News

Stars: Brion James, Richard Crystal, Zalman King, Robert Walden, Mark Goddard, Charles Siebert, Stefan Gierasch, Alice Ghostley, Ray Young, Bill Adler | Written and Directed by Jeff Lieberman

Showing as part of this year’s Fantasia Midnights program, Synapse Films premiered their restoration of writer/director Jeff Lieberman’s cult favorite Blue Sunshine. The 1977 film about former hippies suffering from homicidal acid flashbacks will be getting a 4K release at an undisclosed future date, and the image quality is noticeably better than on my DVD. But, what about the actual film? Glad you asked…

Blue Sunshine begins at a party where one of the guests is doing an impersonation of Rodan. “The artist?” asks one of the guests. “No, the monster” But a real monster is about to show up as Frannie loses his wig and his mind and begins shoving guests into the fireplace.

Jerry narrowly avoids becoming his next...

Amazon Prime Video is out with its list of everything new coming to the streaming service in January 2020.

New Prime Original, “Troop Zero,” is out Jan. 17. It stars Viola Davis and Allison Janney and “tells the story of a misfit girl dreaming of life in outer space but living in rural 1977 Georgia. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on Nasa’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond,” according to Amazon.

Other Prime Originals include the five-part docuseries “Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer,” out Jan. 31, and new standup special “Ilana Glazer: The Planet is Burning,” out Jan. 3.

Also Read: 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Renewed For Season 4 at Amazon

Here is the full list of titles coming to Amazon Prime Video in January.

January 1

Amores Perros (2000)

Arbitrage (2012)

Captivity (2007)

Cinderfella (1960)

The Conspirator...

Hulu is out with its list of everything new coming in January, as well as everything that’s leaving at the end of the month.

Highlights include the Season 24 premiere of “The Bachelor,” available the day after it airs first on ABC — so Jan. 7 for Hulu subscribers. Get ready to see Peter Weber in all his glory.

“Homeland” Seasons 6 and 7 will be available Jan. 10, following CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and her mentor, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin).

Also Read: 'The Bachelor' Goes Retro in Cheesy 70s-Themed Promo (Video)

U.K.’s “Love Island” Season 6 will premiere on Jan. 20, sans Caroline Flack. The second seasons of “Lodge 49” and “Shrill” premiere Jan. 13 and the 24th respectively.

Leaving on Jan. 31 are “The Fantastic Four,” “Crazy For Christmas,” and a handful of others.

Here’s the full list of everything coming and going to and from Hulu in January.

Also...

Cannes Film Festival has earned the admiration of film lovers for showcasing the finest in auteur films. But for the last 60 years, the Cannes Market has provided economic oomph to the annual seaside unspoolings, with fare perhaps less artsy, but with its own special aesthetic pleasures.

Cannes Palme d’Or winner (and 2019 Fest competitor) Quentin Tarantino has waxed poetic about one of the market’s most emblematic and distinctive film companies, Crown International.

“I’ve been lamenting the fact that exploitation movies don’t exist anymore, but they do, they’re just on television,” Tarantino told Movieline in 1994. “‘Baywatch’ is as good as any Crown Intl. movie,” said Tarantino, “but without the nipples. You get all the breasts, you just don’t get the nipples…”

Founded by Newton “Red” Jacobs in 1959, the same year the market was officially launched, Crown Intl. enjoyed decades of buoyant bazaar triumphs, reaping the benefits...

Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder ($300k to be exact) The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people. In the air above the mega-arachnid was three helicopters and lying crumpled at the spider’s legs were burning cars as spotlights filled the sky. One of the...

Randy gets cheery.

There is something quaintly American about cheerleaders. There is also something quaintly American about baseball, apple pie and white Zinfandel. This time, we’re hangin’ with The Pom Pom Girls.

All-American girls in bikinis at the beach, practicing their cheers while showing their rears. Roll ‘em, aaaaand – that’s a wrap! What more do you need from a summertime movie? Plots play over the holidays.

That type of scene might make you think this sexploitation chuckler should have been titled “The Butt Pom Girls.” That probably got discussed sometime before the movie was released. There does seem to be a scarcity of actual pom poms, at least in the trailer. That’s Ok, though, because those things cover up so much when the gals are holding them. I’m sure that was probably an agenda point at a pre-production meeting, too. “Wait – how about if they throw...

A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for May.

42nd Street Forever (2012) Blu-ray Available Now

225 minutes of pure awesome. Exploitation fans won’t want to miss Synapse Films' latest trailer compilation. This new release features theatrical trailers from the first two volumes with plenty of additional material. Enjoy classic horror, science fiction, action and exploitation coming attractions remastered in high definition. The 80+ titles include such grindhouse favorites as Dr. Butcher, MD, The Pom Pom Girls, Werewolves on Wheels, Savage Sisters, The Teacher, The Evictors and Chained Heat.

The Wizard of Gore/The Gore Gore Girls (1970/1972) Blu-ray Available Now

Something Weird’s Blu-ray release of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Trilogy last year was a minor revelation. The Blood Feast print, presented in glorious high definition, was stunning in its gore-soaked clarity. All three films (including Two Thousand Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red) highlighted superior transfers, but Blood Feast was the standout.

A 35-minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion will be shown on Super-8 sound film at Super-8 Giant Monster Movie Madness next Tuesday, May 1st at The Way Out Club in St. Louis.

Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people.

Synapse’s 42nd Street Forever trailer compilations have been a tremendous success for the imprint, similar to what Something Weird Video has been doing for decades. Synapse gathered trailers from all corners of the cinematic universe, enough to populate five volumes over the last seven years, and now they are finally stepping into the world of Blu-ray.

42Nd Street Forever: The Blu-ray Edition, available on May 8th, is a compilation of the best of of the best from volumes 1 and 2 of the DVD series, featuring almost four hours of all the naughty bits that get underground cinephiles excited. Also included is a new commentary from Fangoria’s Mike Gingold. Fangoria.com has shared the cover art and sample list of trailers below.

Act Of Vengeance

Black Samson

The Bullet Machine

The Centerfold Girls

Chained Heat

Chappaqua

College Girls

The Curious Female

The Dark

Dark Star

Delinquent Schoolgirls

The Deadly Spawn...

Today - Monday, November 16, join cult film director Katt Shea (Poison Ivy, The Rage: Carrie 2) at Trailers From Hell for the trailer to The Pom Pom Girls. Even in 1976 Joe Rubin's drive-in sexploitation hit was considered a cut above the usual, so its relative obscurity today can only be ascribed to its long unavailablity.

Then, on Wednesday, November 18, join Allison Anders for the trailer to The Big T.N.T. Show. Aip's 1966 followup to the smash rock concert hit The T.A.M.I. Show is fun but had less cultural impact. The lineup is stellar but producer Phil Spector didn't hit the jackpot this time out.