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Island of Lost Souls (1932)
A true masterpiece of classic horror.
First, the plot. A stranded man, from a downed ship, is picked up by a strange vessel (filled with an even stranger cargo and crew). The first conflict in the film finds our young hero stranded yet again, though in the midst of horrors he would hope not to dream of. His first port of call finds him on a strange island, commanded by an even stranger doctor named Moreau. Moreau is a doctor not unlike our good friend Frankenstein, who shuns the current scientific norm in favor of his own grand designs as God. In a nutshell, this leads us all to an island of horrors involving beastly mutations, zoophilia (of sorts) and the kind of horrors that one can only imagine. Without giving anything away, H.G. Wells has given us a forum here for deciding what's right and wrong in the name of science (much like Miss Shelley).
The cast for this production was most aptly picked. We first have our stranded hero, Richard Arlen (who starred in the first movie to win a Best Picture Oscar). His stolidness is just what's required for such a role. We then speak of Bela Lugosi. His leadership of the mutants provides the right amount of horror that we need for a great supporting role. We finally come to Mr. Charles Laughton (the good doctor himself). We relish in every self assured word he speaks (and action he imparts). We can only marvel in this early role that would lead to his subsequent, and much deserved, celebrity. He is the core of what is great about this film. With every snap of the whip (and every utterance of, "What is the law"), he is most firmly placed as the very evil in this film. The screams at the end are some of the most haunting a film could ever provide.
Don't pass this up if you catch it on TV. As of this writing, it's still unavailable on DVD. What a pity.
Charlie.
Chaos (2005)
"LHOTL" remake that does justice to the subject matter.
We open this film with a text warning of some kind stating that the movie's contents are just as brutal as the everyday occurrences that they portray (or something along those lines). Uh-huh. Here I am thinking that I'm watching a "LHOTL" remake and in reality, it's a "Blood on the Highway" style High School, cautionary film. Actually, just joking on that last one.
Anyway, the plot. As I said (and as most know), this is a remake of "LHOTL", which was also a remake. There really is no difference at all except for a few meaningless changes. You know the story. Two girls go to a concert (oh sorry, a "rave") looking for some "dope" (oh, sorry again, I mean "X") and wind up finding the wrong "dealer's" son. They're subsequently brutalized/raped/murdered and seek shelter in one of the girl's homes after their van breaks down. The father recognizes his daughter's belt (on one of the perpetrators) and we get all "revengey" now.
I'm going to be completely in the minority here (or even all alone) and say that I was entertained by this one. The performances were really not bad and Gage (as Chaos) was completely believable (and enjoyable) as evil incarnate. Was it yet another pointless remake? Yeah, I guess so, but it was pretty darn good all the same. Those two chicks did thespian peril justice here and I believed in their every cry and scream. The effects were pretty good also, though there was admittedly very little shown (except for the most realistic "nipplectomy" I've ever seen). There is one thing very different about it, but I won't go into any major spoilers here.
I'd actually read Ebert's review some months ago and thought that I'd have to visit this sometime (even though he gave it no stars). It was not his anti-praise, but his description that made me curious. I'd forgotten all about it until I'd researched a little bit about what I had in my possession here.
On another note, I was about to turn this off (since the credits were rolling) and something caught my eye that made me hit the pause button. It read as this, verbatim: "Based on an original idea by Steven Jay Bernheim and David DeFalco". Okay. I'm sorry, but just who are these idiots (or more correctly, is that what they take us for)? Entertaining or not, that's probably the most ridiculous credit line I've ever read. I'm not sure how they even got away with it, unless "LHOTL" is in the public domain now. Even if it is, everyone knows what a crock of sh*t that is. These guys must be wackos or something.
Anyhow, take it for what it's worth. I enjoyed it, but purists of the "original" might take offense to it. I"ll leave it up to you.
Charlie.
Hei tai yang: Nan Jing da tu sha (1995)
A superb prequel to "Men Behind the Sun".
We open with stock footage of the Japanese invading China, 1937. Nanking, we are informed, falls by mid December of that year. So begins this recounting of a hopeless time for China.
According to the film, disciplining the Chinese population (with mass rapes and murders) was justified due to its preserving Japan's lock on them for the future. Its depiction of said massacre makes the soldiers of "Bridge on River Kwai"(1957) look like Disneyland attendants. There are two minor subplots in the film. One involves a man desperately trying to save his young niece and nephew from the invading Japanese. Another involves a father and his young son, the father cooperating with the Japanese in lieu of his son's life. As was the character of this film, neither would come to much fruition. Refugee camps, with American and German observers, are raided without so much as a care for world opinion.
The high points of the film come with opinions being shared between Generals in the "trenches" and those of the High Command. The entrenched Generals win out in the end. Also of note is a conversation between a Samurai adviser and an Army General on the moral situation at hand (all spoken in deference to their Samurai Swords and the respective makers). It is most entrancing.
This film depicts atrocities most heinous in nature. A street side abortion is performed with bayonet precision. It is a somewhat "fakey" looking affair, but effective in its message. Thousands are burned seaside in an effort to "cleanse" the landscape for foreign journalists. Many more are machine gunned in hopes that the people will better understand their hopeless position in the war. No one is spared in this matter.
The production values and acting are simply superb in this film. It makes one wonder what Hollywood could produce if it weren't for the MPAA controlling things there. This film is definitely proof that extreme cinema need not be labeled "exploit" to keep one glued to the screen through cinematic excellence and horror alike. Most highly recommended.
Charlie.
Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku (1976)
The icing on the cake for those who love a little "stab in the crab".
We start in a restaurant where a patron hits up on a waitress. Let me tell you, I've seen surly before, but this chick "takes the cake" (if those who have seen it will pardon that one there).
Anyway, things start a bit slowly, with our waitress and her somewhat cowering pastry chef, until a hitchhiker stops them dead in their rain splattered tracks. After stowing aboard aft, she proceeds to strip and cover herself with his confectionery creations (which she augments with his pastry knife to her arm). She then goes for a "space walk" alongside the car and becomes a visceral experience (sexually) for the both of them. Foreplay is yet invented for this couple. The story goes on with our happy couple discovering pleasures anew with victim after victim (all beginning with some "sharp to the carp" for them all). Our chubby waitress is the dominant factor in the opening, but our knife wielding chef soon takes matters into his own hands. His freelancing only fuels her fire to keep them together.
This one has some "roughiness" that is somewhat nasty as Formula-1 cars are just a bit fast. There are carvings galore in this one with one getting "upped" Don Ciccio style to her sternum. The sex is single "X", but it's definitely a great experience (with good production values and acting alike). Highly recommended.
Charlie.
House of De Sade (1977)
An absolutely wacky porno with a few "rough" spots here and there.
All right, I think that this might pan out better with a play by play.
But first, the plot. Some folks get an invitation to a haunted house to conduct a seance (thus, hoping to resurrect the Marquis de Sade). They have lots of sex (some of it semi-roughie).
Okay, now that we're done with the overview. A call comes into an office secretaried by the lovely Miss Del Rio. It's an invitation to a haunted house, which she shares with some fuzzy friends (via telephone) who are enjoying some playtime at the moment. Let me tell you, these folks have enough foliage (both above and below) to start an Oleander nursery in the Texas Hill Country. Anyhow, Miss Del Rio and her boss decide to celebrate by fellating in the best "Lovelace School of Hard Co*ks" fashion. They go on with some collar and chain, spanking and hair grabbing roughiness. If Vanessa's "saucers" don't make you cry out "Klaatu barada nikto", then you need to bone up on some classics immediately. Some psychedelicly scary music plays the whole time in the background.
So 26 minutes into all of their fun (edited back and forth location wise between them) and we're ready to visit the haunted house. The boss decides to stay behind as he's much too busy doing something or another. They're all shown to their quarters by a big toothed hunchback, though the house's insides look strangely more like a cheap apartment than the house's outside (that we saw previously). Okay, two minutes of that much plot showing and we're back to beddybye for two of them. Miss Del Rio is alone in her room admiring herself in the mirror when she sees something in the reflection ("what could it be"?). She opens the closet door and is showered with some love juice. She bursts into her friends' room and exclaims, "I just got c um all over me and this picture, the eyes started moving". I assure you folks, that line is verbatim.
She's then "comforted" by the other two, but we soon come to seance time. A masked Marquis de Sade appears and he disappears with old Vanessa and hunchback in tow. We then have some spanking, nun-chuck whipping, nipple clamping, etc. with our other friends finding them and joining in alongside. What seems to be Syd Barret Pink Floyd plays in the background. The Marquis de Sade is then unmasked and.........Oh sorry. No spoiler shockers from me here.
Bottom line is that this should be seen since it is a classic porno (with a classic star) and it provided some pretty fun entertainment on a Monday afternoon.
Charlie.
Muzan-e: AV gyaru satsujin bideo wa sonzai shita! (1999)
A not so daring exploit after all.
Okay. I'd read that this was the absolute bomb (as far as extreme exploits were concerned), so I was really psyched for this one. All I can say is, "meh". Maybe it's the fact that I can't see anything with these damned, pixelized Jap flicks. Weren't these guys Samurais once? I mean, can you possibly imagine Samurais covering up their female spoils with pixelation? I think not.
Anyway, the plot (and I had no subs, so bear with me). A reporter is doing an exposé on the porn industry and stumbles onto something that she shouldn't have. The perpetrators of said stumbling kidnap her and do some nasty stuff to our heroine.
Okay, this one does have some things going for it. Some juicy menstrual "teething", a nipple bitten off and a few disturbing moments involving damsels in distress (on hand-held camera). However, nothing can really be seen while our Japanese buddies pixelate everything out. I mean, it would be really easy to save money on special effects and makeup men by simply producing your film in Japan. A little pixelation here, a little pixelation there and voilà; budget met.
I don't normally care for Italian flicks, but at least they show the nasty bits in full view of the camera. Why settle for a pixelated, bitten nipple when you can see a woman hoisted up by her breasts on meathooks? Oh well. Rant over. I can at least say that I saw it.
Charlie.
Widow Blue! (1970)
A plot that makes "Murder on the Orient Express" seem straightforward.
We begin here with grubby looking video and bongo fueled music to start our show. It only gets better.
The story is a bit convoluted (and so am I), so bear with me. A woman plots to kill her cheating husband (who's cheating with her conspiring brother) and gets some help from a man cheating with her on his wife (who's cheating on him). Sound crazy? You betcha. The husband (cheating with the brother) is meat "cleavered" while in bed with him (by the man cheating on his wife, who's cheating on him). Now, the fun begins. The (then) widow has sex with both the man and brother while she's still freshly blood splattered on her face (from her "cleavered" husband) and on top of his death bed and coffin to boot. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" music (Dukas) plays in the background. With me still? Good. Some guests come by and we proceed to an orgy (after putting the coffin outside that they were curious about). The guests split, but the cheating wife (of the conspirator guy who's cheating on her) comes by to say hello. He decides to get it on with her while his mistress (the recent widow) gets rid of the husband filled coffin. I've given enough away, so I'll let you see the rest (which does amount to a bit more, I promise you).
This was really a heck of a fun, early porno. It has quite a bit of gore in a couple of spots and has a plot that mimics film noir from the 40s (and my apologies to Dashiell Hammett here). It was done on the cheap (like every early porno), but was really a fun time all the same. Highly recommended stuff for any early porno/exploit fan.
Charlie.
A Prisão (1980)
One of the classics in WIP filmdom.
We start with some female prisoners playing happily enough in a courtyard. The guards (all female, of course) watch on with their uniform blouses partially unbuttoned. We quickly segue into a "shanking" which leads to the largest wet t-shirt contest in history. Some beatings and "water torture" follow and we're off and rolling with this one.
The plot concerns the plight of these confined ladies as they're tortured, raped and sold into slavery (that is, when they're not being buried in the overcrowded cemetery). Our lovely warden takes every liberty to gain enjoyment and financial gain from her prisoners misfortunes. Of course, there's an escape plan to hatch with one of the newbies seducing our warden with all night "rug" cleanings. The film takes a bit of a grisly turn with our escapees on the loose in the neighboring town.
First off, this film has more nudity than a volleyball match on Fire Island (albeit, female). The sex is mostly lesbian, but a bit of "hetero" fun can also be had here and there. The nurse in this facility is truly the wonder of the film. She is, quite simply put, the "ditziest" broad since Ginger decided on the Minnow's three hour tour. Her ether sniffing pastimes can only hope to gain her brain cells.
This film contains forced sex, penectomies, pedophilia rape and so much female on female action it would make Miss DeGeneres blush. The production values are so-so, but who cares? It's "Bare Behind Bars"(1980). 'Nuff said.
Charlie.
Yeuk saat (1994)
A decent little rape/revenge flick from our friends in Hong Kong.
Okay, in the first 6 minutes, we have a necro rape and a mother/son commit suicide/homicide. Not a bad start, eh?
Anyhow, this story involves a brutal rapist/killer who has a "thing" for red. While he's not out cavorting, he enjoys running a home for some mentally retarded kids as a true Clark Kent kind of guy. I say that in no small fashion since his nighttime alter ego throws people around like he's Superman. Things turn around sharply when he decides to have a little "hard in a 'tard" that is a resident in his happy home. Man, if I ran his place, I'd have all the girls dress in red. A courtroom drama ensues with expected results. Vengeance then becomes the name of the game and a grisly, fun time it is.
This film has some "roughiness", a bit of gore and some pretty decent acting (especially when the bespectacled primary lets us see his alter ego while playing "Clark"). It is a single "X" affair, but fairly graphic all the same (with decent makeup effects to go along). Definitely recommended stuff.
Charlie.
The Wizard of Gore (1970)
Another "Oscar Winner" from Herschell Gordon Lewis.
We start with Montag the Magnificent speaking to an audience on the subject of illusions and reality. Unfortunately for him (and everyone else in this movie), reality shows his acting capabilities to be an illusion as well.
The plot involves a magician who performs dangerous and life threatening "tricks" with female members of the audience. After the performances, the participants wind up being killed in the very manner of the previous illusion. The police start investigating the magician when they're tipped off by a TV reporter and her ever curious boyfriend (who are audience members recognizing the victims from the show).
This is almost an intentionally bad film. I won't go into details as every single aspect of this movie screams of a cheap production. One graveyard scene was so bad that I thought Tor Johnson was waiting to be queued. And the audience members (what they show of them) all look as if they've escaped from an asylum for the aesthetically challenged (except for the victims, of course). There are some admittedly grisly scenes here and there. One woman is chainsawed in half, another has a spike pounded through her head (that he changes into a mannequin) and some others swallow swords that goes beyond the help of mere Maalox. Unfortunately, there's no sex to pad things here. Only insipid dialogue that makes one beg for the next dead body.
I guess that it still fits into the category of being so bad it's good, so I'll go ahead and recommend it. Besides, it's Herschell Gordon Lewis and one has to have a foundation to build on with any genre (even exploit).
Charlie.
Bat sin fan dim: Yan yuk cha siu bau (1993)
Anthony Wong at his very best.
This one starts with an argument over money. It ends with the loser's face being smashed against a wall, his body doused with gasoline and then set on fire on the floor. I guess we need no further character development for our villain here.
Anyhow, our main story takes place some years later with our "friend" running a restaurant in Macau. One can easily guess the reason for continuous "Help Wanted" postings here. As it stands, the police are investigating our friend after some body parts wash up on the shore (with the finger prints belonging to a relative of the original restaurant owners). He is taken into custody, and much mayhem ensues.
First off, let me say that the cops in this are the most comically inept I've seen since Abbott and Costello met the Keystone Cops. They are the humorous relief here in what is a very brutal tale (not the least of which are their interrogation techniques). These cops make Abu Ghraib look like a visit to Candy Land. Beatings, Amphetamine sleep deprivation, straight jackets, injected sores. Remind me to never commit a crime in Macau. Of course, we could care less about this since our recipient is well deserved of his treatment. The end has one of the most ghastly flashbacks I've ever seen.
This film has dismemberment, rape (both with and without chopsticks), torture, urine ingestion (though voluntary for medicinal purposes), cannibalism (Dim Sum, anyone?), etc. The makeup effects were very realistic. I'd read that this was very good and it did not disappoint. Worth noting is that Anthony Wong won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993 for this movie. That's their equivalent of the Oscars and as such, is quite an honor.
Highly recommended viewing.
Charlie.
Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975)
The most famous (if not best) Nazisploitation out there.
Most here are aware of how this one plays out. Experiments are conducted on war camp prisoners, which are all overseen by our lovely Fraulein Doktor (of title fame). This gal has a nasty habit of collecting male "forget me nots". Some collect stamps. Others, genitals. Call her an eccentric.
Anyhow, politics between the camp and Berlin come into play along with an American she can't figure out (and the requisite escape plans brewing), but those are mere plot details. No sense boring everyone with gratuitous information on the storyline when there's some juicy bits to discuss.
Torture of many respects abound in this one. Castration, gang rape, bacterial/viral injections, human lobster pots, slow hanging (mit eis schmelzen), nipple 'trodes, the list goes on and on. The production values are pretty fair in this one (the sets being left over from "Hogan's Heroes") and the makeup's not half bad. The acting's a bit over the top in "Ilsa", especially with the doktor's blonde henchwomen, but who can really fault topless floggers? Not I.
Thumbs up for me here. It's only single "X", but still some nasty fun.
Charlie.
The Gore Gore Girls (1972)
Definitely in the category of "so bad it's good".
Oh man. Was this ever a steaming hunk of Gorgonzola. Words cannot truly describe how definitive this film is of a "B" movie classic. Heck, only 20 seconds in and we have a gal getting too close a look in the mirror.
Anyway, the plot involves a publication hiring a private detective to investigate the murder of said, vain go go dancer. While he delves into the matter, many more are dispatched through a few decidedly, unconventional means.
Let me tell ya, the acting in this movie reaches such badness that even Roger Corman must have blushed upon first viewing. Our lead seems to relish in his every hammy utterance. Let's face it, these thespians go beyond not having participated in an acting school. Hell, it's even money that none have even heard of Lee Strasberg, much less attended his academy. We won't even go into the music or screenplay, as that could be likened to hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and a scope.
On the bright side, we do have a good many killings and nudity to make up for this lack in production values. These are go go dancers being killed, after all. Included in this mayhem are a crushed skull, tenderized buttocks, an ironed face and some deep fried "soul food". Heck, we even get some scissored nipples involving a "milk toast" that needs to be seen to be believed.
Check this one out soon. To infer that it's "so bad it's good" is like saying that the Oxford Dictionary's an okay reference for the English language. Enjoy.
Charlie.
Breaking Point (1975)
A great exploit from the maker of "Thriller".
Damn. This is a fun time in the most surreal sense. First off, the fantastic "The Third Man"(1949) theme, by Anton Karas, plays throughout the film. He's actually mentioned in the opening credits, but is not listed by the IMDb for some reason. Anyway, the film focuses on a few days in the life of a serial rapist (and what a nutcase of a Jeffrey Jones look alike he is). The films wastes no time in getting things started with a particularly nasty bit of roughieness ending with the victim's skull being bashed in by an ashtray. Nice character intro there. We then follow him around for a few days from work to home while he chooses a new victim every now and again (with one being the most compliant rape victim in the history of cinema). As the film goes on, one starts to feel a bit "Videodromed" since things get more and more outlandish (to the point of wondering if it's in his head). There's even some really good fun involving exploding bullets, submachine guns and a helicopter. The closing line made me laugh harder than anything I've seen in any exploit.
This is hardcore stuff throughout with some very well timed violence thrown in for good measure. There are many laugh out loud scenes including fake newscasts and coffee cups filled with special non dairy creamers. This is Bo Arne Vibenius's followup to "Thriller"(1974) and it's actually better in a great many ways (though I did miss Christina Lindberg). Get it by any means possible.
Angel of Death 2 (2007)
One of the better WIPs out there.
AKA "The Prison Island Massacre" - Lots of fun with this one, folks. My copy didn't have subs, but it didn't matter once things got rolling (which took all of 7 or 8 minutes). A hitchiking chick is picked up, fellatio raped at gunpoint and money shotted before being sent to prison on false charges (and what a glorious prison this is). It's run by an evil cigar smoking warden and her straight, black haired henchwoman. There are about three plot strings happening simultaneously, but I won't go into that since the juicy parts are more important. Let's just say that torture, rapes and violence are happily in abundance here (including a Ned Beatty rape scene that takes place ON camera, as opposed to "Deliverance"). One scene has a guy get his cock straightened with pliers, then has his teeth removed (with said pliers) and finally has his scalp taken off prior to having his throat slit. Sound like fun yet? You bet it is.
Watch this by any means possible. Loads of fun for any exploit fan.
Charlie.
Salon Kitty (1976)
A very good tale that plays out like "Cabaret" as an "exploit".
With the opening credits, I knew that this was going to be something different. A "two faced" man/woman dances and sings in a cabaret entertaining the crowd in fine fashion. We then have naked, exercising Nazis showing off their Arian "superiorities" in unfortunately, flaccid form. So begins our film.
This film finds a Grande Dame in charge of a Cabaret at the beginning of WWII. Miss Kitty is forced to turn her club into a Nazi controlled brothel where women are trained to handle most any type of customer. Unbeknownst to her, The Nazis have planted hidden microphones in the rooms to listen in to every secret/conspiracy that their German Officers might be hiding. The kicker comes in when she learns of this and decides to turn the tables on our Nazi "baddies" recording everything.
This a very well made film. The sets are first class, the actors are incredibly well dressed and the makeup is applied both on and off camera with splendid effect. Yes, the acting's a bit over the top, but that's always the "norm" with Italian productions. That's just something that you'll never get away from in the "boot country" (and take it from someone who lived there for 7 years). One could easily compare Fosse's "Cabaret"(1972) and "Salon Kitty", due to their period and musical numbers alone, but Brass employed some much needed nudity for his particular feature (and we certainly thank him for it).
All in all, some excellent Nazisploitation fun with good production values. We have a generous quantity of naked women simultaneously "Sieg Heiling", pigs being slaughtered, a naked midget hunchback about to perform coitus (on one of our trainees) and a legless chap about to get lucky with yet another trainee. Damn fun stuff, indeed. Single "X" mind you, but fun all the same.
I highly recommend this one, but be sure to have some time as the uncut version goes on for some 2 hours and 15 minutes, credits included.
Charlie.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
One of the best of the comedic duo.
This one's easily the best of the comic duo. First off, we have some pretty familiar characters reprising their most famous roles. Bela Lugosi dons his black cape for the last time (Dracula), Lon Chaney, Jr is still the cursed, hairy one (Lawrence Talbot, The Wolf Man) and Glenn Strange walks stiff legged again as old flat head himself (Frankenstein's Monster).
Abbott & Costello have some fine comedy bits as baggage handlers who "bite off more than they can chew" when they inadvertently become delivery boys for Dracula and the Frankenstein's Monster (for a wax museum). Of course, the joke's on them when they turn out to be real instead of Mme. Tussauds wannabes. Dracula, and a female doctor accomplice, are in want of Costello's brain for a transplant into his Frankenstein Monster's head (thus giving him a much more controllable monster). Things go wrong for our conspirators when Talbot shows up knowing all of their secrets (and harboring his own furry one to boot).
Lugosi gives one of his best (and last great) performances and the comedic duo are funnier than anything prior. The finale with Dracula and The Wolf Man battling one another (and Abbott and Costello thrown in with "Frankie") is simply the most fun classic horror lovers could ever have.
If you have kids (or simply love great comedy and classic horror), don't miss this wonderful time with some of the most memorable horror icons of film history.
Charlie.
The Body Snatcher (1945)
One of Karloff's finest.
This one is truly magnificent. In it, we have the tale of a doctor in Edinburgh who must have fresh bodies dug up to be able to conduct research in anatomy. Of course, the bodies are sometimes a bit more fresh than they should be. The conflicts between progressive medical research (and the need to dig up the freshly dead) are as relevant as today's debates in other forms of similar study (but we'll not talk politics here).
The cast is as good as it gets. In it, we have Karloff as Cabman Gray, Lugosi as the doctor's servant (Joseph) and Henry Daniell as the haunted Scottish doctor himself. Lugosi was relegated to supporting roles at this point (in comparison to his once peer status with Karloff), but he still commands a presence as the hapless servant who can't stand up to cabbie Gray (which ironically, was the case between the actual actors). But it is truly Karloff's show here, as he displays acting chops of evil that have rarely been equaled. Witness his instant transformation from a kindly Cabman (with a handicapped little girl) to a leering killer in just a frame after. Ironic, since the writer (Robert Louis Stevenson) penned of the duality of man in the more famous tale of "Jekyll and Hyde". We relish in Karloff's every accented word as it's hard to believe that anyone could be so completely evil.
I highly recommend this movie as I do everything produced by Val Lewton. The direction by Robert Wise was better than most anything he'd do later (and he was to direct many great ones). Don't miss it this Halloween. It's one of the best from the 40s (and most every other decade).
Charlie.
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
A most unfairly maligned film.
Why this one has received the much maligned reviews it has is beyond me. This is easily the best that Hammer has ever had to offer in the "Frankenstein Monster" genre.
First off, this movie has been rated "R", but there are no displays of nudity (much to my dismay). There are some sexually oriented scenes though, and some wonderful cleavage of the "wenchful" Miss Kate O'Mara. I provide these facts merely for those of you interested in early 70s Hammer "norms".
The film's opening credits with a vivisection of a woman's print sets the tone for what's to follow. Our young Frankenstein (if you'll pardon that one) is the most vile and villainous iteration of the good Baron that I've ever witnessed on the screen (and yes, that includes any that Cushing had done prior). Young Bates is the epitome of evil, which is witnessed from his beginnings as a student when he kills off his dad (The Baron). His depraved behaviour is what carries this film through to its ultimate end (and the monster be damned). In fact, the good Doctor winds up killing off more people (in the end) than the monster could ever hope to.
This film has many great characters. A greedy graverobber, some lovely lady love interests and an assistant that is the antithesis of Fritz from the original Universal outing.
One giveaway to a quote in the film: The Dean in the University that young Frankenstein is attending calls him into his office. He then exclaims his young daughter to be pregnant (which was the young Baron/student's obvious doing). His reply? "Congratulations". As you can see, this film is not without humour.
This film is my second favorite Hammer film of all time (after "Curse of the Werewolf"), but it is unfairly maligned in its IMDb rating. Pay no attention to this as it is unwarranted. Watch this fantastic film at all costs (which was $10.49 at the IMDb owner's site).
Water Power (1977)
Fun for the whole family (just kidding).
Wow! This one's the real deal. What can I say but fellatio galore, some "roughie" rapes and of course, forced colonics. This one just has it all (and in a fun little parody of "Taxi Driver" to make things complete).
When I first recognized the music from Scorsese's classic (made the previous year) I paused it to look at the "Water Power" page in the IMDb. Sure enough, in the write up for the film (done by Shaun Costello himself), a description, of how the movie came to be, showed it to be a parody (with seemingly lifted samples from the soundtrack). We even get the Travis Bickle narrative treatment about how everything needs to be cleaned up. Marvelous stuff. Strangely enough, the Bickle character, Jamie Gillis, sounds nothing like De Niro, but instead a dead ringer for Al Pacino in his "Godfather" days. For those who have seen it and not noticed, re-watch it and you'll spot it right away.
Some other music that seems copied are the electronic music from "Lipstick"(1976) during the first rape and what seems like Alan Parsons at the end when the male partner arrives. I just "viddied" this last night and must re-watch it (oh darn) to listen for more copied music (now that I know a bit more about Costello).
Do whatever it takes to see this most perverted and completely enjoyable film.
Twins of Evil (1971)
A silly, but fun entry in Hammer's line-up.
I just re-watched this one after many years of absence and it contained enough ham to make a Kosher butcher blush. Lines like "He thrashed me with his belt" do make one laugh though, and this is its saving grace.
Karnstein was played out like DeSade and has a fantastic encounter with Mircalla to join the ranks of the undead (and she actually strokes a candle while kissing him). It's scenes like this, along with enough cleavage and occasional boobies to make Heffner jealous, that keep it going. Also notable is Cushing, as a most despicable character here-in. Gone is his good guy Van Helsing persona as his witch burning crusader is both awful and fun to watch at the same time.
As I once said on the Horror Board, thumbs down (and most highly recommended).
Vampire Circus (1972)
Great little Hammer entry that gets overlooked.
Well, it had been awhile since I last saw this and it needed a fresh view (especially since the last time was on edited television about 30 years ago).
Only four minutes into the flick and we've got "boobies". I knew that I would be entertained on some level after that. My problem with early 70s Hammer though, is that there is a distinct lack of the "wooly mammoth". I'm always finding myself trying to physically lower the cameraman's hand to bless us with a pre LadyBic shot. Ah well. At least we get a whipping/beating of a scantily clad gal and even a quick snip of the whip over a midget clown's buns.
The plot in a nutshell involves an evil Count (who happens to be a vampire, of course) who gets killed off in the beginning by our locals (but not before cursing them with the premature deaths of their children). We then join the town 15 years on where they're suffering: 1)a plague, 2)shooters on the border quarantining them and 3)a circus entering into town that might have something to do with the title. This place makes "Village of the Damned" look like Disney World.
Anyhow, in this circus, we get a clown midget, a naked tigerwoman dancing erotically with a panther guy and a strongman that looks suspiciously like Darth Vader without the costume. Must be because it is Darth Vader (David Prowse) who once again gets to carry a guy here just like he did the year prior in "A Clockwork Orange". Guess he gave it up after this since I don't recall Darth ever doing so.
Anyway, I'll give away no more and give this one a thumbs up equating to a 6.7/10. It's lots of fun and even has a pretty good bit of gore here and there (to go along with the boobies, of course).
Forced Entry (1973)
The King of the "Roughies".
I'd always read and heard that this one was the king of the "roughies" and I was not disappointed. It was obviously shot on a low budget, but it had some very effective edits and cuts (not to mention some all out sadistic madness). I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum.
Plot summary: A Vietnam veteran working at a gas station (and dig that first customer's payment amount) cons addresses out of young lady customers with a credit card machine scam. He then hunts them down to their domiciles and commits a few less than desirable actions for a first (and only) date.
The famous Harry Reems (the blue ribbon diagnosing doctor from "Deep Throat") plays our stalker and takes creepiness to new levels. He lives in a constant state of flashback (or the director only added them for the basis of his insanity) and they correlate well with the action on the screen. One weak point was the rather hairy, toadlike Shaun Costello (the director) who proceeds to make lengthy love to our heroe's first victim. Yes, I call the stalker our hero since we'd like nothing more now than for the boyfriend's hairy bun pushups to stop (especially in close-up). Thank god it finally ends and we can get on with the matter at hand. Without going into detail (since I'd be deleted) our stalker forces some "love talk" fellatio on the hapless victim at knifepoint. His words to her are actually none too loving in their description of her eventual fate. Needless to say that this will continue again, albeit a little differently next time, but retaining all the brutality and more.
The mix of Asian sounding gongs and music into the soundtrack was well done as the director had later admitted to being a master at copying and sampling in another film (see the "Water Power" IMDb write-up). The brutality scenes are real looking and the sex is hardcore. The ending was not unexpected, but interestingly done.
If my review doesn't already spell it out, this is not for the squeamish. "Roughie" does not mean a bad girl spanking here (though I've got nothing against that, you know). This one offers hardcore sex (soft, "roughie" and even some lesbo knee knocking) and very gruesome scenes of depravity.
Personally, I thought it was very well done, but I don't know if I could watch it again (since I could replay a great number of scenes in my head at will now).