College Coeds vs Zombie Housewives (4 Stars)

This is the second film on the "Glamour Ghouls" double feature Blu-ray. Or the first film, depending on whether you pay attention to the Blu-ray cover or the disc menu.

Click here full a full review of the film. I wrote so much about it in the past that I don't want to repeat myself. What I do want to say is that the Blu-ray is a noticeable improvement over the previous DVD release. Compare these two screenshots.

This is the DVD.

This is the Blu-ray. Amazing, isn't it?

Fred Olen Ray's Retromedia company made 54 erotic comedies between 2002 and 2017. Fred likes to call them bikini films. They were made for the cable channel Cinemax to be shown as late night movies. Straight-to-video. They were subsequently released on DVD in limited quantities. I think Fred underestimated his own work. The films were intended to be throwaway items, made for a quick buck, then forgotten. He was surprised when they became fan favourites. Some of them were trading for more than $100 on Ebay. Fred had created works of art without realising it.

In December 2020 Fred released the first two bikini films on Blu-ray, "Bikini Frankenstein" and "Twilight Vamps". The quality was amazing. I expected him to rattle through the rest of the films, but in the last three years he's only released another eight films on Blu-ray. I understand him. He's afraid that he'll lose money if he floods the market with rapid releases. He ought to trust his fans. I'll buy them all, and there are many others who will buy them as well.

Here's a summary of the releases so far.

The Medina Collection

1. Thirteen Erotic Ghosts (2002)
2. Bikini Airways (2003)
3. Haunting Desires (2003)
4. Curse of the Erotic Tiki (2003)
5. Bikini Carwash Academy (2004)
6. Erotic Dreams of Jeannie (2004)
7. Teenage Cavegirl (2004)
8. The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful (2005)
9. Bikini Chain Gang (2005)
10. Ghost in a Teeny Bikini (2006)
11. Bikini Girls from the Lost Planet (2006)
12. Harlots of the Caribbean (2006)
13. Girl with the Sex-Ray Eyes (2006)
14. Bewitched Housewives (2006)
15. The Girl from BIKINI (2006)
16. Super Ninja Doll (2007)
17. Tarzeena (2007)
18. Voodoo Dollz (2008)
19. Bikini Royale (2008)
20. (BR) Bikini Frankenstein (2009)
21. (BR) Twilight Vamps (2009)
22. Bikini Royale 2 (2009)
23. (BR) Bikini Jones and the Temple of Eros (2009)
24. Housewives from Another World (2010)
25. Lady Chatterley's Ghost (2010)
26. Bikini Time Machine (2010)
27. Sexual Witchcraft (2010)
28. Bikini Warriors (2010)
29. The Teenie Weenie Bikini Squad (2011)
30. Dirty Blondes from Beyond (2012)
31. Busty Housewives of Beverly Hills (2012)
32. (BR) Baby Dolls Behind Bars (2012)

The McKendrick Collection

1. Strippers from another world (2013)
2. Big Bust Theory (2013)
3. Intergalactic Swingers (2013)
4. (BR) All Babe Network (2013)
5. Great Bikini Bowling Bash (2014)
6. Stacked Racks from Mars (2014)
7. Atomic Hotel Erotica (2014)
8. Lolita from Interstellar Space (2014)
9. Sexy Warriors (2014)
10. Bikini Avengers (2015)
11. (BR) College Coeds vs Zombie Housewives (2015)
12. Lust in Space (2015)
13. Erotic Vampires of Beverly Hills (2015)
14. Invisible Centerfolds (2015)
15. (BR) Cinderella's Hot Night (2017)
16. (BR) Sleeping Beauties (2017)

The Apocrypha

1. (BR) Bad Girls Behind Bars (2016)
2. Vixens From Venus (2016)
3. Cyborg Hookers (2016)
4. Cosmic Calendar Girls (2016)
5. Escape From Pleasure Planet (2016)
6. (BR) Paranormal Sexperiments (2016)

The Medina Collection consists of films directed by Fred Olen Ray using the pseudonym Juan Medina. The McKendrick Collection consists of films directed by Dean McKendrick. The Apocrypha consists of films directed for Retromedia by other directors.

Notes:

(1) "Haunting Desires" (Medina 3) is the only Medina film that hasn't been officially released on DVD.

(2) "Bikini Carwash Academy" (Medina 5) was re-released with a different opening credits sequence, listing the director as Sherman Scott.

(3) "Tomb of the Werewolf" (not listed above) was directed by Fred Olen Ray using his own name, but it's in the Medina style. It has almost the same cast as "Haunting Desires".

(4) Dean McKendrick made seven erotic thrillers for Retromedia, not listed above.

(5) Apocrypha? If you have a better name for these films, let me know.

That's 10 out of 54 films released on Blu-ray so far. At the current speed they won't all be available on Blu-ray until 2040. I'm hoping Fred will speed up, but there are problems with the early Medina films. The first films were made in single density, so they'll need time-intensive remastering to be prepared for Blu-ray. Fred will only do that if he's 100% certain he'll make a profit. The later films shot in high density can be transferred to Blu-ray with a minimum of effort.

I want to collect all 54 films on Blu-ray, but the ones I'm most anxious to get are "Haunting Desires" and "Tomb of the Werewolf". Instead of being an equally billed double feature, a "Tomb of the Werewolf" Blu-ray could be released with "Haunting Desires" as an extra feature.