Genre Baby's World

Thor is wonderful

2011-05-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've seen it 3x now, contemplating seeing it again tomorrow.

I definitely would love an Asgard only movie. Everyone/thing works save for Miss Portman who has yet to convince me as Jane Foster.

I've felt wonder and awe while watching Thor. I completely believed in the universe so utterly and vastly, these feelings I haven't felt since the first Star Wars and Planet of the Apes. I was so skeptical when I saw the first images of Asgard and the Asgardians, but my love for Norse Mythology got in the way of Marvel's version. And in the Marvel film universe, this version of Thor is perfect. I like the scientific rationale over the magic here (but if the Doctor Strange movie gets a go, I hope they keep his magic as you can't blow off Stephen Strange's powers with science).

This is in my top 3 for super hero films: Iron Man, Hellboy and Thor. All of these completely took me into the world and characters they described, but the only one I'd want to be a part of is Asgard.

I hope there is a good deal more Asgard footage that will be included on the dvd.

Let there be a Thor sequel with the same crew and cast. I want to see more Mjolnir action and visit more of the nine realms. Verily, I say thee YAY.

Change of heart...

2011-05-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

With me pretty much clearing out almost all of my Eurocult films, a lot of comics and books and such, I've decided that less is more across the board.

I'd love to be a computer user solely through the iPad. In fact the only reason why I still fire up the soon-to-be gone iMac is to either use the screenwriting software which the iPad will unfortunately lack professional apps for for some time. Both Final Draft and MovieMagicScreenWriter have pretty much either gone back to the drawing board or chickened out (in the case of MMSW > fucking boo man). Other than this and the need to sync to an actual computer, I use my iPad for 90% of my computing now.

Who'da thunk it even just 2 months ago when I was trying to get a smaller Mac to replace this iMac.

Not me.

> So the less is more thing has extended to what I collect as well.

Gone is the majority of the Eurocult films (only a few gray markets). I've kept all but 1 of my bikesploitation films (I doubt those will go away) and even a lot of titles I thought I'd hang onto. With so many of the westerns and such available digitally, it really doesn't make sense to keep the dvds any more.

Oh and blu ray was a waste of my time and $. I've sold off every last title.

Comics: I thought I was gung ho back into Captain America, but I can see only the Winter Soldier stuff from the Russian angle is still holding my attention. I'll pick up the new Moon Knight in trades, same for the 2nd volume of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the promise of an amazing concept fell flat on it's ass around issue 3 of volume 1. I LOVE Green Arrow, but no one can write the guy.

Anyway, so expect reviews and the like here occasionally, as I try to cut down on spending on every last thing I don't need.

Oh and btw, THOR was awesome!

Clay Pigeon a.k.a. A Trip to Kill preliminary thoughts and lots of spoilers

2011-05-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised with Clay Pigeon (a.k.a. A Trip to Kill).

The performances by actors I generally don't like were quite good and the core story was excellent and very familiar to me. :)

Despite my misgivings about Tom Stern's acting ability, outside of a couple of moments where his character Joe whined a bit much, he was actually pretty good as a prototype Rambo/Snake Plissken styled veteran gone hippie.

Rambo in the sense of letting himself go to seed both inside and out to the point of a slow-burning crack up, and both Rambo/Plissken for their disdain of authority and some interesting butt kick towards the end of the film.

Quick note: when talking about Rambo here, it's in reference to David Morell's First Blood characterization, not the more heroic celluloid take Sly Stallone offered up a decade later. Speaking of which, I wonder if the script writers read First Blood when writing this as they mention the final straw triggers which pushed Rambo over-the-edge several times in the first few scenes of Clay Pigeon.

Telly Savalas was also really good as a surprisingly subdued button pusher, allowing for Stern's P.T.S.D. affected vet to explode verbally and physically by films' end.

In the WTF casting department, Burgess Meredith as an old man wanting to be a hippie and Robert (man from U.N.C.L.E.) Vaughn as the drug kingpin. Bad choices both. Vaughn won the worst acting award for this film and I'm grateful he was underused. I've never liked Burgess, although he was pretty goofy here.
While I am under the impression that Stern overacted in the majority of the counterculture films I've seen him in, he's really pretty good here. If I really want to nitpick about his portrayal he's about five years too old for the part (ex-cop who volunteered for Vietnam, whose near death experience made him go hippie) but he made it work, particularly when the stuff hit the fan in the final act.
Basically, ex-cop and vet Joe Ryan has gone hippie upon his return from 'Nam. A chance arrest introduces Joe to Telly Savalas' government agent who desperately wants to find L.A. drug kingpin Henry N. (Vaughn). Against his wishes, Joe is thrown into the mix of tracking down Vaughn's character (a clay pigeon in the rifle sights), as more of his friends die Joe's becomes increasingly aware that he never left the war behind. As he snaps towards the films' climax, Joe gets Vaughn but not Savalas who unearthed all the baggage the vet brought back from 'Nam.

This was much better than I hoped with only a couple of points where the film almost crawled to a dead stop. When Stern or Savalas were on screen they propelled the story along, when the film focused on anyone else that was the where the hiccups started.

I love finding prototypes of characters I adore (and am trying to recreate myself), so I wouldn't mind if this surfaced as a real dvd one of these days. As for Stern, Clay Pigeon makes me think I'll see something else with the guy. Even if him playing hippie wasn't always successful.

Another note: I can only wonder if John Carpenter saw this film as he was preparing the Escape from New York script (the first he completed in 1974). It's too bad the film abruptly ends with Stern's Joe all but ready to kill Telly Savalas for making him realize he never left the 'war'.

well...

2011-05-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

I found Clay Pigeon!

More when I review it.

Seriously cut down my dvd purchases, sold a lot too, Clay Pigeon was a necessity because of a character I've written and might do more with. I'm already wincing at the folks on the soundtrack but nothing can be worse than Keoma's score despite that movie being amazing otherwise. Live like a Cop... if I still want that a few months down the line, I'll either rent or buy used.

If I watched as many movies as I did even 18 months ago, I'd be reviewing a lot more here but as boutique dvd companies slow down on Eurocult offerings and digital consumption grows (which does suck) > I just can't justify buying films that are sitting around collecting dust.

Of course, I've kept the pivotal films (my favorite Carpenter, Argento, Martino etc.) and might pick up something else somewhere along the way, but buying for the sake of just owning a film I haven't watched in at least 9 months, well...

it sometimes makes me wonder about my desire to write film. Hell, I just want my characters out there in some form ;)

and they will be....

and this is exactly why I have no desire to see Sucker Punch now

2011-03-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

from \Film

Boy, do I agree.

Don't tell us one thing and give us the exact opposite. The last thing I am is a feminist, this girl power shit is ridiculous when you consider we always have been, and always will be strong:

we give birth to you people...

we put up with your shit (and, you, us)...

strong women never have to remind us they are women. They just are.

This gets even more ridiculous when Zack Synder implies almost mindless, scantily clad girls are empowering when they have kotow to men who are essentially rapists.

Cue: never mind this shit.

John Carpenter's greatest women were not scantily clad, sex objects (Leigh in Assault on Precinct 13, Stevie Wayne in The Fog and Laurie Strode in Halloween). They fought back for many different reasons, and all three could be considered sexy for that element alone. And these were all exploitation movies. Just another reason for me to love John Carpenter. His female characters who do rise above the situation rarely ever have to remind us they are women. Just like Romero's non-white characters ever have to remind us of their ethnicity. They just are. They just do. And its a shame that more filmmakers do not go this route.

Once I realized Sucker Punch is a man's take on how to make submissive women come across as "dominant" via their fantasies, I said never mind.

Musick!

2011-03-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Them Virginians are hitting hard again.

I got my crusty wish Parasytic's second album, Poison Minds is available on cd exclusively through Relapse.

Now if Hail ! Hornet (who aren't strictly Virginian) and Suzukiton release their sophmore albums this year, I will be pretty darn happy.

As much as I dig Erik Larson's geetar stuff, he's a killer punk-metal drummer. So I'm looking forward to gettin' sick on more Parasytic ;)

If I had unlimited funds, I'd fund all these bands releases pronto.

And, yeah, I'd give Larson the dosh to record solo album #3.

Why? Because Erik is a damn great musician who deserves to be in the same space/place as Lamb of God.

Well there was one good thing about Raro video coming to the USA

2011-03-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man... is coming. That is one of the very few region 2 movies I lament not owning any more (hell I don't have a multi-region player). But no matter...

LLACDLAM is one of the single most insane Italian police films from the mid 70s (imagine an extremely violent take on Starsky & Hutch). I think this was the first Ray Lovelock movie I saw...and it just kicked my tush so HARD.

I cannot wait to own this in mid May, don't care if the extras from the Italian dvd were never ported over. I remember hearing about Raro releasing their product in the States and I hoped beyond hope that Live Like a Cop... would be one of their State-side releases.

Oh! Italian Manly man awesome double feature with this and THE HEROIN BUSTERS. Can't wait.

Yeah! My second favorite bit of Ray-Ray finally on US dvd.

Now if I'd just get to rewatching all this juicy Euro-cult and American Drive In stuff I've got piling up.

An aside, my boss almost lived Street Trash yesterday. Apparently they found some ancient rancid bubbily. I'm hoping she didn't drink any (I didn't notice any technocolor goop but...)...as long as the label didn't say Tenafly Viper, she's safe. Where's Freddy when you need him?

The Thing

2011-03-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this movie...

The more I watch, the more in awe I am.

Thank you Kurt, Mister Lancaster, John, Ennio, Rob Bottin and everyone else.

The prequel will Not even come close this genius.

Like the recent True Grit reimaging, this excellent film owes everything to it's amazing source material.

Thank you John W. Campbell a.k.a. Don Stuart :)

MPAA or Cable Channel Rating: GL

2011-03-09T17:32:00.000-08:00

GL for Graphic Language.

LOL...that's a new rating to me. I'm presuming it's a Cable-centric rating rather than the MPAA, but I had to laugh when I saw this tacked onto Zombie's Halloween 2 a little while ago.

I gotta say the movie isn't too bad with the sound turned off.

Every so often, I watch movies I love with the sound turned off to see if I can understand the story with the visuals alone. If I can, that's a mark of a great script and a really good director imo.

Right now, Enzo Castellari wins hands down, Keoma is amazing silent. Certainly much better than when the shitty "score" is blaring out everything but the awesome visuals. Carpenter works silently too, but the dialog and music so damn great it's a sin to shut it off.

Guess I'll add Zombie to mix of directors who can really tell a story with visuals alone. I kind of knew that anyway given Rob's eye, but... it's pretty neat to see it.

I bet he'd crack up if he saw his movies labelled "Graphic Language."

All this said, I think the Graphic Language will work wonders for Tyrannosaurus Rex. Just knowing the genre this will be in has me giddy and wishing that Lords of Salem is a huge hit so Rob can make T. Rex as raunchy, gory, crazy and fun as he wants.

Anyway...

Am really looking forward to the Fright Night remake now

2011-03-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Caught the original Fright Night on cable last night. Great concept and vampire, terrible, too-campy performances from everyone else. And not one of the actors playing the teens convinced me who they were.

So to see a very teen-centric retread on the original would work for me. As would the Las Vegas subburbs. As would Peter Vincent as a gothy type of Vegas illusionist/Van Helsing. So the cast blew an otherwise really good and fun idea which makes me want to see the remake even more now.

Looking forward to this August fright-fest.

One I'd like to see released: Clay Pigeon a.k.a. A Trip to Kill

2011-03-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, Tom Stern annoyed me in his overreaching/unconvincing biker turns, ANGELS FROM HELL and HELL ANGELS '69 (where he very wisely took a back seat to the real Hells Angels), yet I'm surfing on eMoviePoster.com tonight and stumble across a really cool-looking locandina for a 1971 grindhouse action flick called CLAY PIGEON.

Imagine my horror while studying said locandina when I connected the real interesting hippy-looking bare chested shooter with Tom Stern. There's no doubt who this guy is. Stern was a ham. Stern was very over-the-top in a time when acting over-the-top was a badge of honor in cinema. That I presume he and Telly Savalas would abosolutely O.T.T. each other right off the screen in CLAY PIGEON, is just something too much fun to contemplate, no matter how bad the film actually is.

Of course, this is NOT available in the U.S. But the poster? It's fun.

And the movie concept? Ex-soldier gone hippie who the FBI hires as an undercover narc. I like that, and not just because I've written a character like this (at least ex'Nam-soldier as cop gone very undercover hippie). This film sounds right up my alley and would probably make a great triple feature with DEATH OF A SNOWMAN and THE HEROIN BUSTERS.

So despite my wince factor at Tom Stern's involvement, I do hope this surfaces one day. Yeah, and I wouldn't mind an official copy of ANGELS FROM HELL too. Not for Stern, but for Dirty "Dirt" Denny, a real Bakerfield biker at the time the film was shot. "Dirt" was in a lot of the bikesploitation films and always made a fun impression. Probably because he was the earliest donner of a nose piercing I'd come across, (be it a nail through his septum, or a ring). And because he was just so '60s biker cool.

If I remember I may bit on the CLAY PIGEON locandina. Knowing me, I'll forget but I have a feeling this film might surface on dvd pretty soon. I hope so...I need some early '70s soldiering-hippie action.

2011 Movie Score Card Part 1:

2011-03-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

2011 Genre Movie Score Card Part I

As I sit here repeating dialog from The Thing and drool over Kurt Russell's manly beard, here's the beginning of my Score Card for movies theatrically released in 2011. Okay, one very late 2010 in there too:

True Grit: Amazingly amazing not even the last unnecessary 5-10 minutes could ruin this excellent film released in the last few days of 2010. So glad I saw this in the theatre. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon show you how it's done. This was a very intelligent, mean and spaghetti western-like western. The violence was extremely realistic and brutal (as it should be). And some of the minor characters' steal the leads thunder. I would love to see Matt Damon and Josh Brolin do another western. So nice to see Josh redeemed from the mess that was NOT Jonah Hex.

Rango: I hate it when trailers lie. Rango looked perfect; Industrial Light & Magic's first animated movie with a really fun voice cast and it was a spoof on westerns? Sign me up. Okay, a few laughs including the Hunter S. Thompson bit in the beginning but once "Rango" hit the town of Dirt the tone of the film changed. It was too serious, a downer and at least 20-30 minutes too long. I would have preferred to see our lounge lizard wind up in some other genre, Depp's charming chameleon lost his charm about 10 minutes after arriving in Dirt. The western element just didn't work. And boy did I groan when the Spirit of the West was a rip on the Man with No Name (yep it was supposed to be Clint)...bad...bad...bad.

So as of early March 2011 1 win, 1 loss.

Next up, Sucker Punch.

I hope to catch Meek's Cutoff in early April, which I hope will be a frontier version of The Thing with human monsters. The paranoia and suspicion looks really good and it's all mountain man Meek's fault.

Now wait a minute...wait a minute...let's do what Mac says...

Puss in Boots (looks hilarious) but do we really have to - ooops Doctor Copper just got his arms munched... -

Rango why were you so flat and no fun to the bone?

2011-03-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

I don't get it, on paper Rango should have kicked many a tail. The creature/world design was awesome, the voice talent all there, yet the story and execution were flat...

So very flat and no fun at all. Sure, there were a few short moments of laughs but you see most of them on the trailers.

If Rango were 30 minutes shorter and more humorous it would have been worth seeing. Too bad.

I do have to give props to Ryan Hurst, whose inbred, possum stupid son was really funny. The perfect voice, too bad he didn't have more of a part.

Oh well...not even worth renting unless you want to see the debut of ILM as animators.

True Grit: Truly damn good

2011-03-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

True Grit (2010)

Ratings:

WW (Wild Western indeed)
GG (very realistic)
FFF1/2

Westerns, like horror and some sci-fi, allows filmmakers to tackle  issues they can't or won't in standard dramas.

Vengeance in the hands of a very literate, strong-willed 14 year old girl who bears a far better grasp on legal issues than some lawyers? Given the frontier justice attitude, you can forgive little Mattie  Ross for being smarter than everyone around her.

She certainly proves she has true grit, as do her reluctant male companions as they hunt down Tom Chaney, the man who murdered her father.

Westerns rule when done right, characterization is pushed to the forefront and the environment is as much a character as Mattie, the cantankerous, drunken, quickdraw Ruben "Rooster" Coburn (Jeff Bridges who steals just about every scene he's in), and the almost-as-funny and talkative Texas Ranger LeBeef (a nearly unrecognizable Matt Damon).

Bridges and Damon were great fun when shooting out bullets or barbs at  one another. The two men have fine character arcs, but Mattie remains  headstrong and unchanged despite the things she is forced to do. Miss Steinfield deserved her Oscar nod, but Jeff Bridges should have won Oscar #2.

A most pleasant surprise was Ed Lee Corbin's Dr. Forrester: I won't ruin part of the reason why I loved him instantly, but he was fabulous. I hoped he'd return later in the film, but his scene was the sole  moment I was not captivated by Mister Bridges awesome, cranky Marshall.

Josh Brolin was great too.

The only downside to the film was the epilogue with the adult Mattie. Pretty useless as the film truly "ended" before this scene. I am also grateful the religious hymn theme song was kept to the credits. Thank goodness, when I heard that awful wailing in the trailer, I prayed this wouldn't turn out to be another Keoma (in which an awesome western is nearly destroyed by god awful folksy-relgious howling). Thankfully, the Coen Brothers spared us.

True Grit reminds me of why I love westerns, and gives me hope that character and story still do matter in Hollywood.

* Props to the Coens for making the violence in this PG-13 film very realistic and unsettling. Matt Damon did one hell of job with his self-induced injury. This movie did NOT feel like a PG-13 film at all which is awesome in itself. It is very much a Coen Brothers movie.

** And 100 points to whomever invented just why Rooster is as mean, violent and ornery as they come. His backstory concerning Rooster's ties to Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson was a stroke of genius.

Memoirs I'd like to read ...

2011-03-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Music:

Rob Zombie (I'd love to see his side of his story, now that Sean has told hers)
Ginger Fish
Bryan Cox and/or Erik Larson (props if Bryan does the design/art etc. for it)
George Clinton
Mantas (Venom)
Rainey (Discharge Bassist)

Since Chris Adler is taking care of Lamb of God via his drum transcription/memories of recording each LoG record, I'm good for LoG) and since Zakk Wylde's goof ball opus is due in May, double check.

Movies:

Rick Baker
Rob Bottin
John Carpenter
Gianni Garko (with an English Translation pls.)
Sergio Martino (again, English Translation)
Bill Moseley (you know he'd write pure gold)
A Sequel or equally excellent breakdown of Giallos to La Dolce Morte
Robert Quarry (well someone else's take about the late, great Mr. Quarry)

I still need to read Pam Grier's biography...

I'll take this with a grain of salt...

2011-02-28T16:10:00.000-08:00

As much as I'd like to see Franco Nero do another spaghetti western (he hasn't since he filmed that Last Pistolero short about 10 years ago). I've been hearing news about his desire to film this western for YEARS now (was it in early 2005 when Castellari told me about this? I don't remember). So I won't believe until I see production proof. I know the Italian film industry has all but dried up (so damn tragic I won't even begin to lament), but between Tarantino promising all these projects which never materialize and the false starts for this western, pardon me while my enthusiasm goes to find something else to go holy shit over.

Okay, I am NOT a Tarantino fan. He writes good dialog, but his films are not my thing. All I can say is if this does get made, I want one more Italian actor in the saddle: GIANNI "I am Your Pallbearer!" GARKO.

Personally I'm far more excited about Rob Zombie wanting to do a full on western because I know he could truly pay homage with something utterly insane and fresh (look at Rejects). And he'd get a better cast too.

And while on the subject of characterization

2011-02-26T16:38:00.001-08:00

Stumbled across The Thing on cable. Am in utter awe. I've adored this movie for almost 20 years now and tonight after hundreds of viewings I saw a couple of -erm- things I never spotted before.

One, the actual partially assimilated dog-face when Blair tells the rest of the men, it's not a dog but an imitation. And two, finally noticed Fuchs' burned face...

On the upswing, the characterizations in this movie are really well done, and as most people know MacReady is my all time favorite Kurt Russell character. Watching this again, that has not changed. I also really love Richard Masur's performance as the dog handler, Clark. Keith David is another of my favorites here. But it's the subtle things Kurt does and says that still knock my socks off. I adore how he embraces the building paranoia by constantly turning around to make sure anyone behind him does not attack. And his vocal delivery is awesome too (at times, he slurs his voice just a little bit to convey drunk or tired). Amazing.

If I get the chance to meet Kurt again, I would love to thank him for this dynamic and realistic performance (and for starting me on my beard jones).

The next time this is screened theatrically I really must go.

Found: some of my best blogging ever...

2011-02-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Of all the sites I've closed over the years besides losing the MacReady/Meaning fan site to my now deceased domain, shutting down the Gli Attori blog I ran with other Eurocult fans 5 years ago is the one that still haunts me the most. That blog contained my best film journalism writing/study, because it forced me to really look at character, acting, storytelling and the vast skill it takes to make movies.

I am thrilled I came across some of the posts (and fan fic) I created for that blog earlier this morning.

Rereading some of the posts reminds me how much I care and adore characters when done right. The European cult cinema of the 60s, 70s and early 80s was filled with all kinds of excess, raunch, gore and really well crafted stories. Men and women were both sex objects and predators. American drive-in/grindhouse cinema didn't always live up to the character standards their European counterparts did, but they were just as fun.

I'm not entirely sure what I will do with these posts: perhaps reprint a few of them somewhere. Only I could compare Street Trash's Mike Lackey to Franco Nero and Ewan McGregor, but I made it work. ;)

I do know that one fan fic will be rewritten with my own characters and tweaking. Nice to find some 'new' material relating to a style of early 70s horror I love (Satanic cults). It'll be a fine ode to one of my most favorite European films (which I reviewed at this blog early on).

The huge pro to this find reinforces exactly why I need to concentrate on my talents NOW.

Not months from now, not years from now (won't waste school-time NOT pursuing writing any more), right NOW. So writing, perhaps more movie related classwork and music are definitely in my near and present future. ;)

and more good news from Fright Night remake

2011-02-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the screenwriter, Madam Marti Noxon, is a fan of the original. Interviews here and here and yes, here. I really like her rationale for setting the film in Las Vegas. And I love the fact that she writes for Mad Men too. No, I haven't watched Mad Men (and need to make a note to watch Californication which looks hilarious), but I know the caliber of writing for AMC's 60s advertising drama so I have even higher hopes for the Fright Night remake now.

I can't seem to remember a screenwriter getting this much press prior to a film's release (much less a remake), but this is excellent news. And I love how much thought went into the revision of the Peter Vincent character. :)

Think this'll be my summer movie to beat (yes, I'm psyched as hell for Captain America) but Fright Night really fits my monster kid sensibilities right now.

If this is true...Rutger Hauer working with Dario Argento?!?

2011-02-21T16:35:00.001-08:00

That would be killer.

Hopefully, Argento's Dracula won't suck. I'm glad the man is still making movies (Seems like he is the one of the last awesome Italian genre auteurs to being doing so), but as I said in the post below, I really do hope Dario has one last great, insane film inside him. Along with Carpenter, Romero and Castellari. I still need to see Giallo...

Now Hobo with a Shotgun...where the heck is it?

Which reminds me I have to finally take a peek at the Shock Festival book and dvd. The Mock Grindhouse tributes released in 2008.

Finally...and some Rob Zombie film gushin'

2011-02-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

I know what I need to do with my writing and I know where to go!

Whooo...now that I have my Vengeance Pitch... YES!

and cool, Empire Magazine has a bit more info regarding Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem (sigh early 2012 release )...but...and it sounds good.

This man is slowly becoming my facto John Carpenter as far as filmmaking. I still love JC's films from 1976-1982 (with a few hold outs beyond that time frame) and harbor a belief, that John Carpenter like Dario Argento, George Romero and Enzo Castellari, still have one more unbelievably great film in them.

The nice thing about Zombie is, he's really only just getting started. Given the awesomeness he cinematically unleashes when he isn't forced to film remakes, I have very high hopes for Lords of Salem. For all the times I've gone back and forth with my opinion (and what is that after all) on Zombie, I always seem to wake up to his music and films. Okay, so I'm not crazy about the Halloween films, but there are elements were absolutely perfect and prove Zombie's eye and nose for fear.

I was just watching Mario Bava's Black Sunday (a.k.a. The Mask of Satan) and thought, wow, if Lords of Salem matches this in atmosphere (and, knowing Rob's atmospheric abilities, it will) it's going to be really amazing.

As fun as Lords of Salem sounds, I can't wait for the man to get down and do Tyrannosaurus Rex ("a really violent, 1970s crime biker movie") - Oh HELL yes....

I knew T. Rex would be crime, but Zombie handling bikesploitation?!? Be still my darkened heart, man.

That is a dream come true. If anyone can make a super sleazy, fun and over-the-top biker crime movie with 70s flare and style, it's Rob. And his band would be really good characters in T. Rex (but please put Ginger in there too Rob... the man's Otis-like biker look for that Santa Cruz show was KILLER... he was such a perfect fit in your world, now let him continue both musically and otherwise).

This really isn't old school save for Rango but...

2011-02-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

The films I'm most looking forward to in 2011 are (interspliced with some almost full moon rage...yeah I'm a werewolf what the fuck else is new?):

anyway movies...current...

Rango: Hilarious looking spaghetti western style animated tale of animals in dusty showdowns and a weird but charming lounge lizard lead.

Sucker Punch: Zach Synder's original story of five young anime styled heroines escaping a mental institution through their imaginations which somehow turn the institution into a bordello (well guys wrote it). Hey this was the guy that gave us the stunning bit of battle with 300. And, yes, there's some whacky musical style WTFs in there too. I couldn't give a crap about girl power, but this looks like it could be fun. The fact that I want to even give anything anime flavored (beyond the old Battle of the Planets/Gotchaman) a look means that it went beyond that register.

Captain America: Of all the super hero filmmage to be unleashed this year, only Captain America has my money outright. It looks like a WWII movie with a lot of fantastic (and that's in an imaginary sense) visuals and action. If they follow Ed Brubaker's incredible storyline (with an eventual tie to the Winter Soldier please?) I will be there for more than one viewing. But so far, I am completely sold. Hopefully, this'll be in 2D somewhere...so far they are saying yes to that..

And finally, yes to Thor. Between the goofy space aged costumes for most of the gods and the meh display until this second trailer posted on Friday, I had no desire to see Thor. With this footage, Kenneth Brannagh's awesome prowess as a director of epic grandure is finally revealed. And, yes, I do like the mix of Ultimate Thor and the traditional Kirbyesque Thor...

And yes to Fright Night remake in 2D

....

Maybe toThe Thing, X-Men First Class, Pirates 4 (Blackbeard!!!) and The Hangover II

Where the hell is a Rob Zombie movie when you need it?

Love or not quite love the latest bit of cinematic creepy craze from Mister Zombie (who I can only respect even if I don't like some of his films)...he always makes some whacky white trash glory I want to see. I'm just waiting for him to deliver another movie like The Devil's Rejects (in that I was so utterly blown away I saw it in the theatres 4x)...I know Rob has it in him...(hey cast Ginger Fish...seriously, in a film and in your band, man.) I think he'd be awesome in Lords of Salem either looking as he did when he performed with Zombie or in his lux Vegas VJ goth boy (he does look very young even with the gray beard...must be his Vegas lineage... doesn't matter...(although a 1000 points if he keeps the beard for Marilyn Manson's next album...)

And now for the I say thee Nay (No way):

Cowboys & Aliens
Super 8

And no way for the SCARE factor:
Apollo 18 (This film has an extremely SCARY vibe to it not sure if I could handle such intensity in the theatre.) Cue chicken noise...

I am so not watching movies right now but...drummers...

2011-02-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

So I decided to add a music component to this blog since I'm listening to more music than watching movies right now.

After watching some YouTubage of Rob Zombie's awesome club show in Santa Cruz (home of Bill Robinson and the Decrepit Birth crew), I sure want to watch all of Rob's original movies again soon.

And Ginger Fish is fuckin' awesome in Rob's lineup (well it is not just the awesome beardage...he's possibly grown for the occasion). I seriously hope Mister Fish becomes Zombie's permanent drummer (sorry Tripp! but this may happen with Slipknot's hopeful return)...Ginger is just a thundering bastard on that kit. Joey is hella technical and nuts and perfectly goth-metal, but Fish just nails it so effortlessly. At times it seems like he's channelling John Bonham. I've never been a Marilyn Manson fan, but thank Zombie for giving this very talented skinsman a chance to shine and for me to finally learn who the heck he is. And, hey, even though this isn't true, I like to think his stage name is Ginger also due to Ginger Baker from one of the most awesome power trios ever, Cream. I would love to see Rob Zombie in a club environment with this line up. Hey YEAH! That's the one that I wanted ;))

I must admit that I am a closet goth. Stop fighting it. Just embrace it. And make sure you keep an eye on Ginger's VJing dates so you can catch him girl.

Speaking of drummers channelling John Bonham, former Alabama Thunderpussy co-founder and monolithic skinsman/artist Bryan Cox must have communed with John Bonham somewhere along the way, because he plays like an utter beast in Suzukiton. It is such a joy to watch him attack his drums and keeping those fugue inducing time signatures, I cannot wait to see this band live. I will go whereever the heck they are in the States. Seriously, Suzukiton are the best band a former member of ATP is involved with. And I know how impressed I am with Erik Larson's seemingly unending talents (hey, I'd love to see a bill with Suzukiton, Birds of Prey and Hail! Hornet).

In ATP, Bryan was great fun to watch and listen to as his musicianship grew, but it feels like he's been playing forever in Suzukiton. He just gets so into the instru-mental math metal here, it's perfect. I may have join faceblech so I can stream the new album at work (X-x). There's so much intense, tribal, fierce skill. I could watch Bryan play all day. So giddy for the official release of Suzukiton's second album. If any band has me excited about being a metalhead right now, it's these guys. Suzukiton take the technically slack-jawed stomp of Lamb of God and make it even more complex, yet incredibly easy to get into.

Seeing (indirectly) and hearing Bryan, Ginger, Erik and Chris Adler suddenly makes me remember that drums were the first instrument I tried to learn; twice no less. I may dig bassists thanks to Martin Eric Ain, Lemmy, Jo Bench, John Campbell and Rainey (Discharge still kicking out the U.K. hardcore jams almost 35 years later!!!)...but lately the time-keeping slot has been my front and center. Even the current devil-dude in Electric Wizard (Shaun Rutter), has me paying attention to that band for the first time in ever. ;)

Suzukiton proves you don't need vocals to kick some serious ass (as Goblin did back in the 70s before they started to)...and Ginger proves might is right with a side of Monster Mash ;)

XYY Chromosome from Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails real?

2011-02-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

The weird science found within Dario Argento's second film, 1971's Cat 'o' Nine Tails seems to be something of a reality.

The possible real life counterpart of Cat's XYY gene is the focus of an upcoming National Geographic Explorer episode called Born to Rage. Host Henry Rollins (he of Black Flag infamy etc.) took the test to see if he did indeed have the Monoamine oxidase A gene (a.k.a. the "Warrior Gene") as did several other aggressive men from various elements of society.

I'm eager to see the outcome.

Scary that a scientific rationale in a horror/mystery film may actually exist.

So this begs the question, if certain men are predisposed to having this warrior gene, then how do you explain ultra aggressive/violent women?

Perhaps Dario and/or Henry and Nat Geo can shed some light.
Looking forward to this episode of Nat Geo's Inside...

40 years later, Argento's scientific episionage tinged Cat o' Nine Tails remains a great movie. His least gory too. I still consider the grave robbing scene quite scary and mildly disturbing. Cat is the Argento film I've been watching repetatively during my commutes lately.

I must be the only grindhouse fan

2011-01-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

who reviewed Death of a Snowman and absolutely loves the movie. And that's too bad.

Most blaxploitation (and ANY exploitation film from the 70s) really shouldn't be taken so damn seriously. DoaS knows this (with the unintentionally funny dubbing and opening scene) but there is a great story lurking beneath the surface.

And Bima Stagg's hippie assassin just rules. But it's not just Bima's hitman that makes this import so much fun and so darn good. The revelation of who the War on Crime are is not only telling, but in thinking about this today (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) this is a bit of a bummer in how MLK's dream failed. There is a little bit of a Malcolm X tie in with certain characters, so on that level there's a bit of reality in DoaS that is lacking in a lot of blaxploitation.

As I read various reviews of DoaS around the internet, I'm kind of surprised that people are taking this so seriously and not just having fun with the film. If you don't have any expectations, you'll have even more of a good time. I love the core story, I love the supporting characters and I think this is really good film for its genre.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

ah... didn't you say the heavy was coming...

2011-01-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

not watching many movies right now... but I think that will change now that my course of action has changed.

the music is pumping in the veins. Revisting a few older faves: Immolation, Alabama Thunderpussy (alas why did they split up?), Discharge, Corrosion of Conformity, a little ancient Metallica. Newer discoveries like Lamb of God and just about every side project from ATP's Erik Larson have kept my ears happily perked up

Strangely (and sadly), Bolt Thrower is nowhere to be found. It kind of breaks my heart as the Bolts were my poison for 20 years, still the break was my doing. I just lost the love for almost everything as a result of university and never really was able to return to my pre-college admiration of all that remained.

Thankfully, I'm still a metalhead and closet punk...perhaps if the Bolts release one more album I'll find them back on my rotation...

By and large, the "stoner/doom" metal these days is something I veer away from. I'm far more angst than depressed and most of the stuff in this genre is incredbily gloomy (see Triptykon, who I wish I could just adore: but Tom takes me to places I'd rather not go despite the godly rifforama).

I need upbeat and fun, as music does influence my mood. I'm okay with labels/tags, but this particular stoner metal tag annoys me. Even though Electric Wizard are deeply fuelled by drugs and it's probably better that you listen to them high, I'd rather just call them a very fun heavy bunch of sleazy, goof-ball Satanic themed slothheads.

I so want to love Electric Wizard, I never got into their material before their 2007 opus Witchcult Today. WCT is a brilliantly heavy, dope-fuelled mash of bad 60s and 70s occult movies, kitsch and most other wonderous points of sleaze that truly floats my boat. I really, really, really like this album (hey, the Hammer horror film Satan from Devil Rides Out cover is fucking genius - my favorite depiction of the classic goat-looking Satan) and I just love the dead heavy catchy sloth. The song that has been stuck on rotation in between Lamb of God and almost everything Erik Larson has/is doing is the most brilliant doom song ever written, the hilariously perfect The Satantic Rites of Drugula (supposively main weed wizard Jus Osborn is preparing to make a film on Drugula!!! Yes please!). The riffs on this monster are so hook-laden, dense and perfect... and the goofy yet fun lyrics really make it sound far more upbeat than it is. Maybe because I get it and dig it. The whole album is quite listenable despite the intentionally 70s sounding distortion (the Wizards recorded this and their 2010 follow up Black Masses on vintage equipment). WCT is an album I wish they builded upon with their current release Black Masses.

Black Masses is quite good, but doesn't have the momentum or the truly fun vibe that WCT does. All that said, I'm thrilled to say, yeah I dig the Wizards after years of failing to understand them.

And I'm happy as hell for EW guitarist Liz Buckingham who was a passing, but cool, acquaintance in my early 1990s doom metal days. While I miss her genius Celtic Frosty punk rifforama from 13, she is a perfect fit for Electric Wizard.

I am not sure I'd see the band despite wanting to support Miss Buckingham. The idea of getting completely wasted via contact highs during their show is a bit off-putting (hey I love the Drugula character and songs but that's one thing I don't think I'd like to act out per say).

I may think like an acid queen, but I don't do drugs.

I don't care that others do, but if the "fog" machine like clouds of weed smoke wafting toward the Wizards as they perform live are any indication, I'd be stoned for life. Still, I will definitely look forward to future releases and maybe give their first with Liz a spin too. I wish them well...Drugula, indeed (can't wait for that movie folks).

I've always really liked the Southern metal/punk stuff, born by long time faves Corrosion of Conformity who still carry the torch like few others can. In fact, CoC's lyrics were the quote in my High School Yearbook some 25 years ago. These guys still kick all kinds of tail, and, I happen to love Mike Dean's vocals (so many people are down on his punk warbling, not me because I came up with C.o.C prior to the glorious whiskey roars of Pepper Kennan), but I love C.o.C. no matter who sings. See also their brilliant side project, Righteous Fool.

Southern boogie punk metal also borne forth by Alabama Thunderpussy (R.I.P.) Now there's a tour I'm bummed I missed: C.O.C. and ATP. The bliss of heavily bearded bourbon fuelled bad assery bar none.

I love heavy. Period. But I need my aggression. And I like catchiness too. Which somehow makes this post dove tail into thrash and death metal. Ah yes, death metal, the genre that really spurned my desire to attempt to play (and still does).

I'd like to enjoy more Immolation these days, after 23 years I still marvel at Ross Dolan's 9th plane of Hell bellows (of which Decrepit Birth's beyond awesome Bill Robinson also mastered). That unholy warble of Ross' along with John Tardy's legendary gurgles were what I aspired to roar like, alas I could not get my howls that low. Even though some folks though I was Ross! when I brazenly took up the mike in their rehearsal room back in the day. But the man's unholy rumble has since dropped about 4 octaves ...damn...). Ross, like the awesome Martin Van Drunen (in a class by himself), is one of the forefathers of perfected extreme evil war cry.

Musically, Immolation often get so jaw-droppingly technical the vibe is unfortunately lost on me. Closer to a World Below remains my favorite album, although I did pick up a few tracks from their latest Majesty & Decay (perfect album title guys). I don't doubt their awesome talents, I just wish it was more straightforward. Still, for them to still be going (23! years now)...pretty impressive.

I'm rather picky with the technicalities in metal playing these days. Decrepit Birth's awesome technoramajama of LSD and weed-laced death (or is that cosmic expansionist extreme metal? since only the celestial infernally fired vocals of Mister Robinson fit the death tag) has finally wrapped itself around my cerebellum. The constant blast beats are still somewhat grating, but the musicality surrounding Robinson (the most entertaining metal vocalist out there, and bless this true punker, Bill is very much out there in every way and that is a huge compliment), is pretty darn good. I hope to see DB eventually... just to listen and watch Bill do his cosmic mannerisms to the music. He rules...

Outside of DB, only Lamb of God's dizzingly and perfectly heavy Southern stomped math-metal (ugh math, but they use it as a power for good and utterly great when it comes to music) is about as technical as I go.

I know me. If I were in a band, it would be something like Witchcult Today EW, Burn the Priest (Lamb of God's earlier more punky insane groove mash) Discharge and Hail! Hornet, Dismember, Axehandle or really the bombastic boogie fueled side of Alabama Thunderpussy. It would be simple, very very heavy and fun.

And on that note...

Birds of Prey is my favorite sideproject from the multitalented ex-ATP thunderhead Erik Larson (he of the most awesome beardage in music and strummage/drummage). BoP are really raunchy (in a great down-South kind of way) sounding old school death. And they give old school Entombed a fair shake. The latest BoP album (the HellPreacher) is BoP's best and the lyrical content is amongst the most messed up I've ever heard. It's so filthy in sound and concept, I almost feel like I need to take a shower. If BoP ever get to NYC, I will go. Think Charles Manson by way of a Waco-like prophet in prison and you pretty much get the gist. Just add in some killer riffs and hooks and damn. I do wish the vocalist would have done more of the Southern spoken word stuff on the album, that sets it up so perfectly. And I hope there will be a fourth BoP album. Why more folks didn't groove on the HellPreacher as I do, have no idea. It's a great album, better than most death released these days.

I, too, dig the crusty grime of Erik Larson's skin bashing on the awesome Hail!Hornet debut and even more crusty and great punk fueled Parasytic (they're touring Europe, but not here?), I can't wait for album #2 from the Hornets. And hope that Parasytic's second album does get the cd treatment. I think it's awesome folks are releasing vinyl, but this is one area where I am not so retro...

The Might Could is Erik Larson's latest Southern tinged more rock sounding experiment, and it's slowly growing on me. I doubt the man is starting to mellow (because Erik has always straddled the extreme with more mainstream material), I just have to give this time because BoP and H!H are too great to stop playing. My only issue at this point remains the scratchy howls of T.J., they strangely don't quite work for me. Erik's similar whiskey scarred vox do work very well (he has some variance in his vocals as his excellent solo albums attest). I completely understand why it was done though... but that shouldn't deter anyone else from giving this very good band a whirl. I will definitely stay tuned and support the Might Could.

I do lament that we'll probably never see another Axehandle release though... I can dream about another Axehandle album somewheres down the line, but I wish both Erik and fellow skin thumper Bryan Cox and their bands nothing but good and my constant support.

BTW, I can see why Larson shies away from wanting to do a BoP tour, the insane riffing on Warriors of Mud...The Hellfighters sounds like it would be exhausting as brilliant as this song is. That's almost tied with Lamb of God's incredible A Devil in God's Country for most killer riffs ever...

Ah yes, Lamb of God. The band that does THE heavy lifting these days, is, of course, Lamb of God. The good ol' Lamb Boys are righteously amazing (the rhythm section are the best in Metal. I could listen to Chris Adler and John Campbell bounce off each other for hours without the vocals and geetars). I hope their next album takes Wrath to a meaner level. Yes, I tripped over my heels when I hear the pre-LoG Burn the Priest stuff: Holy crap, Lamb does groovy grindcore! And it was amazing in a completely different way than than how Lamb are awesome. I came to these guys unbelievably late (I thought they were Christian Metal for ages and it took ages to wrap my cerebellum around Randy's vox), but it doesn't matter. While they don't give a hoot about grammy nominations, I hope the guys play at this year's grammys (not likely if Randy boycotts again). And I hope they win. Of any band to pick up Metallica and Slayer's mantles, Lamb of God are the ones to do it. They write the most uncompromisingly heavy, thought provoking and sometimes catchy/goofy music.

An aside, who ever the hell thinks Lamb of God have sold out should really question what sell out means. Wrath is single most aggressive chart topping heavy album I've ever heard. Now if Reign in Blood hit the top 10 of course I'd be eating my words. And while I do respect old Metallica, Lamb mop the floor with them in every single way. Sure, Metallica paved the way, but Lamb are blistering listening, potent, catchy, stomp-groovy and mean. So damn mean. Redneck is the heaviest yet most hook-laden song I've ever heard. When you think it even begins to get commercial that really sick breakdown towards the end kicks your privates up into your throat. I can't say how many times I've sat here just listening to that and said 'holy shit! really? Really!' And the lyrics are funny as hell if you know just who Mark Morton was talking about. I love these guys and I cannot wait to see them at least thrice. I hope to finally marvel at bassist John Campbell's wonderful white, wizardy beard and that truly divine fretboard reach. Here's hoping they show up on Conan O'Brien again near the Grammy awards...

Discharge hold a special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to be around for the real hardcore punk explosion of the early 80s. And Discharge's awesome anti-war, crusty U.K. anthems still resonate with me today 30 years later (even though I'm a huge supporter of our troops and armed forces, though not the useless war we've been waging the for past decade). About 10 years ago, these legendary crusties released a self-titled barnstormer with the doozy known as Accessories by Molotov. If ever there was a song title to steal for a band name or story, that surely is the one. Although Corpse of Decadence is even better lyrically...

Metallica fell off my radar around Master of Puppets, (I think it was Cliff Burton's death that pushed me away). But I still have a fondness for Ride the Lightning (a.k.a. Ride the Lightbulb)... particularly the awesome Cold War armageddon opener Fight Fire with Fire and the fun ode to Charlton Heston's Moses in Creeping Death. It's weird to see Het & co. and Slayer looking so damn old though (strange... as I saw Slayer in 1984 at the peak of Kerry's perm ahem). Sigh...but they're still going. As many metal champeens are. Metal keeps you young on some level and angry and hungry.

And sane...

Apparently, listening to music gives you a natural high too. Explains why I'm still a metalhead some 30+ years later. I probably always will be... much to the dismay of my family. Thank goodness...or badness :)

"Bloodlust...druglust...Count Drugula arise..." and on that downtuned note, I'm outta here.

Knife of Ice

2011-01-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

Knife of Ice (1972) directed by Umberto Lenzi, released by Wham!

KEY:

SH
T
G

Rating: F 1/2 F

Umberto Lenzi will always been known for his absolutely brutal, tasteless cannibal flicks (yes, I sat through several of them as a teen), but like his cohot Lucio Fulci, Umberto had a better hand with the crime/giallo genres.

In one of Lenzis' many team ups with American actress Carroll Baker, Knife of Ice seems like a yawner until the possibility of a Satanic horror themed giallo creeps in. Baker's Martha was rendered mute as a teen when she witnessed her parents die in a railroad accident. Her father tossed her out of the train window, sparing the little girl's life.

Now, years later, someone is trying to make things very difficult for our heroine. First, her cousin Jenny, the always dependable Ida Galli, is murdered. Then a kitten given to Christina, the little girl Martha watches for the local priest is also killed. Soon Christina, house help and even Martha's uncle Ralph fall victim.

There is a devil worshipper in the vacinity of the estate (which is right next door to a cemetery). Said worshipper is a drug-addled hippie with strange eyes who always seems to pop up shortly after the murders take place.

So is it the hippie? Martha's doctor, or the almost Karloff-looking manservant at Martha's estate? Or the really awful dub? Ahem...

Lenzi is no Fulci (much less Argento or Martino) and his ridiculous abuse of the fog machine is no substitute for atmosphere. It takes the majority of the film to really pick up, so if you're patient you might want to rent this. Frustratingly, I didn't see who the killer was (even with the clues sprinkled throughout the film). The story itself was pretty good, but I didn't buy the killer's rationale for murder. I think this falls squarely onto the screenwriters, the actors and Lenzi's lazy direction. All that said, I'll probably watch this one again in the future for certain elements and to see if I can catch where the cast picks up on who the killer is.

As for me, the one film of Lenzi's I still really like is the unnervingly cryptic giallo, Spasmo. That takes a supreme amount of patience to get through, but the pay off is excellent. Plus, where else would you see the awesome (and very underused) Robert Hoffman and Ivan Rassimov as brothers?

Knife of Ice is a definitely someone's little bootleg company (Wham USA), while the print is decent, the packaging and lack of features are a dead giveaway.

Legalese: all images copyright their respective owners. No infringement is intended or presumed.

Unintentionally funny and worth a rental: Simon, King of the Witches

2011-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Simon, King of the Witches (1971, released by Dark Sky Films)

KEY:

LMAO

T
N
WTF
HH (not horror in the scary sense but horror as in horrible)

Rating: 1/4 F

With acting more wooden than the redwood forest, Simon, King of the Witches was one of those counter-culture WTFs that is worth renting for a damn good laugh.

Simon is a warlock who lives in a storm drain, chums up with a too curious dumb quasi-hippie kid who has the I.Q. of a Scooby snack. Simon is determined to slip through into the gods domain (up, down, sideways whatever).

The kid has some goofy and skeptic buddies in high places and offers Simon entry into posh parties and get togethers: naturally Simon tries to exploit his abilities for financial gain from these high end folk.

Anyone who wrongs Simon gets the death curse thrown on them. The death curse is essentially a light and sound effect from the original Star Trek series.

Well, I lost interest when Scooby snack kid drags Simon to a witches gathering. Well the head witch is so laughably bad, I mean, truly LMAO bad I stopped watching because it got so damn goofy.

Take for instance Scooby snack kid trying to take a peek at a near naked girl on an altar in the witches' den. The kid attempts to lift up the black panties lying over her female parts (not slipped over them) as this girl holds two obvious skull models aloft, her breasts flapping the breeze, she tells the kid: "Don't touch me! I'm a religious object."

Just imagine that in about as wooden a tone as possible and you'll fall off your chair laughing too. It just got progressively dumber...I feel bad for star Andrew Prine who treats Simon very seriously. A bummer no one else did.

If you need a really good laugh from a really, really, really bad movie look no further.

Legalese: all images © copyright their respective owners. No infringement is intended or presumed.

Sergio Martino fest: The Blade of the Ripper

2011-01-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

The Blade of the Ripper a.k.a. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh/Next! 1971 (Mya release 2010)

KEY

G
T
N
WTF

Rating: FF 3/4 F

If Lucio Fulci directed the perfect look for psychedelic nightmares, then Sergio Martino directed the perfect kinky sex in The Blade of the Ripper. Rough sex puts it very mildly, as Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) flashbacks to her very s & m relationship with Jean (Ivan Rassimov who is harrowingly perfect here).

She marries a business man Neil Wardh, hoping to escape her twisted relationship with Jean, but somehow becomes embroiled with George Hilton's boring lead...named George.

One of these three men has it for Mrs. Wardh (or it is more than one?) The topsy turvy proceedings of Jean, Neil Wardh and Hilton's lackluster lead George against Mrs. Wardh grow delightfully more whacked as the film goes on. Even Julie's flight to Spain cannot stop the fact that one of these three gents might be the same serial killer bumping off other young women lately.

So is one of our trio the serial killer ?

I'm not saying.

Nor am I saying, outside of the extremely lame moment for Jean and George, how Martino's first giallo ends up. The pay off is brilliant and only yesterday, after several viewings over the past five years, did I finally latch onto the reveal.

The film definitely does not end in the way you think it would.

Edwige makes for a very smart, perfect heroine. And, boy, does she have chemistry with Ivan Rassimov.

My reason for not giving this excellent little film a higher rating is George Hilton. If the man slept walked through any more of his roles (and he actually admitted that his heart wasn't in it)...I just cannot buy him as a love interest for Edwige. Yet, Martino insisted upon casting them as a couple. There must have been a kick back somewhere because five years on, I'm still annoyed with George Hilton in these films.

Some folks might find the pacing of giallos a little slow, but that's fine with me. The labyrinth like plots need time to unwind and to set up all the red herrings and such.

Mya's release of Blade... is not quite the show stopper that No Shame's original release was (no extras), but for U.S. fans this is the way to go for now. And it's readily available.

***Grumbles, about George Hilton also being in the Fenech giallo, Case of Bloody Iris (I haven't seen that in years and now I see his name on the cover, curses!). I'm off to watch Simon, King of the Witches and maybe Knife of Ice if time permits tonight.

Legalese: All images are copyright © their respective owners, no infringement is intended or presumed.

No Go, Coffin Joe!

2011-01-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

As bad horror movie fun as the concept and the look of Coffin Joe is, (a slightly sacrilegious atheist undertaker who only wants to continue his bloodline with a son), the movies are something else entirely.

While I thought the gypsy woman with her Universal Horror Wolf Man curses was fabulous, the execution of At Midnight, I'll Take Your Soul came across as slow, boring, and not at all scary. Coffin Joe, for all of his cool look and vibe, comes across as a bully atheist with a ridiculous machismo streak who murders or tortures anyone who stands in the way of Joe finding his perfect woman.

This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse was not much better as far as pacing or the fear factor. I guess, you have really have a particular taste for non-Italian spookies.

I'm not faulting the production or look of the films per say, I know how low budget these were - it's just that Joe is not the spook-tacular boogie man that every horror fan who loves him claims he comes across as.

I can see the attraction with the character, particularly in his home country of Brazil. And sure, his goofy ramblings of living life to the fullest are pretty funny, but I miss the point when it comes to the character itself.

Coffin Joe is about as unscary and quaint as a foreign "monster" can get, once you bitch slap the macho bad taste out of your mouth. That's the only thing that unnerved me about Joe, the all too real nastiness of a particularly downer twist on Latin culture. I know not all Latin men are macho in the dominant way, but I can't stand seeing that, even if it is for a fictional character. That's not being feminist (please, I could watch Ivan Rassimov's Jean kinky ravaging of Edwige Fenech on a loop), that ugly reality is not the type of monster I want to see at the movies.

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

2010-12-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin 1971 (remastered edition, 2007 Shriek Show)

KEY:

WTF

GG
N
T

Rating: FFF

Revisiting one of my favorite Fulci gialli, the psychedelicly-inclined A Lizard in a Woman's Skin. Absence does make me remember what drew me to this movie in the first place (the dreamlike quality of Carol's "trips"), although the eviscerated dog sequence still seems too much and unnecessary. Yeah, typical too-much Fulci sadism (the dogs are fake but they are a very convincing fake)...that moment is the one flaw in this otherwise awesome whodunit.

And Florinda Bolkan and Jean Sorel as wife and husband? Hell, yes. Bolkan's Carol has "dreams" about her hippie neighbor Julia Duer...and remembers details about Duer and her flat a bit too clearly after Julia is found murdered. So are these details that Carol spills to her psychiatrist Carol's wishful envy -she's a repressed daughter of a politican and married to a lawyer- or are the details relaying something much worse?

Lizard... is perhaps Fulci's most inventive and off-the-wall murder mystery, and I love all that wonky shit with the hippie characters. I've said this before, Lizard... would be even better if Fulci cast the typecast Ray Lovelock as the male hippie (for a while there, hippies were Ray's specialty).

Still, I'm really appreciating the inventive storyline and the whole psychedelic flavor of the film. For awhile there, I was burnt out on ALIWS, but now I see it's Lucio's most linear and clear storyline (as happily convoluted as it gets). It's one of the best and strangest gialli not made by Dario Argento.

A word of warning, the film suddenly dips into English subtitled Italian and the "remastered" print seems more damaged than the original dvd release (which had better extras).

For the record, my favorite non-Argento gialli are:

What Have you Done to Solange?

All the Colors of the Dark

and

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.

I think I would admire Lucio a lot more had he stuck with giallos and westerns, I know both genres were all but dead when the ultra violent zombie craze hit Italy and the world in the late '70s, but...

Legalese: all imagery © their respective copyright holders, no infringment is intended or presumed.

Sigh Fi

2010-12-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

If it's not John Carpenter's awesome westerns masquerading as science fiction (and an imitator I've already reviewed), I'll stick with a few obscure '70s SF films or none at all. Okay, I finally liked The Fifth Element because it seemed to be everything modern SF is not (unless it's under John Carpenter's brilliant guidance).

Star Wars: if I don't see anything, but the run on the death star for the next few years great. My circuits are fried of SF and comicbook ilk. I have the Introduction to Comic Book writing class to thank for this (amongst other baggage I will lose at some airport sooner rather than later), but also I'm just bored with SF. My taste for ultra violent horror, action sillies and fantasy are on the rise again.

My writing is fantasy and/or Carpenteresque Post Apocalyptic Western insanity. I'm trying for horror and will eventually tap into my inner Dario Argento... so they say, watch, read and write what you love.

Time for me to listen...look and learn. And, yeah, that means giving Lord of the Ring-dings another look and read. I was pretty impressed by what little I saw (beyond Viggo of course) as far as the Norse-ness of the LoTR movies. The armies of men really do look like Northmen. Sure, I still ignore the hobbits as much as possible along with the ridiculous Christian allegory, but the rest of the characters and the look are pretty darn impressive. Still think Volkodav is eons better but sometimes you have to go the source to overtake it.

Okay, more movie reviews coming. Whenever I get back to watching them (and I'll have plenty to watch over the next couple of months with everything I bought recently).

Grindhouse reads...

2010-12-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

FAB Press from the U.K. have been churning out excellent Eurocult/Grindhouse/Exploitation tomes for years (their Dario Argento books the only "fail" from yours truly)...

I've got Stephen Thrower's Nightmare USA on order along with Kevin Grants' Any Gun Can Play (the Eurowestern beyond Leone). Nightmare concentrates on the Independent America Horror filmmakers of the 70s and 80s, while Any Gun thankfully ignores Sergio Leone and dares to cover the spaghetti western filone beyond the Dollars trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck, You Sucker!

Until Bill Lustig ripped open my mind with his spaghetti western releases on Anchor Bay and, later, Blue Undergound, I was woefully ignorant of spaghetti westerns beyond those mentioned above.

That was 12 years ago...and I haven't looked back since. Franco Nero, Gianni Garko and Fabio Testi are firmly entrenched as the true embodiment of the dangerous hombre. And give a hardy nod to Tomas Milian who made me think, laugh and squirm with his various men of the spaghetti west. I'm looking forward to this book for the actors and titles covered rather than for Franco Nero's introduction.

I think Garko is a much more evocative writer and a better interview subject...(now I want to go watch a Sartana film :)) - but Franco became 3 of the coolest celluloid gunfighters ever: the swarmy, yet '60s cool mercenary Sergei Kowalski (The Mercenary which should have been released by MGM instead of Burt Reynolds' crappy Navajo Joe), the vaguely E.C. Comics creepy -yet- romantic Django, and the christ-like, stubborn do-gooder, Keoma.

Fabio was awesome to watch for his stunts in Dead Men Ride (some of the most insane WTF western stunts ever), and most people will remember him as the slow burning gambler Stubby in Lucio Fulci's alternately nasty and dead boring Four of the Apocalypse (worth seeing for Tomas Milian's wonderfully awful Manson-esque Chaco who should have had more than 15 minutes screen time, if that).

But Garko was the cool cat. His Sartana is the James Bond of the Italian Oaters, a sleight of hand, smooth talking con man who was deadly with a derringer and his playing cards. A sharper dressed and eyed man there never was in the Spaghetti western. Garko also shared the utter creep and vulnerable quality in his post spaghetti western output. If I were to hire any of these guys for a movie, Garko and Ray Lovelock would be my two. Lovelock got his start in acting as the tragic Evan in the whacked Poe-like perversity Django Kill! (no relation to Nero's Django), and apparently filmed another western in 1997.

I digress...you can tell I'm expecting a LOT from Grant's book. As most spaghetti western books have been seriously lacking, I'm wanting Grant's book to be a damn good one.

I bought Nightmare USA because after all these years of falling in love with Eurocult, finding some awesome U.S. horrors like Werewolves on Wheels and The Deathmaster, made me curious about the local output horror-wise. If this book is anything like Throwers' now out-of-print tome about Lucio Fulci, it should be really good. And if I find more 70s American low budget horror that rings my bell, well, hot dang! Despite my meh! feelings about elements of Maniac, I can't help but feel Bill Lustigs' enthusiasm for American and European schlock...

I'm enjoying these accessible, yet, scholarly books at American and European exploitation/genre films. Looking forward to reading many more :)

lately

2010-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

I've noticed what a Grindhouse king Bruce Willis could have been. Is it any surprise he wound up in Robert Rodriguez' absolutely -on purpose- crap Planet Terror?

Absolutely not.

With his tough but sensitive everyman trouncing the competition, Willis has seen quite a bit of action in my viewing schedules lately. I finally got through The Fifth Element today, and I believe it's because of my exposure to Eurocult films that I finally "got" the movie. I loved Bruce Willis in this, as I nearly wet my pants any time Chris Tucker was on screen. I don't think we'll ever see a Ruby Rhod/Corbin Dallas team up, but damn the boy was funny: kind of like if Grace Jones was a cross dressing man with a serious goofy streak (and I like Grace Jones) :).

And, of course, Die Hard and Die Hard 2 were all kinds of fun. Try as I might to forget the opening scene of the traitor Colonel doing his martial arts moves in the buff, DH2 is enduring for John McLane's determination to make sure he and his wife have a very merry christmas, even if that means killing Franco Nero.

Merry Almost Christmas folks. :)

Happy Birthday Edwige Fenech

2010-12-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

Of all the lovely ladies of the Eurocult films heyday, only Florinda Bolkan comes close to my admiration for the stunning and talented Edwige Fenech.

Edwige was a darling of the giallo circuit before she became queen of the Italian sex comedy. I've seen a few of both genres and prefer Edwige as the heroine/victim of the gialli cycle. Her acting was often the best on camera (unless she was paired with the awesome Ivan Rassimov) and you always wanted to her to survive whatever insane traumas the director and screenwriter threw at her.

I still have Blade of the Ripper (a.k.a The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh) to review as far as the Martino fest goes. So in honor of her numero 62, I'll say Edwige remains an incredibly smart business woman who parlayed being a sex symbol into something much, much more (she's a producer in Italy these days). And she still looks incredible (if Hostel II is anything to go by)...

Edwige is sassy and smart, she allowed the viewer to root for, laugh, hiss at or wolf whistle (if seeing a naked Edwige makes you do that). It's too bad that Italian cinema is all but extinct, and with it, the sight of a gal like Edwige.

Brava! Many more birthdays to you Miss Fenech.

Now that Raro Video will be releasing titles in the U.S.

2010-12-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here's hoping that Raro Video release Live Like a Cop, Die like a Man for U.S. audiences. One of the most entertaining and over-the-tiop of the Italian Police films, Live Like a Cop... single-handedly made me a Ray Lovelock fan, although it's the still the impossible to top: The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue which is my favorite bit of Ray-Ray.

The man looks better now (60 years young) than he has in the last 20 years, must be all that Italian tv he's doing these days.

As for this blog, there will definitely be at least one post celebrating the groovy goodness of Ray Lovelock. And at least one on Living Dead... if someone in London can screen the movie, why can't we get an actual print to screen here in NY? Surely, Bill Lustig could make a sweet profit by screening more than his own films eh? I'd pay $30 to see that film theatrically.

anyway here's a great homage to Ray from Filmbar70.

Grindhouse metal: White Zombie

2010-12-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

From a band perspective, you can't get much more Grindhouse than White Zombie. Samples from a variety of low budget horrors and explotation dotted the bands' output since the late 80s. Hell, they even named an album after Umberto Lenzi's horrifyingly grotesque cannibal exploiter, Make Them Die Slowly.

So it's with a huge recommendation that I can say, if you are a fan of White Zombie then plunk down the $20 for Sean Yseults' excellent WZ history/diaries book (I'm in the Band, Backstage Notes from the Chick in White Zombie) filled with images of WZ's history, Sean's excellent design ethic (she managed to nab a Bachelors in Fine Arts at Parsons while working a trio of jobs and getting White Zombie off the ground), and just about every fragment of notation (including her riff books).

One of my favorite images is Sean being teased in a coffin by none-other-than Coffin Joe himself. I could kick myself that I didn't see the band on their last tour (yeah, I got into White Zombie real late thanks, to yes, a grindhouse directing favorite: John Carpenter).

I spent about 3 hours reading, skimming and oohing and aahing over the pages of Sean's book. There is very little gossip (she talks about her own adventures) and remains super tasteful in all personal matters, right down to the break up with Rob Zombie. I will definitely scour this again many times.

Sean lived the life I wished I could have (had I practiced and been less insecure), and I applaud her for stepping up to the WZ fans and telling her side of the story. I also loved the way she wrote because she writes in a way that comes across the way a friend's tales would. You feel like you know her...very accessible and really cool. She definitely would have fit into the 80s death metal scene nicely. That kind of cool, family type comraderie.

Personally, I'd love to see a follow up book of her designs for White Zombie and subsequent bands: Famous Monsters, Rock City Morgue and the new metal crew Star & Dagger. Additionally, Sean has a wonderfully, colorful and almost Peter Max-like art style, and is a darn good photographer too. In essence, she's just as talented and driven as Rob is. I'd love a pair of her WZ hot pants too cool!

If you love White Zombie, this is a no brainer. One of the best books of its kind - ever.

So far...so very good

2010-12-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

About a week into this blog, I'm enjoying it. A good thing. I'm also missing a lot of grammatical thingys, but we writers do that.

And, of all the movies I've watched in the past 10 days the two I can't stop thinking about are:

Death of a Snowman

and

The Deathmaster.

In fact, I've raised the rating for ...Snowman to the highest thus far of all films reviewed. Why?

I'm just blown away by who the War on Crime turn out to be, the awesomely funky score, and, yes, Johnson. Something about a stoner assassin who spouts zen-like hippisms while shooting holes in folks big enough to put "your fist through" just kicks my head in.

Both of these films play with archetypes so brilliantly, I can overlook the flaws (in acting, dubbing etc.) with no problem. These are the type of movies I want my wild gents to populate.

Just saying...

Now if I could find a poster of the cover art Synapse used for Death of a Snowman...I'd buy it.

Not quite...well quite for one, not for the other

2010-12-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

Recently, I rewatched The Howling and Street Trash.

In the past, I loved both films (with the exception of a couple of purposely awful moments in both)...tonight I found myself fast forwarding through The Howling just for the scenes with Robert Picardo's lyncanthrope 'serial killer' Eddie Quist. Had the film stuck to Eddie and ignored the whole 'colony' new age business and the comedy, The Howling would have been an incredibly scary werewolf film.

Yes, I know it's Joe Dante. Humor has to be involved. I've never read the novel, and in revisiting portions of the film, I really don't want to. An American Werewolf in London still beats this film for the right mix of horror and humor. The nightmares the lead character has as he slowly turns into a werewolf are truly nightmares. And while I love Rob Bottin's FX work, Rick Baker does wolves like no one else.

Street Trash was purposely created to be offensive to absolutely everyone. I still love FX assistant Mike Lackey's wonderfully angry & obnoxiously rude lead 'runaway bum' Freddy. The first four minutes of the film are some of the funniest I've ever seen. And in a screenplay like nod here, those first four minutes are some of the best conflict moments for a character I've ever seen, Freddy is always in motion.

The whole concept of toxic hootch capable of turning anyone who drinks it (and in the case of this film, mostly vagrants, and often, bad low-lifes in general) into psychedelically color goo is absolutely brilliant. But the Bronson character always rubbed me the wrong way (imagine if Rambo never snapped out of his P.T.S.D. and was a psychotically abusive bully)... now more so than ever. And some of the gags just seem forced like the bit while and after the credits run.

Still, there is Freddy and his buddy in the gas mask who has the second funniest scene in the movie when he goes 'shopping'. And the 'hot potato' moment levels me (what can I say, they foresaw Lorena Bobbitt by a couple of years...) but I found myself distracted. In the case of Street Trash, one of the most grindhouse ready films ever made, I just wasn't in the mood. How could I lose the love for a movie whose lead character really speaks to a certain side of me (except for one scene)... a side I'm glad the character exists for.

Okay, I take that back: I still adore Street Trash.

As far as The Howling, don't know if I'll ever revisit this again. I loved the sleazy moments with Eddie and tv anchor Karen White, that alone would make a great movie. But the goofy vibe and too many ridiculous characters kills what little momentum this used to have for me.

City of the Living Dead

2010-12-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. the Gates of Hell) - 1980, special edition released by Blue Underground, 2010.

KEY:

GGGG = Gigantic, glops of gruesome gore
SH
H
WTF
F 1/2F (the set pieces make this worth it)

As Lucio Fulci moved into the zombie horror arena, his films made less sense as time went on. Unlike his brilliant early giallo turns from the Hitchcock-like Perversion Story, and the awesomely dark A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, Fulci's zombie horrors tossed aside logic for supernatural apocalypse.

The first time I saw City of the Living Dead was 22 years ago on home video. At that point, I was a newly christened gorehound (having been awakened by Tom Savini's gruework in Romero's Day of the Dead) and looking for the most disgusting, over-the-top stomach churning gore I could handle.

Fulci and Umberto Lenzi (with his awful cannibal horrors) fit that bill perfectly. Strange that I avoided Dario Argento until about four years ago...anyway...

Fulci's zombie horrors Zombie and City were in top rotation back then. I knew nothing of the grand Italian police films, westerns (beyond Leone) or gialli.

City of the Living Dead is the tale of the pending armageddon wrought by a priest (Father Thomas) who hangs himself within the cemetery of the New England town of Dunwich. Apparently, Dunwich lies upon one of the Gates of Hell and the cleric's suicide was key to opening the Gates. Dunwich prided itself on being a town of witch-hunters (Salem is often referenced), making the locals think that Father Thomas' suicide might very well be the revenge of evil upon the current inhabitants.

Meanwhile in New York, a young psychic, Mary, witnesses the priest's suicide during a seance. Mary apparently "dies" of fright setting up one of the scariest set pieces Fulci ever lensed. A nosy reporter played by Christopher George winds up saving Mary from being buried alive. The scene of Mary desparately trying to claw her way out of the coffin is claustrophobic and harrowing. Still awful some 30 years after it was shot.

The reporter teams up with Mary to find Dunwich to stop the impending apocalypse. Mary's mentor claims that stopping armageddon on All Saint's Day (in which no dead body will ever rest and the dead will overrun the earth) will require the closing of the Gates of Hell.

What follows are a series of utterly disgusting kills (the smothering by worms freaks me out more than other more gruesome deaths) as time slips closer to All Saint's Day.

The film ends abruptly. While that's been a frustrating element of this tale over the years, I seem to finally think it means that our 'heroes' were unable to close the gates of hell. Just a word of caution, only two characters, Mary and the psychiatrist Jerry are vaguely worth rooting for. Fulci always populated his films with unlikable characters, but City... like Zombie before it, seems to be filled with scum.

The concept for the core story of City... is perhaps the strongest of Lucio's zombie films. The Beyond, Zombie and House By the Cemetery make no damn sense whatsoever. I also think that Fulci and his cowriter got the idea for this film from one pivotal line in George Romero's awesome Dawn of the Dead:
"When there's no more room in Hell, the Dead will walk the earth."

City... was the first in Fulci's supernatural zombie trilogy and set the stage for the unnerving sequel, The Beyond.

I can't help but think Rob Zombie might use elements of City of the Living Dead in his upcoming Salem-inspired Horror film The Lords of Salem (the revenge of executed witches upon the current inhabitants). Zombie watched the film on tour this past October and has often referenced Italian/European horror in his music. Halloween II had one scene which smirks at Italian horror (the hallucinatory scene where Michael tells his mother he found "Boo"), so it will be interesting to see if Rob mixes his love of American Grindhouse violence with more European horror sensibilities.

Back to this dvd release, Blue Underground's special edition, like so many of their releases is top shelf. Several interviews, a documentary and other such extras make this an essential purchase for gorehounds who want more gore with their zombies. And not just the gut-munching kind.

Legalese: all imagery copyright © their respective owners. No infringement is intended or presumed.

Sergio Martino Fest: Torso

2010-12-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Torso - 1973, (Rereleased by Blue Underground 2010).

Key:

GG
N
H

FF

Martino's Torso takes the giallo killer one step closer to the slasher prototype with this 1973 flick. Sex murders rock a college campus. So when four female students take refuge in a country villa they find themselves being picked off the by same masked killer.

Featuring the very likable John Richardson (who was awesome in Hammer's One Million Years B.C. and Mario Bava's Black Sunday) as a college professor who takes a liking to a student played by Suzy Kendall, Torso boasts one of the strongest casts Martino ever assembled. The French heartthrob Luc Merenda was perfectly cast as a creepy suspect and everyone seems to be screaming, running and dying with aplomb.

The killer's motives are particularly unsettling, he sees women as dolls.

Torso is noteworthy for one of the greatest stalking set pieces ever set on film: the forest hunt of a stoned hippie chick. It's very iconic and was since ripped off by countless American slasher flicks. Even when the violence gets gruesome, it's still restrained.

The film does seem to drag when focusing upon the women, but once the killer is in play within the villa the third act is particularly good. The killer's reveal is also excellent (don't expect me to ruin that folks). All in all, a successful giallo for Martino.

Blue Underground's rerelease features the film uncut (including portions of the film that were never dubbed into English. These moments do have English subtitles, however, and definitely add to the film). Definitely worth seeing.

The Sergio Martino Fest continues: 2019: After the Fall of New York

2010-12-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

2019: After the Fall of New York (1983), released by Shriek Show 2002.

Key:

SF
G
T
FF (If you love Escape from New York give this a whirl, and be prepared to have fun.)

With the successful release of John Carpenter's seminal Escape From New York, the Italians rushed to create knock-offs. The most successful was Sergio Martinos' cheap quickie penned by awesome giallo scripter Ernesto Gastaldi. I adore some of Enzo Castellari's crime and western output, but his E.F.N.Y. knock offs are beyond awful.

Former model Michael Sopkiw is 2019's de facto Snake Plissken, the snarky Percival.

2019... is a fun, o.t.t. trash exercise in flattery. Ignore if you will the $1.99 models and sets and just roll with the story: after the third world war all women are sterile resulting in the near final gasps for mankind.

Enter Percival who is forced by the head of the Euracs to rescue the supposively last fertile woman on Earth.

Guess where she is? Yep, New York.

Sopkiw handles the Plisskenisms with a charm and edge that make getting through the more comic book and silly moments a blast. If you're a fan of Eurocult and Italian films/horror in particular, you'll note Italian thesp "George Eastman" in a classic cameo as Big Ape.

To Gastaldi's credit, 2019 retains a lot of the New York dark humor that makes the original Escape such a blast. Imprisoned, Percival's quip to a Eurac babe coming onto him is "You're my last cigarette huh?"

And when Big Ape meets Percival and co., he says: "They've been combing the city for you guys like bunches of bananas." LoL...The Duke of New York, Big Ape ain't.

If you don't like rats, old buses, or mootants (oops mutants)...you might want to skip this. The film still has a lot of low budget charm. I often like to watch this and then follow with Escape From New York. Unlike Escape From L.A. which lost the dark edge and was pretty darn bad, 2019 feels more like a happily crude answer to E.F.N.Y.

Martino's flair for action and character set pieces remains well after his glorious early days swirling in the giallo gore-pool. Unlike some of his contempories, Sergio Martino could direct more than crime and gialli. It's too bad Michael Sopkiw faded into obscurity after the four films he shot in Italy (I still haven't seen Blast Fighter with Eastman), the guy had a lot of charisma, but was also aware of how loopy filmmaking can be.

Shriek Show's dvd is quite good: featuring interviews with Eastman & Martino. You can still find it alone, and as part of the company's post apocalyptic bundle featuring more George Eastman in two of Enzo Castellari's worst films.

Legalese: All imagery copyright © their respective copyright holders, no infringement is intended or presumed.

Maniac

2010-12-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

We interrupt Sergio Martino fest for an impromptu review of a movie I thought I'd never watch....

Maniac - 1980, 30th Anniversary dvd released by Blue Underground, 2010

KEY

GGG = Gloopy, gross gore
T
N
H
F & 1/2F (The payoff makes this worth a look).

I'm not into serial killers (because of the reality)...I watch gialli because they are so stylized and even the murders seem like art (if it's Dario Argento anyway).

I have never seen William Lustig's 'controversial' slasher film Maniac until now. I remember seeing this poster as a 12 year old and being utterly terrified. That image has not left my mind in 30 years and I swore it would take a lot to get me to watch this film.

It didn't take much actually...

The 'Controversy' is due to the supposed misogyny. Our 'Maniac' in question, Frank Zito (Joe Spinell), was brought up by an abusive mom who happened to be a prostitute. Frank's problem when he gets sexually aroused is to flashback to childhood (in his mind) and then slay the woman he's with thinking they are his mother.

Sometimes he'll kill couples because it reminds him of his mother's hooking. An almost relationship with the stunning Anna (played by my favorite lady of Hammer Glamour, Caroline Munro) proves to be Zito's undoing.

There are a couple of set pieces that almost sell how scary the concept of Maniac is: the stalking of a nurse in a subway station (which vaguely reminds me of the maze that the 59th Street and Columbus Avenue station was back in the '80s*) and the motel slay.

The deaths are pretty brutal, I suppose I'm not as squeamish as I thought I was. Or perhaps it's just because the whole film is presented so sleazily over-the-top, it's hard to take seriously. The 12 year old me would have been traumatized by Maniac, but the actual feelings are: that's what I was so scared of?

Joe Spinell who co-wrote and co-produced Maniac is not the most frightening guy by any stretch of the imagination. What he does is downright awful. Misogynistic? I don't think so...the pathetic Zito is just acting out revenge upon his dead mother. If a different actor played this part, someone with more menace and presence, I would have remained that scared shitless 12 year old girl.

The payoff of Maniac is definitely worth the price of admission though.

The gore effects are still incredibly realistic in spots, thanks to Tom Savini's splatterific genius.

And true to Blue Underground's amazing dvd releases you will get all kinds of extras beyond the usual commentaries and interviews, this set includes Spinell's short film concept for Maniac 2. Most fun where the critical pannings of the film...I'm glad I'm not that harsh a critic. Ouch.

Director/Producer William Lustig (who appears as a very authentic-looking late 70s cheap motel desk clerk) claims there will be a remake. One thing I can say about Lustig's shooting style, you can definitely tell the man worked in porno films before he took this on. While a huge fan of Argento and other European horror filmmakers, Lustig doesn't quite have the suspense factor his continental contemporaries did.

There is huge potential for the remake to live up the to reputation the movie poster and it's ominous warning held in my mind for so damn long, if the right actor really embraced the role.

Wait... maybe that isn't such a good idea... ;)

My only question beyond getting a really good actor and keeping the fx practical is, where will they shoot since NYC has lost it's once amazingly filthy patina?

12/11/10: Just found out that the gore effects were handled by both Savini and the awesome Rob Bottin who apparently assisted Tom with the grue. Guess I'll have to take another peek at this as I adore Bottin's surreal and gruesome fx work (the man and the industry he was a part of is sorely missed...damn you C.G.I.!)

*I remember being accosted by homeless people several times at 59th Street back then so...

Legalese: All imagery copyright © their respective copyright owners, no infringement is intended or presumed.

Sergio Martino Fest: All the Colors of the Dark

2010-12-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sergio Martino Fest Part 1:

All the Colors of the Dark / a.k.a. Day of the Maniac / They're Coming to Get You (1972) released by Shriek Show, 2004.

Key:

SH

G

N

T

FFF

Sergio Martino's first giallo entry (the ultra violent/stylish Italian murder mysteries made famous by Dario Argento) is an effective exercise in early '70s Satanic horror and proto-slasher doings.

Young Englishwoman Jane (portrayed by the stunning Edwige Fenech) is plagued nightmares after enduring a miscarriage suffered during an automobile accident. Her dreams are truly WTF highlighted by the appearance of a sinister man (the brilliant Ivan Rassimov) who kills with a stiletto blade.

Jane's husband Richard (the perpetuately yawn-inducing George Hilton) insists she take her vitamins to quell these awful dreams. Meanwhile, Jane's sister Barbara (Susan Scott) has other ideas. Jane should see Barbara's boss (a psychiatrist) to help the young wife get through the loss of a baby.

All fine and dandy right? Not.

As Jane is waiting for the psychiatrist, Stiletto man is in the office waiting room with her. She is whisked away by Barbara for her appointment before anything can happen. Prodding the psychiatrist to come see the awful man from her dreams results in nada.

This is where the film really begins to pick up. A frustrated Jane attempts to get home using the London Underground. What results is one of the scariest and most unnerving stalkings I've watched: Jane watches as the subway car she's in becomes progressively more empty until only she and another passenger remain. I'm sure you can guess who that second passenger is.

Narrowly escaping, Jane is let into her apartment complex by the mysterious tenant Mary. The two become friendly, particularly when Mary explains that she, too, is troubled but took a different route in banishing her nightmares. Mary asks Jane to join her for the meetings she goes to. With no support from Richard, Jane agrees to this arrangement.

Let it be said that you should never trust a mysterious woman who goes to 'meetings.' Jane finds out that Mary's group are Satanists. Jane joins them (!!!) in order to find peace.

Yet before Jane can politely leave, she's forced into killing Mary. And, yes, the Stiletto man is a member.

Hearing Rassimov's 'british' dub of "It's impossible to renounce us" as he grips Miss Fenech still freaks me out.

I'll stop here, but watching Jane try to escape her increasingly dangerous predicament is a lot of fun.

Sergio Martino's occult flavored giallo is very moody, with a few scares and a brilliant set piece (the tube stalking). I still can't understand why the boring George Hilton was always the star of these films when Rassimov's charisma (even with fake contact lenses) was always so much more prominent.

Outside of Hilton, everyone else plays their parts with a sense of urgency and menace.

Shriek Show's dvd is harder to find now, but features both the English dub and Italian dub with English subs, along with a very revealing and long Edwige Fenech gallery, a film gallery and other extras.

As for Mister Martino, he's my second favorite giallo director. Sergio's care about characters is the key. There's also something more vibrant about Martino's work than that of Dario Argento.

And like every good giallo, Martino's films are full of interesting and unnerving killers.

Legalese: all imagery copyright their respective owners. No infringement is presumed or implied.

Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

2010-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

An ode to Grindhouse films...Hobo with a Shotgun was the winning fake trailer in a contest Tarantino held at SWSX back in 2007.

And now this sucker has U.S. Distribution.

if this is anywhere near as awesome as Black Dynamite, I will be very, very pleased. I love seeing Rutger Hauer go over-the-top. He looks like he'll top his great perf in Blind Fury... and it's even cooler that he's doing this at age 66.

Linkage: HwaSG blog

Scroll down for the really NOT safe for work trailer

The Deathmaster

2010-12-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

The Deathmaster - (1972), Released by Retromedia 2002 and 2008.

Key:

HH
MB
SH
G (Light)
FFF

I suppose my allergies to most vampire material is the reason why I had never heard of America's answer to Christopher Lee, the late, great Robert Quarry. The Deathmaster is the exact type of early '70s Satantic/Hippie Horror film I adore. The film despite its' flaws, works so darn well simply because Quarry kicks all kinds of ass as Khorda, a vampiric twist on Charles Manson.

Now if that isn't enough to make you rent (or buy this movie), I don't know what would. Manson scares the shit out of me for many, many reasons yet when Hollywood presents an alternate take on Charles Manson I can't help but get suckered in. I stumbled across a review of this while reading a blog and thinking wow this sounds perfect. Manson really was a vampire of sorts, and to see it literally played out was really inventive.

The concept was Quarry's idea who sketched out what he wanted to see in the film, but the screenwriter (or lack there of) wasn't quite there. As I suspected, all of Khorda's dialog was improvised by Quarry himself (which explains why whenever Khorda is on screen you can't focus upon anyone else). Quarry truly plays the charismatic guru type to the hilt without being campy. I liken him to Severen Darden's creepy Satanic High Priest (One) in the awesome Werewolves on Wheels. Both of these gentlemen are great actors who improvised their dialog, thereby taking their characters very seriously.

So what's the story?

A coffin washes ashore and some sorry surfer dude makes the mistake of looking inside. A zombie-like West Indies hippie Barbado throttles the surfer for his curiosity. Not unlike Franco Nero's Django, Barbado drags the coffin toward destiny....(well okay...how can I not spoil this...)

Meanwhile, Pico and Rona are two hippie kids looking for more than the usual highs and commune living with their squatting, lovely chums. After a confrontation with biker Monk and his old lady Esslen, Monk kowtows to Pico's kung fu (yes, I'm serious) and the biker couple follow our flower children leads to the house where they join their hippie buddies in squatting, smoking and singing. The young cast are slinging laughably bad, dated dialog (even for 1970 when the film was shot)... making Quarry's character all the more potent when he finally appears.

In the midst of the hippie business, Pico goes off on a downer trip like most people: he wants more out of life. At this point, Khorda makes the first of two killer entrances, for the first, we only focus on right hand and the awesome little magical flourish. This bit made me think Khorda wasn't an ordinary vampire (and true to Quarry's genius, Khorda is not some Bela type).

Inside the commune house, Barbado joins the hippies for some bad musical revues (apparently he's been working into their good graces) before Khorda finally puts himself into play. Slipping into the house, Khorda stays hidden in the shadows talking a bit of the guru business before we finally see him.

Let's just say his double talk about eternity and pure blood is genius. Let's just say all the hippies fall for him fast, except for Pico who becomes our hero.

With all kinds of neat variations upon vampire lore: cross, the mirror (what Khorda says) and Khorda's history I don't think I've been this enthralled by a vampire's origin since Near Dark. I'm still not quite sure about the climax of the film (though the ending is quite good...it really does have a sort of Italian horror flare to it).

This flick is not without it's flaws: the acting from just about everyone else besides Mister Quarry is woefully bad, same goes for the dialog. Even the '70s folk music sounds more like sitcom music. All that said, the atmosphere, concept and vampire make this one really special in my book. Mister Quarry succeeded in showing the dangers in following a cult leader and, too, in making a Manson-like vampire.

Highly recommended (esp. if you're not high)

Legalese: images copyright their respective copyright holders, no infringement is intended or presumed.

The Visitor

2010-12-06T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Visitor a.k.a. Stridulum (1979) - released by Code Red 2010

Key:

WTF
SH (a bit light though)
SF
L/NBQ
FN (sadly a bit part)
1/2 F and that's for Franco and a couple of other things.

Where to begin with this Italian-American Omen - The Fury - Star Wars headscratcher? It's too bad the films' really cool Star Wars-like opening announcing John Hustons' Obi-Wan-like Spock dude didn't constitute the vibe and look for the bulk of the film. After this cool moment, we get to my reason for buying this wonky flick: the one and only Franco Nero as Christ. Just imagine chumming around with Jesus as he tells the 'legend' of Sateen to a room full of bald children. Yep, this serves as the backstory of celestial anti-christisms from the "moo-tant" Sateen. Neither of those words are typos (and for the record, that isn't Franco Nero performing his own dub...strange since he'd been working in English for over a decade at this point).

Oh right, the review: Seems that Sateen needs a descendant to keep his evil going on earth. Figures Christ would sit on his particularly handsome duff and let an old angel handle the business at hand.

The business for the decrepit celestial is killing the essence of Sateen within his current descendant (a scowly, foul-mouthed 8 year old Katy) but allowing Katy to live. Two minutes into meeting Paige Conners' nasty little witch you want to drop kick her off the tallest building.

Katy wants her mother to marry creepy Lance Henriksen (even in 1979 Lance spooked me) so mom can have a boy who will also have the powers of Sateen.

For some script-determined reason, Katy's mom is one in a billion who can pass on the evil genes of Sateen. Somehow 8 year old Katy knows this wants a brother so they can one day continue the bad bloodline.

Yeah. Incest.

The movie revolves around nudging Katy's mom to comply with the brat's command for a brother, and/or stopping Katy and her mom from furthering the bloodline.

If you even bother to rent this, the above is enough to get you through. I will say the introduction to John Huston's 'angel' and the revelation of Katy being the spawn of "Sateen" was really cool. Katy's fate was a really good twist too (along with the use of both hawks and doves). Mister Huston seems to be some what amused by the part but stumped when it comes to doing his Close Encounters of the Third Kind imitation. He does however do a really cool Spock-like voice. Sam Peckinpah also has a bit part as Katy's dad.

All in all, if you can stick through this thoroughly confusing film (I saw a cut bootleg while on my Franco Nero binge several years ago), you might find a couple of things to like. I liked the science fiction take on good vs. evil and lol the director's "name" being Michael J. Paradise.... uh huh. Sure... ;)

Trailer here

Legalese: All imagery © their respective copyright holders, no infringment is intended or presumed.

Death of a Snowman

2010-12-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

Death of a Snowman (1978) - released by Synapse films 2010

KEY:

HBQ

C

FFF 1/4 F(If you dig blaxploitation crime this is definitely worth a view)

Sometimes you can judge a film by its promo art. And Death of a Snowman's cover pulled me right in. I'm sure you can guess why.

Beyond the hot assassin portrayed by screenwriter Bima Stagg (whose name I must steal for a character) this South African grindhouse number is a choice bit of crime blaxploitation. Steve Chaka is the journalist's journalist who becomes involved with an all-black vigilante group known as the War on Crime. WoC's motive is to clean up the streets of Johannesburg to pool all the money from corruption and drug deals into helping the kids.

Chaka's friendship with a white detective Deel(played by Nigel Davenport) becomes strained as the journalist gets information on the WoC's "hits" before they occur.

It's obvious Chaka is not the mysterious leader of the WoC because the two men actually meet. The reveal of who the WoC actually are is so good I am not going to ruin that here. I found myself getting sucked deeper into the film while I waited for Stagg's hairy hitman to show up. When he finally does materialize, I found it worth the wait.

The music is perfectly funky (was that Trevor Rabin I saw credited for the soundtrack?), and the dubbing is sometimes way off (as in the case of most of these films). The cinematography is surpisingly good too. While Stagg's screenplay contains some of the most groan-inducing lines I've heard in awhile (seemingly nice journalist Chaka tries to growl "if there's anything you know baby, it's how to make a man come!"), it also has some of the coolest dialog for Stagg's character, the hitman Johnson. When asked if he feels anything while killing another person, Johnson casually responds: "Nothing…except a part of me the rest doesn't listen's to."

Nigel Davenport makes a decent go at being a cop's cop and tries to maintain his friendship with Chaka despite the racial tensions and rampant corruption going on in all of Johannesburg society.

Make no mistake this is a blaxploitation film (the opening sequence would have fit nicely into the hilarious blaxploitation ode Black Dynamite), with a little dicey editing, really wooden acting and a great soundtrack. But the reveal of the War on Crime and the interesting journey Chuka embarks upon makes Death of a Snowman worth a viewing.

For the record, I'm not an expert on film or sound quality (aspect ratios and all that, so please check out other reviews for those details). I will say, if you like '70s grindhouse crime and/or blaxploitation films, you'll dig this.

A second viewing resulted in my higher rating.

Catch the trailer here.

Legalese: all imagery copyright their respective copyright owners. No copyright infringement is intended or presumed.

I missed this...

2010-12-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Almost 5 years ago, I embarked upon the most satisfying project I'd ever done as a fan(woman/girl). Sadly, school and the kookiness of me and fandom made me pull some of the only film journalistic essays I was proud of.

While my own grievances played a large part, I cannot deny the hold that Eurocult/Italian, and more recently, American drive-in and/or grindhouse films have upon me. There's something about low budget horror/western/action/fantasy and some crime and science fiction genre films that just pulls me in. I'm mot into crying or drama, I just want to escape when I watch movies.

On this blog I'll review flicks from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s whose tropes, actors, beards and/or plot/characters I just adore. Occasionally you'll see more recent films whose spirit is utter grindhouse (The Devil's Rejects and Black Dynamite anyone?)

Blind buying has become a fun escape now that school is over. It is with these films I'm reminded why I want to write movies/fiction etc. in the first place.

Many of these films are repeat viewings, but lately, I've had a nice run on blind buys films that just pulled me in (okay, cue hot '70s bearded guy). And beneath the fuzz, I've found some really fun films.

I'll mention that the movie reviews are Region 0/1 NTSC as I no longer own a region free dvd player.

I will also add that all screenshots and cover images are copyright their respective owners with no infringement intended or presumed.

I've no figures for authority, I just hate authority figures. So on that note, I hope I can share my enthusiasm with you and rekindle my desire to write films as awesome as the ones I review here.

KEY:

N=Nudity
T=Titties! (because that is so much to fun to say whenever Edwige Fenech reveals her famous breasts - and that one is for the male readers who won't get repulsed when I gush over the men)
G=Gore
L/NBQ=Low or No Beard Quotent
HBQ=High Beard Quotent
MB= More Beard! © me 2008-present
Fan=Fantasy
F=Fun
FF=Freakin' Fun
FFF=Fabulously Freakin' Fun
FFFF=Furiously Fabulous Freakin' Fun
C=Crime
CL= Christopher Lee!
JC=John Carpenter
FN=Franco Nero
FT=Fabio Testi
H=Horror
HH=Hippie Horror
B=Bikers
WTF=exactly
T=Trippy
M=Monsters
SF=Science Fiction
SH= Satanic Horror
SW= Say What?
W=Westerns
ZZZ=Zoinks! Watch this for a sleep aid that works faster than Unisom.

More KEYS as I think of it....