In years past when several writers were contributing to this column, we were offering anywhere between four and six recommendations for each Junesploitation category. This year, I'm barely scraping by all on my own.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Netflix This Movie! Vol. 182
by Patrick Bromley
Netflix will be the end of me this #Junesploitation.
In years past when several writers were contributing to this column, we were offering anywhere between four and six recommendations for each Junesploitation category. This year, I'm barely scraping by all on my own.
June 18: Teensploitation! - Teen Witch (1989, dir. Dorian Walker) Top that.
June 19: Italian Horror! - The Canal (2014, dir. Ivan Kavanagh) Netflix does not have a single Italian horror title. Nothing by Mario Bava. Nothing. Their entire horror section appears to have been gutted, actually, leaving fewer and fewer options every week. I'll suggest watching The Canal because it's the best I can do; it's newer and not Italian, but it has something of a Fulci vibe to it that can at least give you the feeling of Italian horror even when it's not the real thing. This is when you want to make sure you have signed up for Shudder, as they have a whole bunch of great Italian horror.
June 20: Westerns! - Again, Netflix isn't offering any good exploitation or spaghetti westerns; you're better off with Amazon Prime or Full Moon Streaming for those. If you want to go with a classic on Netflix, you can watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, dir. John Ford). If you're looking for something crazier and more outrageous, check out the wonderful Korean western The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008, dir. Kim Jee-woon). It's a little on the long side at over two hours, but the set pieces alone make it worth your time.
June 21: Eco Horror! - Fuck you, Netflix. They even got rid of Barry Levinson's The Bay, which I did not love but which completely fits this category. Does Big Ass Spider (2013, dir. Mike Mendez) count?
June 22: Free Space! - Everly (2015, dir. Joe Lynch) A terrific modern exploitation film, combining elements of '80s action, revenge, horror and some crazy Yakuza violence and torture. Joe Lynch makes movies made for Junesploitation.
June 23: Prison! - I still haven't seen Get the Gringo (2012, dir. Adrian Grunburg), in which Mel Gibson gets locked up in a Mexican prison and has to go into badass mode, but I hear it's very good and may check it out myself for this day. I have seen Maximum Conviction (2012, dir. Keoni Waxman) and it is not great, but for a recent DTV Steven Seagal movie it's not the worst, mostly because of Stone Cold Steve Austin as Seagal's partner in prison busting.
June 24: War! - The Wild Geese (1978, dir. Andrew V. McLaglen) Like The Expendables for British actors in the '70s, The Wild Geese unites Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore in a tale about mercenaries who travel to Africa on a rescue mission. Some good action scenes and a cast of heavy hitters give this a lot of mileage, even if it's more turgid and serious than one might be in the mood for today. Still, it's a pretty cool movie.
In years past when several writers were contributing to this column, we were offering anywhere between four and six recommendations for each Junesploitation category. This year, I'm barely scraping by all on my own.
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Everly is, indeed, the shit. One of my favorites of last year.
ReplyDeleteGet the Gringo was surprisingly pretty good! Good the Bad in the Weird is SO MUCH FUN!
ReplyDeleteI found a YouTube channel called Euroslash that is solely made up of obscure giallo titles if anyone needs something to watch for Italian horror day.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteJust remember though that Italian Horror and Giallo are two different animals.
DeleteI don't know, giallos can be pretty horrific...
DeleteThis is a pretty cool channel. Thanks a bunch. :-)
DeleteNo problem! I just found another channel of actual Italian horror movies. I did an "Italian horror movies" search and found a slew of films. Totally makes up for the lack of hits on Netflix.
DeleteBig Ass Spider = Eco Horror? Who cares? It's great.
ReplyDeleteSeriously....it depends on how you define your "Eco Horror". If it's naturally occurring without something stupid done by a scientist or politician/Evil CEO dumping chemical waste, etc somewhere along the way? Then, no.
But watch it anyway.
Maybe you need to switch to Amazon This Movie. They stole all the Bava. And they have a pretty good size collection of Westerns. Unfortunately it's not quite as easy to navigate Amazon in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYou still haven't seen Get the Gringo? That is quite unaccountable, sir! *monocle pops out of eye*
ReplyDelete