Basically it's a Twilight Zone episode with a sadistic streak. As with Mr. Serling's classic TV show there's an attempt to offer not just a clever tale but also to infuse the proceedings with a socio political message, but frankly the message here feels like a

tacked on afterthought. The performances are good and the director does a good job of maintaining tension, but ultimately the payoff just wasn't worth it for me. (Bob Ignizio)

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Wes also has issues with his father (Cory Criswell). Wes has found his dad’s stash of porn and is weirded out because so much of it involves bondage. That, and the fact that some of the women remind him of his mother. When Wes discovers that Dusty writes for a company that publishes some of the mags in his dad’s stash, he finally pays Dusty a visit.

At first Wes goes on a tirade against Dusty for being a pervert. But instead of getting upset, Dusty talks to Wes about why he feels the way he does. Before long Dusty has taken Wes under his wing and is mentoring him in the art of writing dirty stories.

Making a film with themes involving sex, porn, and teens requires some deft handling to avoid becoming mere exploitation. Fortunately writer/director Bryan Poyser is more than up to the challenge. In particular Poyser handles the sexual tension between Wes and Dusty well. It would have been easy to just make Dusty a creepy old pedophile, but the relationship between him and Wes is much more complex that.

Poyser says that he wanted to take a serious look at pornography and how it affects different people’s lives that neither vilified nor romanticized the smut business. I would say not only did he succeed at that, but he made a first rate character driven drama as well. Poyser is helped considerably by a strong cast, all of whom do first rate jobs. Although there is nothing explicit in the movie, clearly the subject matter is not for everyone. For those who like movies that deal frankly with sexuality, however, I highly recommend Dear Pillow. (Bob Ignizio)

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At 97 minutes Die You Zombie Bastards does feel a bit long, and with the almost nonstop stream of jokes, of course some fall flat. Still, this is a respectable piece of no budget schlock that easily surpasses most of the stuff that Troma and Low Budget

Pictures release. There’s a surprisingly good soundtrack of mostly unknown bands as well. A couple cheesy tracks here and there, but overall not bad. If you like fun campy trash, check this one out. (Bob Ignizio)

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There’s almost no traditional vampire elements in The Nude Vampire. To call this a horror film seems a mistake. And though, as the title suggests, there is a fair amount of nudity and sex, this is hardly the stuff of your average porn flick. Instead it’s a surrealist fable about a new mutant race of humanity replacing the old order. Very much of its time, the message may seem a bit dated now but the power of Rollin’s imagery remains.

The print of the film Redemption has used has nice colors and is in relatively good shape. It’s certainly superior to the washed out VHS version I saw years ago. To some degree Rollin is still finding himself with The Nude Vampire. There are some very accomplished scenes, however, and overall I would recommend it to anyone who loves horror, erotica, and art films in equal measure. (Bob Ignizio)

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All the usual story elements are here: the long haired female ghost, the buried secrets that led to a violent curse, and the intrepid if foolhardy character trying to get to the bottom of it all. If you’ve seen more than a handful of J-horror offerings, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect here. It’s all handled quite well, with some effective atmosphere and solid performances, but it’s hardly fresh.

Still, I had fun watching this, and at 63 minutes it The Slit-Mouthed Woman doesn’t overstay her welcome. Definitely worth checking out for anyone who longs for the days when erotic films had to have actual stories and production value. (Bob Ignizio)

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Basically five gangsters are sent on a mission to retrieve a stolen item for their boss. So for the first 20 minutes or so we get a bunch of poorly executed John Woo rip-off action scenes. Once the characters get the item back, though, some weird guy in a hat kills one of the gangsters and makes off with the goods. The gangsters follow and find themselves in the home of a standard issue crazy movie cannibal family. Much pointless gore and violence ensues.

Look, I hate picking on no/low budget films because I understand how hard it is to pull off a decent movie when you have next to no money. But as a reviewer, it’s my duty to tell the people reading my reviews whether I enjoyed the film or not, not try to make excuses for its shortcomings. So I’ve gotta’ be honest and say there is nothing about this movie that I liked. I thought it looked ugly, the action scenes were poorly orchestrated, the humor fell flat, and I found nothing fresh or original about it. For me, this movie was absolutely no fun at all. (Bob Ignizio)

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First of all, let's get this out of the way. This movie has nothing whatsoever to do with Emmanuelle, either the book, the series of films starring Sylvia Kristel, or the "Black Emanuelle" series of films starring Laura Gemser. Jess Franco made a movie with a completely different title, but the producers figured the Emmanuelle name would sell a few more tickets. This change in title also necessitated some changes in the dialogue, but otherwise Franco claims this is more or less the movie he set out to make.

The film starts with our bogus Emmanuelle (Vicky Adams aka Muriel Montosse') and her husband Andreas (Robert Foster aka Antonio Mayans) making love in a wax museum. It's a classic Franco scene, mixing his obsessions with both pop culture and sex. Later Emmanuelle and her hubby attend a nightclub with a lesbian friend and watch a stripper. Franco loves his nightclub scenes, and always manages to imbue them with at least some visual flair and atmosphere. This one is no exception.

All these proceedings have been narrated, and in some cases directly observed, by Spanish nobleman Marques (Tony Skios aka Antonio Rebello). Franco uses this character to represent the traditional "Latin lover", a stereotype that Franco clearly finds unappealing, arrogant, and buffoonish. Much of the film plays off Marques' discomfort with Emmanuelle's independence and sexual freedom, something he feels should be reserved solely for the male. When Emmanuelle is raped at one point in the film, our narrator implies that she was asking for it.

While the film definitely spends some time criticizing paternalistic masculinity, its main theme is about the sexual freedom of its female character, and whether that freedom is worth the risks involved. Although the story is not explicit about what choice Emmaneulle makes, it seems fairly obvious she prefers freedom, even with the risks. Such themes often show up in erotica, and just as often they feel like an attempt to justify the smut by dressing it up in a feminist message. Here the themes actually ring true, and are entirely consistent with Franco's body of work.

In the end, this is not quite on a par with Franco’s best work like Vampyros Lesbos, Succubus, or Eugenie De Sade. It is, however, considerably better than most of his films, and considerably better than most soft-core smut in general. If all you’re interested in is attractive women in various stages of undress engaging in simulated sex acts, Franco delivers that with style. If you want something a little deeper and more meaningful, there’s some of that, as well. Does it all add up to a great movie? Probably not, but it’s at least good. I’m giving this one a 6 ½ out of 10. (Bob Ignizio)

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Here’s yet another Jess Franco soft-core film from the eighties unearthed by Severin Films and presented in as good a version as anyone could hope for. Like their other recent Franco release, The Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle, the link to its titular character is tenuous at best. Odille (Alicia Principe) is a naïve young girl who reads The Naked and the Dead in the nude while a couple of swingers (Mamie Kaplan and Mauro Ribera) watch on. The swinger couple seduces Odille, but it soon becomes apparent they want more than just sex. They plan to sell this innocent to a pair of aristocrats (Carmen Carrion and Daniel Katz) who get off on death.

There are some interesting themes here, and the film isn’t a total waste, but it’s just so slow moving I think most viewers will become quickly bored. I know I did. This basically is just one long soft-core sex scene after another with very little dialogue or plot. It’s all shot prettily enough, but unlike Franco’s better sex films this one feels like fairly typical porn. Things pick up a little bit towards the end, but it’s hardly worth sitting through all the ho-hum stuff to get to it. I’d give this one 4 out of 10. (Bob Ignizio)

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I was impressed with director Mark Savage’s more recent film Defenceless, but felt it was a bit too experimental and unlikable for its own good. No such problems plague Sensitive New Age Killer, however. This is just a really solid piece of entertainment that, while clearly indebted to other films, also possesses a great deal of originality.

Paul (Paul Moder) is a hitman who will only kill people who deserve to die. He chose this career path when, as a youngster, he saw “The Snake” (Frank Bren) carry out a hit on a neighborhood gangster. Paul also has a strong streak of loyalty to his friends, especially George (Kevin Hopkins) who once saved Paul’s life. Little does Paul know that George is forcing Paul’s wife Emma (Emma-Rose Hillary) to have really kinky sex with him, as well as sabotaging Paul’s hits.

This is part twisted comedy, part action film, and all weird. Clearly Asian films were a big influence here, and at times the humor shares a similar sensibility with the work of fellow New Zealander Peter Jackson, but Savage clearly has something of his own going on, as well. I wouldn’t declare this a classic or anything, but SNAK is a fun and violent flick that should appeal to horror, action, and cult movie fans. I give it 7 out of 10. (Bob Ignizio)

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The Blood Shed
(2007, Heretic Films)

Directed by Alan Rowe Kelly

Imagine if John Waters and Divine merged into one person and then set out to direct a movie that mixes together The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Pink Flamingos and Spider Baby. The result would probably be a lot like The Blood Shed, the second feature from Alan Rowe Kelly. If the idea of an overweight guy in 12 year old girl drag (writer/director Kelly) pulling a skateboard with a dead squirrel attached to it doesn’t appeal to you, you can skip ahead to the next review. If, on the other hand, that sounds like your sense of humor then read on.

The plot about an inbred cannibal family has been done a million times, and satirized at least a thousand. Still, for the first two thirds of its running time The Blood Shed maintains a fairly high level of inspired lunacy. Its influences are obvious, but for the most part it feels like its own twisted thing.

Unfortunately the final act was, at least for me, disappointing. Basically it’s like a mash up of the dinner scene in Chain Saw and Divine’s birthday party from Pink Flamingos. For me, this scene just draws far too much attention to its inspirations, and once it does that I’m forced to draw direct comparisons. And in a direct comparison to the scenes in the original films, The Blood Shed’s dinner scene comes up short. Furthermore, the ending just feels anticlimactic.

Weak ending aside, I have to say I was impressed with a lot of The Blood Shed. The performances are good in and over the top campy way and consistent in tone, and the technical aspects are professional. More importantly, a number of scenes made me laugh and/or cringe. If it weren’t for the ending I’d probably give this one 8 out of 10 without any reservations (provided you’re the kind of sicko that likes movies like this). Unfortunately that’s not the case, so I have to knock off a point and give The Blood Shed a 7. (Bob Ignizio)

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Ambition can be a good thing. When you’re making a movie for a buck and change, however, ambition can easily become your enemy. That’s what seems to have happened to writer/director/star Mike Watt with A Feast of Flesh, yet another vampire movie taking place in a house of ill repute.

No, the basic premise isn’t the most original idea for a movie. That said, there are some fresh ideas. Notably, in this movie vampires aren’t necessarily bothered by crosses per se. You have to believe in the symbol you’re using against the bloodsuckers for it to work. So crosses work for some, but, for example, one character uses money as undead repellant to nice effect.ut of 10.

Further trying to set itself apart from similar films, A Feast of Flesh has a good bit of backstory involving a truce between the vamps and a group of human vampire hunters, the leaders of both factions having a past together. And then there are several ambitious actions sequences that seem inspired by recent films like Underworld.

Trying to pull all that off on a super low budget and then cram it into a 77 minute running time… well, it just doesn’t quite come off. It feels to me like there are pages of the script that just never got filmed, a not uncommon occurrence on low budget films. Sometimes you can get away with it, but in this case the results were kind of confusing.

The movie also suffers from some variance in the acting abilities of its performers. I do however want to give praise to producer Amy Lynn Best, who has the lead female role, and Bill Homan who plays the money worshipping mercenary. And I also have to single out director Watt for having one of the worst movie accents ever.

Bad accents aside, Mr. Watt has undeniable skill behind the camera, as the technical aspects of A Feast of Flesh are all solid given the budgetary constraints. If you take any given scene of A Feast of Flesh on its own, they’re all pretty decent. Unfortunately when the pieces got put together, some were missing. Because of that I just can’t recommend this to most viewers. 5 out of 10. (Bob Ignizio)

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I didn’t see Killing Spree back then, but it would have fit right in. This is an awful movie, but it’s so enthusiastic in its awfulness that I can’t help but admire it. Tom (Asbestos Felt), looks like a homeless guy and has a hot wife (Courtney Lercara as Leeza) who he is insanely possessive of. When he comes across what he thinks is her diary in which she describes banging everyone from Tom’s best friend to the TV repairman, he goes nuts and… well, just look at the title, fer Christ sake.

So like I said, this is a bad movie. But it’s bad in the way that H.G. Lewis or Ed Wood movies are bad, not in the way that Hollywood crap like Bloodrayne or The Hills Have Eyes 2 is bad. In other words, it’s so bad its good, at least if you’re in the right frame of mind. My advice is to grab a sixer, get a couple of friends to shoot the shit with during the dull spots, and sit back and enjoy. For entertainment value, I’m giving Killing Spree 7 out of 10.(Bob Ignizio)

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What strikes me most about seeing this old footage of early Elvis is that he seemed so shy. While John Lennon only thought that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, studies have actually shown Elvis’ face continues to be more recognizable worldwide than Christ’s image. It fascinates me that such a larger than life pop culture personality, at least early on, seemed a little uncomfortable under the gaze of 60 million hysterical girls, even nervous. You notice it not during the performance when he is dead on, but in the moments after or before a song when the crowd screams madly and he banters with Ed. He doesn’t seem like some cocksure pretty boy celebrity bastard, but evinces a kind of subtle humility, a country humbleness that comes from a modest upbringing. It makes him likable even to the jaded skeptic. I never was a huge fan of Elvis. He only wrote a couple songs in his career, and they weren’t the good ones either. But he’s actually pretty interesting as a cultural icon, and over the years I’ve grown to appreciate him as a performer and singer.

I guess I just always had a chip my shoulder over all the under-acknowledged innovators of rock’n’roll so the almost religious reverence of the Big E turned me against him. Plus, the fat Vegas act pill-popping jumpsuit Elvis was an acquired taste that still only appeals to me in a tragic-comic sense. On these 3 DVDs, each with a full Sullivan Show program on it, you can see The King perform “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Hound Dog,” “Ready Teddy,” “Love Me,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Too Much,” “Peace In The Valley,” and “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again.” What I enjoyed the most, however, was the random variety acts that would be on the show: acrobats, ventriloquists, comedians, magicians, impressionists, clowns, tap dancers, plate spinners, etc. Some acts are fascinating and bizarre, while others are pretty terrible. The programs all have a Vaudeville vibe, which is of course the root of the variety show. Even the commercials are included here, giving an intriguing window into the marketplace of the late fifties. They also really show how advertising has advanced over the last fifty years in order to appeal to a more desensitized and critical (or apathetic?) viewer. In fact, you could say that TV in general has exponentially increased its pacing and added literally a hundred times more cuts and edits. At times segments on these shows can drag on and on (especially Ed Sullivan rambling on about the new Mercury or musical numbers from Broadway plays), but other times the show has a charming, do-or-die live feel that has been largely lost on modern programming. All in all, this 50’s pop culture time capsule provokes not only sociological interest, but also provides a fair amount of entertainment. - Ben

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They famously fused in a lot of 50’s influence while also being subtly experimental with how songs were assembled, making something paradoxically rootsy and avante garde at the same time. The dissonant vocal interplay between John Doe and Exene Cervenka that once put me off, I have an acquired a taste for now. Of course, not every song is a dazzling success, but a mark of a great band (or great art in general) is the ability to make compelling failures. It is better to take chances and push yourself than to keep trying to replicate a formula. Fortunately, though, a lot of songs here are legitimately great, and don’t require critical distance or reverence of their colossal reputation in order to appreciate. It is hard to imagine how someone who is already a big fan would not want to own a copy of this. - Ben

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