Grindhouse Classics & Legendary Shockers

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No, I've not seen GUNS & GUTS. Don't think I've heard of it before either.

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DARK, THE- 1979

William Devane, Kathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaekal, Keenan Wynn, Casey Kasem

A visit by a not-so-friendly alien puts LA in a panic as bodies turn up with their heads torn off. William Devane along with a reporter (Crosby) try to stop the creature which also disentegrates people with laser beams from its eyes. A final battle ensues with the creature surrounded by about 50 cops in an abandoned building where the film veers into STAR WARS territory.

A silly but nonetheless spooky horror movie that was initially began by Tobe Hooper. He directed two days and was replaced by director John "Bud" Cardos. The original script was about an insane killer that was kept locked up in an attic. He escapes and goes about decapitating his victims. After filming had already began, producer Montoro decided to change the killer to an outer space monster since STAR WARS had proven such a huge moneymaking commodity. Unfortunately, this movie was unable to find an audience and it wasn't long before it was playing on television as the ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK.

There is also a psychic character played by an actress whose name I don't remember. She sees the killings before they happen. Later on, the alien pays her a visit in one of her mirrors(!) and destroys the inside of her house.

Jaekal plays the detective on the case and as usual, Jaekal gives his all in the role. He can be seen in numerous american westerns (CHISUM) as well as sci-fi (THE GREEN SLIME), action (WALKING TALL 2) and more horror (GRIZZLY).

Casey Kasem plays the coroner who is baffled at the circumstances surrounding the victims. He even speaks his famous line from American Top 40--"Keep reaching for the stars."!

It's not quite known why Hooper was let go so early into the filming, although an argument between Hooper and notoriously shady producer Montoro over the films direction is hinted at.

Devane is very good here. His character is coping with the divorce of his wife and the neglection of his daughter. Devane is also excellent in the cool and underrated action suspenser ROLLING THUNDER (1977) also starring Tommy Lee Jones and James Best (Rosco from DUKES OF HAZZARD) as one very nasty villain.

Crosby is fine as the spunky reporter who also provides a love interest for Devane. Crosby is probably best remembered from the THAT'S INCREDIBLE! TV program but she also played the original WONDER WOMAN in one of two pilot movies before Linda Carter took over. Here, Crosby wore a short skirt and the costume was a bit different than the one made famous by the voluptuous Carter.

Cardos also directed the superb Nature-Gone-Amuck movie KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977) starring William Shatner, grindhouse hottie Tiffany Bolling and Woody Strode.

With the films fascinating pedigree, the troubled production behind the scenes shows through in the finished product. There are long stretches between the action scenes. Even though the dialog is good, and time is spent on the characters, impatient viewers may grow weary of this. Also, the shift from the head tearing crazy man to the laser beam emitting werewolf-like alien makes for a slightly jarring transition.

There are several really nice scenes. One includes the sole head ripping involving a tough guy in a bar who balks at the talk of an inhuman killer on the loose only to lose his noggin shortly thereafter. His body even walks a few steps before falling over. The first kill scene during the opening of the movie involving, believe it or not, Paris Hilton’s mother(!) is very well done. The scene with the psychic in her home when she sees the image of the creature in her mirror is nice. The finale is fairly exciting as the alien blasts scores of cops to kingdom come. Only the monsters destruction seems a bit rushed.

The soundtrack is very spooky and eerie. When I first saw the film on TV back in 1980 or '81 it gave me the creeps. Some cues are borrowed from the original TWILIGHT ZONE show. The cue can be heard on the episode BACK THERE and TO SERVE MAN as well as several others.

Amazingly, this was a Dick Clark(!) production. That might explain Casey Kasem's participation.

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BLACK CHRISTMAS- 1974

Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Keir Dullea

During the holidays, a sorority house full of young girls receive obscene and threatening phone calls from an unknown assailant. Once one of the girls disappears and the calls escalate, it's discovered a psychotic killer is on the loose. The girls are dwindled down to one and in a then terrifying twist, it is discovered that the calls are coming from inside the house. After the last girl supposedly kills the "killer", a final shocker of a twist is revealed.

One of the greatest horror pictures ever made unjustly overshadowed by HALLOWEEN which came out four years later. After BLACK CHRISTMAS was a success in Canada, director Bob Clark was approached to do a sequel. The script was written but Clark passed on it. He gave it to a young John Carpenter and told him to do it. Carpenter in turn took the script and tweaked it slightly and what was originally to be BLACK CHRISTMAS 2 became HALLOWEEN.

Seeing the movie today it still retains its power to be as scary a horror movie as you're ever likely to see. It was even cancelled from a Halloween showing on NBC for being too terrifying. For all its scenes of suspense and impending horror, there is no gore save for a brief bit of blood. It all owes to Clark's masterful handling of the material that the film succeeds on many levels.

The music is VERY unsettling and creepy. Probably the single most nerve shattering aspect of the film are the sinister phone calls the girls receive. At first, the calls sound like simple pranks. They soon become very sexual and at times sound as if more than one person is on the phone. Through the calls, you learn clues about the killer and who he is and possibly, what his motivations may be. Another great touch is that aside from a shot of an eye through a cracked door, you never see the killer. In fact, by the end, you learn the killer is still on the loose in the attic after the cops have left the last survivor alone in the house sedated after her ordeal.

Amidst all the seriousness, there is a certain amount of humor that is quite hilarious. Whether it be dirty posters on the wall, the drunken house mother or the foul mouthed, free spirited and likewise drunken Barbara played perfectly by Margot Kidder. According to John Saxon who plays another cop role here, Margot was, in person, very much like the character she played in the film.

Saxon, whose credits span a couple hundred movies and TV shows, frequently played policemen during the 70s and 80s. He replaced another famous actor at the last minute whose name escapes me at the moment. Right after Saxon got off the plane in Canada, he began shooting his first scenes.

All the performances here are good especially Kidder. Several red herrings are thrown in for good measure. The film was a big hit in its native Canada but only a minor success in America where the film was perceived as too real. Several serial slayings were prominent in the news at the time and possibly kept audiences away. It was re-released on a few occassions here. It was known as SILENT NIGHT, EVIL NIGHT and A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. The latter title is what I saw it under one evening on HBO years ago.

In 2004 pre-production began on a remake of BLACK CHRISTMAS which had original director Bob Clark on board as an Executive Producer. The film, which captured a nice moody atmosphere and had several nods to the original even having one of the sorority girls play the house mother in the remake. The gore is piled high in the '05 version and a seriously twisted mean streak is implemented for the new film. It's okay but not a patch on the original.

Director Clark got his start directing several classic horror films all of which are set for remakes. His first, CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS is a wonderfully macabre zombie picture with much spooky ambience and convincing zombie make-up by star Alan Ormsby. Next was DEATHDREAM, a take on the short story, 'The Monkey's Paw'. This spooktacularly creepy terror tale featured early work by a young Tom Savini. Clark would also direct one of the best remembered comedies of the 80s, PORKY'S which is also set for a remake by shock jock Howard Stern. But clark will forever be remembered for one film in particular, the delightfully personal movie A CHRISTMAS STORY. What other movie in history gets its own 24 hour marathon?

Sadly, Clark and his son would be killed in an auto accident earlier this year by a drunk driver. Whether or not the planned CHILDREN...remake will forge ahead is unknown. Hopefully not. One of Clark's last interviews can be seen on the new DVD documentary GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE & FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM.

***ADDENDUM***

The remake (Bob Clark was also involved in this films production) was about as mean-spirited a holiday horror film as you're likely to find cramming cannibalism and incest into its gory 90 minutes. Glen Morgan, however much good intentions he had, fails to come close to the originals creepy atmosphere. The sets and look of BLACK CHRISTMAS '06 is very spooky in its own right but isn't a patch on Clark's original.

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TICK...TICK...TICK- 1973

Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Don Stroud

A new sheriff, who happens to be black, causes much rumblings amongst the local bigots and Klan members in a small Alabama town. The former sheriff he replaced is torn between helping him restore order to the town and his own racial feelings.

A fascinating and thought provoking movie about racism and standing up for what's right and just. What could have been a typical black action movie with the black heroes taking on the white criminal elements, becomes an often times incendiary but thoughtfully and seriously done dramatic feature about one man's acceptance in a town where people of color are not accepted.

Jim Brown, who is a much more capable actor than the seemingly more popular Fred Williamson, puts in a fine performance as the uncomfortable sheriff who through trial and error, finally wins over the town by the conclusion; The normally bigoted townsfolk band together to halt a deadly, violent encounter after Brown arrests the son of a politician and his father gathers a posse of angry gunmen to kill the black sheriff. Brown was the first black actor to get serious notoriety in American cinema beginning with ICE STATION ZEBRA. Once the blaxploitation movies came along, he fell comfortably into the genre with his most famous being SLAUGHTER (1972) and its sequel. He also appeared in BLACK GUNN and alongside Fred Williamson in TAKE A HARD RIDE, ORIGINAL GANGSTAS, 3 THE HARD WAY and in the sloppy Williamson directed ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO also starring Williamson, Richard Roundtree and Jim Kelly.

Kennedy of course, is convincing as the hard feeling ex-sheriff. It's obvious he shares the racially charged sentiment of the rest of the town, but he doesn't let it show. At least not in dialog but in body language. Kennedy ultimately sides with Brown which in turn endangers his own life. Kennedy can be seen in a variety of movies including GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, CAT BALLOU, the AIRPORT film series and the horror movie JUST BEFORE DAWN where he played a forest ranger dealing with psychotic hillbilly inbreds who are preying on vacationers.

Reliable villain Don Stroud is on hand to provide another bad guy role to his resume. He's so good at it. He previously squared off against Brown in the blaxploitation movie SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF where he played the head stooge to a villainous Ed McMahon! A very good actor, he never realized his full potential as an actor but got steady work in cinema and on television.

This is a very well made movie that shouldn't be placed alongside the blaxploitation movies as it just isn't that kind of picture. It doesn't really belong in the race hate genre either. At least not in the exploitation sense of the word. It's much more serious and a bit less sensationalist compared with movies like FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, GOODBYE, UNCLE TOM, HIGH YELLOW, IF HE HOLLERS, LET HIM GO and BUCKTOWN. It definitely needs a remastered DVD release but this is doubtful in this day and age. Another classic example of a bygone era that in all probability, will never be repeated.

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CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS 1972

Alan Ormsby, Anya Ormsby

An acting troupe take a boat over to a secluded island to raise the dead. Only the arrogant and pompous head of the group has set up shenanigans to scare his fellow actors. Only the joke backfires resulting in the dead actually coming back to life. The conclusion sees an assault on the caretakers house the actors are trapped inside of.

Bob Clark's first stab at horror is an atmospherically spooky affair. Some of the humor, or should I say, the near constant heckling between the actors becomes a bit tiresome, but the creepy ambiance of the island with its creaky house, fog enshrouded graveyard, the otherworldly and often times nerve-jangling soundtrack and the zombie make-up effects (some of which were done by a young Tom Savini) make for a great and ghoulish midnight movie experience.

Alan Ormsby, who plays the main "bad guy", also contributed to the startlingly effective make-up as well as performing duties behind the camera. He and Clark worked on all their horror pictures together. Ormsby plays himself as a dictatorial "director" of his subjects of lesser actors. He frequently abuses them verbally reminding them of their lower echelon status where he is concerned. Once all the jokes involving scaring his colleagues are out of the way, the final joke is on all of them as Alan digs up a corpse named Orville. He commits blasphemy against the dead man by hanging him over his own headstone, talking sarcastically towards him and dancing around with the corpse amidst the jovial participation of the others who were at first hesitant to join in.

Ormsby's real life wife, Anya plays a bit of a loon here. She seems to be not altogether there and follows Alan around like a puppy and heeds to his every whim. After the others have had enough of Alan's desecration of the corpse, they wish to call it a night. Only Alan isn't finished yet. He decides to bring Orville back to the caretakers house to continue the "party" there. Once inside, the degrading of Orville's corpse continues as Alan now begins to go beyond a mere joke. Anya's character goes over the deep end as she apologizes to the body lying on the sofa. She thinks the corpse is talking to her and begs it to forgive them. She goes into an hysterical frenzy and the others decide enough is enough. Alan has the body placed in his room(!) on his bed where he lies down next to it and talks to it.

Meanwhile outside in the graveyard, a mass resurrection takes place. The dead come back to life and lay siege to the house. They kill and devour everyone inside. Alan is the last one left alive. He rushes back upstairs and locks himself in. He turns and sees the corpse of Orville now sitting up on the bed. As Orville gets ahold of Alan, the door busts open and an eerie slow motion effect takes over as the zombies pour in.

One of the interesting aspects of the movie is the character of Alan. He bullies his fellow actors and does a mock resurrection that reveals him to be a charlatan at what he claims to be a master of. One of his female colleagues steps in and puts on a more impressive show in how you raise the dead. During her faux raising-of-the-dead ceremony, she simultaneously rebukes Alan's status as the leader of the group and reveals him to be a selfish and egocentric sham. This is what leads to his further descent into sickening behavior when Alan has the corpse taken back to the house where he attempts to get the "last laugh" on them all.

The final 20 minutes features the zombie assault and it's very well done. The ghastly make-up effects were Ormsby's creation. Savini assisted here as well as on two other Clark-Ormsby collaborations; the superior and supremely creepy DEATHDREAM (1973), BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) and DERANGED (1974), the latter the most accurate account of Wisconsin cannibal Ed Gein. There's very little gore in this PG rated zombie movie but don't let that discourage you from seeing it. The film has many things to recommend it already discussed above.

CHILDREN...didn't really warm up to me until the second viewing. I had seen it as a kid on SHOCK THEATER and rented it years later. It didn't impress me until later when I bought the restored VCI dvd. VCI plans to release a new special edition of the film in the near future. All of Clark's horror pictures are now considered classics and remakes were in planned for all of them save for DERANGED. DEATHDREAM has since been put on the backburner while a remake of CHILDREN...has entered limbo as well. Bob Clark was handling the directing duties again on this redux but just as shooting was to begin, Clark and his son were killed in a car accident by a drunk driver earlier this year. Whether the remake does indeed get made, Clark's legacy of classy, original and diverse horror pictures will remain forever.

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DEATHDREAM 1972 aka THE NIGHT WALK aka THE NIGHT ANDY CAME HOME

Richard Backus, John Morley, Lynn Carlin

Charles and Christine Brooks receive a telegram one evening that their son Andy has been killed in combat in Vietnam. Christine refuses to believe that her son is dead. However, later that night Andy comes home much to everyone's astonishment. But something is not quite right with Andy. Bodies begin turning up drained of blood and Andy seems to be a different person from when he left. He only stays in his room rocking back and forth in his rocking chair staring out the window with a stone-faced visage seldom revealing any emotion. The finale includes a violent scene in a drive-in and a shocker final scene.

Bob Clark's second venture into horror territory is a notch above his previous zombie picture. Most of the crew and actors from that movie return here as well. Clark infuses much social commentary on the situation in Vietnam at the time. Much is made of various families wondering if, or when their loved ones will return home. One of the most notable parallels with Vietnam is that many of the survivors were changed individuals once they made it back to the USA; cold and detached from society, many had to have therapy to "return" to normalcy. An Uncle of mine still must take medication for what he experienced overseas. Once Andy comes home, he is a totally different person. It's as if an alien has taken over his body.

But something more sinister is going on here. Bodies begin turning up, including a dead truck driver found the following morning after Andy's surprise appearance. Christine is so enamored by her sons arrival, she is oblivious to the bewildering and horrifying things that are going on around her. Only Charles (at first) realizes things are not normal. This is made especially evident in a scene where Andy maliciously kills the family dog in front of the neighborhood kids(!) because it was barking at him as the animal also does not identify with the "new Andy".

As the film progresses, Andy becomes more and more detached from his family save for his mother and even at this point, she knows what has happened but because of the strong bond to her son, she refuses to let acknowledge what he has become. He also begins wearing gloves and sunglasses by the point he meets up with his girlfriend. Even she feels a coldness from him and she is noticeably frightened of him and this comes to a head during the conclusion when they and another couple go to the drive-in where the exploitation aspects of the film take over until the final moments which are very reminescent of one of the old EC comics like TALES FROM THE CRYPT or THE HAUNT OF FEAR.

Again, the make-up is very good as are the few gore shots. This was Savini's first solo outing and he shows signs of where he'll be in a few years. Savini, himself, a photographer in Vietnam, channels much of what he saw in his vast special effects filmography. The score is from the same composer who did BLACK CHRISTMAS and this one is just as bone-chillingly nerve wracking as that films disturbing soundtrack.

The DVD from Blue Underground is loaded down with features including featurettes, two info-loaded commentaries, the original script and a voluminous gallery section among other things. Released under a handful of names, this film was set for remake status but has since been put on hiatus.

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BIG BAD MAMA 1974

Angie Dickinson, Tom Skerritt, William Shatner, Susan Sennett

Sometime during the Depression Era, Wilma McClatchie (Dickinson) busts up her daughter Polly's wedding and sets out, along with her other daughter, to make something of themselves. First by taking over a bootlegging operation then moving up to robbing banks from one town to the next. The three women and two other crooks (Skerritt & Shatner) amass a crimewave that gets the Feds after them culminating in a bloody shoot-out at the end.

Roger Corman produced this excellent exploitation classic that piles on sex and violence with equal doses of witty banter between the main characters. Dickinson, then in her 40s is super hot in her several nude scenes (sometimes fully nude) revealing her trim and curvy figure. According to Corman she was at first hesitant to strip away her clothes but later seemed to get into it and a phone call to Corman from a nervous crew member proclaimed she was doing too much and they would get an X rating with the footage they had. Dickinson definitely rules the movie but not to discount the other performers.

With he shocking nude scenes, you'd think it would be a career damning move, but it wasn't. It actually helped Dickinson's already stellar career. She went straight from BIG BAD MAMA to her own TV show, POLICE WOMAN.

Skerritt is superb as Fred Diller, a quick-fingered trigger man who seldom listens to plans opting instead to do things his way. Through the course of the film, Wilma meets up with William Baxter (Shatner), a somewhat cowardly con man who is the polar opposite of Diller. Wilma beds them both during the movie. Diller gets very jealous and is then seduced and begins a threesome fling with Wilma's two underage daughters!

The group eventually put their differences aside (temporarily) to pull off one final job but get caught in a crossfire with the Feds during the bloody finale. Shatner is his usual over-the-top self and his argumentative scenes with Diller are priceless. The notion of Shatner being a ham are unwarranted though as the man could definitely act when he wanted to. One need only see KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS or THE DEVIL'S RAIN or any episode of the original STAR TREK for that matter. His background as a stage actor accounts for his supposed hammyness as so many call it.

Sennett, who plays one of the daughters, appeared in the previous years grindhouse favorite THE CANDY SNATCHERS. Joan Prather who would later feature in the EIGHT IS ENOUGH TV show, goes topless here as well. Also Sally Kirkland gets naked. Again, lots and lots of exploitation value for you money.

Frequent Corman alumni Dick Miller and TV actor Royal Dano put in appearances. According to the featurette on the recent Buena Vista release, the film was shot in 20 days for under half a million dollars, Jerry Garcia performed most of the Banjo music for the soundtrack and Paul Bartel (DEATHRACE 2000) was 2nd unit director among other things.

Director Steve Carver would also direct another exploitation classic, the infamous DRUM (1976). Carver also directed the spaghetti-martial arts movie LONE WOLF MCQUADE starring Chuck Norris.

Dickinson would return, believe it or not, in 1987 starring in BIG BAD MAMA 2 directed by sleaze merchant Jim Wynorski. There is ample nudity here as well. Basically a remake of the original, the finale is a bit more upbeat. Corman's late 80s-90s output obviously could not deliver the same kind of bang for the buck as his New World Pictures films from the 70s and early 80s as stock footage from the first film is utilized here. A highly recommended exploitation classic.

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DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY 1974 *SPOILERS AHEAD*

Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Rourke, Vic Morrow, Roddy McDowall (uncredited)

Two crooks rob a grocery store using the store managers (McDowall) daughter as a hostage from his house. A young spitfire (George) who was a one-night stand for Fonda has joined them on their statewide chase all the while being pursued by the persistant and determined sheriff played by Vic Morrow to arrest the young hellraisers.

A huge hit during its release from Fox beating out the more expensive POSEIDON ADVENTURE, DIRTY MARY...is one of the best of the chase movies made during the 70s. Larry (Fonda) and Mary (George) are both living life on the edge while Deke (Rourke) tries to keep them all a cohesive unit. At one point it is revealed that Mary wants to settle down and live a decent normal life but the sudden and shocking final scene puts an end to those dreams. Apparently Fox executives wanted the ending changed but the film got released with the original coda and it is just as strong now as I imagine it must have been seeing it then.

Fonda did all his own driving in the film and the picture is filled with various crashes and explosions including a great bit where Vic Morrow attempts to run them off the road with a helicopter. Morrow's role is fairly minor and my only complaint is that you don't get to see enough of him as he is an intimidating presence on screen and, like the rest of the cast, gets some great lines. Fonda would also star alongside his friend Warren Oates in another Fox chase movie, the horror picture RACE WITH THE DEVIL, which was another surprise summer hit for the company and, like this movie, was rated PG!

One of the most startling aspects of the film is that this classic piece of Americana was directed by British director John Hough who helmed THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE and the Hammer movie TWINS OF EVIL in addition to the sleaze item THE INCUBUS. Hough proves himself very versatile and seems very comfortable with the material and handles it incredibly well.

The documentary reveals much about the origin and background of the film including the uncredited participation of Roddy McDowall. If you like chase movies, you could a lot worse than DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY.

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7 WINCHESTERS FOR A MASSACRE 1967 aka PAYMENT IN BLOOD

Ed Byrnes, Guy Madison

A renegade Confederate, Colonel Thomas Blake, refusing to accept defeat at the hands of the Union, rallies a group of various cutthroats for a campaign of violence and also to steal $200,000 dollars in hidden money from a retreated Confederate regiment; the whereabouts of which is unknown except to one person, Stewart (Byrnes), a mysterious character who served in the regiment that held the strongbox now buried in a Commanche cemetery.

Directed by Enzo Castellari under his English name E.G. Rowland. Apparently Columbia put some money into this film as the production values are slightly above the norm. Castellari again proves his dominance as the king of action movies in Italy during the time. Compared with the myriad other directors of spaghetti westerns, only Castellari seemed to grasp the ability to showcase exciting action set pieces. Others could as well but Castellari was very consistent and seldom let his audience down. Here, in addition to numerous gun battles, are explosions and some good fist fights for a change. From an original story by Castellari's dad, Marino Girolami.

Ed Byrne's is great as the acrobatic and cunning hero, even though he seems like he stepped off a James Dean picture. The rest of the cast is made up of various spaghetti villain regulars whom fans will recognize from dozens of other productions. There's even a nod to Django, "the tomb of the Commanche hero." The gorgeous actress who shows up about halfway through looks a bit like the hottie who was in Carnimeo's FIND A PLACE TO DIE.

The movie itself seems to be patterned after Corbucci's seminal HELLBENDERS (a superior variation of THE TRAMPLERS) and a bastardized version of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. The relationship between Stewart and Blake is also similar to the relationship between Chuncho and El Nino in Damiani's classic BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1967). Stewart even manages to convince Blake that his men may not be trustworthy.

There are several standout scenes. The opening ten minutes are a smorgasbourge of action as we are introduced to the villains of the film replete with gun battles and explosions. The sequence where Stewart is accepted into the camp is chock full of cool moments. The villains test Stewart's ego and returns their arrogance in kind. The best bit is when Blake fires his rifle exploding a whiskey bottle near Stewart's foot and he quickly returns fire showcasing his skills with the gun narrowly missing Blake. Throughout the movie Stewart constantly agitates the other members of Blake's vicious band showing them that he is not only their equal but their superior. Also, the final gunfight contains some ingenious bits as well.

The soundtrack is stupendous, bombastic and very exciting. Francesco de Masi, one of the unsung contributors to Italian cinema music delivers one of the best Italo oater scores I've heard and it needs a CD release. I have a suite of music from the film, about 10 minutes worth on a compilation CD, but the entire score desperately needs a release. Morricone will always be the most well known and to a lesser extent, Bacalov and Nicolai, but de Masi belongs in their ranks as well. The vocal version of the main theme is mentioned in the credits but is nowhere to be heard in this version of the movie. It is present on one of the spaghetti compilation CDs I have.

A fitfully entertaining movie that, although you've seen it all before, Castellari shoots the movie with a fast pace and injects enough fresh elements to overlook the fact that there are dozens and dozens of similarly plotted movies out there. The movie itself cries out for a legit DVD release. Lots of entertainment value is found here.

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THE TRAMPLERS 1966

Gordon Scott, Joseph Cotten, James Mitchum, Franco Nero, Romolo Puppa

Lon Cordine (Scott) returns home after the Civil War is over to find his father Temple (Cotten) carrying on a private war killing any Yankees they come across. Riffs between the family cause brother to fight against brother that builds to a violent conclusion.

The inspiration for Corbucci's HELLBENDERS is a very good and dramatic western. It resembles an American western more than an Italian oater, although a couple of scenes of rather strong violence favors the latter.

Former Tarzan and peplum star Gordon Scott is impressive as the films hero. Certainly one of the better actors to come out of the Italian Fusto movies when the westerns took over, Scott plays Lon as a level headed man who only wants to put the war behind him and make peace with his family but this proves impossible as Temple has become something of a madman sending Lon to "talk" to Charlie Garvin (Franco Nero in his first western) to keep him away from one of his daughters. Of course, Lon has no intention of killing the man so Temple sends two of his equally homicidal sons to make sure Garvin is killed. This begins the downward spiral of the Cordine family.

Hobie (Mitchum) is the greenhorn who wants to prove himself a useful addition to the family. He heads off on a mission ahead of Lon, Garvin and his wife only to return missing an arm. From here on out, his character begins rather cold and doesn't mind shooting a man while he's down. He never strays from his brother Lon's side, but his character transforms into a darker version of his former self.

Cotten isn't quite as sadistic as he is in HELLBENDERS, but he is villainous. Like the later film, he firmly believes that what he is doing is right and just. Cotten's comeuppance is a bit more bittersweet here than the poetic justice meted out in HELLBENDERS.

Nero makes his western debut here and does nothing to really stand out. But he has a good look about him which was what attracted Corbucci to him in the first place to make him the star of the legendary DJANGO from the same year.

The score isn't particularly memorable but the movie is and while it's not the most action packed western out there, the dramatic elements make up for this and the finale is good as Lon and Hobie are pinned down in a hotel with numerous gunfighters and their brothers gunning for them outside. If you liked HELLBENDERS, you may also like this one, too.

[Alex]

I was honestly surprised at how great and exploitative Big Bad Mama was, considering Angie Dickinson was a pretty bankable alist star once upon a time. Very fun movie, I should dig it out for a rewatch some time soon.

7 winchesters is a minor Castellari imo, but a good time none the less. It's a shame the only copy around is so crappy

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The copy I have is pretty decent. Much better than a number of other boots I've seen of other films. The one I have is under the PAYMENT IN BLOOD title.

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THE HOUSE WHERE EVIL DWELLS 1982

Edward Albert, Susan George, Doug McClure

The film begins in 1840 Japan. A Samurai returns home to discover his wife having an affair with another Samurai. The husband gorily decapitates the adulterers before committing Seppuka (suicide). Flash forward to 1982 and Ted & Laura Fletcher (Albert & George) have moved to Japan for business to the same house where the violent murder-suicide took place. A colleague of theirs, Alex Curtis (McClure) joins them. The spirits of the dead Japanese haunt the home eventually possessing the bodies of the three friends threatening to re-create that fateful and tragic night.

Directed by Kevin Conner who had just directed the blackly comical TEXAS CHAINSAW send-up MOTEL HELL, also directed four dinosaur epics all starring McClure in the 70s for Amicus and Columbia. This, while not necessarily a great movie, contains a heavy amount of exploitation value for a big studio film. An unusual amount of nudity especially from George (as well as Albert and McClure) is on display. The gore is also plentiful. The film is also fairly predictable as you know how it may turn out from the beginning. The optical effects featuring the Japanese spirits running about the house making a nuisance of themselves are dated but may not hinder your enjoyment of the movie. One good scene involves some huge crabs attacking the Fletcher's little daughter. There is also a liberal dose of Japanese superstition and ghostly folklore sprinkled throughout the films running time.

The family eventually seeks out a Japanese monk to exorcise the demonic home. Through an accident, the old man's orders are broken resulting in a violent climax. The film must have been popular in HK as the Shaw Brothers produced a similar movie in 1984 entitled SEX BEYOND THE GRAVE, a film which mixes elements of AMITYVILLE HORROR and POLTERGEIST with ample doses of nudity. The first 15 minutes are very good and violent but it falls apart after that.

All the main participants in HOUSE WHERE...are as good as to be expected. George never disappoints and she delivers a suitably emotional performance here, too. From FRIGHT in 1971 up till then, George was always reliable in whatever horror or exploitation sleaze she would appear in. Albert, fresh off of Corman's ALIENesque GALAXY OF TERROR gets to show off some martial arts skills during the finale. McClure, also fresh from Corman's classic sleaze spectacular HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP carved a great career for himself in horror-exploitation cinema during the 70s and 80s.

Still, it's a recommended film for undemanding exploitation fans looking for a surprisingly potent mix of sex and gore from MGM.

[venoms5]

ALONE IN THE DARK 1982

Dwight Schultz, Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasence

Dr. Dan Potter and his family move into a new home after he takes a new position at the Haven Asylum for the Criminally Insane. There, he learns about the various inmates under the care of Dr. Leo Bains (Pleasence) who is also quite the nut. In fact, it would seem an inmate was running this asylum! Among the many crazies are Colonel Hawks (Palance) an unhinged war veteran, Byron (Landau) a former preacher who fancied torching churches, Frank "fatty" Eldridge, a huge, overweight child molester and "The Bleeder", an anonymous, violent strangler who gets nosebleeds while he kills his victims. Potter questions the lack of high security for such a dangerous bunch not to mention that the entire facility runs on electronic doors. But Bain confers that this violent four are "harmless".

It is learned that these four (who have their own floor all to themselves) were especially close to the previous doctor and the Colonel now believes that Potter has murdered him thus taking his place and that he plans to murder them as well. The Colonel plans to kill Potter when the opportunity presents itself. Inevitably, opportunity arrives in the form of a blackout which shuts down the electronic system in the asylum. The four psychos escape killing several people in the process. Mixing in with the crowds, the four loot a hardware store stealing enough weapons of death to fulfill their plan. They then proceed to locate Potter's home. They lay siege to the house while Potter and his family members barricade the house and spend the remaining reel fighting for their lives. Several twists are featured in the suspenseful terror-filled climax.

One of the best slasher movies ever period...and not because of its killer cast, but that director Jack Sholder creates some nifty characters with just enough depth and the fact that he pulls off numerous scenes of suspense and without any of the killers wearing a mask (there is one brief moment involving a hockey mask a year before Jason would don one for FRIDAY THE 13TH 3-D). The notion of multiple killers with different personalities is also unique for a slasher at this time. But the real coupe would have to be the terror triumvirate that is Palance, Landau and PLeasence.

Both Palance and Landau had appeared a couple of years prior in the cheese camp classic WITHOUT WARNING (PREDATOR ripped this off a few years later). Both pretty much play similar characters but their acting (especially Landau who hams it up horribly in the other film) is much better here. Of the fearsome four, Hawks actually builds some sympathy for himself. He obviously had great admiration and affection for the previous doctor and he is also the most unpredictable.

Aside from the chaotic finale, the character of Fatty, the child molester features in the movies most harrowing scene. It involves a babysitter being stalked in her bedroom by the killer who is hiding under her bed. She has just finished having sex with her boyfriend and upon returning to her room, the killer stabs upwards through the bed with a large knife narrowly missing the young girl. Another scene with the child molester involves Potter's youngest daughter. After they've found his home, Fatty sees the little girl and strikes up a conversation with her with the intention of having his way with the little girl.

Landau is super as the maniacal preacher. One of his best bits involves stalking a bicycle riding postman proclaiming..."The hat...I want...the hat!" After offing the mailman, Byron knocks on Potter's door looking for him.

Pleasence is quite memorable as the off-kilter doctor Bains who smokes marijuana and seems quite at home in the asylum referring to the inmates as adventurers on a journey of discovery. Pleasance figures in a nifty dream sequence which features some make-up effects from Tom Savini.

For the "Bleeder", you never see his face until the end and the makers of VALENTINE must have seen this movie as that film featured a slasher whose nose bled during the killers murder spree.

Schultz is also very good as the family man Dan Potter. He tries to explain to Hawks on several occasions that he did not kill his predecessor and that he has taken up residence at another facility. Schultz himself would later play a mad character on the popular TV show THE A TEAM.

When I first saw this movie on cable, I didn't like it very much, perhaps because I had grown accustomed to seeing masked killers utilizing various and increasingly creative implements with which to do in the supporting cast. Now, after seeing it again years later, it's a classic, underrated addition to the genre bolstered by some great, loony performances by some wonderful character actors.

[venoms5]

LOVE AT FIRST BITE 1979

George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Artie Johnson, Richard Benjamin

The charming and debonair Count Dracula (Hamilton) is in love with magazine cover girl Cindy Sondheim (St. James). He is forced off his Transylvanian land to make way for a gymnasium ("What do you want from him?!....Blood?!"). Drac and Renfield (Johnson) head for the Big Apple in search of Ms. Sondheim. Once there, Drac ends up having a relationship with Cindy but this doesn't sit well with her jealous and slightly off balance psychiatrist boyfriend Jeffrey Rosenberg (Benjamin) who also happens to be a relative of the late Professor Van Helsing. Once he discovers she has been bitten twice, with the third bite completing the transformation, the stage is set for a very funny showdown between Dracula and Rosenberg as both vie for the attention of the mentally wrecked Cindy. A blackout and chase scene closes this classic comedy film.

One of the very last productions from AIP, who the same year, released the big budget METEOR, a co-production with the Shaw Brothers of Hong Kong. LOVE AT FIRST BITE features probably Hamilton's most famous role (a tanned vampire no less) and plays the role in the tradition of Lugosi. Hamilton is very funny and the film lets you know where it's going after the hauntingly gothic opening credits amidst fog and howling wolves which leads to Dracula bellowing..."Children of the night...Shut up!"

James is good as the emotionally reclusive drug and pill obsessed fashion model who wears wigs and lots of make-up to appear glamorous before her public but is revealed to be just like you or me in appearance. Her scenes with Benjamin are a riot particularly after each failed attempt to destroy Dracula has failed, Rosenberg finds himself incarcerated and placed in a padded cell in Bellvue on several occasions. One very funny moment has Rosenberg pull out a star of David to repel Dracula and another where the two attempt to hypnotize each other--"You're getting sleeeepy..." "No, it is you who are getting sleepy..." "No, you are!" "No, you are!"

Benjamin is spot on here and probably has the best scenes. Benjamin would also play in a horror comedy the following year in Roger Corman's New World Pictures release SATURDAY THE 14TH starring alongside his wife Paula Prentiss. Another hilarious bit has Rosenberg convincing a cop to release a repeat robber on the basis of Rosenberg's psychiatric observations only to have him tell the cop that vampires are loose in the city and must be destroyed prompting the officer to retrieve the crook.

Artie Johnson perfectly mimics Dwight Frye's performance as Renfield from the 1931 film. One of the best bits with him has Renfield relay to Dracula how he was able to get the address of Ms. Sondheim by showing him his "lunch", the contents of which, brings Dracula to hurl his "lunch".

A number of cameo's are sprinkled throughout such as Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford from the popular show THE JEFFERSONS. Here, they play different roles. Hemsley a preacher and Sanford a judge. Michael Pataki (DRACULA'S DOG, RETURN OF COUNT YORGA) also puts in an appearance. Having been made in the 70s, there are a few un-PC moments one bit involving Dracula on the prowl for blood in bat form runs afoul of an apartment full of Mexicans who mistake him for a chicken(!)

Arguably the most famous scene in the movie is the disco sequence between Hamilton and St. James with the huge one hit wonder 'I Love the Night Life' playing in the background. Sadly, there must have been rights issues as the Orion VHS and the recent MGM DVD is missing this number and has been replaced with a lesser song. However, the Warner VHS from years back features the original song. The original song is listed in the closing credits.

A very funny movie which is still funny today and recommended for any vampire movie fan. A sequel was announced back in the 90s but it never materialized. Director Stan Dragoti was arrested for drug possession the night of the films premiere.

[venoms5]

TERROR TRAIN 1980

Jaime Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, Hart Bochner

A group of fraternity members play a nasty, vicious prank on one of their pledges, Kenny Hampson. A prank that (we learn later on) put the already unbalanced young man in a mental hospital. A few years later the pre-med students throw a costume party aboard an excursion train on New Year's Eve before their graduation. However, unknown to them, a killer has boarded the train murdering the students one by one assuming their costumes. A great and suspenseful double final showdown ends the film.

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode (TOMORROW NEVER DIES) this early entry in the slasher genre is IMO, one of the best. It's not a specially gory movie, but there is enough twists and suspense that more than makes up for the lack of blood and guts. That's not to say the film isn't bloody. It has its share of gore but it's not as free with the grue as say FRIDAY THE 13TH. It's much better than the other New Year's Eve slasher, NEW YEAR'S EVIL (1980), a film that also had a unique premise but dragged on for its duration but did sport a few good moments.

There is much to recommend in TERROR TRAIN. Jaime Lee Curtis had then become a scream queen after appearing in HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, PROM NIGHT and of course, HALLOWEEN 2. She is probably the only actress to successfully make the transition from horror movies to "respectable", "prestigious Hollywood productions". Curtis is, as always very good here. She gives the critics who claimed that slasher movies pre-SCREAM, featured female characters who never fought back and only cowered in fear, a cinematic slap in the face. In fact, there are numerous other slasher movies (HELL NIGHT for example, one of my favorites) that feature resourceful female characters.

Bochner is deliciously evil as Doc, the vicious prankster who must alway be the center of attention. Just when you think he may generate some sympathy for himself, he does something else dishearteningly sadistic. His last scene in the film is one of the best and scariest in the movie.

Ben Johnson is memorable as the aged but youthful at heart conductor who fancies himself a knowingly amateur magician who enjoys passing the time performing playful card tricks.

Among the few red herrings is a very fun supporting turn by magician David Copperfield who gets to show off some really cool magic tricks of his own. His participation is one of the highlights. Also, watch for future Prince girlfriend, singer, actress Vanity or D.D. Winters as one of the students aboard the train.

The killer himself is one of the most downright creepy to appear in a slasher. Although a slight build, the many costume changes especially the Groucho Marx and the ragged hag costume are pretty frightening the way the actor carries himself.

A very interesting and involving slasher picture that takes the conventions of the genre and punctuates it with a great setting, interesting characters and some hauntingly beautiful cinematography of the train traveling through snowbound locations. Definitely one of the best slashers to come out of the 80s and recommended if you don't mind the lack of lots of gore that the genre became notable for.

[venoms5]

WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH 1974 aka TENDER FLESH

Laurence Harvey, Meg Foster, Joanna Pettet, Stuart Whitman, John Ireland, Jesse Vint

Jason Henry (Harvey) is a psychotic cannibal who preys on women lounging on the beach near his home. His sister, Grace (Pettet), covers up for him until one girl manages to get away and is not about to let the two killers get away.

This film is no where near as good as it may sound. Although there are a few good scenes here and there, it never gets very graphic and it is quite talky. With such a great cast, everyone is pretty much wasted save for Whitman who disappears during the finale and Meg Foster gets naked a couple of times. The cannibalism angle is never fully explored although there is a brief Korean War flashback where it seems that Jason ate his dead compatriots to survive and somehow inherited a taste for human flesh.

Harvey is really good as the cannibalistic villain of the piece. It's a shame the movie doesn't match up with his talent although as the films director, he does manage some very nice sequences. Particularly where Foster awakens to a reverberating chopping sound. She descends into the cellar to investigate and as she gets closer to where the noise is coming from, the chopping becomes more frequent as she grips the door handle.

Pettet is also fine as Jason's beautiful sister. I remember Pettet from THE EVIL (1978), one of my favorite Devil movies. I believe I saw her in DARK SHADOWS as well although I was not a fan of the show or at least I never got a chance to really sit down to see it.

The film strives hard to attain grindhouse status but falls somewhere between horror and art-house thriller. The scene where the old fashion model is butchered is quite well done and is the bloodiest moment in the film save for a couple of shots of all the grue hanging in Jason's meat locker. It's obvious that TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or even THREE ON A MEATHOOK were inspirations for this. There are several bits that are very similar to the above mentioned films.

The film has all the ingredients to be a successful exploitation movie-cannibalism, sex, incest and a good degree of suspense but Harvey, who was in seriously declining health at the time, fails to achieve the heights for which the film strives for.

Harvey starred in the classic 1962 movie THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. It's perplexing why he would direct a film such as this in the first place. Apparently the budget was incredibly low as some scenes never seem to play out or just seem tacked on as some vague afterthought. According to DVDmaniacs, the film had some 15 minutes shorn from its running time even though this Alfa DIgital release says "Uncut Version".

It's an okay movie and a nice obscure, curiosity piece from the savage 70s but sadly, not nearly as savage as some other equally obscure or even better known titles out there.

[venoms5]

SPECIAL SILENCERS 1979

Barry Prima

A villain wishes to gain control of a town by infecting people with "special silencers". Pills that when taken with food cause tree-like fauna to erupt from their bodies killing them. Hendra (Prima) and his female love interest try to stop the turban wearing villain who possesses iron skin from his use of the pills. Cutting off his limbs is futile as he can put them back on. The only means to stop him is to cut him with bamboo.

Another hopelessly nutty and stupid Indonesian kung fu-horror-comedy with some of the most hilarious dubbing I've ever heard. Here's a sample...

"You cut off my leg! Give it back!!"

"It's a shame...Tonto was the last in a line of great killers!"...........PRICELESS!

There's a lot of blood on display and the effects of the trees or whatever the hell they are erupting from people's bodies are pretty well handled as well as Prima's action scenes. Some of the bits are played for cartoon-like laughs which makes the whole film even more weird. Never a dull moment in this one. Definitely so-bad-it's-good status. It's one of those movies whose enjoyment is enhanced with multiple viewers but seeing it by yourself is fun just the same.

I tried to get a friend to watch this and they just looked at me like I was insane. I've still got Prima's THE WARRIOR to see and I understand that one is a wild ride as well. This is must-see entertainment if you like this sort of thing.

[venoms5]

CRUEL JAWS 1995 aka JAWS 5

PLOT: See JAWS. Something about a Tiger Shark used by the Navy that escapes and begins eating tourists in a small oceanside town.

Wow! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water after you had seen all the crazy Italian JAWS rip-offs, Mattei strikes back with this really bad, but sometimes fascinating Italo shark flick. And when I say fascinating, I mean in the literal smorgasborge of swiped footage from a menagerie of other US as well as Italian(!) shark movies utilized to tell the story here. The first half of the movie quite surprisingly, considering this is a Mattei movie, isn't very interesting at all. It does pick up steam during the second half however. The swiped footage from JAWS and JAWS 2 is very minor as it's used with fairly quick cuts and it's possible if you haven't seen those movies too much, you may not even notice.

I am often baffled as to why the Italians would make such films so close to the US originals knowing full well that they could never infiltrate the US market whether it be theatrically or on the home video market. They seemed content with continuously making these kinds of movies. Their KILLER CROCODILE movies are often lumped into the same category as their JAWS clones but this should not be as the creatures involved are totally different. In fact, the Alligator movies didn't begin with ALLIGATOR (1980) but with the Thai import from 1979 entitled CROCODILE. A really bad movie about a giant ocean dwelling crocodile that did feature similar scenes to JAWS such as a crew taking to the sea to do battle with the monstrous Godzilla-sized crocodile.

Back to Mattei's movie, there is quite a lot of footage ripped from Castellari's own (too close for comfort) JAWS clone, THE LAST SHARK. In fact, I'd be curious to know if there was any original footage here at all. However, it was nice to see the Castellari footage looking so crisp and new as it is from this Japanese transfer.

It's interesting that the actors refer to the shark as a Tiger Shark when all the scenes involving the animal have a Great White onscreen. The acting is really horrible and is probably why I had nearly lost interest in the first half and wasn't paying much attention when the shark wasn't on screen. There was one character who reminded me so much of Hulk Hogan. The resemblance was uncanny save for the guy being around 2 feet too short. He had the hair and the look.

Another interesting note is the proliferation of the already mentioned swiped footage. Not only did the makers re-use whole scenes, but dialog as well and also changing some lines slightly such as "We're gonna need a bigger helicopter..." And scenes not lifted are completely re-shot such as the boat scene from JAWS 2 where the girl dumps gasoline over herself before the stock footage of the explosion from JAWS 2 takes over. The most oddest choice of cinematic abduction is the use of music from STAR WARS(!) They didn't completely use the entire piece but there is enough of it there to let you know it's from STAR WARS.

Also I had heard back when this was coming out that it was a TV movie of sorts and I think it is listed in an Italian horror book of mine as a TV production. Possibly when theatrical play was not an option (as this is in widescreen) it was sold to television. The gore is minimal and as bad as Mattei's movies tend to often be, there's always something strangely compelling about them (except for RATS...it's difficult for me to make it through that one...) and as slow and dull as the first half is, I'd rather give this one another spin than sit through one of Sci-Fi Channels Shark shi**ers of the Week. Nowhere near as fun as Mattei's HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD (I can watch that one over and over again...love that movie...) or as well made as his WOMEN'S CAMP 119, but the latter half yields some fun and it's a shame Mattei couldn't have wrangled some better actors although the Hulk Hogan look-alike provides some chuckles.

[venoms5]

CAMP 731 1988 aka MEN BEHIND THE SUN aka HEI TAIYANG (literal translation: BLACK SUN; also the title of the sequel)

Directed by Mou Tun-fei

A group of young Japanese boys coerced into becoming soldiers in the Japanese Army see numerous atrocities and graphic experiments performed on Chinese citizens during WW2.

One of the most, if not THE most, uncompromisingly brutal and sadistic movie ever made. All the more repellent in that it really happened. Director Mou was very brave to attempt such a film. He received numerous death threats from unknown parties when he traveled to Japan to lecture young Japanese students about the incidents considering schools in Japan had their school books altered leaving little mention of the incidents as well as many claiming said atrocities never happened.

Without doubt one of the most difficult films to sit through. After I saw it the one and only time, I thought about the film for days afterwards. It seriously depressed me in a way no other film had done before. The only other film that ever came close to this movies power is CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979). Other films have left me feeling dirty and somewhat mentally violated after viewing them, but nothing like this film. The constant reminder that these and unbelievably far worse acts of barbarism actually took place only re-enforces Mou's power as a director. What is even more astounding is that in light of what is shown, this film only barely scratches the surface of what happened to the Chinese during this tumultuous time in history.

One of the most harrowing scenes in all of cinema is found here. It is also the most difficult and gut-wrenching scene of ALL the movies I've ever viewed. The scene involves the Japanese doctor demonstrating "strength in numbers". A white cat is thrown into a room filled with thousands of starving rats. It takes what seems like an eternity for the helpless animal to finally succumb to his doom. The cat fights valiantly to survive but again, as the doctor states..."strength in numbers..." in reference to the impending attack on America by the Japanese. The camera never flinches away from this most despicable geek show sequence. In fact, the shots of the cat in its death throes are the most difficult to stomach. This scene was removed for the films UK release as well as other prints around the world.

Another vexing scene concerns the live vivisection of a little boy. What makes this scene especially distressing is that the little boy was a recently deceased cadaver donated from his family specially for the film. What is most amazing is the boy's resemblance to the child actor portraying the kid who is used in the ghastly experiment.

The film itself is a cavalcade of cruelty and despair showcasing the many tortures and vicious experiments the Japanese "doctors" performed on their Chinese captives which they called "Maruta's" which means "material" or "log". They didn't consider their test subjects human and subjected them to many horrifying ordeals such as experiments dealing with freezing and extreme heat, gas and decompression chamber tests and testing of various diseases such as bubonic plague. The plague was also injected into flies concealed inside of balloons which they were trying to unleash into the air and onto foreign soil only before the means of doing this had been figured out, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Of all the past Naziploitation movies, none of them hold a candle to this film. What Hitler did was minor when compared to the savagery perpetrated on Chinese, British, Australian, Russian and American soldiers and citizens during the war. It is a shame that this dark and gruesome time in man's history is not more widely known. Author Iris Chang wrote a NY Times Bestseller entitled, THE RAPE OF NANKING: THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST OF WW2. The book dealt mostly with the (now more widely known) Nanking Massacre and only occasionally touched on the devilish experiments of Camp 731. The Nanking Massacre is covered in Mou's equally nasty sequel, BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE (1995). Mysteriously, Mrs. Chang died on November 9, 2004 of a self-inflicted gun shot wound on a rural road in Los Gatos, California.

Realizing it was a film of great importance, Mou Tin Fou had much trouble getting the film released in Hong Kong. Eventually, it did see release there but he was not allowed to advertise it in any way. No trailer, no poster; only the title on the marquee. The film was highly controversial overseas. The real-life accounts were at odds with the all too real animal violence seen which brought much speculation to the very realistic effects sequences. Considering the circumstances surrounding the real cadaver used, speculation arose that the effects scenes may have been more than just that.

Mou would return to the subject matter with his 1995 sequel, BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE (1995). This film actually utilized real film footage of victims. Footage that was smuggled out of Nanking by a sympathetic Nazi of all people, a mister John Rabe who had the footage hidden inside the threads of a jacket. This footage would end up as a propaganda film shown in US movie theaters during the war. Mou originally envisioned a trilogy but in lieu of the controversy, death threats and difficulty getting the films made, the third film never saw fruition.

However, there were two unrelated films that were released in HK proclaiming to be sequels to the original MEN BEHIND THE SUN. These were MEN BEHIND THE SUN 2: LABORATORY OF THE DEVIL 1992) and MEN BEHIND THE SUN 3: NARROW ESCAPE (1994). Both, believe it or not, directed by that Chinese Jess Franco, Godfrey Ho.

Mou Tun-fei got his start directing Shaw Brothers movies. He was one of a few up and coming New Wave directors at Shaw's at the time. He directed what is called the Chinese SALO (1975), LOST SOULS (1980). Mou also directed one half of the Shaw horror anthology, HAUNTED TALES (1980). He also directed the gruesome kung fu thriller, A DEADLY SECRET (1980). These films would give foreshadowing as to where Mou would be a handful of years down the road. As it stands today, BLACK SUN, or as it is more popularly known, MEN BEHIND THE SUN (1988), is a grueling and dark testament of man's inhumanity to man that only grazes the surface of what would be far worse and ferocious events in history and a time that hopefully, will never be repeated.

[venoms5]

THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT 1974

Doug McClure, Susan Penhaglion, John McEnery

A German sub led by Captain Von Shoernvorts (McEnery) routinely sinks American cargo vessels. The few survivors, led by Bowen Tyler (McClure), manage to board the sub and gain control of it only to end up lost somewhere in the South Atlantic. They stumble upon a lost continent filled with various dinosaurs and cavemen. The two factions, German and American, must work together to make it off the island of Caprona alive.

A co-pro between Amicus and AIP, LAND is quite an exciting adventure film that still holds up. Some of the effects are uneven but so what. The sets are gorgeous especially the first shot of the interior of the island when the sub ascends from the narrow underwater tunnel. Also the miniature work is great and director Kevin Conner pulls off a very exciting finale which puts the fine score to good use.

McClure is fine and plays the role quite natural. I have read that some fans criticize his performance. I don't see why. Although McClure was not the first hired to play the role. Stuart Whitman was initially hired to play Tyler, but the producer did not like him and ordered that Whitman be paid off not to appear in the movie (supposedly, Whitman never did get his full compensation). McClure was going through a divorce at the time, and he, himself did not want to be in the movie and had occasional tantrums during the filming.

McEnery, who plays the German leader, eventually befriends Tyler and his band. This doesn't sit well with Dietz, the second in command who only wants to return to Germany with the Americans as his prisoners. McEnery's voice is dubbed here by Anton Diffring.

The group also rescue a friendly caveman who helps them out in a couple hairy situations. Although this is essentially a kiddie matinée, there are a number of moderately violent scenes involving men being impaled on spears or stone axes.

The film was one of the biggest successes in Britain for the year and another Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation was announced. There would be three more films although Amicus would handle three of them, however to a lesser extent in the third film.

Again, there's lots to recommend here. It's a very colorful movie with lots of action, a good score and some decent effects work from Hammer's chief rival at the time. I saw this for the first time around 1980. I saw both this and PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT back to back on SHOCK THEATER. It was great to finally see this film remastered and complete without commercial interruption when MGM released it a couple of years ago.

[venoms5]

THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT 1977

Patrick Wayne, Sarah Douglas, Thorley Walters, Dana Gillespie, Doug McClure

Major Ben McBride (Wayne) goes on a search and rescue mission to find and bring back his friend Bowen Tyler (McClure) still lost in the land of dinosaurs. A small expedition is mounted to rescue him but the group runs into all manner of trouble including cavemen, dinosaurs, deformed sword wielding pseudo-samurai savages and a volcano god that demands female sacrifices. Excellent pulpy adventure movie.

Patrick Wayne (the Duke's son) is excellent as the chauvinistic former fighter pilot. His many confrontations with 'Charlie' Cunningham (Douglas) are quite funny as each tries to one up the other in terms of who is superior, man or woman. Wayne is a more commanding lead here than he was in the same year's SINBAD & THE EYE OF THE TIGER. He just wasn't convincing as Sinbad. It's a shame Wayne didn't do more fantasy adventure movies.

Douglas is also good as the feisty magazine photographer who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty. Douglas also sports Princess Leia buns on her head. She does get to put her hair down during the big finale when the girls are about to be decapitated. Douglas would screen test for SUPERMAN after this movie as would her co-star Dana Gillespie.

Walters is his usual chipper self portraying another great and batty character role as the slightly nutty Dr. Edwin Norton. Walters also gets in on the action with his fellow co-stars. Walters is always reliable and plays very odd and eccentric characters in his movies. He doesn't disappoint here.

Dana Gillespie is simply the hottest cave girl since Raquel Welch. Her breasts threatening to erupt from her 'barely there' top. A protege of David Bowie, she still sings today I gather. She also tested for SUPERMAN and lost out to Sarah Douglas for the role of Ursa. There is a hint that Gillespie's character Ajor, may have had some romantic involvement with Tyler.

McClure has what amounts to a guest appearance as you do not see him until towards the end. He is held captive in the Mountain of Skulls which is ruled by the vicious Nagas, samurai-like warriors who have hideously deformed faces beneath their masks.

Shane Rimmer has a very comedic turn as the bumbling pilot Hogan who must fix the damaged plane. As more pterodactyls pass over, he shoots them down then marks them on the side of the plane. All his scenes are peppered with humorous bits of dialog. He is incredibly loyal to the Major. Rimmer also returned for the fourth film in the series WARLORDS OF ATLANITS (the only one not a Burroughs story) as a villain along with John Ratzenberger who went on to play Cliff on CHEERS.

Frequent heavy Milton Reid has a role as the evil Sabbala and Hammer performer Dave Prowse plays the executioner.

One of my favorite movies I saw as a kid, it is still a favorite. The film sports an even greater sense of adventure than its two predecessors. A fine cast and very well drawn characters help enliven the film. There are less monsters on display here. Most of them are trotted out during the conclusion as the heroes are being "chased" by the live volcano and several different creatures including the sword wielding Nagas attempt to impede their progress.

The score is very impressive and really needs a CD release. I have a lobby set for both LAND and PEOPLE as well as posters. The film was shot in the Canary Islands and at Pinewood Studios. Love the volcano set and the Mountain of Skulls which is obviously a painting but the interior is quite frightening with the walls literally made up of thousands of skulls from victims of the Naga's.

Two memorable set pieces involve the attack on the bi-plane by a pterodactyl near the beginning resulting in a forced landing and the finale where the heroes fight it out with the Naga's, snake creatures inside a tunnel as well as a prickly monster in a cave adorned with stalagmites and stalagtites.

The MGM DVD is gorgeous. I have one small problem though. There is one scene missing that is present on a recording I have of it from television from back in 1980. It's basically an extension of a scene in the DVD. The cut or missing scene occurs immediately after Ajor, in reference to Nagaramata, says, "No one can go against his will and live". McBride replies with...

McBride: "That's what you think. Where I come from, we've never heard of this... Nagaramata, right?"

Norfolk: (Laughs)"Exactly...I don't think we need to take him too seriously."

Ajor: "You wrong...Nagaramata KILL!!"

Norfolk: "No, no, no...You stick with us...you'll be alright."

Ajor: "If we go on...we all die...like Meekay. You go...Ajor stay here."

McBride: "We need your help to get there...and you need us to protect you. I saved your life didn't I...?"

(Brief pause) Ajor looks at McBride

McBride: "...Then trust me."

It's a brief scene amounting to about a minute or so of screen time but it adds to the suspense of what is to come when the good guys meet up with the Naga's and realize they aren't the pushovers they take them for.

The film also won or was nominated for a couple of awards from the Academy of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror (IMDB says it was only nominated but I have read that the film did indeed win an award). Highly recommended if you like sci-fi fantasy adventure movies.

[venoms5]

HERCULES- 1983

Lou Ferrigno, William Berger, Sybil Danning, Gianni Garko

The adventures and trials of the Greek mythological hero are told in this, the first in the short lived resurgence of the Italian peplum movies that were immensely popular in Italy and the US during the 60s.

Luigi Cozzi directs this laughably bad Italian peplum in an effort to apparently revive the genre. The effects are awful and not in a particularly fun way. They’re so brazen and in your face, it’s as if the filmmakers believe they’re making the Italian equivalent to STAR WARS. You’ll be in total awe of its badness made all the more shocking that MGM distributed the film wide in ‘83.

The sequel was shot back to back but this was such a turkey, it went straight to tape. But to be fair, the effects utilized here had never been previously done or attempted in Italian cinema so it’s a good try anyway.

Lou Ferrigno, whose voice is dubbed, is perfectly cast as the Greek mythological hero. Ferrigno would also headline the sequel as well as partake in two more Italian peplums-Bruno Mattei’s THE 7 MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS and Enzo Castellari’s SINBAD OF THE 7 SEAS, both 1987.…..and both awful. Ferrigno will always be remembered as THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

Sybil Danning provides some juicy eye candy as an evil seductress. A popular grindhouse favorite, Danning has appeared in CHAINED HEAT, THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, WARRIOR QUEEN, THE TOMB, HOWLING 2 and REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS among others as well as getting her own video series called Adventure video where she presented kung fu and Italian crime flicks.

Spaghetti vets William Berger plays the main villain King Menos. Spaghetti western hero Gianni Garko has a minor role as well.

Director Cozzi, while an admitted sci-fi and monster movie buff, is suited for Saturday matinée style pictures. One of his best is the wonderfully cheesy STARCRASH starring Caroline Munro as Stella Starr, Marjoe Gortner, Joe Spinell, Christopher Plummer and David Hasselhoff(!) An obvious take on STAR WARS, the effects are plentiful and even feature light sabre style weapons and a space attack on a battle station at the conclusion. Probably his most accomplished feature would be the 1972 giallo THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN. He also directed the gory ALIEN clone CONTAMINATION which found itself on Britain's video Nasties list during the mid 80s witch hunts in the UK.

[venoms5]

HERCULES 2- 1984

Lou Ferrigno, William Berger

Here, Hercules must retrieve Zeus’s 7 magical thunderbolts (in the form of various monsters and supernatural villains) to battle the evil Menos once again.

Even more craptastic fun from Luigi Cozzi. This one is even more brazen than the first film successfully raping CLASH OF THE TITANS in the process in a redux of the Medusa sequence. Here, it’s nearly a note for note copy without the suspense and minus decent stop motion animation. Ferrigno does his best to imitate Harry Hamlin’s acting. There appears to be a special effect lifted from FORBIDDEN PLANET. An electrical monster appears that is identical to the one in that movie and it moves in the same way.

Berger returns as well. There’s nearly twice as many effects as the first film and they’re still just as funny. The opening credits also violates SUPERMAN 2’s opening credits sequence with the titles whooshing past the camera with light trails and accompanied by clips from the first movie in case you missed it. The final battle in outer space must be seen to be believed. Words cannot do it justice. Herc transforms into a neon outlined cartoon giant gorilla while Berger changes into a likewise neon snake in addition to slinging special effects at each other.

Shot back to back with the first but released direct to video, it's actually a bit better than the first film, but that really isn't saying much at all. Both deliver some very funny moments and are much easier to watch than the atrocious SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS also starring Ferrigno and directed with no style whatsoever by the at one time reliable Enzo Castellari. Mattei's SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS fares a little better as this also had Ferrigno, Brad Harris, Sybil Danning and Dan Vadis in his final movie before being killed in an auto accident after a supposed drug overdose.

[daTOAD]

Some truly great titles. Love the Savage Streets poster[really like this flick].

Here are a few classsic grindhouse flicks that i havent seen mentioned yet:

THE SLAMS- 1973, JIM BROWN

THE CANDY SNATCHERS- 1973, TIFFANY BOLLING

BONNIE'S KIDS- 1973, TIFFANY BOLLING[she didnt make enough flicks]

EMANUELLE IN AMERICA- 1977, [great soundtrack]

ACT OF VENGEANCE AKA [RAPE SQUAD]- 1974

HEROIN BUSTERS- 1977, FABIO TESTI- DIR. ENZO G. CASTELLARI

THE EXTERMINATOR- 1980, ROBERT GINTY

If you like "grindhouse" flicks, you need to see these.