'IN THE [MELANCHOLIC] REALM OF THE [SURREALISM IN JEAN ROLLIN'S CINEMATIC] SENSES'
REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE (1972) LIPS OF BLOOD (1975) THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTED (1980) THE ESCAPEES (1982, ALL FOUR INDICATOR 4K UHD).
Discovered most of Jean Rollin's filmography in the late aughts/early-to-mid 2010's on both TCM Underground and Redemption Blu-ray rentals (remember those?). By the time I realized I wanted to own Jean's work the discs were out of print and expensive, plus TCM Underground was cancelled due to David Zaslav's budget cuts at Warner Discovery. Luckily Australia's Indicator boutique label is releasing Rollin's filmography in restored 4K/BD releases. The upgrade to 4K isn't just trendy but reveals a visual artistry in Jean's movies previously hidden by inferior low-quality print transfers.
"Requiem For a Vampire" is the closest to what fans expect from a typical Rollin joint. Two gorgeous l*sb!an women (Marie-Pierre Castel's blonde and Mireille Dargent's brunette) on the run from the law spend the night at an abandoned château from which they cannot escape. Prisoners of a centuries-old vampire (Michel Delesalle) and his supernatural followers who only come out at night, the girls must lure victims to the château or risk certain death. Starts out like a late '60's Godard travelogue (a car chase/shootout in clown gear), gets its requisite quote of James Franco-style dungeon r@pes and sex$al deb@uch!ry in the middle and concludes with piano recitals at night in a cemetery. The abrupt suddenness of the ending is puzzling in the sadness of what it implies for poor Louise Dhour. :'( 4.25 BAT NECKTIES (out of five).
"Lips of Blood" at times feels like a '70's Dario Argento giallo in its visual compositions and well-chosen locations (gorgeous fountains, cliffside castles, etc.) matching the mood of its lead character (Jean-Loup Philippe's Frédéric, a rare instance of a male protagonist in a Rollin movie) and his decades-long journey to discover the meaning behind a persistent vampiric childhood memory. There's a crypt full of re-awakened sexy vampires, some nudity here and there and a handful of drained-of-blood bodies. They're secondary to soaking up the creepy vibes (those fangs!) and moody atmosphere that "LOB" delivers in spades. 4.5 BEHEADED VIRGIN MARY STATUES (out of five).
"The Night of the Hunted" finds Rollin dabbling in early David Cronenberg aesthetics/tropes, including use of impersonal modern architecture as visual metaphor for contemporary man's inhumanity toward its own kind. An amnesiac nude blonde who thinks her name's Elysabeth (Brigitte Lahaie) is picked wondering the roads by a driver (Alain Duclos's Robert) who takes her back to his Paris apartment. After making passionate love Robert goes to work, leaving Elysabeth vulnerable to a group of scientists that have followed them. Rather than kidnapping her, though, creepy white-haired doctor (Bernard Papineau) and his assistant Solange (Rachel Mhas) convince Elysabeth to "join her own kind" in a high-rise building's hidden institution. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Cronenberg's "Shivers" mixed with a nuclear age "Rabid," "TNOTH" builds a head of steam toward one of the saddest, most poetic endings in Rollin's oeuvre. 4.5 TRAIN CARTS HOUSING HUMAN CATTLE (out of five).
Two troubled teenagers (Laurence Dubas' Michéle and Christiane Coppé's Marie) escape an insane asylum, hitch a ride with a traveling troupe of er@tic dancers and end up in the good graces of an underground community of sailors/criminals keeping them hidden until they can leave France as stowaways on a merchant ship. "The Escapees" is a Rollin unicorn, with the absence of the supernatural (unless fate counts) and pushed-to-the-background sexuality/nudity pushing Michéle and Marie's relationship/co-dependence front and center. The last 30 minutes break my heart with the inevitability of a foretold cruel destiny keeping the girls from reaching their dream. Poor Sophie (Marianne Valiot)! :'( 4.5 HIDDEN ICE SKATING RINKS (out of five).
I would have also included "The Demoniacs" but the 4K disc came cracked and Amazon says they don't have replacement discs available, only Blu-rays. 😵🥵 Started a case, waiting for a reply. 🫤
Full of nudity, love scenes, exotic locations, and some animal killings (the Italians!), Black Cobra Women is a more than competent example of Italian sexploitation. It is a film that typifies the work of Italian schlockmeister Joe D’Amato at this time of his career. He began his filmmaking career as a cinematographer, which means his films tend to look good. With Black Cobra Woman (one of many titles for it), he teamed up again with his muse, Laura Gemser. Black Emanuelle herself, Gemser worked with D’Amato to create the best films in that very unofficial series. This is not one of those, though. Laura Gemser is Eva, a snake dancer who comes to Hong Kong to perform in a club. Jack Palance, a wealthy businessman, is a spectator to the show and takes a liking to Eva. It does help that he has particular affection for snakes. Becoming a kept woman, she is still free to pursue other relationships, most importantly with women. Things get complicated and a little deadly.
Auteur: Roger Corman Movie: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
This movie is incredible. Probably my favorite watch so far this month. Ill remain brief for i went in knowing nothing about it and that made it all the better. I will say its brilliant as a haunted castle story AND a twisty-turny thriller. Its also a reminder that Vincent Price is amazing. The final shot of the movie is pure Poe madness and i am SO here for it.
The last official film of the "Blood Island" series, it was also a direct sequel to "Mad Doctor of Blood Island". The biggest knock against this is that the monster bits are mostly at the beginning and end. In between is a lot of exposition, a love triangle, and some awkwardly filmed action sequences aka the Eddie Romero Special. Series mainstay John Ashley shows why he was fourth to fifth billed in the "Beach" movies but Beverly Miller is hilarious with his nonacting as "The Captain".
Definitely my least favorite of the series but you could do a lot worse for your sleazy horror fix.
REVENGE OF THE VIRGINS (1959) Written by Ed Wood under a pseudonym. At first, I assumed director Peter Perry Jr. was also Ed, but I looked him up and this dude has a WILD filmography! Anyway, here’s a movie that is not for the easily offended. Cowboys discover a long-lost tribe of jungle women (…in the Old West?) for equal parts danger and titillation. Yes, it’s one big excuse to show off topless ladies, but all the racism and sexism in this screenplay means you can’t properly enjoy the bare skin. Ed, some days you make it hard to like you.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 20: THE INFERNAL CAULDRON (1903) The devil (him again!) sacrifices women by throwing them into his fiery cauldron, so he can summon ghostly spirits. People online say not to think of Melies’ Satan as the Christian devil, but more of a Rumpelstiltskin-like trickster. In this movie, though, the devil is downright evil and murderous. Yes, it’s all in service of showing off nifty special effects (and these are nifty indeed), but I wonder how popular these movies are among the Aleister Crowley fanboys.
Two brothers, one of them a wanted criminal, are shipwrecked in shark-infested waters and land on a small island in the Philippines, inhabited only by female pearl divers who worship a shark god. While one falls in love with a local, the other is desperate to escape before the authorities find him.
An hour-long movie Corman probably shot in a few days, but the locale is pretty and there's some underwater footage that's quite well shot. The story's not much to write home about, and of course most of the Filipino locals are played by white women.
The Wizard of Gore (1970, dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis)
Montag the Magician stages increasingly gory illusions, where he seemingly mutilates women on stage. The victims are magically unharmed after each trick, but will suffer a horrific fate later that same night. A sports reporter investigates their deaths.
It's a pretty bizarre plot with an inexplicable ending, wrapped around inventive but amateurish gore gags. The cinematography and editing are haphazard and every actor feels so uncomfortable, it's like being in front of the camera causes them pain.
I was gonna watch Wizards of Gore and now I’m kinda glad I skipped it, except that I picked the movie I picked instead so it’s a no-win situation for me today.
My experience with H.G. Lewis is that you have to adjust to the cheapness of his films. They are always rough around the edges. The Wizard of Gore is one of his better ones.
I thought this was just going to be a nudie cutie, but it turned out to be one of the first “roughies” where domestic abuse and sexual assault is played for titillation. Not awesome. The photography is gorgeous, the women are redonkulously sexy, but the dubbing is very distracting. And in the end it reminds me of DEAD OF NIGHT.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) Starts as artful trash and becomes trashy genius? You have to squint past some of the goofy plot, but the frenetic pace of its hip late-60s Los Angeles highlight reel vibe makes that pretty easy to do. It's brimming with sex, drugs, rock and roll, and naked chests--not a bad recipe for exploitation entertainment. The music, from Strawberry Alarm Clock and the fictional The Kelly Affair/The Carrie Nations, kinda rips if you're into the psychedelic pop flavor of this era. The movie sags a bit toward the end of the second act, and the transition into the cuckoo bananas finale feels a little abrupt, but once I was able to click into the movie's final gear (a tipping point that could understandably make or break the movie for various viewers), I was back on board. The movie's best line (and a reasonable gauge for whether it'll be your jam or not): "Ere this night does wane, you will drink the black sperm of my vengeance!"
FEMALE MERCENARIES 2: MAD DOCTOR OF ZOMBIE ISLAND (2008, Gary Whitson) First time watch, Camp Motion Pictures Blu-ray, 7/10. 2008 was a big year. Some people had been waiting over a decade to find out that FEMALE MERCENARIES ON ZOMBIE ISLAND wasn't in fact resolved. Fortunately, this begins with an intact recap of the battle between Tina Krause & Pamela Sutch in a creek. The post-apocalyptic landscape rolls on in this W.A.V.E. Production: The evil Sutch has developed cloning technology but the rebellion is strong. But who's real & who's a clone? Debbie D... cloned? Laura Giglio... cloned?! Pamela Sutch herself...... CLONED?!? This brain buster of "fun" features special FX that include Tina Krause, fun homemade sci-fi sets, Debbie D, New Jersey, Laura Giglio, "quicksand", Pamela Sutch & short tunics for all. There's even some nuditee. I was impressed by my own enjoyment, particularly when it came to the clones (I always felt ripped off by the title ATTACK OF THE CLONES). I can't imagine more than about 2% of the FThisMovie community would be at all entertained by the Garden State's own cottage industry of video crud, but Gary Whitson qualifies for today. Folks who aren't familiar with, aware of or allergic to the pruri3nt ple@sures of W.A.V.E. Productions should take a look at the documentary MAIL ORDER MURDER, currently streaming on Tubi.
Steckler is the man behind the cinematic ludicrousness of THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES (praise Jeebus for Caps Lock) and RAT PFINK A BOO BOO. He also directed a slew of other awesome/awful flicks before bottoming out in the porn industry, as Skid Row cineastes often do.
Here, Steckler channels Raymond Chandler through his low-budget perspective with fairly effective results and doubles as the lead, portraying a detective in search of a dame (natch). I loved his meta-first person narrative, which including much reflection from his filmmaker POV; lines like “My whole life has been a movie, I just got the reels mixed up” make this a dirt-cheap existential journey into the mind of an exploitation auteur.
OK, CHINATOWN this ain’t, but I enjoyed the sleazy So-Cal vibes and the performances not only by Steckler but by RDS stock players Carolyn Brandt and Gary Kent, plus the cameo by fellow low-end exploitationer Coleman Francis. This may be Steckler’s second most cogent and compelling flick behind his excellent semi-roughie THE THRILL KILLERS. I’d also put his hallucinatory Franco-esque effort SYNTHIA, THE DEVIL’S DOLL up there as well. As for his other films, I love ‘em, but objectively, it’s definitely buyer beware!
I’d like to thank Patrick and the F This Movie! crew for considering my category suggestion! I love so many of these rock-bottom movie raconteurs and am grateful for a day when we can explore their obscure, incredible oeuvres!
Bonus(?) review: FREE SPACE! REDUX
28 YEARS LATER (2025, Danny Boyle)
There ton’s of opinions out there already about this, so just a quick take.
28YL is uneven in its tone, unpredictable in its story’s direction, unprecedented—for a horror film—in its cinematic beauty. It’s a coming of age story and meditation on mortality, taking place in an age of post-Rage Virus quarantine. It’s superlatively scary in stretches but doesn’t consistently maintain suspense as it wonders into family drama; think The Last of Us kinda vibe. So—mixed feels on this, and yet overall, I appreciate that it refuses to stick to the established zombie zeitgeist.
I found Alfie Williams superlative in the lead role and loved Ralph Fiennes supporting turn. And man, again—gorgeous filmmaking here. I thought MIDSOMMAR and NOSFERATU were visually stunning, and this ranks right up there with them. 28 YEARS LATER will definitely be divisive. I urge you to see it in a theater and come to your own conclusion.
Scala!!! (2023): What better way to celebrate Exploitation Auteur Day than watching a documentary about a British cinema that specialized in exploitation movies. This was recommended by Adam a while ago. Right away I bought the blu-ray, put it in 'the pile' upon receiving it, then forgot about it. Well, Adam was right, it's a great documentary, with the usual problems that comes with this kind of movie, you come out of it with a list of flicks you want to watch or rewatch. It starts with mentioning Eraserhead, which made me realised I haven't seen it in a while. That being said, it's kind of a regular documentary, a bunch of talking heads describing interesting and weird events you wish you could've been part of, or witness, with shots of the various movies they're talking about or scenes of people doing their thing. The blu-ray has a ton of extras, including a bunch of shorts, that I haven't watched yet.
A maniacal Egyptian store owner slaughters young women to prepare the ultimate feast from their body parts. It’s my first encounter with Hershell Gordon Lewis, the “Godfather of Gore”, and the gore is indeed pretty great, with gallons of red paint oozing from the screen. Other than that, the writing is pleasantly dreadful, some shots are out of focus, there’s wacky church organ music playing, the actors read their lines from cue cards offscreen like they're on SNL, Egyptian gods are somehow involved, it's wild stuff.
One of the only OG Full Moon movies I had never seen, especially from the Paramount years when things were better. It's one of the most Full Moon movies ever given all the people that worked on it. Small-scale sci-fi that ends well and is never boring. Another director probably could have made it even better, because directing has never been Charles Band's strongest suit. Might try to write a Full Moon Fever about it.
MISADVENTURES OF FANNY STARR (1981, Gary Whitson) First-time watch, Camp Motion Pictures Blu-ray, 8/10. This is the second of Whitson early super8 shorts that I've seen & they're both treats. A woman wearing a "Satan Lives" T-shirt is @bducted by Gary Whitson so he can purify her in his above-ground pool. Her twin sister is a detective, so she naturally tries to solve the murder. It's 20 minutes long & Whitson jams a very entertaining twist into the last few minutes, bolstered by some absolutely charming, homemade special FX.
Influenced by literature and the cinematic styles of Europe, Radley Metzger was a unique figure in the American side of e-r-o-t-i-c cinema. He aimed for high production values and sophisticated stories. Therese and Isabelle, which was shot with a European cast and crew, tells the story of a romantic relationship between two students (portrayed by grown-up actresses) attending an exclusive girl’s boarding school in France. The emotional intimacy between them is the aspect that Metzger primarily focuses on. Therese is the protagonist, shown as a student and as an adult visiting the school grounds. Past and present merge many times throughout the film, most poignantly at the conclusion. Watching Therese and Isabelle in 2025 emphasizes how rooted the film is in the 1960s.
Fascinating to see what direction folks go for "autuers"
Like JM I also went Jean Rollin with " The Nude Vampire" And it's the only one I have never seen, Cronenberg's " Scanners" over on the Criterion channel
Overall a decent British slasher with some unusual choices in the musical score sometimes injecting levity. The weakest bit is the last 15 or so minutes, where it felt like things could have been tied together in a more interesting way. And there were a couple faces of note: Jenny Hanley who was quite striking, and Tristan Rogers who had hints of a young Martin Kove around the eyes.
The Giant Gila Monster (1959) Risible entry in the big monster sub-genre due to 1) the titular beast being a mere lizard on miniature sets, 2) the film being concerned with every plot thread except the monster’s: hero Don Sullivan’s buddy buddy relationship with the Sheriff, his little sister Missy’s battle with a crippling disease, and the local rich Curmudgeon’s hatred of everyone and everything. As if this 64 minute drive-in wonder needs any more padding, Sullivan sings three songs! Directed by Ray (Killer Shrews, Poptarts) Kellogg. Production manager Ben Chapman did NOT play the Creature from the Black Lagoon; that was a different Ben Chapman.
Tomcat Angels(1991 Dir Don Edmonds) The director of Ilsa She Wolf of the SS writes and directs a Skinemax late-nighter filled with sex, nudity and stock footage. Four women all who look like they walked straight out of a 90s lingerie catalog(Thats the plus of the movie)who are among the elite pilots in the country. We open the movie with them graduating from Top Gun and the news that two of the pilots are being moved into a combat zone in the Gulf. So of course we get two sex scenes of the women saying bye to their boyfriends and commanding officers. After arriving at the gulf one of the pilots is shot down. Her Boyfriend/CO and the three other woman collectively known as the Tomcat Angels decide to go rescue their fellow ace. For some reason while only wearing their boots, dogtags, underwear and tank tops. This is really just laughably bad. Maybe the worst made movie I seen all month and thats saying something. The flight scenes are all shot with the camera between the knees looking around. While the aerial footage is all stock footage of mis matching planes and none of the action matching the acting voiceover. One of the only movies I ever scene where two people go to a park to see the view and we another stock footage shot this time of a skyline from a parking garage. Again this one was terrible.
A somewhat elevated erot'c romance, as in things are a bit classy here. Case in point: the male lead Nino Castelnuovo is the same one from frickin' Umbrellas of Cherbourg!
OK the story is decent, but I feel could have done a little better in emphasizing the emotional ups and downs. The most interesting thing for me were the CHOICES in visuals/directing/editing. So many eye-catching sets, decorations, and outfits. The scene with the rack focus back and forth between flower vase and climax face. Wild edits of conversations or of Happy Birthday signs.
The content makes this already a worthy Junesploitation flick, but the rest makes me think I might revisit this anyway.
Is Renny Harlin an exploitation auteur? Probably not. But I was having movie night with a group of friends who wanted to celebrate Jaws, and then we paired it with Deep Blue Sea.
So, I love this movie and its a great time. Does Sharksploitation need to come back?!?
Michael Moriarty is amazing! This movie is amazing!
Crazy stuff happening all over this movie. Deaths, dialogue, edits, scatting, kites!! So damn entertaining. If you haven't seen this and you enjoy nonsense now and then... do not seek any more information about this movie and just watch it!
'IN THE [MELANCHOLIC] REALM OF THE [SURREALISM IN JEAN ROLLIN'S CINEMATIC] SENSES'
ReplyDeleteREQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE (1972)
LIPS OF BLOOD (1975)
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTED (1980)
THE ESCAPEES (1982, ALL FOUR INDICATOR 4K UHD).
Discovered most of Jean Rollin's filmography in the late aughts/early-to-mid 2010's on both TCM Underground and Redemption Blu-ray rentals (remember those?). By the time I realized I wanted to own Jean's work the discs were out of print and expensive, plus TCM Underground was cancelled due to David Zaslav's budget cuts at Warner Discovery. Luckily Australia's Indicator boutique label is releasing Rollin's filmography in restored 4K/BD releases. The upgrade to 4K isn't just trendy but reveals a visual artistry in Jean's movies previously hidden by inferior low-quality print transfers.
"Requiem For a Vampire" is the closest to what fans expect from a typical Rollin joint. Two gorgeous l*sb!an women (Marie-Pierre Castel's blonde and Mireille Dargent's brunette) on the run from the law spend the night at an abandoned château from which they cannot escape. Prisoners of a centuries-old vampire (Michel Delesalle) and his supernatural followers who only come out at night, the girls must lure victims to the château or risk certain death. Starts out like a late '60's Godard travelogue (a car chase/shootout in clown gear), gets its requisite quote of James Franco-style dungeon r@pes and sex$al deb@uch!ry in the middle and concludes with piano recitals at night in a cemetery. The abrupt suddenness of the ending is puzzling in the sadness of what it implies for poor Louise Dhour. :'( 4.25 BAT NECKTIES (out of five).
"Lips of Blood" at times feels like a '70's Dario Argento giallo in its visual compositions and well-chosen locations (gorgeous fountains, cliffside castles, etc.) matching the mood of its lead character (Jean-Loup Philippe's Frédéric, a rare instance of a male protagonist in a Rollin movie) and his decades-long journey to discover the meaning behind a persistent vampiric childhood memory. There's a crypt full of re-awakened sexy vampires, some nudity here and there and a handful of drained-of-blood bodies. They're secondary to soaking up the creepy vibes (those fangs!) and moody atmosphere that "LOB" delivers in spades. 4.5 BEHEADED VIRGIN MARY STATUES (out of five).
"The Night of the Hunted" finds Rollin dabbling in early David Cronenberg aesthetics/tropes, including use of impersonal modern architecture as visual metaphor for contemporary man's inhumanity toward its own kind. An amnesiac nude blonde who thinks her name's Elysabeth (Brigitte Lahaie) is picked wondering the roads by a driver (Alain Duclos's Robert) who takes her back to his Paris apartment. After making passionate love Robert goes to work, leaving Elysabeth vulnerable to a group of scientists that have followed them. Rather than kidnapping her, though, creepy white-haired doctor (Bernard Papineau) and his assistant Solange (Rachel Mhas) convince Elysabeth to "join her own kind" in a high-rise building's hidden institution. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Cronenberg's "Shivers" mixed with a nuclear age "Rabid," "TNOTH" builds a head of steam toward one of the saddest, most poetic endings in Rollin's oeuvre. 4.5 TRAIN CARTS HOUSING HUMAN CATTLE (out of five).
Two troubled teenagers (Laurence Dubas' Michéle and Christiane Coppé's Marie) escape an insane asylum, hitch a ride with a traveling troupe of er@tic dancers and end up in the good graces of an underground community of sailors/criminals keeping them hidden until they can leave France as stowaways on a merchant ship. "The Escapees" is a Rollin unicorn, with the absence of the supernatural (unless fate counts) and pushed-to-the-background sexuality/nudity pushing Michéle and Marie's relationship/co-dependence front and center. The last 30 minutes break my heart with the inevitability of a foretold cruel destiny keeping the girls from reaching their dream. Poor Sophie (Marianne Valiot)! :'( 4.5 HIDDEN ICE SKATING RINKS (out of five).
Excellent choices!
DeleteI would have also included "The Demoniacs" but the 4K disc came cracked and Amazon says they don't have replacement discs available, only Blu-rays. 😵🥵 Started a case, waiting for a reply. 🫤
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deleteoof... I have most of those Rollin 4Ks but have yet to crack (no puns) them open.
DeleteBLACK COBRA WOMAN (1976, dir. Joe D’Amato)
ReplyDeleteFull of nudity, love scenes, exotic locations, and some animal killings (the Italians!), Black Cobra Women is a more than competent example of Italian sexploitation. It is a film that typifies the work of Italian schlockmeister Joe D’Amato at this time of his career. He began his filmmaking career as a cinematographer, which means his films tend to look good. With Black Cobra Woman (one of many titles for it), he teamed up again with his muse, Laura Gemser. Black Emanuelle herself, Gemser worked with D’Amato to create the best films in that very unofficial series. This is not one of those, though. Laura Gemser is Eva, a snake dancer who comes to Hong Kong to perform in a club. Jack Palance, a wealthy businessman, is a spectator to the show and takes a liking to Eva. It does help that he has particular affection for snakes. Becoming a kept woman, she is still free to pursue other relationships, most importantly with women. Things get complicated and a little deadly.
Auteur: Roger Corman
ReplyDeleteMovie: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
This movie is incredible. Probably my favorite watch so far this month. Ill remain brief for i went in knowing nothing about it and that made it all the better. I will say its brilliant as a haunted castle story AND a twisty-turny thriller. Its also a reminder that Vincent Price is amazing. The final shot of the movie is pure Poe madness and i am SO here for it.
Beast of Blood (1970)
ReplyDeleteDir. Eddie Romero
The last official film of the "Blood Island" series, it was also a direct sequel to "Mad Doctor of Blood Island". The biggest knock against this is that the monster bits are mostly at the beginning and end. In between is a lot of exposition, a love triangle, and some awkwardly filmed action sequences aka the Eddie Romero Special. Series mainstay John Ashley shows why he was fourth to fifth billed in the "Beach" movies but Beverly Miller is hilarious with his nonacting as "The Captain".
Definitely my least favorite of the series but you could do a lot worse for your sleazy horror fix.
Was hoping someone would tackle Eddie Romero! Would lvoe to have a Phillipine Philm day next year!
DeleteSupervixens (1975, dir. Russ Meyer)
ReplyDeleteMy first time watching a Russ Meyer film! What I admired most was the subtlety.
Ha! Today was my first Russ Meyer, too. Won't be my last.
Delete"theres no such thing as a perfect revie....never mind".
Deletecackling.
It would not be a Russ Meyer film with subtlety.
DeleteREVENGE OF THE VIRGINS (1959)
ReplyDeleteWritten by Ed Wood under a pseudonym. At first, I assumed director Peter Perry Jr. was also Ed, but I looked him up and this dude has a WILD filmography! Anyway, here’s a movie that is not for the easily offended. Cowboys discover a long-lost tribe of jungle women (…in the Old West?) for equal parts danger and titillation. Yes, it’s one big excuse to show off topless ladies, but all the racism and sexism in this screenplay means you can’t properly enjoy the bare skin. Ed, some days you make it hard to like you.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 20: THE INFERNAL CAULDRON (1903)
The devil (him again!) sacrifices women by throwing them into his fiery cauldron, so he can summon ghostly spirits. People online say not to think of Melies’ Satan as the Christian devil, but more of a Rumpelstiltskin-like trickster. In this movie, though, the devil is downright evil and murderous. Yes, it’s all in service of showing off nifty special effects (and these are nifty indeed), but I wonder how popular these movies are among the Aleister Crowley fanboys.
She Gods of Shark Reef (1958, dir. Roger Corman)
ReplyDeleteTwo brothers, one of them a wanted criminal, are shipwrecked in shark-infested waters and land on a small island in the Philippines, inhabited only by female pearl divers who worship a shark god. While one falls in love with a local, the other is desperate to escape before the authorities find him.
An hour-long movie Corman probably shot in a few days, but the locale is pretty and there's some underwater footage that's quite well shot. The story's not much to write home about, and of course most of the Filipino locals are played by white women.
The Wizard of Gore (1970, dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis)
Montag the Magician stages increasingly gory illusions, where he seemingly mutilates women on stage. The victims are magically unharmed after each trick, but will suffer a horrific fate later that same night. A sports reporter investigates their deaths.
It's a pretty bizarre plot with an inexplicable ending, wrapped around inventive but amateurish gore gags. The cinematography and editing are haphazard and every actor feels so uncomfortable, it's like being in front of the camera causes them pain.
I... think I kinda enjoyed it. Is that okay?
I was gonna watch Wizards of Gore and now I’m kinda glad I skipped it, except that I picked the movie I picked instead so it’s a no-win situation for me today.
DeleteWIZARD OF GORE is my favorite HGL movie! A wild ride!
DeleteMy experience with H.G. Lewis is that you have to adjust to the cheapness of his films. They are always rough around the edges. The Wizard of Gore is one of his better ones.
DeleteBAD GIRLS GO TO HELL
ReplyDelete(1965) dir. Doris Wishman
I thought this was just going to be a nudie cutie, but it turned out to be one of the first “roughies” where domestic abuse and sexual assault is played for titillation. Not awesome. The photography is gorgeous, the women are redonkulously sexy, but the dubbing is very distracting. And in the end it reminds me of DEAD OF NIGHT.
There are some directors who made rougher 'roughies' than Doris Wishman. Michael Findlay and Lee Frost come to mind.
DeleteBeyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
ReplyDeleteStarts as artful trash and becomes trashy genius? You have to squint past some of the goofy plot, but the frenetic pace of its hip late-60s Los Angeles highlight reel vibe makes that pretty easy to do. It's brimming with sex, drugs, rock and roll, and naked chests--not a bad recipe for exploitation entertainment. The music, from Strawberry Alarm Clock and the fictional The Kelly Affair/The Carrie Nations, kinda rips if you're into the psychedelic pop flavor of this era. The movie sags a bit toward the end of the second act, and the transition into the cuckoo bananas finale feels a little abrupt, but once I was able to click into the movie's final gear (a tipping point that could understandably make or break the movie for various viewers), I was back on board. The movie's best line (and a reasonable gauge for whether it'll be your jam or not): "Ere this night does wane, you will drink the black sperm of my vengeance!"
FEMALE MERCENARIES 2: MAD DOCTOR OF ZOMBIE ISLAND (2008, Gary Whitson)
ReplyDeleteFirst time watch, Camp Motion Pictures Blu-ray, 7/10.
2008 was a big year. Some people had been waiting over a decade to find out that FEMALE MERCENARIES ON ZOMBIE ISLAND wasn't in fact resolved. Fortunately, this begins with an intact recap of the battle between Tina Krause & Pamela Sutch in a creek. The post-apocalyptic landscape rolls on in this W.A.V.E. Production: The evil Sutch has developed cloning technology but the rebellion is strong. But who's real & who's a clone? Debbie D... cloned? Laura Giglio... cloned?! Pamela Sutch herself...... CLONED?!? This brain buster of "fun" features special FX that include Tina Krause, fun homemade sci-fi sets, Debbie D, New Jersey, Laura Giglio, "quicksand", Pamela Sutch & short tunics for all. There's even some nuditee. I was impressed by my own enjoyment, particularly when it came to the clones (I always felt ripped off by the title ATTACK OF THE CLONES).
I can't imagine more than about 2% of the FThisMovie community would be at all entertained by the Garden State's own cottage industry of video crud, but Gary Whitson qualifies for today. Folks who aren't familiar with, aware of or allergic to the pruri3nt ple@sures of W.A.V.E. Productions should take a look at the documentary MAIL ORDER MURDER, currently streaming on Tubi.
BODY FEVER (1969, Ray Dennis Steckler)
ReplyDeleteSteckler is the man behind the cinematic ludicrousness of THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES (praise Jeebus for Caps Lock) and RAT PFINK A BOO BOO. He also directed a slew of other awesome/awful flicks before bottoming out in the porn industry, as Skid Row cineastes often do.
Here, Steckler channels Raymond Chandler through his low-budget perspective with fairly effective results and doubles as the lead, portraying a detective in search of a dame (natch). I loved his meta-first person narrative, which including much reflection from his filmmaker POV; lines like “My whole life has been a movie, I just got the reels mixed up” make this a dirt-cheap existential journey into the mind of an exploitation auteur.
OK, CHINATOWN this ain’t, but I enjoyed the sleazy So-Cal vibes and the performances not only by Steckler but by RDS stock players Carolyn Brandt and Gary Kent, plus the cameo by fellow low-end exploitationer Coleman Francis. This may be Steckler’s second most cogent and compelling flick behind his excellent semi-roughie THE THRILL KILLERS. I’d also put his hallucinatory Franco-esque effort SYNTHIA, THE DEVIL’S DOLL up there as well. As for his other films, I love ‘em, but objectively, it’s definitely buyer beware!
I’d like to thank Patrick and the F This Movie! crew for considering my category suggestion! I love so many of these rock-bottom movie raconteurs and am grateful for a day when we can explore their obscure, incredible oeuvres!
Bonus(?) review: FREE SPACE! REDUX
28 YEARS LATER (2025, Danny Boyle)
There ton’s of opinions out there already about this, so just a quick take.
28YL is uneven in its tone, unpredictable in its story’s direction, unprecedented—for a horror film—in its cinematic beauty. It’s a coming of age story and meditation on mortality, taking place in an age of post-Rage Virus quarantine. It’s superlatively scary in stretches but doesn’t consistently maintain suspense as it wonders into family drama; think The Last of Us kinda vibe. So—mixed feels on this, and yet overall, I appreciate that it refuses to stick to the established zombie zeitgeist.
I found Alfie Williams superlative in the lead role and loved Ralph Fiennes supporting turn. And man, again—gorgeous filmmaking here. I thought MIDSOMMAR and NOSFERATU were visually stunning, and this ranks right up there with them. 28 YEARS LATER will definitely be divisive. I urge you to see it in a theater and come to your own conclusion.
Scala!!! (2023): What better way to celebrate Exploitation Auteur Day than watching a documentary about a British cinema that specialized in exploitation movies. This was recommended by Adam a while ago. Right away I bought the blu-ray, put it in 'the pile' upon receiving it, then forgot about it. Well, Adam was right, it's a great documentary, with the usual problems that comes with this kind of movie, you come out of it with a list of flicks you want to watch or rewatch. It starts with mentioning Eraserhead, which made me realised I haven't seen it in a while. That being said, it's kind of a regular documentary, a bunch of talking heads describing interesting and weird events you wish you could've been part of, or witness, with shots of the various movies they're talking about or scenes of people doing their thing. The blu-ray has a ton of extras, including a bunch of shorts, that I haven't watched yet.
ReplyDeleteI've watched the HG Lewis interview, Splatterfest Exhumed thus far. Enjoyed!
DeleteBlood Feast (1963)
ReplyDeleteA maniacal Egyptian store owner slaughters young women to prepare the ultimate feast from their body parts. It’s my first encounter with Hershell Gordon Lewis, the “Godfather of Gore”, and the gore is indeed pretty great, with gallons of red paint oozing from the screen. Other than that, the writing is pleasantly dreadful, some shots are out of focus, there’s wacky church organ music playing, the actors read their lines from cue cards offscreen like they're on SNL, Egyptian gods are somehow involved, it's wild stuff.
Crash and Burn (1990, dir. Charles Band)
ReplyDeleteOne of the only OG Full Moon movies I had never seen, especially from the Paramount years when things were better. It's one of the most Full Moon movies ever given all the people that worked on it. Small-scale sci-fi that ends well and is never boring. Another director probably could have made it even better, because directing has never been Charles Band's strongest suit. Might try to write a Full Moon Fever about it.
MISADVENTURES OF FANNY STARR (1981, Gary Whitson)
ReplyDeleteFirst-time watch, Camp Motion Pictures Blu-ray, 8/10.
This is the second of Whitson early super8 shorts that I've seen & they're both treats. A woman wearing a "Satan Lives" T-shirt is @bducted by Gary Whitson so he can purify her in his above-ground pool. Her twin sister is a detective, so she naturally tries to solve the murder. It's 20 minutes long & Whitson jams a very entertaining twist into the last few minutes, bolstered by some absolutely charming, homemade special FX.
No AL ADAMSON flicks yet?? C'mon, Junesplotation pals!! Don't make me pull out my copy of DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN!
ReplyDeleteJessi Girl's is an entertaining and very exploitative western from Adamson that would recommend. I had a good time with it last June.
DeleteJessi's Girls...
Delete".....you know i wish that i was Jessi's Girls.....where can i find a woman like that"
DeleteHey I watched Carnival Magic on Magic day!
DeleteM.A.M.-- You saved my eyes tonight!!
DeleteAnother try...
ReplyDeleteTHERESE AND ISABELLE (1968, dir. Radley Metzger)
Influenced by literature and the cinematic styles of Europe, Radley Metzger was a unique figure in the American side of e-r-o-t-i-c cinema. He aimed for high production values and sophisticated stories. Therese and Isabelle, which was shot with a European cast and crew, tells the story of a romantic relationship between two students (portrayed by grown-up actresses) attending an exclusive girl’s boarding school in France. The emotional intimacy between them is the aspect that Metzger primarily focuses on. Therese is the protagonist, shown as a student and as an adult visiting the school grounds. Past and present merge many times throughout the film, most poignantly at the conclusion. Watching Therese and Isabelle in 2025 emphasizes how rooted the film is in the 1960s.
Fascinating to see what direction folks go for "autuers"
ReplyDeleteLike JM I also went Jean Rollin with " The Nude Vampire"
And it's the only one I have never seen, Cronenberg's " Scanners" over on the Criterion channel
My man! ✌️😄
DeleteThe Flesh and Blood Show 1972
ReplyDeleteAuteur: Pete Walker
Overall a decent British slasher with some unusual choices in the musical score sometimes injecting levity. The weakest bit is the last 15 or so minutes, where it felt like things could have been tied together in a more interesting way. And there were a couple faces of note: Jenny Hanley who was quite striking, and Tristan Rogers who had hints of a young Martin Kove around the eyes.
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
ReplyDeleteRisible entry in the big monster sub-genre due to 1) the titular beast being a mere lizard on miniature sets, 2) the film being concerned with every plot thread except the monster’s: hero Don Sullivan’s buddy buddy relationship with the Sheriff, his little sister Missy’s battle with a crippling disease, and the local rich Curmudgeon’s hatred of everyone and everything. As if this 64 minute drive-in wonder needs any more padding, Sullivan sings three songs! Directed by Ray (Killer Shrews, Poptarts) Kellogg. Production manager Ben Chapman did NOT play the Creature from the Black Lagoon; that was a different Ben Chapman.
Tomcat Angels(1991 Dir Don Edmonds)
ReplyDeleteThe director of Ilsa She Wolf of the SS writes and directs a Skinemax late-nighter filled with sex, nudity and stock footage. Four women all who look like they walked straight out of a 90s lingerie catalog(Thats the plus of the movie)who are among the elite pilots in the country. We open the movie with them graduating from Top Gun and the news that two of the pilots are being moved into a combat zone in the Gulf. So of course we get two sex scenes of the women saying bye to their boyfriends and commanding officers. After arriving at the gulf one of the pilots is shot down. Her Boyfriend/CO and the three other woman collectively known as the Tomcat Angels decide to go rescue their fellow ace. For some reason while only wearing their boots, dogtags, underwear and tank tops. This is really just laughably bad. Maybe the worst made movie I seen all month and thats saying something. The flight scenes are all shot with the camera between the knees looking around. While the aerial footage is all stock footage of mis matching planes and none of the action matching the acting voiceover. One of the only movies I ever scene where two people go to a park to see the view and we another stock footage shot this time of a skyline from a parking garage. Again this one was terrible.
Camille 2000 1969
ReplyDeleteAuteur: Radley Metzger
A somewhat elevated erot'c romance, as in things are a bit classy here. Case in point: the male lead Nino Castelnuovo is the same one from frickin' Umbrellas of Cherbourg!
OK the story is decent, but I feel could have done a little better in emphasizing the emotional ups and downs. The most interesting thing for me were the CHOICES in visuals/directing/editing. So many eye-catching sets, decorations, and outfits. The scene with the rack focus back and forth between flower vase and climax face. Wild edits of conversations or of Happy Birthday signs.
The content makes this already a worthy Junesploitation flick, but the rest makes me think I might revisit this anyway.
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
ReplyDeleteIs Renny Harlin an exploitation auteur? Probably not. But I was having movie night with a group of friends who wanted to celebrate Jaws, and then we paired it with Deep Blue Sea.
So, I love this movie and its a great time. Does Sharksploitation need to come back?!?
outstanding double feature on the momentous JAWS anniversary!
DeleteQ 1982
ReplyDeleteAuteur: Larry Cohen
Michael Moriarty is amazing! This movie is amazing!
Crazy stuff happening all over this movie. Deaths, dialogue, edits, scatting, kites!! So damn entertaining. If you haven't seen this and you enjoy nonsense now and then... do not seek any more information about this movie and just watch it!