issue with the movie is that it's called Blade: The Iron Cross and Blade is only in about 15 minutes of the movie. That's a real shame, because he's one of the cooler puppets.

In Your Game

Blade would be a great addition to any DP&D or Vigilante City game. 

Blade

Armor Class: 15

Hit Dice/Points: 5 (22 HP)
Move: 12
Actions: 1
Attack: Blade (1d6)

Bonuses: +3 to Melee attacks, +1 to damage

Special: Advantage on Stealth related checks

Morale: 10

Terror: 9
HDE: 4

Dollman (1991)

Synopsis: Tough as nails alien cop, Brick Bardo, chases his arch nemesis through space and crash lands on Earth. Unfortunately his species are much smaller and he's only 13 inches tall. He meets a  young activist and face off with local thugs, dispensing justice, and showing that size doesn't matter.

The Good: Tim Thomerson does a great job as a 13 inch tall Dirty Harry. He's a gruff tough cop stereotype and it's fun. Jackie Earl Haley plays the main thug, Braxton Red, and is fun in the role. Interestingly enough he makes some nice social commentary about the state of impoverished areas and how they are neglected by those in power.

The Bad: The effects for this one are classic Full Moon and not the greatest. I think they have charm though. I think Braxton's no body gives a damn about us speech at the end is wasted.

Final Thoughts: This movie is cheesy, but fun. There's definitely gaming inspiration that can be take from this one. Brick appeared in a few more Full Moon stories. He fights the Demonic Toys in a sequel (which I own but haven't watched yet). He also kills the Full Moon Universe in a recent comic series.

In Your Game: Brick Bardo would make an interesting ally in a Vigilante City game.

Brick Bardo
Armor Class: 16
Hit Dice: 5 (18 HP)
Move: 12
Actions: 1
Attacks Kruger Blaster 2d6+1 (range 100)
Special: Disadvantage on all Grapple rolls, Advantage on all Stealth rolls
Bonuses: +3 to Ranged attack rolls, +5 to Investigation rolls, +2 to Initiative rolls, +2 to Intimidation rolls
HDE: 4

Kruger Blaster 
Damage: 2d6+1
Range: 100
Rate of Fire: 1
Ammo: -
Cost: -
Notes: Because of the method the firearm damages things at a cellular level, wounds caused by this gun can only be healed by advanced (future or alien) tech or magic. The gun is also sized for natives of Brick's species. If a creature is larger than tiny they have a -5 to attack rolls with the Kruger Blaster.

Doctor Mordrid (1992)

Synopsis: Doctor Anton Mordrid is a sorcerer from the Fourth Dimension tasked with protecting Earth from dark magics, specifically his childhood friend, Kabal.   

The Good: It was great to see Jeffrey Combs as a hero. He was serious, but still had some charisma, and makes a really good Doctor Strange. Mordrid's apartment looks amazing (and my guess is where most of the film's budget went). The effects are fine for they day and the stop-motion animation for the films climactic battle is great. Brian Thompson is a great classic villain and has a few surprisingly funny lines. Also, his minion is really funny.

The Bad: There's an awkward almost sex scene. It just feels a little out of place. There's also a scene with the director's son with some unexpected vulgarity. These scenes didn't really bother me, they just seemed like an excuse to say the movie was R-rated. Also, the movie is only 74 minutes. It didn't seem rushed, but still could have been fleshed out a little more.

Final Thoughts: If this movie seems a lot like Doctor Strange, that's because that's what it originally was. Charles Band of Full Moon Entertainment had the writes to a Doctor Strange movie. He wrote a script but during pre-production lost the rights. Instead of scrapping everything, he changed a few bits and made the movie anyway. I think it worked. I love Jeffrey Combs and I thought this flick was fun. What would have happened had it stayed a Doctor Strange movie? Would it have been more popular? Could you imagine what would have happened if they made more Marvel flicks? I Full Moon version of Ghost Rider would have been nuts. Imagine Blade taking on Radu. Oh what could have been...

In Your Game:

I think these stats do a good job. The only thing missing is his spell that animated the Mastodon skeleton and his astral projection ability (though that looked like a potion he took).

Name: Doctor Anton Mordrid
Alignment: Law   Class: Mystic   Level: 5  

Str: 11 
Int: 21(+4)
Wis: 17 (+2)
Dex: 12 
Con: 10 
Cha: 13 (+1) 
Sur: 10

Courage: 14
Critical: 11
Death: 15
Magic: 18
Mental: 15
Poison: 9

Languages: English

AC: 11 (Mystic class feature
HP: 25 
Move: 12
Madness: 
Toughness: -

Attack

+0 Initiative 
Unarmed

-4 to hit, 1d4/2 damage

Skills

Art & Music 5 (+9)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Knowledge: General 5 (+9)
Knowledge: Magic 5 (+14)
Mathematics 3 (+9)
Persuasion 5 (+6)

Mystic Powers

Step Into the Void to add level to spell's damage, add level X10' to range of spell, or make the spell target an addition target or double the spell's duration (only make 1 attack if attack needed)
+2 on ranged Magic attacks
-2 on non Magic attacks

Spells 
The number in parenthesis is the number of spells of that level that can be cast before Mordrid must Step into The Void.

1st (16) - Comprehend Languages, Counterspell, Detect Magic, Enchant Weapon, Heal, Helping Hand, Illusion, Lock, Mystic Armor, Mystic Bolt, Mystic Chains
2nd (12) - Detect Secret Spaces & Traps, Flying, Ears of the Void, Fireball, Flying, Glamour, Heal II, True Sight
3rd (6) - Chain Lightning, Dispel Magic II, Heal III, Invisibility II, Mystic Armor II, Touch of Weakness

Items: Apartment with world wide news monitoring computer, occult library, and portal to 4th Dimension, Mordrid's Amulet (immunity to non-magical weapons and unarmed attacks, stunning flash 3/day - all non-Megahuman targets must making a magic saving throw or be stunned for 3 rounds)

Ash Wednesday - The Gingerdead Man (2005)

Synopsis: When his ashes are mixed into dough, the soul of a killer possesses a gingerbread man and seeks to torment the surviving family members of his last victims.

The Good: Gary Busey is fantastic as the Gingerdead Man. Why? The reason is because the plot to this movie is crazy and so is Gary Busey. Seriously though, even though his work in this flick mainly involves voice acting, it's good stuff. The score of The Gingerdead Man is a nice throwback too. It's reminiscent of other Full Moon flicks.

The Bad: This is a B horror flick through and through. The acting isn't great and some of the characters are pretty hokey. 

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this movie. As ridiculous as the plot is, this flick is good quality for a B movie. Full Moon Studios flicks are like that though. The have a bit of charm to them.

In Your Game: I recently watched this flick and decided to do it for Ash Wednesday because Millard's stats can be used with the spell from the HoHonomicon.

Millard Findlemeyer the Gingerdead Man
Armor Class:  15                  Attack Damage: By Weapon
Hit Dice:  3                            Special: See below
Move: 12                               Bonus: +2 to Hit
Attacks: 1 per round             Terror: 9    HDE: 3

Because of his size the Gingerdead Man gets a -4 on all rolls related to grappling. Any character that has him grappled can spend an action to bite his head or a limb off (dealing 1d6 to Millard). Unfortunately for the person eating the demonic dessert, Millard possesses the person (eventually turning them into a new Gingerdead Man).

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018)

Synopsis: Recently divorced comic shop worker (and writer), Edgar moves back in with his parents to regroup. While there he reconnects with a friend's younger sister and starts a relationship. Looking to make some money, Edgar decides to auction his deceased brother's puppet. The pair and his best friend/boss head to a convention centered around grisly murders that happened 30 years ago. Soon the puppets come to live and a blood bath ensues.

The Good: I really like the cast. Thomas Lennon is a great lead and Jenny Pellicer does a nice job as his love interest. Nelson Franklin is entertaining as Markowitz and Skeeta Jenkins cracked me up as Cuddly Bear. It was also nice to see scream queen, Barbara Crampton, in the film. Udo Kier was creepy as Toulon, though he definitely sounded German and not French. As far as the horror aspects of this film go, it's pretty brutal and times and pulls no punches. There are two deaths in particular that stand out (one involving a pregnant woman and the other a kid). I also like that even though this is a horror movie there were comic book elements. Lennon's character quickly figures out what's going on because he creates fantastic stories for a living. 

The Bad: This movie is mean. Because the Nazi nature of the villains, a lot of the murders are against minorities. This is explained in the plot, but could still definitely bother folks. Also, there's an aspect of the reboot that bothers me. The puppets aren't unique. For example there are several different Blade puppets. I think this was a mistake, because what made the original pictures so good was that each puppet had it's own personality, even if they didn't speak. There's also a character that I liked that gets killed off needlessly that bugged me.

Final Thoughts: This was a fun (but nasty) film. I don't know that I like it as much as I like the originals, but it was an interesting reboot. The movie's ending is totally open and the words "To Be Continued" appear on the screen. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

In Your Game: Instead of statting individual puppets, I figured I'd give base stats and then a chart you can roll on to customize it.

Toulon Puppet

AC: 15                           Attack Damage: See below

HD: 2                             Special: Stealthy, See below
Move: 12                       Bonuses: +2 to hit
Attacks: 1 per round     Terror: 8    HDE:  3

All puppets get a +4 to all die rolls to avoid detection.

Specialty

1.  Flame Thrower - the puppet can shoot a gout of flame 10', this does 1d6 damage and ignites any flamables (DC 10 Dex check to put out)
2.  Blade and Hook - the puppet has extra sharp appendages that do 1d6+2 damage
3.  Brawny - the puppet has an extra hit die, +2 to toughness, and deals 1d8 points of unarmed damage
4.  Drill - the puppet can drill through solid material at its normal speed and deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on a natural attack roll of 20
5.  Amphibian - the puppet has a leap speed of 18 and can spit poison 15' dealing 1d6 damage + target makes a DC 12 Dex check or be blinded until they wash their eyes out with water
6.  Helicopter - the puppet has a fly speed of 15 and can attack with it's blades dealing 1d6+1 damage