Grindhouse Classics & Legendary Shockers

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Here's a handful of mini reviews I did a few years back. Anybody remember or have seen any of these?

SPIDER BABY 1964/68 aka CANNIBAL ORGY, OR THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD/ THE LIVER EATERS

Lon Chaney Jr., Sid Haig, Jill Banner, Beverly Washburn, Mantan Moreland

"SEDUCTIVE INNOCENCE OF LOLITA! SAVAGE HUNGER OF A BLACK WIDOW! A TASTE FOR BLOOD!" (Promotional tagline)

Lon Chaney Jr. is the chauffeur and long time caretaker for the Merrye family. A family that suffers from the Merrye Syndrome. Defined as "a progressive deterioration of the mental faculties". The product of inbreeding, a regression and or rotting of the brain that eventually causes physical deformities and homicidal and cannibalistic behavior. Some lawyers and distant cousins show up to settle the matters of the estate since the owners have long since past away. Of course the relatives are only interested in the monetary aspects and eventually meet the demented siblings watched over by the nervous Bruno (Lon Chaney Jr.) who isn't keen on visitors staying too long at the Merrye house.

The kooky family, one that would give the Addams Family goosebumps, consists of Virginia who enjoys playing "spider" with her unsuspecting victims. Elizabeth, the equally deranged sister who hates everybody. Ralph, a drooling, mental midget who cannot speak and Uncle Ned and Aunt Martha, who reside in the basement, and for good reason. They go unseen until the finale. Family values takes on a whole new meaning when the Merrye family household is threatened by the "normal" outsiders.

Once the cast is dwindled down the film comes to a fiery conclusion when Bruno, now half insane himself from his failed efforts to "protect" the psychotic Merrye siblings by keeping the arrogant and uncaring visitors alive, blows the house up and everyone in it. Two people survive with one being one of hte distant cousins who, in a last minute twist, threatens to keep the Merrye Syndrome going for another generation.

Shot in 1964 by famous cult director Jack Hill in just 12 days with the moniker CANNIBAL ORGY, OR THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD. The film ultimately became locked up in court room politics by its distributor for 3 years and emerged, finally, in 1967 with the new title SPIDER BABY and did nothing. In 1968 it was re-issued with little success as THE LIVER EATERS and finally sank into obscurity and for years was thought to be a lost film.

Seeing the film today it's not surprising that it didn't do well as there had never been anything like it at the time. The popular tv show THE ADDAMS FAMILY would appear to be inspired by this movie but that show comes no where close to the blackly comical approach of the subject matter. It is also apparent that this film must have been seen by Tobe Hooper as there are numerous similarities to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE one being the outrageous dinner sequence and the nature of the demented family members in SPIDER BABY. The film is a favorite of Rob Zombie and obviously influenced his awful directorial debut HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES as well as influencing the slew of "crazy family in the secluded house" movies that followed in the 70s and well into the 80s.

There are many memorable scenes in SPIDER BABY. The aforementioned dinner scene which includes a rib tickling nod to the original WOLF MAN (1941) that featured Lon as the werewolf. The sight of Virginia playing "spider" with former vaudeville, as well as one of the first black actors in Hollywood, Mantan Moreland. The veritable house of horrors with all manner of creepy frights that inhabit the Merrye home, and the entertaining opening credits sequence which features a horror themed song belted out by Lon Chaney Jr. himself.

Chaney at this time was a heavy alcoholic but according to Hill, stayed on the wagon for the duration of the shoot. Jill Banner who plays Virginia later co-starred in THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST. Beverly Washburn was the little girl in Disney's OLD YELLER. Sid Haig's career needs no intro to exploitation fans. a favorite of Hill's and Eddie Romero, the Almerian actor appeared in numerous US and Filipino productions. Some of his other credits are- COFFY (1973), FOXY BROWN (1974), THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972), GALAXY OF TERROR (1981), JACKIE BROWN (1997), HOUSE OF A 1000 CORPSES and its sequel THE DEVILS REJECTS.

Jack Hill would go on to a successful career in exploitation with such films as the classic Pam Grier vehicles COFFY and FOXY BROWN. He kick started the Women in Prison genre with 1971's THE BIG DOLL HOUSE and the even better THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972) He directed three mexican horror pictures that ended up being the final films of Boris Karloff. SWITCHBLADE SISTERS (1975) and also was an uncredited co-director on the Roger Corman produced films THE WASP WOMAN (1960) and THE TERROR (1963) which also had Jack Nicholson as an uncredited co-director and Monte Hellman who did get credit. Hill never made it as a big time Hollywood director but it was probably just as well. An extremely talented filmmaker just the same responsible for some of the most memorable pieces of greasy cinematic pizza ever made.

ADDENDUM: I caught Beverly Washburn in a LEAVE IT TO BEAVER episode last week!

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THE FLESH EATERS 1964

Byron Sanders, Martin Kosleck, Barbara Wilkin, Rita Morley

"BEHIND THIS MEMBRANE...YOU WILL BE DRIVEN TO A POINT...MIDWAY BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH!" "THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT BE STERILIZED WITH FEAR ARE THOSE AMONG YOU WHO ARE ALREADY DEAD!" (Promotional tagline)

A charter pilot is hired to fly a heavy on the sauce movie actress and her personal assistant to Provincetown. Problems with the plane and a storm at sea force them to land on a supposedly uninhabited island. They find a German scientist who is conducting secret experiments and who also harbors a dark past. Some skeletal remains found on the beach and the professor's persistence on the group leaving the island leads Grant Murdock, the pilot (Byron Sanders) to suspect something terrible is going on on the island. Meanwhile the professor makes lustful advances on the alcoholic actress and when she spurns his intentions he pushes there plane out into the sea stranding them there blaming the incident on the obnoxious film star in her drunken stupor.

More skeletons are found and the professor, not giving too much away states that the bones are probably the result of microscopic parasites in the water around the island that eat the flesh off of the bones. Turns out the professor is a former Nazi doctor who created the flesh eating parasites for use in the war. In leading the other members of the group to think he has killed a sample of the creatures with high electric shock, the evil professor only stuns them enabling him to safely contain the monsters for selling to the highest bidder in other countries.

However, electrocuting them causes the flesh eaters to grow to gigantic proportions. After killing one of the ever growing monsters, the professor reminds Grant that the sea is forming an even bigger creation leading to a wild and gory finale.

Initially began in 1960 with a budget of $60,000 the film was delayed because of a hurricane that destroyed the sets and equipment. After a year of problems the film was completed after the budget increased to $105,000. During that time producer Terry Curtis won $72,000 on a tv game show which contributed to the production budget. Although his name is listed as director, Jack Curtis also performed most of the DP duties and wrote the script both uncredited.

The FLESH EATERS holds the distinction of being an early gore film although full on gore in American cinema didn't come until Herschell Gordon Lewis's 1964 film BLOOD FEAST. The few scenes of gory mayhem is quite astonishing for a sci-fi/horror film made in the early 60s. And that's not counting the deleted scenes showing Nazi doctors, in a flashback, putting naked women into pools of the flesh eating parasites.

Actor Martin Kosleck was a prolific tv actor appearing in such great shows as THE WILD, WILD WEST (Two episodes from season 4). He often played German villainy to the hilt and had a face prime for bad guy roles. THE FLESH EATERS is a classic exploitation film, a kitchen sink flick if you will, whose sleaze quotient isn't hampered by the B/W photography.

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RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975)

Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lana Parker, R.G. Armstrong, Paul Partain, Jack Starrett (cameo)

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO RACE WITH THE DEVIL, YOU'VE GOT TO BE FAST AS HELL!" "GOD HELP YOU WHEN THE DEVIL WANTS YOU!" (Promotional taglines)

Professional bike racers, Frank (Warren Oates) and Roger (Peter Fonda) along with their two wives, Alice and Kelly (Loretta Swit;M*A*S*H and Lara Parker;DARK SHADOWS, respectively) head off on a vacation in their new RV. They stop off at a secluded spot and at night the two friends see a group of "kids" apparently having a party and drinking a bit much as one of them disrobes. It turns out it's not a party but a satanic Mass concluding with a human sacrifice.

The two are discovered and are attacked by the devil worshippers. The group barely manage to escape with just a busted rear window. The following day Frank and Roger see the sheriff played by R.G. Armstrong. Meanwhile the girls find a note with indecipherable writings on it. They go to a library and find out it's a threat should they not leave quietly.

They ignore the warning and are terrorized again and again with each subsequent attack more and more deadly. At one point they re-enter the RV after enjoying an evening in a local bar to find two rattlesnakes hidden inside. After this they buy a shotgun and carry on. Of course the satanists are not about to let them go as they show up at every turn and the final 15-20 minutes is filled with car stunts as the devil worshippers come out of the wood work to take out the vacationers.

After the big demolition finale the satanists show up for one more go round.

RACE WITH THE DEVIL is an exciting action-horror vehicle that, for the first half anyways deals with the horror and suspense aspects of the story and the last half, the action set pieces reserving one last jolt for the conclusion. It's an interesting picture as it is, to my knowledge, Warren Oates only horror picture (not counting THE TWILIGHT ZONE although he did turn in one helluva performance in the super sleazy 1976 film DRUM) but not Fonda.

In an interview Fonda recalls the film noting the main reason he did it was to work with Warren again as the two were great friends. Fonda also appeared in the classic chase flick DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY (1974) as well as the killer snake movie SPASMS (1981/83) in which he starred with the great Oliver Reed.

One of the more terrifying, but a bit unbelievable, aspects of the film is that everywhere the four vacationers go they find it populated by the creepiest people who watch and stare with threatening gazes giving the impression (and ultimately true revelation) that the devil worshippers are everywhere, at every turn just waiting for them to pass through. Director Jack Starrett does an exceptional job of heightening the suspense and terror as the film progresses which made RACE WITH THE DEVIL a surprise hit in the summer of 1975 grossing 12 million domestically. It also did very well overseas.

Jack Starrett, one of my favorite 70s directors made a career out of choice exploitation cinema directing other nifty little time wasters like RUN, ANGEL, RUN (1969) and THE LOSERS (1973) both with 70s fave William Smith, THE STRANGE VENGEANCE OF ROSALIE (1976; which MISERY ripped off big time), the blaxploitation favorites SLAUGHTER (1972) starring Jim Brown, CLEOPATRA JONES (1973) starring the late Tamara Dobson and FINAL CHAPTER-WALKING TALL (1977), the third installment in the popular true story of famed Tennessee lawman Buford Pusser. Some of his TV credits include THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, HILLS STREET BLUES and the short lived PLANET OF THE APES television series. Director Starrett claimed in interviews to have hired real satanists for the film. The executive producer, Paul Maslansky also handled producer chores on the classic Bronson movie HARD TIMES (1975) as well as the British horror classic DEATHLINE (1972), released here as RAW MEAT. He would go on to produce the popular POLICE ACADEMY films.

A classic chase movie that successfully combines both horror and action genres. The score by Lalo Schifrin (PLANET OF THE APES films, PROPHECY) is both brooding and dynamic when the need arises.

A script has been commissioned for a remake to begin sometime in the near future.......UGH!

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MARK OF THE DEVIL (1970) German release (1972) US release

Herbert Lom, Udo Kier, Reggie Nalder, Oliviero Vuco

"POSITIVELY THE MOST HORRIFYING FILM EVER MADE!" "RATED 'V' FOR VIOLENCE" (Promotional taglines)

The movie concerns witchhunting in the 15th century. Baron Christian (horror fave Udo Kier) saves Vanessa Benedict (Oliviero Vuco) from the evil clutches of Albino (Reggie Nalder) and eventually falls in love with her. Meanwhile, Lord Cumberland (Herbert Lom) the Witchfinder General, comes to town to restore order and torture any witches found there. Of course Vanessa is branded a disciple of the Devil and imprisoned. Christian questions this until he witnesses his mentor Lord Cumberland commit murder. Christian frees Vanessa who rallies the townspeople to kill the evil Cumberland. Christian, being his acolyte, is mistakenly captured by the angry mob and tortured and killed before Vanessa can stop them. Cumberland escapes and the film ends with Vanessa, in tears, holding Christian's body.

There's not much plot to speak of in MARK OF THE DEVIL although the trappings are very similar to a soap opera (an extremely gory one). While the film is based in fact, the director is more concerned with showing the violent acts in the most graphic fashion imaginable instead of focusing equally as much screen time on the why and how so many people were put to death in a variety of ways during this dark and brutal time period. There are good performances but they take a back seat to the more prominent scenes of torture and death.

The film's centerpiece, the notorious tongue ripping scene, was featured prominently on the US release posters. It also contained the Ad campaign, "The first film rated 'V' for Violence", even though no such rating was created by the MPAA. Free Barf Bags were passed out to patrons at the theater box office. The film was a huge success world wide and even made more money than the classic Michael Reeves picture THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) starring Vincent Price no doubt aided by its lurid Ad Campain.

The film's director(s) Michael Armstrong and Adrian Hoven disliked each other immensely as both wanted to shoot the film in different fashions. The ending originally was much different. After the death of Christian, the bodies of the unjustly murdered towns people rise from the dead and kill Lord Cumberland. Armstrong hated this ending and reportedly destroyed this portion of the film. Now, it can only be seen as still shots taken from the negative. There is much atmosphere lent to the production as it was shot in and around a real Austrian Castle where people were tried and executed as witches. The film also benefits from a beautiful and haunting soundtrack that was finally released to disc a couple of years ago in a limited quantity.

The star Herbert Lom was also in Hammer's version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962), MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) and some trashy flicks by notorious Spanish hack Jess Franco among his fantasy credits.

Udo Kier made a career out of portraying quirky characters, most famously his interpretations of both Dr. Frankenstein (FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN 1974) and Count Dracula (BLOOD FOR DRACULA 1974) two very gory tongue in cheek cult classics shot back to back by director Paul Morrissey (and there is still controversy today as to who really directed these two, Morrissey, or Antonio Margheriti).

Reggie Nalder, wow, what a face! Most remember him as Mr. Barlow from Tobe Hooper's SALEM'S LOT (1979) he also played a vampire character in the Albert Band cult film ZOLTAN, HOUND OF DRACULA aka DRACULA'S DOG (1977).

A sequel followed almost immediately from the Armstrong/Hoven team and it was a mixed bag. Supposedly banned in 19 countries it's more of the same.

MARK OF THE DEVIL is a gruesome night at the drive in but like a number of other Euro horrors with a hint of history behind it, the facts are just a template to showcase the most sensational scenes of violence possible. While not as accomplished as Reeve's WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968), MARK...relies on visceral shocks to keep its audience "entertained".

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THE DEVIL'S RAIN (1975) re-released in 1978

William Shatner, Tom Skerritt, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, Keenan Wynn, John Travolta

"HEAVEN HELP US ALL WHEN THE DEVIL'S RAIN!" (Odd promotional tagline)

Mark Preston (William Shatner) returns home after searching for his missing father. His father eventually shows up missing his eyes and proclaiming "Corbis wants the book!" Said book contains a list of all those who have sold there souls to the Devil. The Prestons have it and Mark isn't about to give it up. Mark is tricked by Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) and becomes, himself, an unwilling sacrifice. Occult specialist Dr. Richards (Eddie Albert GREEN ACRES!) and Mark's younger brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) show up and plot to destroy the Devil's Rain, a bottle containing the souls of the victims already damned by Corbis.

They find out that the Preston family has had the book in their possession(no pun intended) for centuries. Without the register of names, Corbis cannot lead his unholy disciples into the kingdom of Hell as he had sworn to track the Preston's forever until the book was in his hands.

The film culminates in a wild ending with Borgnine transforming into a goat demon and nearly the entire cast melting into piles of slime and goop that was repeated very similarly in the 1981 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. There are some genuinely scary scenes found here. One scene that foreshadows something terrible is about to happen is Mark's first meeting with Corbis were he negotiates giving up the terrible tome. In the background behind the two actors it appears a major storm is approaching and it adds a creepy feeling to the scene which itself, as well as a lot of the film, takes place in a ghost town.

What a cast that is on hand here. William Shatner, Ida Lupino, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, Tom Skerritt, Keenan Wynn and John Travolta in his first screen appearance.

William Shatner needs no introduction as he has appeared in many films and TV shows. Some of his other genre credits are IMPULSE (1974 where the Shat plays a serial killer), KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977 Nature-gone-amuck favorite) and VISITING HOURS (1982 a slasher with Michael Ironside in a career making role).

Ernest Borgnine, who was reportedly unhappy on the set of this film also appeared in many movies both in the US and abroad and TV shows too numerous to mention.

Eddie Albert of course, is probably best remembered from the GREEN ACRES TV show.

Tom Skerritt, in his first horror picture, wasn't happy about the finished film as he was working with the director to make it more tongue in cheek but the producers intervened half way through and had Fuest re-shoot it.

Director Robert Fuest is best remembered to genre fans for his two DR. PHIBES films both starring Vincent Price. THE DEVIL'S RAIN was Fuest's last horror picture.

Believe it or not, at the time of the film's release it was hyped heavily about the involvement of the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton Svandor Lavey who not only served as Consultant but also features in the film! This upped the exploitation quota immensely and probably what hurt the film at the box office as it was not successful but has over the years amassed a cult (still no pun intended) following. It was re-released in 1978 to capitalize on John Travolta's popularity with SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977). He features briefly in two scenes before he himself, melts into a pile of slop.

A great, and curious filmic artifact of the 70s with one helluva cast the likes of which would continue with director William Girdler and his 70s exploitation resume.

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WALKING TALL- 1973

Joe Don Baker, Felton Perry, Bruce Glover, Elizabeth Hartman, Lief Garrett, Gene Evans

Buford Pusser, a former wrestler, along with his family, moves back to his boyhood town. There, he finds drugs, prostitution and corrupt law officials. He decides to run for sheriff and wins. Pusser then goes on a crusade to rid the town of its criminal elements...including the corrupt lawmen and judges. Trying to take down the crime syndicate turns into a bloody quest for revenge as Buford is shot, stabbed and beaten multiple times. His refusal to back off results in the brutal murder of his wife.

Baker's most memorable role and he's intense as all hell commanding your attention in every scene he's in. Most notable is his apparent slow descent into madness as his attempts at ridding his town of crime slowly becomes his search for vengeance. Both sides constantly one up each other. The vicious crooks sneak attack Pusser and his family at every turn and Pusser returns the favor in kind. Some of the most brutal and bloody encounters ever caught on film.

The movie's sadistically violent tone is heightened by a foreshadowed, but still shocking attack on Pusser and his wife during the conclusion. His face shattered by gunfire, he manages one final act of retribution, the film ends with the fact that some of them got away. It's here, during the closing moments, after everything Pusser has done for the town, that the townspeople finally band together and burn the remains of the bar to the ground.

A huge box office hit and one of the greatest drive-in movies ever made. Its success guaranteed a sequel would follow. For some reason or another, Baker did not return for the second film. Instead, the imposing Bo Svenson took over. Although the second film tones down the violence, Svenson makes the role his own and especially shines in the third film which returns to the bloody shenanigans of the first film.

Baker can also be seen in 1969's GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN playing a one armed gunslinger. His role here is memorable only his death scene is a bit abrupt. He's also in the film WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS (1971), about a group of Nam vets going on a killing spree in their hometown. One of a handful of violent action pictures made as a response to the Vietnam War.

Lief Garrett, who plays Pusser's young son, also appears along with Gene Evans, in 1974's DEVIL TIMES FIVE about a group of vacationers at a getaway in a snow bound estate who find five kids lost in the snow. It turns out the kids are from an insane asylum and they go about killing off the cast of adults in gory ways including a nifty piranha's-in-the-bathtub bit. He would later go on to a brief career on the disco charts.

Someone I know who claims to know the Pusser family said that Buford only rebelled against the criminals when they refused to continue paying him bribe money. Whether that is true or not is unknown, but real danger was present while filming at all times. Pusser having then broke up a Mafia organization, had a contract taken out on him. He was consultant for the film and carried a gun with him as did Joe Don Baker. Also, whenever Pusser was on set, police were ordered on site. Also, racism was rampant during the shoot with much of it directed towards African American actor, Felton Perry.

Co-star Bruce Glover joked with actress Elizabeth Hartman (who played Pusser's wife in the film) showing her a still from the film depicting her lifeless body covered in blood after being shot in the head with a machine gun and saying he wanted something to remember her by. She tore up the pic and said she didn't want him to remember her like that. In an ironic twist of fate, years later she would commit suicide by jumping to her death from a building.

WALKING TALL would also garner a short lived TV show in which Svenson also took part. A really bad remake would surface in 2004 that attempted to make a mockery of the original. A grim and gritty, down and dirty action film that's highly recommended.

ADDENDUM: Paramount recently re-released the film to DVD in widescreen.

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KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS 1977

William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode, Natasha Ryan

After continuous doses of pesticides having killed off the natural food supply for various species of arachnids, thousands of spiders begin attacking animals such as dogs and cows until finally turning to man as their new source of sustenance. After a small town festival turns into a disaster, a small band of survivors hole up in a house and wait out the spiders onslaught until a final shocking ending brings the film to a close.

Serious cult favorite among horror fans. Hundreds of spiders were employed in the many genuinely terrifying attack scenes (the actors onscreen terror was real). William Shatner delivers a good and subdued, natural performance as the small town veterinarian along with a city doctor played by 70s exploitation fave and playmate Tiffany Bowling. Shatner's real life wife at the time (Ryan) is on hand as well. Shatner of course, would make a career out of appearing in various horror and fantasy movies such as THE DEVIL'S RAIN (1975), IMPULSE (1974) where the Shat played a serial killer(!) VISITING HOURS (1982) and the hard hitting race hate movie THE INTRUDER (1961). Shatner had intended to helm a sequel to KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS back in the early 90s involving inmates in an insane asylum (?) but the project never got off the ground.

The beautiful Bolling starred in the grindhouse favorite THE CANDY SNATCHERS, BONNIE'S KIDS (both 1973) and THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS (1974) among numerous TV credits.

Woody Strode is a familiar face to Euro film fans from many spaghetti westerns like Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968), THE UNHOLY FOUR (1968) and KEOMA (1976). He also featured in a number of Italian crime films such as MANHUNT (1972) and the awful LOADED GUN (1974) starring Ursula Andress.

Cardos of course, is known for THE DARK (1979), MUTANT (1984) and EARTH'S FINAL FURY (1980) among others. He also acted in many B horror films in the 60 and 70s. Here, Cardos keeps things rolling quite nicely from one tense shock scene to the next. Some of it is a bit odd such as the scene where a woman hysterically shoots a spider off of her hand (taking some of her fingers with it) but the film is so good, you don't really pay attention to any of the illogical situations.

It's obvious by the actors performances that they did not like having numerous spiders crawling all over them and biting them. This adds a dimension of realism to the film absent from similar movies. One of the best of the Nature-Gone-Amuck genre, the film desperately needs a special edition DVD. Shatner had announced in the early 90s he was going to direct a sequel but nothing ever came of it. The music cues in the film are from the original TWILIGHT ZONE television show and feature in such classic episodes as TO SERVE MAN and BACK THERE.

An ingeniously pulled off plane crash sequence is a highlight. Cardos explains how he did it in an interview with him on another DVD. The film sports one helluva shock ending, too. IMO, one of the best in horror movie history.

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RUN, ANGEL, RUN 1969

William Smith, Valerie Starrett, William Bonner, Dan Kemp, Margaret Markov

Directed by Jack Starrett

Angel (Smith) gets paid big money to tell his story of the inner workings of being in a motorcycle gang. Only his former gang mates don't appreciate the notoriety and go after Angel and his hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold girlfriend. Angel takes up working for a sheepherder and the two become good friends. Angel contemplates a change in his life, but before that can take place, he must face a final, inevitable confrontation with his former gang, the Devil's Advocates.

A damn brilliant biker flick from actor turned director Starrett. Totally changes your perception of the average biker movie creating much drama and emotion punctuated by violence during the beginning and the end. Some may be turned off by this, but I found it refreshing and genius especially in the way the film is shot. Not sure if Brian de Palma had used split screen at this point in his career but Starrett uses it here beautifully during the opening through the first chase scene between Smith and the bikers. Very artfully done sometimes with as many as five images on the screen at the same time. Starrett also employs another trick. Throughout the film when scenes change, you will see a couple of flickers from the next scene overlapping the one you are watching. His first job as a director, Starrett really seemed to be experimenting with various camera techniques to pull his film off. Whether it was his idea or that of the cinematographer, is unknown to me but it adds another dimension to this low budget hit.

William Smith acts his heart out in this most unusual biker flick. Unusual in that it takes the rules set down by THE WILD ANGELS (1966), HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS (1967) and numerous others and totally changes them creating a "sensitive" biker flick. Smith is still a tough guy but he gets to show lots of emotion here, more than you'd expect. Smith gets your sympathy here as a man who fights with the notion that he ratted out his gang for a $10,000 story but also his girlfriend, Laurie (Starrett; the directors wife) tries to help him make a change for the better.

Valerie Starrett is quite the looker here. She plays a hooker who, at the beginning must turn tricks to raise enough money to get Angel out of jail. During the credits, quick flashes reveal that the gang has paid off the police to arrest Angel so that they can get at him at their leisure. Once he gets out, the members chase after him. There are some really good stunts during the opening chase scene. One in particular is Angel jumping his bike onto a moving train.

After this and the subsequent scene inside a train car where three guys try to rape Laurie, the film switches gears becoming more of a dramatic feature for a time. It's interesting that during the first 20 minutes or so, Angel looks like a biker big bushy mustache and all. Once he gets his job with Felton (Kemp), he is suddenly without the mustache and his biker garb. It's his first stage of shedding his turbulent past.

Cult actress Margaret Markov is gorgeous here. She was 17 when she did this movie and the scene where she unwittingly and naively leads the bikers to where Angel is, is soon followed by a rather nasty rape scene which is shockingly intercut with a tender lovemaking scene between Angel and Laurie. The following morning, Meg (Markov) is released and she is threatened that if she says anything, they'll come back and rape her mother. In a state of catatonia, Meg's parents believe that Angel was responsible. Just when things are looking up for him, the gang finally catch up to him. He finds that they have now taken turns with Laurie and call him out for the showdown. He is nearly killed until felton shows up with his shotgun...

Markov had a brief career but she was stunning in the blaxploitation actioner BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA (1972) and THE ARENA (1974). A gorgeous blonde, it's a shame she disappeared from film at 22. According to the commentary, it's not known what became of her.

The film also benefits from the title track sung by Tammy Wynette which may account for a lot of the films success. Made for around $95,000, the film grossed $15 million. Lots of great info on the commentary track involving Smith who holds a couple of world records. One for the most continuous sit ups; 5,100 in a five hour period! He was also a spy in the Korean War, speaks 5 languages and has numerous degrees from various Universities. Smith is probably the most recognized biker movie actor having appeared in at least 7 biker movies including ANGELS DIE HARD (1970) and also the cult fave THE LOSERS (1970) aka NAM'S ANGELS also for Jack Starrett. Smith also appeared in the horror flicks GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1974) as the prodigy of a vampire rape(!) seeking out his father to destroy him and INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973) where he, along with Victoria Vetri hunted down sex-crazed insect women; the leader of which was former PRICE IS RIGHT girl, Anitra Ford. Smith will probably be most famous for fighting Clint Eastwood in the classic ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN (1980).

Starrett, one of my all time favorite exploitation directors, would also helm RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975), THE STRANGE VENGEANCE OF ROSALIE (1972), SLAUGHTER (1972), CLEOPATRA JONES (1973) and the gritty FINAL CHAPTER-WALKING TALL (1977) among many others. Starrett will probably be most remembered as Gabby Johnson in BLAZING SADDLES (1974). Starrett usually puts in a cameo appearance in his films but I was unable to spot him here.

A nice surprise and a real showcase for William Smith, it's highly recommended for Smith fans as well as 70s exploitation aficionados.

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THE LOSERS- 1973

William Smith, Paul Kosloo, Jack Starrett

A biker gang led by bad ass William Smith is hired by the military to break a political prisoner out of a Vietnamese prison camp. Realizing their bikes and fists aren't enough, they fashion machine guns and rocket launchers to their motorcycles and take on the Viet Cong.

During the first half, the film isn't very serious but soon, the violence level is raised culminating in a wild kamikaze finale where the bikers launch a final assault on the POW encampment. The general storyline itself is a bit silly, but it definitely delivers the type of gung ho low budget thrills inherent in violent 70s grindhouse actioners.

William Smith, as in all his movies, is an attention getter. He need only look at you to be intimidating. Called "the toughest guy I ever fought", by Fred Williamson, Smith made a career out of playing tough guys whether good or bad in movies like RUN, ANGEL RUN, HAMMER, PIRANHA, PIRANHA, ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, MANIAC COP and RED DAWN. A long list of tv credits also inhabits Smith's resume. He also has an almost inexhaustible list of accomplishments outside the film world to long and impressive to list here. Smith also writes poetry. One of my favorite actors.

Paul Kosloo, who normally plays weasely bad guy roles, gets to play one of the anti-heroic bikers. He can be spotted in numerous 70s movies like JOE KIDD and the great Charles Bronson flick MR. MAJESTYK.

Director Jack Starrett was a master at working fast and coming in under budget. He directed many great 70s drive-in favorites. Among them, SLAUGHTER (1972), CRY BLOOD, APACHE (1972) and THE STRANGE VENGEANCE OF ROSALIE (1974) the movie that Stephen King obviously borrowed for his book MISERY. Starrett also had cameos in all his movies. He even played the drunkard Gabby Johnson in BLAZING SADDLES as well as the cruel Deputy Sergeant in FIRST BLOOD (1982). Starrett was also a regular directing television programs as well as actor in many other films.

THE LOSERS (1973) serves up some nice action sequences most especially in its last half for 70s violent action film aficionados.

[vonhumboldtfleisher]

Nice reviews. I saw RACE WITH THE DEVIL again recently because I was going to review it for my blog, and I really noticed how incredibly blank Peter Fonda's performance was. I suppose massive amounts of dangerous mind-bending drugs will do that to you. I enjoyed the film a lot, and had no problem whatsoever swallowing the notion that every small town between California and Aspen is populated with Satanists, but isn't it a little odd that they go to such lengths to show us how badass Oates and Fonda are on their little racing motorcycles, and then never actually involve that particular ability in their attempt to get away from a gazillion Satanists?

Anyway, nice stuff, thanks for posting.

[venoms5]

SUPERSTITION 1982- aka THE WITCH

Directed by James Roberson

A family moves into an old house where strange murders have occurred for years. Turns out the haunted home was built on a site where an evil demonic witch was burned at the stake in the late 1600s and buried in the lake next to the house. Gore galore and a twist ending highlight this little seen shocker.

I rented this back in the mid 80s and was blown away by the films many gory set pieces. Seeing it now on one of AB's very last releases remastered, it still rocks but the budgetary limitations shine through. The gore is well done for such an obscure film and the movie grabs your attention from the beginning as one guy is decapitated (offscreen) only for his friend to find his head inside a microwave oven where it summarily explodes. The friend tries to escape through a window only for some unseen force to cut him in half. The camera cuts back and forth between the man's severed body and lingers on the sight of his body twitching for a few moments.

Inarguably the best moment occurs when a circular saw loosens itself, flies across the floor and plants itself in a priests body sawing its way out his back. A totally unexpected moment and definitely an eye opener. Other gruesome delights include a woman who finds a severed hand attached to her leg when she emerges from the cursed lake, a hanging, a spike through a head, a nifty flashback scene where we see the witch put to death followed shortly thereafter by a priest being crushed in a wine press and a manifestation of the witch as a sort of reptilian creature wearing a cloak (you never see the face but the arms have long fingernails and scales).

The score isn't bad either and the director manages to capture some scares and even successfully creates an atmosphere of dread throughout. The cast is made up of familiar TV and movie character actors like Albert Salmi as the police detective investigating the murders. AB's disc is a treat to finally see this "lost" and neglected movie from the early 80s in a remastered format. The trailer possessing the original title is the sole extra.

[venoms5]

but isn't it a little odd that they go to such lengths to show us how badass Oates and Fonda are on their little racing motorcycles, and then never actually involve that particular ability in their attempt to get away from a gazillion Satanists?

Ha! Never thought about it much, Von but that is an interesting observation. I did enjoy how the movies suspense and action level increased as both the danger, and the film went on.

[venoms5]

ALLIGATOR 1980

Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Henry Silva

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet into the sewers. It feeds on a growth hormone inside dead pets used in tests from a pharmaceutical company. The beast grows to be over 35 feet long. It goes on a rampage killing anyone that happens to be down there before erupting through the city streets of Chicago where its killing spree continues until the creature is cornered in an exciting finale.

Lewis Teague's excellent horror-action opus is a throwback to all the popular and beloved creature features of the 50s as well as the Nature-Gone-Amuck movies from the 70s. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, ALLIGATOR features numerous sight gags and witty banter thanks to a smart script by John Sayles.

Sayles, who got his start on Roger Corman movies such as the fan favorites PIRANHA (1978) and the "Magnificent Seven in Space" movie, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980) as well as THE HOWLING (1980) went on to what would be considered more high profile films like MATEWAN and EIGHT MEN OUT.

Director Teague also did the horror films CUJO (1983) and CAT'S EYE (1985). ALLIGATOR is probably his most famous and best loved film. He displays an assured hand at handling action scenes which is evident in the lake sequence as well as the taut finale.

The movie bombed during its initial theatrical run but became the biggest hit (at the time) on the ABC Network for a movie of the week. It was so popular for the fledgling network, that ABC execs put up the bulk of the budget for the lousy sequel, ALLIGATOR 2: THE MUTATION (1990). What was supposed to have been a TV movie, became a direct to video production that did get theater play overseas. In fact, the version of ALLIGATOR that was shown on television had extra scenes that were not in the theatrical cut nor in the video releases. One scene involved a woman having left her baby alone while she answered the phone only for the gator to pass by.

Robert Forster is great as Detective Madison. He plays the role quite naturally the way you would assume a real person would. There's a running gag throughout about his receding hair line that is quite funny. One great bit has a man wired with explosives come into the police station and a quick thinking Madison comes up with a humorous diatribe about what he wanted to be when he grew up which distracts the nut long enough for them to disable the explosive only to learn that it's just a radio!

Robin Riker is fine as the Herpetologist whose father flushed her pet gator Ramon during the opening. She never learns that it is in fact her pet gator that is running rampant through the sewers and city streets.

And of course there's Silva as the big game hunter Colonel Brock. He nearly steals the movie from the big alligator. Silva's character is one arrogant and over confident SOB. One of his best bits is where he describes to a pretty TV reporter the mating sounds the gators make to not so subtlety let her know he's interested. Another involves the discovery of a large deposit of alligator poop and of course Silva's final scene in the movie where he is swallowed whole by the monster.

There's also quite a lot of gore on hand and one scene that got critics riled was a scene in which some kids were playing around a pool late at night. One of them is "forced" to walk the plank so to speak. As the mother turns the outside pool lights on, it is discovered to the child's horror, that a giant alligator is in his pool and when he is pushed in, the creature devours him. Another great scene sees the gator trash a party held by some rich folks including the seedy pharmaceutical owners and workers who get their just desserts. A great bit sees the gator smash a limo into pulp to get at the head heavy inside. The effects involving the mock up gator are still impressive and the model gator ended up as the mascot for a Baseball team although I do not remember which one.

The music is also suitably spooky and captures the mood wonderfully. Some cues are stock music that could be heard in numerous classic TWILIGHT ZONE TV episodes like the shocker TO SERVE MAN and BACK THERE as well as another excellent Nature Amuck movie, KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977).

There was another gator movie before ALLIGATOR debuted, the Thai horror flick, CROCODILE (1979) about a Godzilla sized croc terrorizing an ocean front resort. But years after ALLIGATOR's release there would be a new giant gator movie entitled LAKE PLACID (1999) which mined similar tongue in cheek territory but was not as memorable as its predecessor. Soon, a slew of direct to video gator and croc movies were released including the impressive DARK AGE(1986), Tobe Hooper's CROCODILE (2000) and BLOOD SURF (2000) among many others. Some got theatrical release such as 2006's PRIMEVIL and the upcoming film from Greg McClean (WOLF CREEK), ROGUE. None of these other films came close to the spirited fun and gruesome delights of Lewis Teague's highly entertaining monster movie.

ALLIGATOR was released by Anchor Bay UK on a double feature with its awful sequel. For some odd reason, considering its popularity, AB did not release this stateside. Finally, Lionsgate releases this on the 18th of September with the commentary ported over as well as various interviews. It's long overdue.

ADDENDUM: The special edition is a must have though sadly, the scenes shown on the television broadcast aren't included as extras.

[venoms5]

SAVAGE STREETS 1984

Linda Blair, Robert Dryer, John Vernon, Linnea Quigley

Directed by Danny Steinmann

Brenda is the leader of a female street gang who runs into trouble with a vicious bunch of hoodlums from an all male gang, The Scars led by Jake (Dryer). When Brenda's deaf and mute sister, Heather (Quigley) is brutally gang raped in the girl's locker room, Brenda goes after the ones responsible. Only after one of Brenda's friends is murdered, thrown off a bridge just before her wedding, does she learn who the culprits are. She goes out and buys some weapons of death and dresses up in a black leather outfit and wastes the punks.

Absolutely one of the best and sleaziest vigilante movies ever. While Anchor Bay releases EVIL DEAD and HALLOWEEN over a dozen times each, this great piece of 80s sleaze remains unreleased on DVD. The films title sums up the proceedings perfectly. It's one mean-spirited movie. It also contains one of the most ferocious and uncompromising rape scenes ever put on film. Not only do all four of the Scars gleefully rape this underage girl, but she is mute and cannot scream for help. After the men are finished with her they beat her senseless leaving her for dead.

During the final 25-30 minutes, Brenda has had enough and takes to the streets with a crossbow and bear traps (among other things) to kill all the Scars members one by one. The sleaze never really lets up for the duration of the picture. Even the principle of the school played by John Vernon is a bit of a freak as he tries to get into Brenda's pants. There's ample nudity and Blair gets fully naked at one point. The film also has a bit of Women-In-Prison shenanigans with a big cat fight in the school showers. Lots of flesh on display throughout the movie. Director Steinmann who also directed the sleaziest entry in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series with part 5, really knows how to deliver the goods.

It also appears I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1979) may have possibly been an influence here. In the Scars gang there are 4 members, one of them is hesitant to comply with the acts of violence the others participate in. In I SPIT...there are also 4 members and one of them was also hesitant especially in the rape scene.

Blair is spot on as the take-no-shit, vigilante-in-waiting female avenger character. Her acting isn't so hot, but she has presence and even seems butch at times. Even still, she's a long way away from Reagan of THE EXORCIST (1973). Blair is also good in the same years raunchy as all hell comedy NIGHT PATROL from former female porn director Jackie Kong who helmed the H.G. Lewis tribute movie BLOOD DINER (1986). Blair is also memorable in one of my favorite slashers, HELL NIGHT (1981) where she plays a resourceful damsel in distress.

Linnea Quigley looks much younger here than she did in the same years SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT and the classic RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. I don't know if they used appliances to make her appear younger, but here, she is noticeably flat chested. She also delivers probably the best performance in the film as the deaf-mute sister. The rape scene is really excrutiating to watch especially considering she tries to scream but cannot.

All the villains are OTT and really make you anxious for when they get theirs. Especially the lead heavy. Dryer goes overboard with the menace resembling a maniac on PCP. Even in the scenes where he isn't shaking, face blood red and eyes about to pop out of his head, he's quite intimidating. I've only seen him on an episode of the A TEAM and the obscure ALIEN spoof, THE CREATURE WASN'T NICE aka SPACESHIP (1981) starring Leslie Nielsen and Cindy Williams.

If you like your vigilante movies with an imposing nasty streak, then this one is for you.

[venoms5]

THE DEADLY SPAWN 1982

A meteor crashes into the woods near a small suburb. Some unlucky campers investigate and become a meal for the small alien creatures within. The aliens, who grow when exposed to water, take up residence in the basement of a large family house and proceed to dwindle the supporting cast down considerably until the young boy in the house (a fan of monster movies) convinces his friends that a man-eating, ever growing alien monster is living in his basement. A great final shock at the end brings the movie to a close.

An extremely gory and very well done "home-made" horror movie from indy filmmaker Doug McKeown. Made during a time when just about anything could get theatrical distribution, it's amazing the level of FX wizardry that was pulled off for this no-budget wonder. Three years in the making, the film was shot in and around the house of the films producer, Tim Hildebrandt using various family members to pitch in for the movie. Definitely one of the most memorable screen monsters, the aliens (especially the main creature) are frightening creations of tentacles and lots and lots of teeth. Lots of teeth. LOTS OF TEETH.

One of the most noteworthy scenes is an attack by about a dozen of the small aliens on a group of old women having a luncheon. The creatures burrow into the oldsters heads and legs chewing away at them. These lively monsters are incredibly voracious and much of the films running time is devoted to scenes of them eating the cast members. Also, it's obvious that the makers are huge fans of old sci-fi monster pictures as there are various mentions of older movies.

A nice hit upon its initial release, Paramount was initially interested in releasing the film but backed out. Continental released it to video in the 80s under the title RETURN OF THE ALIENS: THE DEADLY SPAWN in an attempt to make people think this was somehow related to ALIENS from 1986. The film had such a following that producer Ted Bohus forged ahead with a sequel entitled METAMOPHOSIS: THE DEADLY SPAWN in 1988. Although the film was even more ambitious and a bigger budget than its predecessor, it did not see release until the early 90s where it was released to video as METAMORPHOSIS: THE ALIEN FACTOR. Stop motion was utilized as well as various other special effects techniques in this gory sequel that had very little connection to the original apart from the similarities in the aliens.

Synapse released DEADLY SPAWN to disc in 2004 and it's a featured packed disc that is well worth your time. A hundred times more heart, creativity and ingenuity than any of the mind-bogglingly popular Sci-Fi Channel Shi**ers of the week that pop up on Saturday nights and pass for monster movies. THE DEADLY SPAWN is a great and hyper gory monster-piece the likes of which you don't see anymore, and will likely never see again.

[venoms5]

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD 1970-

A group of hippies brutalize an old man’s granddaughter. They get revenge by feeding the hippies rabies infected meat pies turning them into raving, foaming at the mouth, psychotic killers. Much of the small town are infected and a small group of survivors take shelter in a building fighting off the horde of maniacs as they try to get in.

After finally obtaining this movie I was incredibly let down by the whole thing. Sure, it was violent and occasionally nasty but no where near the gruesomeness people over the years would have you believe. Maybe back during its original release the film was shocking but I truly cannot see what the fuss was about in regards to the violence. Don't get me wrong, it's a great exploitation movie and should be seen by all fans of such films considering this movies place in horror history. But, it was just way too overhyped and it took a second viewing before I appreciated it.

Released on a double bill with Del Tenney's funny I EAT YOUR SKIN aka VOODOO BLOODBATH aka ZOMBIE (1964), a bad film which features no flesh eating zombies but does sport some cool ghouls and a decapitation.

On the gore and violence front in I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, there's dismemberments, decapitations, a pregnant woman who stabs herself in the stomach and self immolation among other nasty treats. Lots of nudity and rape as well. There's also violence committed towards animals here mostly rats but these scenes are a bit disturbing.

Abundant nudity and shocking violence, the film was treated in much the same fashion as LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT with theaters cutting the film themselves. A complete uncut version surfaced from the directors personal collection in 05. Released in a limited quantity from Sage Stallone’s Grindhouse Releasing. Fangoria video recently re-issued it. Hands down the best menus on any DVD ever and they truly are interactive.

A recommended grindhouse favorite whose storyline and history is a little bit better than the actual film.

[venoms5]

ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS- 1974

Dyanne Thorne, George "Buck" Flower

Not the first, but the one that got the Naziploitation genre going. Thorne's Ilsa is a Nazi scientist conducting vile experiments on captives and also utilizing American POWs for her sexual exploits. Those that fail to satisfy her sexual cravings are castrated and their members kept in a medicine cabinet. One captive in particular drives her wild which leads to her undoing resulting in a revolt by the other male and female captives. One female captive has a startling threshold for pain and at the end, resembling a bloody, disfigured mass of a former beautiful woman, seeks revenge on Ilsa. Once it's known that the war is lost, German forces are ordered to march on the extermination camp and destroy all traces...including Ilsa.

Based on a real Nazi Doctor, Ilsa Koch, known as the 'Bitch of Buchenwald', was the wife of a top ranking Nazi official. She really did pickle mens members and also was a prototype for future Wisconsin cannibal Ed Gein in that she enjoyed flaying people alive and making lamps, books and ornaments out of her victims skin. She even shocked the 3rd Reich with her deeds. Her husband was eventually tried and executed while she was, amazingly, acquitted of her crimes(!) after going into an epileptic fit and pretending to be insane. She was re-arrested soon after by German authorities and given a life sentence after 240 witnesses testified against her. In 1967 at age 61 she hanged herself in her cell with bed sheets. Some 50,000 inmates were tortured and murdered by Ilsa Koch.

One of the most famous and infamous of the grindhouse/drive-in experiences, it still packs a wallop today. Features numerous scenes of torture and cruelty and near constant sex and nudity that borders on hardcore. Filmed on the left over sets for HOGAN'S HEROES, director Don Edmonds shows a lot of flair and ingenuity for the 5 figure budget.

Joe Blasco did the make-up. Future John Carpenter and JURASSIC PARK DP Dean Cundey was the cinematographer.

George "Buck" Flower, Boomer from the WILDERNESS FAMILY movies plays a Nazi scientist(!) He returned as a syphillis infected retarded peasant(!) for the first sequel. Flower had an illustrious career in exploitation cinema.

SHE-WOLF was followed by two official sequels (ILSA, HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHIEKS, ILSA, THE TIGRESS OF SIBERIA) and one un-official (ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN, aka WANDA, THE WICKED WARDEN, aka ILSA, ABSOLUTE POWER) directed by super hack Jess Franco. Often imitated but never duplicated, ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS at one time was the biggest moneymaking independent film ever.

[venoms5]

ILSA, HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHIEKS 1976

Dyanne Thorne, Uschi Digard, Haji, George "Buck" Flower

Having re-located to the desert (despite having been killed in the first film) Ilsa kidnaps models to supply a vicious slavery ring and the girls to be sold to villainous Sheiks. The US government sends in some agents to find out the truth behind the operation and also to make contact with one of their operatives who has infiltrated the Harem as a dancer. Ilsa falls for the G-man and she is imprisoned and tortured for doing so. At the conclusion, Ilsa and the US agent lead a revolt against the villainous Shiek who has also imprisoned the young sultan in a dungeon.

Amazing sequel retains much of the gore, torture, violence and sex but turns the mean streak down slightly. Much of the film was shot in a public library after hours(!). Some darkly humorous comedy this time, some of Russ Meyers “Big Top” players, a wonderful homage to Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY, George “Buck” Flower as a leprous psycho and a jaw droppingly ludicrous means of torture/death--an exploding diaphragm that comes into play on a couple of occasions. Highly recommended piece of 70s trashy fun.

A long running urban legend states that Spaulding Gray plays the main villain El Sharif but this has been discounted as just a rumor. I probably like this one a little bit better than the first film as there is so much going on here what with the torture, gore James Bond elements and some of the wildest exploitation sequences that could only have been done in the 70s.

Thorne gives her all for this role and is like in the first film, frequently naked and she's stunning in an extremely tight, black one-piece that reveals her many curves. Thorne also met her husband on the set as he plays one of the Shiek's in the Harem scene. There is also a small bit of humor installed into this entry. The funniest bit involves Max Thayer (who played the evil Commandant in the first film) expecting a woman for the night only for El Sharif to send him a young boy who repeatedly tries to remove Thayers clothes claiming he will be beaten mercilessly if he does not peform his "duties".

Ilsa has a pair of black kung fu fightin' bodyguards who go everywhere with her and can take down any man. They also fight with swords. The exploding diaphram bit is the most memorable part of the movie and is one of the craziest ideas I've seen in a film. It's use in the finale is a tad bit far fetched but wonderful poetic justice just the same.

Followed by ILSA, TIGRESS OF SIBERIA (1977) which is almost as good as the first two but light years better than Franco's horrible pseudo entry ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN aka ILSA, ABSOLUTE POWER aka WANDA, THE WICKED WARDEN aka GRETA, THE MAD BUTCHER.

A fourth series entry, BRUCE LEE MEETS ILSA IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE was announced but amazingly, it was never made. What a totally wild and out of control concept that one could have been!

A grindhouse favorite, HAREM KEEPER offers much exploitation value for your dollar.

[venoms5]

ILSA, THE TIGRESS OF SIBERIA 1977

Dyanne Thorne

Ilsa runs a Russian torture camp passing time in the frozen tundras by sadistically torturing and killing prisoners and occasionally feeding one to her pet tiger. She passes her evenings by bedding down two of her guards on a regular basis. As Stalin's rule is toppled, Ilsa retreats to Canada where years later she sets up a prostitution ring. A government organization sends assassins to take Ilsa out including an old nemesis of Ilsa's whom she plans to take revenge on. She outsmarts them until the finale where, like the second film, her fate is left open for a sequel.

The third and final installment in the ILSA series (discounting Franco's unrelated entry) is a Canadian production and feels a bit out of place when compared with the other two. There's the usual gore and ample nudity but the film suffers without Don Edmonds lively direction. That's not to say there isn't lots to like here.

Some great torture/death scenes are a duel with chainsaws-loser loses his arm(!), a very grueling scene where a guy is pulled from one well to another under the ice, freezing and drowning, the tiger chowdown and one of the assassins who is killed by being ground up in a snow blower and another poor soul done in on a water bed filled with gasoline.

Like watching two films in one, I enjoyed the tone shift as it didn't bother me at all and even though the shift from Russia to Canada some 20 years later seems a bit of a stretch, it's keeping with the wild nature of the series. Released here cut years back on Charter Entertainment, MGM owns the rights and supposedly would not relinquish them to AB when they released the others in the series. A German disc is still available though. Unless you are a Franco fan, I'd say stay away from his in-name-only entry as it is awful and only the ending is worthwhile, IMO.

Recommended for fans of the series, if you've not seen any of the films it's best to view either the first or the second film first before seeing this one.

[venoms5]

EVILSPEAK 1982

Clint Howard, R.G. Armstrong, Richard Moll

Exploitation clone of CARRIE with Clint Howard (Ron’s brother) put upon and humiliated by bullies and teachers alike in a military academy. He uncovers a secret room containing torture devices and a satanic book that Coopersmith (Howard) channels with his computer using the demonic forces to get revenge on those who’ve wronged him.

Slimy little movie with characters that deserve everything they get. Features some over the top effects including a gore soaked finale with several decapitations, dismemberments, a flying, sword wielding, demon possessed Howard and satanic flesh eating pigs from hell! The recent AB release is uncut re-instating many bits that were excised from the original release. It's painfully obvious which scenes these are as it seems AB did not bother with cleaning them up. This was one of their last releases before being bought out by Starz Entertainment.

Even still the grue is plentiful and most prominent in the anything goes climax. Director Weston really makes you hate everyone but Coopersmith. In fact, the only other sympathetic character is the cook and one of the cadets. It's hard to believe that some of the adults behave in the fashion they do but it nonetheless makes their comeuppance that much more satisfying.

Aside from the numerous gore sequences, the scene that disturbed me the most was the scene where the ruthlessly vicious cadets that continuously torture Coopersmith find a puppy he has secretly been keeping. After also discovering Coopersmith's satanic resurrection book, the group reads aloud some of the incantations and apparently become somewhat possessed by the spirit of the evil priest from the opening who is channeling his evil through a computer. The group of malicious cadets then sacrifice the defenseless animal.

Probably the most memorable is the giant pig rape scene where a stunningly hot secretary who has stolen the book because of an attractive jewel on its cover, is raped and eaten alive in her bathtub!

Ahead of its time in its use of computer technology. Several intense moments highlight this drive-in favorite. Richard Moll (Bull on NIGHT COURT) plays the Satanic villain. Moll carved a niche for himself in exploitation, horror and fantasy fare playing villains in THE DUNGEONMASTER (1985) and the excellent and gory THE SWORD & THE SORCERER (1982) among many others.

It's a shame Howard didn't get more meaty roles like this one but he did feature in many horror pictures as well as his brothers movies in bit roles.

Recommended for sleaze fanatics. The film builds slowly but the wild finale is worth the wait.

[Guest UltraRob]

Thanks for sharing these gentlemen! Very much appreciated!

Rob

[CrazyFrog]

yeah, this is good stuff. I saw Alligator a long time ago and a couple of these movies seem vaguely familiar, including Kingdom of Spiders. I remember feeling bad for the baby alligator the kid flushed down the toilet!

On a side note, I wanna see some of these biker movies, especially Ride With the Devil. Would you consider some giallo movies in your grindhouse oeuvre? I've seen a few Argento movies and they made an impression on me.

[Alex]

From what I've seen of these:

Spider Baby - Excellent, Jack Hill is a great director although I've never got the praise heaped on Switchblade Sisters

The Ilsa series is a lot of fun, although not my favorite in either the Women in Prison nor Nazisploitation genres. You're right about Harem keeper, it is probably the best of the 3

Race With The Devil was a disappointment considering the people involved. A nice atmosphere of creepiness here and there; Fonda's near surgical handling of the shotgun in the chase scene is great, but I felt like there wasn't enough of either. Then again I have very high standards for Warren Oates movies

Walking Tall was never a favorite of mine, but I've never seen a good version of it either so that might make a difference. A side note about Baker, he's great as a redneck mafia hitman tracking thief Walter Matthau in Don Siegel's awesome Charley Varrik.

Alligator is great, probably the best low budget 'creature' flick out there that doesn't involve aliens or giant mutated things

The Looser's is a lot of fun, a nice little action flick.

Thanks for these, I've got a couple of my own I did for another board that i'll try to dig up.

[vonhumboldtfleisher]

I preferred Bo Svenson's WALKING TALL sequels myself, but the first one is good too.

[Alex]

found my old ones, mostly action oriented stuff since I'm not a huge horror fan

Thriller: A Cruel Picture AKA They Call her OneEye

Genre: Chick Revenge, action, art

Trailer on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZfPY3ZYKf4

A little girl is molested by an old man, and grows up mute because of it. Cut to 10 years later, the girl is now grown up to a hottie, and gets picked up on the side of the road by a slick talking euro-pimp in a convertible. He takes her back home, impresses her with a good meal, then drugs her and turns her into a hooker. The girl tries to escape, he slices out her eye (only genuine moment of gore). She proceeds to learn how to shoot and fight, and takes revenge.

If you look on amazon, the reviews are really mixed, mostly because this movie was somewhat overhyped post-Kill Bill. People either love it or hate it. I'm a big fan, but even I will admit that this is NOT one to watch if you expect super ass-kicking action, tons of gore or bonerriffic sex scenes. What you do get is a very depressing and disturbing mood, some moments of genuine craziness, excellent look and cinematography (the director worked as an asst. dir on Ingmar Bergman's Persona), some some very hairy 70's style sex (penetration and money shot and all - this thing is explicit XXX and then some). In a lot of ways this is an an art movie as much as it is a rape/revenge movie, if you're looking for something 'balls to the wall', you might want to skip it.

I'd say this succeeds and remains effective because it captures the essense of what exploitation is about perfectly - you feel like you're watching something wrong, but you still can't look away. If you're not yet jaded by ultra violence or general sleaze, this is a good place to start.

FYI, if you for some reason find the XXX scenes extemporaneous, Synapse also released a version with these parts omitted.