Director: James Bryan

Starring: Nick McClelland, James P. Hayden, Mary Gail Artz, Tom Drury

James Bryan’s Don’t Go In The Woods was caught up in the video nasty fiasco in the UK and it’s such a disjointed, ineffective affair that it’s really hard to see what the stink was all about. It’s even harder to understand just why Code Red decided that it needed the deluxe treatment it has received, but I guess we should never complain about bad low budget horror films being given a second chance, especially on a grand scale.

Don’t Go In The Woods tell the story of four unsuspecting campers who take a hike in the woods, little do they know that there is a maniac that lives there, and he ain’t happy. Now, I could stop here, and I probably should because there really isn’t much more to the story than this. Really. And it’s not long before we have to witness one unsatisfying massacre after another before this boring movie comes to a close.

While the group of campers try and make it to a cabin in the woods elsewhere a bird watcher dressed in stereotypical (for the early 1900’s maybe) bird watcher garb sudden looses a couple of limbs. The slicing and dicing happens from off camera and far to fast for us to actually witness anything except the poor dudes arms flying off, with blood spraying in their wake.

All the while the campers are being lectured on the ways to survive in the woods by an obvious experienced camper (okay, so the script writer just wanted to get in some knowledge of camping, because it sounds like it comes straight out of a Campers 101 book) and one of his pieces of advice is… “Never, never go in the woods alone”. Okay, so here is one of my gripes with the movie, because “alone” even got added to the title in some territories… most of the people that die in this movie don’t go in the wood alone, they are accompanied by one or more people. So if we are going to take that piece of advice literally, it is the worst piece of advice imaginable, you probably stand more chance of surviving if you are alone.

A pretty annoying couple who are obviously all American tourists checking out the woods are only on screen for a few short seconds before they are dispatched - thankfully. The husband decides to climb some rocks, but the maniac pulls him down where by he falls to his death. The wife gets massacred hacked and slashed. It’s at this point we realize that this is going to be a seriously depressing and unsatisfying movie. Everything happens in such a fashion that we see the murders, but we may as well not. We don’t witness the perpetrator, it’s just blood flying and/or limbs. It’s like a seriously pathetic example of Dario Argento playing the gloved hands of the murder in his classic giallo movies. But Argento does that for a reason, he knows how the hands should move. In “Don’t Go..” it’s just stupid. It makes the movie look even cheaper than it is, and it makes for such a disjointed affair that when the maniac does make a physical appearance, the poor editing of the separate elements - the maniac and the killing - make it look like the maniac could have been in a completely different movie.

In the local town the Bird watcher has been reported missing so the police decide to investigate by taking a plane over the location, I’m not sure really what they expect to see from a plane as it’s pretty high up and there are trees everywhere! They obviously don’t see anything and decided to give it a few more days before doing much more, but since the bird watcher has only been missing for several hours it’s not surprising at all.

Over the past night the campers have been telling each other scary stories to set the mood, and a couple of love birds in a camper van have been slaughtered. Dick after taking a stroll in the dark to look for a peeping tom, and his wife/girlfriend after being rolled down a hillside in their camper van that bursts into flames at the bottom - you can still here her scream well after the camper is engulfed in flames.

Even though Return of the Jedi wasn’t made for another couple years, the maniac (Tom Drury) looks like an over-sized Ewok, dressed in rags and beads, and is probably enough hair for a couple Ewoks. The acting is nothing to speak about. Lots of growling and other such feral noises, lumbering around and poking sticks at the camera. He might not have been given any lines, but surely more could have been done with this but the fault here lies in the script and direction. This jungle bunny obviously doesn’t like his territory invaded, but I have to wonder, why now? Surely campers and hikers have been wandering in those woods for years, decades even. But then, that’s a flaw that isn’t unusual in these types of Slasher movies.

Shamefully, the film even tries to inject some humor. This humor falls flat on its face. A girl roller skating in the woods, rolls into a cop, and then shakily down the rest of the hill only to fall into the bushes - or something. Then a guy in a wheelchair who is - hiking? - falls over after struggling to make it up some hills. To top it all off, when the wheelchair bound guy makes it to the top of the mountain his head is poorly sliced off just as he’s enjoying the view. Evil Dead 2 this isn’t…

At this point there is barely any point in getting back to the campers, there has been no characterization throughout the movie, and the murders aren’t anything to speak about either - blood does not make an interesting murder - so what is there? I’m not really sure… but if you like scenery just sit back and look at the back drop of Lambs Canyon in Utah. It’s actually pretty nice looking. Just remember not to go there alone… or is that as a group… maybe it should be Don’t Go In The Woods Without Protection - I’ll leave it up to you what kind of protection.

Code Red should be commended to taking the trouble with this poor excuse for a film. The print actually looks pretty good, it having been taken from the original negatives. There are a boat load of extras, and it’s obvious James Bryan is thrilled someone is interested in his movie because he provides a couple different commentaries. Still this is probably only worth picking up if you are a fan of this era of horror cinema, or slasher movies.

Starring: Mariangela Giordano, Karen Well, Peter Bark

Burial Ground is a film that lives in infamy among horror fans, not for the skill of direction or the strength of the story, not even for an excess of gore scenes - if that was the case it would be a sorry state, for Burial Ground is lacking to varying degrees in all departments. What Burial Ground is best known for turns out to be one of the few highlights of the film, a scene in which a child rips his mothers breast clean off with his young teeth, in an incestuous zombie feast. It’s not unusual for a horror film to have it’s moment of glory and recognition from one lone moment of triumph that last but a few seconds. There are many such examples. Another being the legendary video nasty Anthropophagus Beast, a film with two such highlights; the killer performing an abortion and consumption of a late term pregnancy, and the consumption of one’s own intestines. Classic stuff in both cases.

One could say that it’s a shame for a whole movie to be considered, and raised to cult status on such flimsy merits, but that’s what keeps things interesting; it can take so little to make something memorable, but there is a journey to get there, no matter how painful, and when the peak of the gory crescendo is reached we experience a moment of joy that allows us to forget the boredom or the ineptness of the other 85 minutes. Perhaps this is shameful justification for bad horror films, but there is usually some kind of silver lining even if it is like a needle in a haystack at times.

Now, that is not to say that the other 84 minutes of Burial Ground is a total waste of time, but it wouldn’t be fair to say it’s a rip-roaring journey in horror heaven, or the gore-fest that some might allude to. The story is a simple one, an evil is unleashed on an unsuspecting group gathering at a castle who then become victims of this evil, and for the most part it is handled effectively and manages to be entertaining.

I’m not sure what it is with meddling archaeologists but when they read ancient texts stating something like “Here lies the foulest most evil force imaginable. We sealed it so it can’t escape”, the first thing they do is grab a pick axe. There seems to be a masochistic element to archaeology. When Professor Ayres disturbs a seal in an ancient crypt in a cemetery he unleashes a horde of deadly, slow moving zombies, who ignore his pleas of being their friend and chow down on his flesh. No gratitude at all…

The professor had summoned a group of friends to his castle so he could reveal his discoveries, and impress all, but when they arrive he’s not around… The guests make themselves at home, either by getting their kink on in the bedroom or out in the grounds. It seems any time any of the couples are alone they test the springiness of the hay. When they take their canoodling outside, the zombies are a little irritated and strike out. Hordes of them appear and start giving chase (by walking), the poor unsuspecting love birds fly away home.

There is some moral fiber to the film, if we really look for it. There is an all loving American dubbed Italian family. Children were not allowed by law to appear in films such as this in Italy, which is just as well in the case of Burial Ground, so to get around this they hired a strange looking actor called Peter Bark, who was in his 20’s and looks like a smaller Dario Argento (Mini Argento?). Peter plays Micheal the son of Evelyn (Mariangela Giordano - Malabimba, The Sect), and he is one seriously weird looking guy who seems well suited for horror films, even if he wasn’t to appear in anymore. Michael has a slightly strange relationship with his mother, he gets a little jealous of his mothers boyfriend (or husband, it’s never really stated). Luckily for Michael, father figure George (Roberto Caporali) is quickly dispensed with when a group of zombies break in to the basement of the castle and feast on him while Evelyn and Michael make their escape.

The zombie action in Burial Ground takes more the form of a cannibal movie. Lots of chewing on the stuff they rip from the stomach of their victims. But it’s not long before there are some more inventive methods of victim dispatchment. When three couples (for the sake of argument and exploitative purposes it’s safe to conclude Evelyn and Michael being a couple, even if I’m getting ahead of the film here) manage to group together once more after the zombie madness and hole up in the castle. They lock the doors and then go barricading the second story windows, you read that correctly… Second. Story. Windows. But in Star Trek tradition there are some disposable characters, house staff - butlers and maids. They send a maid off alone to shut some windows. While leaning out a window a zombie hiding in the bushes throws a large nail at her. The nail goes goes through her hand and pins her to the shutter, then the zombie brings out the scythe… Off with her head! When her body is found by one of the remaining bunch inside, he just tosses it out the window for the zombie to feast on. Again, what gratitude.

Perhaps one of the interesting things about Burial Ground are the zombies. They don’t look particular good, effects wise, but not the worst I’ve seen, and for the budget that this film would have had it’s actually probably far more impressive than what I’m giving credit for. What is different about the Burial Ground zombies is that they are actually intelligent. They will work together, and pick up weapons to attack the victims. At one point they use a battering ram to get into the castle. While this could look pretty stupid in most cases, it seems to work fairly well in this scenario.

After Michael’s mother saves him from a zombie attack by slicing a zombie head from it’s torso, he makes it plain just how much he likes her. Giving her breast a little petting and reaching up her skirt, but when his hands slip in to her underwear shes had enough! Michael is very disappointed, and runs off… only to be attacked by a recently deceased member of the group of friends who is now back as a zombie.

With just four of the group remaining, it’s a sad state of affairs when they decide that the best course of action is to let the zombies in, after all maybe it’s “not us that they are after”. Um… Guess they forgot about those that have been eaten? It’s about this point that the film really starts to drag a little. It’s obvious that the story really wasn’t that well thought out, although for the most part that is forgivable when there are some humorous lines to witnessed and some interesting zombie murders. The problem is that when the vast majority of the film is simply everyone running from the zombies it just gets a bit too repetitive, and not enough is done with it. The only thing that really keeps us going is to be finally able to witness Michael’s return as a zombie, and the sucking of his mother breast right off her chest. Yeah, pretty twisted, but who’s complaining?

Burial Ground is perhaps one of the darker, in tone, zombie films of the era. Things don’t end happily, and there are no real victories over the zombies. The poor unsuspecting victims in the film, just manage to get their way out of trouble by the skin of their teeth, but mostly it’s their skin in someone elses teeth. There is also an over-riding gothic feel to the film, helped by the well chosen location and the abandoned castle in which the film was shot. The location alone manages to push the production values to more respectable heights.

The film is a lot closer to Amando de Ossorio’s Blind Dead series than it is, say, to Lucio Fulci’s Zombie. It definitely reminds me of Return of the Blind Dead, where the cast are holed up in a building for the majority of the film, and make a stupid decisions to get themselves out of the troublesome predicament. The Blind Dead movies have that overbearing cat and mouse aspect going on between the living and the dead, which also permeates Burial Ground. It is that cat a mouse element which ends up detracting from the overall flow of both Burial Ground, and the Blind Dead films - there ends up being little else to keep the viewer truly engaged.

Andrea Bianchi output has been fairly sparse, surprisingly enough, even though his name is very recognizable - that probably comes from the notoriety of this film. Most interestingly to us, he previously directed the sleazy Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975), which is a worthwhile entry into Italy’s giallo genre. The rest of Bianchi’s catalog seems to be on the erotic side, including Malabimba (1979). Bianchi does manage to once again to show himself as a competent director, even if some of the exterior footage is a little shaky makes things look a little to low budget, whether intentional or not. And, although the film definitely has its flaws, it is an entertaining slice of euro horror which for once actually deserves some of the cult status it receives.

Shriek Show’s release includes: a theatrical trailer, still gallery, interviews with producer Gabriele Cristanti, and actress Mariangela Giordano.

Staying on the other side of the pond, Shameless Films have released a brand new director’s cut of Baba Yaga (Corrado Farina, 1973). This is a brand new edit which includes footage that was previously removed to finally bring to us the director’s original vision of the film. The great new disc was released back in April, so a little late on this one, but well worth picking up. Also in the works is Luigi Bazzoni’s Footprints (1975). This rare giallo will be released August 29th, and looks set to be yet another must have DVD.

There is a very small label based in Greece, Onar Films, who are pushing some odd product. They are releasing obscure films from Turkey who are not known for their cinematic output. Still don’t be put off, they have some very intriguing titles in their catalog, a couple of Giallo’s no less… Kadin Dusmani (Woman Despiser) is an very early giallo (1967) directed by Ilhan Engin, and is very heavy on the gothic side. The release is a seriously limited edition. Only 500 copies have been pressed, each hand numbered, so be sure to pick up you copy while you still can. The other release is a double bill, aptly named: Turkish Horror Double Bill. It features Oluler Konusmaz Ki (The Dead Don’t Talk), another gothic horror from the early 70’s, and, Aska Susayanlar Seks Ve Cinayet (Thirsty For Love Sex And Murder), a sleazy giallo from 1972. Unfortunately it sounds like the quality on these discs might not what we hope to see on dvd, but the rarity of these films should be more than enough to kill any complaints. Mine are currently in the mail, and I know I can’t wait to see these obscurities.

There are some interesting releases in the US, unfortunately several are just re-releases with out anything new on the discs. Redemption are currently going through there back catalog and ensuring it’s back in print. Black Torment (out now!), Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (July 28th), and Prey (out now). Previously released by Shriek Show, Jean Rollin’s Dracula’s Fiancee now is being released by Redemption on August 25th.

Mya Communications are continuing to release some great titles this summer. Joe D’Amato sequel/prequel to Anthropophagus Beast, Horrible (aka Absurd, Anthropophagus 2), finally sees a release on July 14th, although it has very little to do with the original at all - just a name cash in since Anthropophagus Beast did pretty good at the time. Also, on the way is Island Of The Fishmen (July 14th), Devil In The Flesh (July 28th), Dinner with a Vampire (August 25th), The Legend of the Blood Castle (out now). Also of note is an erotic comedy featuring Edwige Fenech, Ubalda, All Naked and Warm (July 14th).

Blue Underground are re-releasing Sergio Martino’s classic slice of giallo, Torso, hopefully it really is fully restored unlike the previous Anchor Bay release. Also coming up is The 10th Victim Torso and the 10th Victim hit shelves July 28th.

Synapse have released Violence and Flesh (1981) on their Impulse Pictures label, a label which explores some more erotic avenues. Violence and Flesh sounds oddly interesting. A houseful of woman are terrorized by some escaped criminals in this Brazilian film.

Lucio Fulci’s Door Into Silence (1991) finally gets a release from Severin on July 14th. This was the last film Fulci was to direct, so a worthy DVD release for historic purposes if nothing else.

Criterion are about to release a worthy deluxe release of Roman Polanski’s classic Repulsion, a journey through a young woman’s mind as she quickly spirals out of control when left by her vacationing sister. Released on Blu-Ray and DVD July 28th.

Escape from Hell Hole (1983)
Directed by Maman Firmansyah

This Indonesian woman in prison melodrama is fairly tame when compared to some of the other films in this sordid genre from the likes of Jess Franco and Bruno Mattei. If you are eager for a display of female flesh, this is not the film for you. It really doesn’t get even mildly interesting until the latter part of the film. Hell Hole tells the story of a small town girl being tricked into going to the big city by a friend. There she ends up being entrapped in a house of sin where the woman are treated like caged animals. In this place a girls virginity is her prize, and if they don’t give that prize up to the head honcho then it’s the end for them. But the women are given clothes and beach towels, so it’s hard to see what they are really upset about - they even find time to get down for some disco dancing. Yeah, it really is pretty lame stuff, but there’s some tongue ripping, knife throwing, cat fighting, and positive speech giving to be witnessed so that might just help get you through it.

Jungle Virgin Force (1983)
Directed by Danu Umbara

We know we are in for a treat when a bunch of topless women are bathing in a river while a crocodile swims in their direction, but more so when - swinging from the trees - a female Tarzan like figure comes to the rescue. She kills the croc, and they take her back to their leader. The tribe want to make her queen, but the High Priest disagrees and it turns ugly as the tribe split in two, the women fighting the men - an ultimate battle of the sexes. When a group of anthropologist students show up in search of treasure, and a missing girl, they are followed by a bunch of thugs also out for treasure. Everyone knows how to kick some ass, especially the women, and there’s lots of “ka-pow” kind of sound effects as everyone under the sun fights. Madness quickly ensues, this is an Indonesian film after all, as these four groups merge, mingle and battle it out in the jungle! Not really sure if this is worth watching, but the high priest shoots laser beams from his hands, people get turned to jello, puke up guts that turn to skulls and rip the heads from snakes. This movie is quite simply insane, and it might just turn you insane if you make it all the way through.

Ghost Ninja (1986)
Directed by Godfrey Ho

Take a deep breath and pop in an aspirin before venturing into this title as it’s a pretty wild attack on the senses. The Black Ninja Clan was destroyed by the Diamond Ninja Force in the last century. The Wong family own a piece of land in which number of bones were uncovered, for some reason these bones are believe to be that of the Black Ninja. Along with this Ninja is the missing treasure and magic which would help rebuild the Black Ninja Clan to their former glory. The Black Ninja Clan kill Bernard Wong who owns the land in an effort to lay claim to their prize, but the property is left to his daughter so they terrorize her and her husband with magic, ghosts and weird stuff in an effort to get it from his clutches. But, there is one man that could stand in their way, Gordon who is a Ninja of the Diamond Ninja Force and has inherited the powers of the Golden Ninja Warrior which could destroy the Black Ninja Clan. Well, they have to kill Gordon in order to get to the Wong family. Are you worn out yet? See where the aspirin comes in? There’s plenty of posing with samurai swords, and martial art moves to set the mood. There is even a sprinkle of ninja action, the odd ghosts and other madness to keep us happy. The film even gets a bit racy when a succubus is sent to have her way with Fanny Wong’s husband. But as much ninja action as there is it seems odd that the only sight of blood in the film is a scene that doesn’t even involve any deaths. Thankfully for us the plot is explained completely once we make it just 10 minutes into the film, otherwise we’d have a serious migraine trying to figure it out… the audio elements of the film are so grating they reduce us to babbling idiots, but the film is kind of fun in a masochistic way! Just remember… “There are no ghosts, just Ghost Ninjas!”. Er, yeah, you heard me right…

Primitives (1978)
Director: Sisworo Gautama

Primitives (or as the title screen states, Savage Terror) begins with some dreadful robotic disco music and we are quickly wishing for a primitive age… The story is one we’ve heard a billion times before, and which has been done a billion times better, but as gluttons for punishment we have to stick it out till the end. A group of three anthropologist students take a trip into the jungle to get some real world experience, but when introduced to the tribe it’s not enough. They persuade their guide to take them deeper into the jungle so they can find themselves some real primitives and have some real stories to tell. They basically want to find some cannibals and are excited by the prospect, but as with all these movies… surely there’s an obvious point here that is missed - cannibals eat humans, so er, why exactly do you wanna go hang out with them? While traveling down the river on a raft it hits some rocks and breaks apart in rapids. The group get split up into three and we follow them in their travels and watch them get eaten by alligators, poisoned by weird fruit and obviously get captured. But God is on their side, and there is some escaping as well. There’s lot of animal footage and a few mutilations. I was about to be outraged by a monkey killing but it never materialized (on screen at least). There’s not much to recommend about this film, except for some recognizable voices in the dubbing. Says a lot doesn’t it? There’s no cannibalism, so the students must have been gutted… it’s a shame they weren’t! The transfer quality is particular bad on this one, the video tape source obviously had a fight with a video player, and it rolls just about as much as our eyes.

Temple of Hell (1983) [aka The Ark of the Sun God]
Directed by Antonio Margheriti

This Italian feature came hot on the heals of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, while adding a dash of James Bond at the same time. This shameful cash in is actually fairly entertaining. Directed by Antonio Margheriti (Naked You Die, Cannibal Apocalypse) and featuring the late David Warbeck (The Beyond), these are both names that should be familiar to fans of euro horror and when the realization strikes us there is tinge of… excitement! Shocking! Rick Spear (Warbeck) a professional burglar is hired to find the Temple of the Sun God, and bring back a scepter which can’t get into the wrong hands, it having once belonged to a very powerful God. As always nothing is ever that simple. There was an elaborate test for Spear where he had to break into a mansion and steal an item from a safe, but those who hired him are waiting inside the house, where they reveal their plan for him. While all this is going on a member of Arab royalty is listening in, deciding to get in on the action. So begins a race to the Temple of the Sun God and the retrieval of the scepter. There is plenty of fighting, lots of car chase scenes, some explosions and shoot outs. There aren’t many moments of quiet in this film, although the running time is a little long and the second half drags a little. This is actually a fairly entertaining film, surprising for this collection, but that’s not to say it’s a great film. Let’s just say it is fun. It looks nice, and it is actually well made; the pacing is good even if the story is a bit much. The acting isn’t too bad for the low budget nature of the film either, and there are some interesting characters. The quality of the print is much better than the majority of the films housed here, so that is a plus as well. A much needed surprise in the middle of this selection of ‘interesting’ films.

Cannibal Curse (1987) [aka Curse]
Directed by Yeung Kong

Another wild trek into Hong Kong witchcraft territory… Maria is married to a wheelchair bound older man, who constantly abuses her. Be warned, he has some pretty hideous teeth! Maria is having an affair with the gardener, can you blame her? When her husbands cousin comes over to visit he over hears her talking to the gardener about eloping, and gets in on the abuse of Maria. She escapes with plans to meet the gardener, Roberto, but the cousin ends up getting into some kung fu action with him, and then runs Roberto over, killing him. Maria is distraught and takes the body to a sorcerer who performs a ritual that’ll make Maria love Roberto in the next life, then she kills herself. Suddenly everyone is reincarnated and Maria searches for her lost love. The problem with this is that Robert, as he’s now known, is already married, and doesn’t remember her. She’s pretty upset since she had been saving herself for him. So what is a girl to do? Well, go to an evil sorcerer and get given a “spell” to put in Robert’s drink which that makes him want to have raunchy sex with her, of course. This evil sorcerer, Rafau, has a horde of weird little midgets that run around acting bonkers, and although he gives Maria the spell she has to give her body to him after she’s had her wicked way with Robert, since she is a virgin. Once the deed is done, she has second thoughts about going back and so Rafau casts a powerful snake spell on Robert taking him to death’s door. Robert’s wife and family hire a good sorcerer to save Robert but it’s not that easy because Rafau has desires that need to be met! This confusing and totally insane movie, is more than a little out there. The plot jumps around a little too much to keep up with what’s going on with ease, but there is plenty of sex and weird witchcraft action to keep some interest in the proceedings, and the Rafau’s demise is kinda fun. The dialogue echos throughout the movie, the subtitles are off screen at times, but by now we should not have great expectations.

The Rapist (1994) [aka Tun Men se mo]
Directed by Chuen-Yee Cha

There are a series of brutal rapes taking place in Tuen Mun, a suburb of Hong Kong, and it’s not really surprising considering there is a lack of prostitutes in town. Well, that is according to the local police who are obviously taking things very seriously. Add to that, high tension games of Jenga, and it’s surprising the city isn’t a wasteland at this point. But the police should be given credit, they do take the time to look into the cases, and at least one detective is taking them seriously, enough to make a link between some of the cases. They begin searching for one man they believe is responsible for a series of rapes. He rapes women every two months, and always at around 4am - following women into elevators and cornering them, eventually subjecting them to a brutal rape. The police even manage to corner the rapist and yet he slips through their fingers. When they do finally catch up with him he gets to re-live his first rape and reveals he really is a nice guy because he doesn’t rape teenagers. Yeah, pretty nice of him, eh? This gritty Cat III film is a fairly run of the mill police procedural, if you can call any Cat III movie run of the mill. The rape scenes are fairly graphic which helps the film live up to its exploitative title. What is strange about the Cat III films is the fact that so many seem to be drawn towards stories of rape, unlike Last House on the Left there is no redeeming quality to many, no big revenge against the perpetrator. In the Rapist he’s captured, and although highly disturbing, is revealed to be a shy kid who was too scared to asked for a date. There doesn’t seem to be a barrage of condemnation against rape, and you can’t help but wonder why. But I think that’s probably part of the point of Cat III movies on the whole. Present a series of gratuitous images to bombard the senses for exploitations sake. The Rapist is a little more refined than some of the Cat III films, and is actually fairly watchable, all things considered. Well, provided you can read, or even understand, the subtitles.

Devil’s Express (1981) [aka Xie Mo; The Devil]
Directed by Jen Chieh Chang

When a stranger turns up in town everyone’s dreams seem to have come true. Staying at a local hotel the stranger gives a young bell boy money in return for assistance in acquiring the affection of an attractive young woman, who is also the daughter of the hotel manger. After a date in a movie theater the young woman is quickly besotted with the stranger and they are quickly married. Once married things suddenly turn sour and the stranger is discovered swindling the family out of their money. When the the father dies the family resort to witchcraft to reap their revenge on “The Devil”, discovering the horrifying lengths that the stranger has gone to get what he wants. This horrendously dubbed little movie is full of witchcraft action, where under a powerful spell the victims spew worms and other slimy wriggly things, along with ounces of green ooze they stumble and roll around the floor in their extended death throes. It might sound interesting, but it’s more grating than it is exciting. The horrible dubbing reverberates in your skull (the young boy is on a level with Bob in Fulci’s House By The Cemetery) while the confusion and madness ensues. The story is almost run of the mill, except for the witchcraft aspect, which just doesn’t mesh that well with the main story since we don’t really have the patience or the care to really think about it. We just hope we can make it to the end where all can be explained. It’s pretty telling that I even felt the need to fast forward through the witchcraft attack scenes…

Scorpion Thunderbolt (1988)
Directed by Godfrey Ho

The further into this set that you get, the more used you get to these Asian horrors you become. And when I say “horrors” I don’t mean in the sense of our favorite genre, I mean in the horrible sense. This is yet another poor production that is filled with voodoo madness and stupidity, with a story that tries way to hard and crams way too much plot in - almost three movies worth in this case.

There are a series of brutal murders taking place in a small town, and all the victims are found in roughly the same condition - savaged. The cop investigating the crime really doesn’t have a clue until a photographer he has the hots for tells him that she is part snake and is the killer. Luckily the dude has an open mind, and wants to help her. Turns out she is the daughter of a ’snake king’ and for some reason turns into a snake and savages people. Well, that sounds simple enough right? Well think again… add to this a man wandering around playing a flute, and a voodoo woman with Freddy Kruger gloves banging on a drum. Oh, and how could I forget the most important element of the film? Richard Harrison goes around beating guys up that jump him for no reason, while picking up tit flashing hitchhiking porn stars that foam at the mouth while trying to kill him. It’s up to Richard to kill the voodoo bitch that is working with the flute guy to get the snake woman to go on killing sprees for whatever the hell reasons that we are never told or ever really care about at any point - ever. Watching this film is like reading that last sentence: exhausting.

The film is quite simply a mess. Richard’s character looks like it was just thrown in to fill out the running time and add some kind of ‘draw’ to the movie. This is one of those parts to the movie that I talked about - the three movies rolled into one - but there is no bang for your buck, trust me. Another story is the investigating cop and a previous criminal who is out to get him, and the third… the witchcraft/voodoo/drum banger and the snake woman. Nothing is really ever explained… it’s all pretty surreal without the surrealism.

The quality for Scorpion Thunderbolt is pretty bad. It is so dark you can’t make out a lot of detail in the darker moments of the film, which is probably a good thing judging by the rubber suit monster.  How many more of these do we have to suffer? Just keep repeating… “It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie”

A Dog Called… Vengeance (1976) [aka El Perro; Vengeance]
Directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi

On the whole this set might be a waste of time and money, but it only takes one good movie to make things worth while. And surprisingly, it is a tale that has absolutely nothing to do with horror, or voodoo for that matter, that manages to do that. Who would have thought…

A Dog Called… Vengeance tells the catch me if you can tale of a political prisoner, Aristides Ungria (Jason Miller - The Exorcist) who escapes a work camp that is in the hands of a South American dictatorship. After being inadvertently set free after his chain mate has his arm chopped off after it is run over by a military truck, he makes a quick escape while attentions are diverted. He is hunted down by a guard and his dog, where upon he is captured once more. He manages to escape capture before he can be returned to the camp by killing the guard. Before the guard dies he sets the dog on Aristides’ trail, and the dog is out for blood and vengeance…

The story to Vengeance is actually pretty complex, and while it has some exploitation elements it is actually too good to be brushed off as mere exploitation. The film runs about 2 hours, and it really doesn’t feel like it. We suffer with Aristides as he struggles to avoid recapture and to evade the dog as it follows him across the wilderness, taking it’s aggression out on those who help him. The end of the film gets a little confusing after he is rescued by a political group, but the film doesn’t suffer for it.

It’s a shame that it has been relegated to sit with such “bottom of the barrel” material. If seen in the right state, Vengeance would be a thoroughly entertaining film. The print here is obviously from a video source, there is some tape rolling damage, and the majority of the film is very soft and hazy. If you can deal with this though, you’re in for a treat. A Dog… Called Vengeance is the only film in this collection worthy of receiving special treatment on its own.

Summary: A lot of people complain about this kind of release; poor quality movies thrown together into a set and flogged on to poor unsuspecting consumers. But, to be fair to these kinds of releases… you get what you pay for. They aren’t a lot of money, and trust me, why would anyone want to pay $14.99 for EACH of these titles, and why would any company waste money on ‘remastering’, or secure good prints? It’s a waste of everyone’s time, for the most part. They aren’t very good films (I am excluding A Dog…Called Vengeance from this statement), they will never be cult classics. So it is really just about seeing these movies, not really collecting them. Anyway, I don’t think they would be nearly as enjoyable if released in acceptable quality. There is something comforting and reassuring seeing tape rolling, and barely being able to read subtitles. Just be thankful they are cheap, and have fun with them!

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Starring: Ornella Muti, Ray Lovelock, Irene Papas

Umberto Lenzi is mostly widely known for starting one of the most vial and controversial genre’s of them all, the cannibal epic. The genre started with Lenzi’s rather tame Man From Deep River (1972), although it wasn’t until Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1980) that things really started to heat up in a seriously controversial way. Even though Deodato perhaps pushed the genre over the edge shortly before Lenzi, Umberto wasn’t far behind, and managed to cement his place in the celluloid hall of fame with a film banned the world over, Cannibal Ferox (1981). Still, before all the cannibal madness Lenzi had been making a name for himself by directing some very intriguing thrillers. Oasis of Fear is a rare example of one of these early thrillers. British label Shameless has manage to get this rare film into the hands of fans, securing some footage that hasn’t been seen before, according to Shameless.

A couple, Dick (Ray Lovelock) and Ingrid (Ornella Muti), make plans to take a vacation in Italy and stop off to do what any couple would do, buy a boat load of porn before they leave! It seems that the Italian’s are in a desperate need of some porn, because the couple plan to sell it while there to raise funds to keep them vacationing and having fun. When they make it to Italy it is not long before they sell the lot and are rolling in dole - don’t get any ideas at home! Unfortunately, these two hippies like nothing better than a good time and the money is soon gone; they waste a lot of it by sticking money to a kite that they give away to some kid, and on doves to release at a fancy restaurant much to the annoyance of the other customers.

So, they find themselves in Italy without any money so there is only one resort… Yep, you guessed it, make their own porn. They begin to take some very risque pictures of themselves and sell them to the local salivatory men about town, but unfortunately it isn’t long before they are busted by a cop when Ingrid is soliciting the sale of pictures with her womanly charms. The police give them 24 hours to leave the country and confiscate their camera, and the pictures.

When out of the cop shop they don’t rush to leave, but meet up with a bunch of bikers. They give the couple some food, and seem nice enough, but the next morning Ingrid and Dick are penniless once more, the bickers having stolen their remaining money. They are once again forced to do what they seem to do best… They find a photo booth, Ingrid sheds her clothes and takes some ‘Dirty Pictures’ while Nuns the other side of the curtain hit Dick up for some change for their religious coffers. There seems to be some relation to the religious tradition of the confessional here, but is it a stab at the church or these risque hippies? It’s hard to imagine it being the latter, they seem rather harmless after all!

The police don’t seem to find this all that amusing, there go to the papers and a story in published to help locate these wild kids. When Ingrid and Dick stop at a petrol station about out of petrol, they try to flog some pictures to the attendant for some gas. The attendant promptly calls the police and they drive off until they run out of gas, winding up at a deserted villa, or so they think…

While stealing some petrol from a car in the villa, Barbara (Irene Papas) comes out and catches them, but ends up inviting them in for food and shelter. The problem is they seem to have come at a bad time, something is going down and no one can figure out just what the secret is that this woman is hiding. She lets them stay the night, and they have a night of fun; drinking, dancing, kissing and stripping - it’s a liberated age after all.

Barbara is waiting for her husband to come home, although it can’t be a very happy marriage because she seems desperate to get her some Dick. There is a tension between the two woman, as they try for the affections of Dick. After they retire for the evening, Dick emerges from the room he is sharing with Ingrid, Barbara is in the hallway and tempts him into her room while Ingrid sleeps. She’s gives him head and they end up in bed together. Ingrid soon discovers them in the act after she wakes to discover Dick out of his bed.

The next morning, Dick finds himself locked in the bedroom. His pants pocket is full of money that wasn’t there the night before, and Barbara is nowhere in sight. He manages to escape by climbing out window and jumping onto the roof, but what he discovers when he gets down and finds Barbara is truly disturbing. What once was harmless adventure, suddenly becomes laden with deadly consequences.

Oasis of Fear is a very powerful little thriller. It has most of the elements that those of us who love this genre are looking for; sin with a sinister edge. The whole premise and ultimate delivery makes Oasis of Fear a very political film, and it’s hard to say too much more without giving away the finale. It’s safe to put Oasis in the giallo genre, even though the actual murder count is very low; there’s more thrill than there is blood spill. There is, however, more than enough to keep things entertaining; whether it be in the form of Ingrid disrobing or the complexity of Barbara and the mystery that sounds her. When the mystery is revealed, the tension only really just begins, and it continues to escalate as we watch the story unfold. The film might drag a little in places, but it’s more a reflection of the times than anything else. If you are okay with a swinging sixties vibe, you’ll be okay with this.

It’s hard to imagine that Lenzi would go on to direct such works, or as some would say “trash”, as Cannibal Ferox and Nightmare City. The world of Zombies and Cannibals seem a world away from the Italian thriller. But it’s a step Lucio Fulci would make, and it paid off for him as well. Still, Lenzi handles Oasis of Fear very well, creating a tense and well thought out giallo that deserves a place in most collections.

Shameless Films release is culled from a couple different sources to restore some previously missing material. This footage was only available in Italian so there are some sequences that are subtitled, some fairly long sequences too. The quality between the different sources obviously varies, the restored material being of lesser quality. Overall, the anamorphic print is nice, if lacking a little crispness. The colors are fairly rich, even if they do seem a little too rich at times. The disc contains a trailer, the usual self-promoting trailers for other Shameless releases and another of Shameless’ trivia subtitled-track. Great stuff, and another worthwhile Shameless release to buy via import!

Starring: Aldo Reggiani, Laura Belli, Mimmo Palmara, Enzo Cerusico, Paola Tedesco, Pierluigi Apra, Marilu Tolo, Riccardo Salvino, Glauco Onorato, Marcella Elsberger, Mario Foglinetti, Erika Blanc.

This long awaited release of Dario Argento’s Door Into Darkness was originally planned for it’s US DVD premiere by No Shame last year, but after the labels sudden demise the release was left in limbo. Luckily, Mya Communication stepped in, a label formed out of the ashes of No Shame, and one that is quickly establishing itself as a forced to be reckoned with where it’s catalog of Euro horror is concerned.

Door Into Darkness is a collection of short films produced for RAI TV in Italy in the early 70’s. These tales of murder and mayhem are a mixed bag, but supposedly pushed the boundaries of violence on TV at the time, which might not be saying much when viewed by today’s standards. Unfortunately the original materials are no longer around, so this release is from pulled from the RAI TV masters. Although the quality isn’t as nice as we might hope for, it’s not horrible even though the quality oh each episode varies slightly. Door Into Darkness in an interesting collection of thrillers and seems very much in line with other TV productions of the time, including an introduction for each tale by Argento himself; reminiscent of the American TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents or the Night Gallery. There were four episodes produced for this series, each episode was directed by a different director and ran approximately one hour, a few might say that some of the episodes over stay their welcome, but for the most part this is an enjoyable collection of tales.

The Neighbour
Directed by Luigi Cozzi

The first episode to air in the series was directed by Luigi Cozzi (Contamination, The Killer Must Kill Again), and actually a very weak start to the proceedings. A young couple with a child move to an isolated villa by the sea, when they arrive it’s dark and their car gets stuck in sand outside the villa. When they enter their apartment inside the villa, there is no power, the house is completely empty and they have nothing to sleep on. Their neighbour upstairs appears to be in, so they decide to ask for some help, little do they know that the husband just killed his wife earlier that day! Thankfully the neighbour isn’t that helpful and they are back where they started. But when the neighbour leaves the villa they notice a wet spot in the ceiling, so they go upstairs to investigate the source of the leak and discover the body of the wife in the bathtub. Luca accidentally leaves his lighter in the apartment, so has to return to the apartment to retrieve it and that is when the neighbour returns.

The Neighbour sounds interesting, but it just fails on a number of levels. The script is pretty bad, with long boring dialogue segments that really don’t go anywhere; the character development felling very forced. There are moments of ‘tension’ which are just silly, the young couple thinking they hear screams or noises and the music suddenly has to get overly dramatic to compensate for the absurdity of it all. When the neighbour catches up with the young couple, tying them up, he lumbers around for so long that they really should have had plenty of time to find a way to escape, but Luca is busy sleeping or something, leaving his wife to make a feeble attempt to take charge of the situation. The only interesting moment is the finale, which is somewhat Poe inspired. It is at this point the baby finally makes it presence noticed because the majority of the film it’s left in a room and forgotten about.

The Tram
Directed by Dario Argento (as Sirio Bernadotte)

Door Into Darkness was created at a time when Argento was putting out some very interesting works, and had managed to really make a name for himself in a short period of time. The Tram features many of Argento’s trademarks of the time, from interestingly shot scenes to his quirky characterization.

A young woman is murdered on a tram one evening and her body is left hidden under a seat. The body isn’t discovered until the next day, which puzzles Detective Giordani because no one reported the murder. It’s hard to imagine just how anyone could fail to witness the murder of the young woman which took place in front of the other passengers on board the tram. He interviews the driver and ticket collector but both claim neither saw a thing. Giordani is forced to rounding up the people who were on the tram and re-enacting the journey the young woman made. This leads them to accusations against the ticket collector… But during the trial something doesn’t sit right with Giordani and he makes another re-enactment to try and discover a key to the crime he has overlooked.

The Tram displays just how confident a director Argento is. Although the episode has it’s flaws, it manages to be continually engaging and entertaining as Giordani investigates the crime. Argento manages to squeeze in plenty of his trademarks. There is his obligatory comedy moments, this time coming from someone who claims to be the killer, and another during the second re-enactment on the tram. Both scenes fail to have any real pay off, but add some balance to the over all piece. One of the more interestingly filmed sequences comes during a chase scene which takes place under the tram carriages in the hanger, the camera following the victim to be down a narrow passageway. Giordani has a nasty habit of clicking his fingers, so much so we are waiting for a singing/dancing number from him. This gets a little much. Still, The Tram is a fairly well crafted story, with a decent script. We don’t expect a masterpiece to come from a TV episode, and this isn’t, but it works well enough. The killers true identity seems a little obvious, but it’s still fun to watch the whole thing play out.

The Eyewitness
Directed by Roberto Pariante

Pariante was Argento’s Assistant Director on his first few films. Here Argento gives him the opportunity to direct an episode, this would turn out to be the only directorial credit Pariante would receive and be the last project he worked on with Argento. According to Alan Jones (Profondo Argento, 2004) Argento was unhappy with Pariante’s work after just a few days and finished the episode himself, with Luigi Cozzi re-shooting some early footage. So what we have is essentially another Argento episode. It shows too, this is yet another extremely well paced and intriguing episode, with more moments of interesting camera work on display. At one point in the film Guido gives him wife Roberta a ring with a picture of a fly on it for their anniversary - suggestions of Four Flies On Grey Velvet perhaps, which has been released shortly before this aired.

While driving home one evening Roberta manages to stop just in time as a woman jumps out in front of her car. The woman lays dead in front of the vehicle, Roberta discovering that the woman has been killed, and not by her car. She suddenly looks around for the killer, and the darkly dressed figure begins to approach from the bushes holding a gun. Roberta runs for help, and when the police show up the body is missing and there is no evidence to be found. Her husband returns from out of town to be with her and when the killer threatens Roberta they set up a trap to catch the killer, but things don’t quite turn out as planned.

The Eyewitness is fairly run of the mill story wise where giallo is concerned, but it still manages to entertain. There identity of the killer is unfortunately fairly easy to guess, but there is still some surprises to be had so all is not lost. The interesting thing with giallo films is that even if you know the killers identity there’s still the reveal and capture to be witnessed. The acting if fairly good in this episode. Roberta (Marilù Tolo) does a good job when people aren’t fully believing her story, and Glauco Onorato who plays the police inspector is effective also. Unfortunately, Guido (Riccardo Salvino) is a let down for the most part; he gives a very wooden performance. Still this is one of the better episodes.

The Doll
Directed by Mario Foglietti

Foglietti was a writer on Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet, and this like Pariante’s episode this is his first directing credit. Unfortunately, it’s another fairly weak entry into the series. There is some interesting Argento inspired camera work to keep things a little interesting, but the story is just directionless and the episode ends up being as schizophrenic as it’s characters; you never really know who any one is until close to the end of the episode.

A schizophrenic patient escapes a psychiatric institution, and things turn deadly when a woman turns up dead. But who is the patient? And, why are they killing? Is the challenge Argento has given us in the episodes introduction. A professor/doctor of the institute and the police are trying to track down the escaped inmate, but there are a lot of strange characters in the film. A man arrives in town, checks into a hotel room and is very unfriendly to the hotel owner. He begins to follow an attractive red-head, Elena Moreschi (Erika Blanc), who later turns up dead. His attentions are then brought to another attractive redhead, who he follows and then forces his way into her home and begin to psychologically torture her. It seems obvious that he’s isn’t going to be the escapee, but he’s a pretty strange guy and definitely has a thing for redheads.

This is just one of those episodes that tries to be a little too clever, but ends up being confusing and hard to follow. The premise is simple enough, and the character’s vague identities are meant to be part of the mystery, but this just alienates us from the film - you can’t really develop a connection with any characters. Towards the end of the episode all becomes somewhat clear, but we are still then subjected to a long explanation at the episodes end to fill in the gaps in the plot. It’s all an interesting idea idea, just doesn’t work that well.

So, unfortunately it’s left to Argento to pull this collection of short films out of the mud, although the two lesser efforts are not totally pointless and still worth watching; there is always something intriguing with Euro crime dramas. Mya Communications have put together a nice package, and appear to have done the best they could with the film elements they had. Presented full screen with a mono soundtrack, this is how the series would have originally aired back in the 1970’s. As already mentioned the quality of the print varies, but it’s okay for what it is. The Mya Communications disc is fairly light on extras, but to add some weight to this pretty barren release the “Dario Argento - Master of Horror” documentary directed by Cozzi is included on the second disc is. Unfortunately the lone extra on this package, but there are no real complaints from this release. Another must have purchase in a year that is already becoming overwhelmed with great new titles.

Director: Piero Schivazappa

Starring: Dagmar Lassander, Philippe Leroy, Lorenza Guerrieri

The Frightened Woman is an obscure little movie released by a small, but seriously cool, label in the United Kingdom, Shameless. Directed by Piero Schivazappa, this visual gem of a movie finds it’s subject matter firmly planted in a battle of the sexes. So, all those couples out there, you can put away those dueling gender games and once and for all let The Frightened Woman give us the answer we all know to be true: there’s just one that has the upper hand.

Dagmar Lassander (House By The Cemetary, and Naked Werewolf Woman) stars as Maria, a reporter from the publicity department of a company that has conducted experiments on male sterilization. She is putting together a story on the subject and asks for more materials from the director, Dr Sayer (Philippe Leroy). When asked what she thinks of the concept, Maria’s all for it. “Why should the woman always be the one to take precautions” she tells the director. The director is absolutely appalled, thinking that the act of sterilization is “barbarous”, stating that the potency of man should remain intact. The materials Maria needs are in at Dr Sayer’s house and they make arrangements for her to pick them up after she promises to write the kind of article Sayer wants.

Once at the house she is impressed by his collection of artwork and knives, but what had initially appeared to be an innocent meeting suddenly takes a turn for the worse when Maria collapses to the floor. She awakens bound, with Dr Sayer overlooking her. He begins to reveal his disturbing beliefs, that women are trying to be sexually self-sufficient so there is absolutely not need for man. Disturbing for 1969 perhaps, but today it’s something of a reality. What with sperm being frozen so women can undergo in vitro fertilization and bare ungodly numbers of children - a recent example being the single mother who gave birth to eight babies here in America - Dr Sayer would have a coronary over it.

There is something slightly different about The Frightened Woman, there is a look to the film that is fairly unique, although baring similarities to films such as Fahrenheit 451 (1966), or say, Barbarella (1968). Visionary works that transport people to a place with elements that are alien and somewhat abstract; something that is very unique to the 60’s. The whole pop art and psychedelic movements brought healthy and unnatural blends of color into cinema, along with set designs which were tinged with foresight and excitement of what the future was to bring.

Maria manages to escape the clutches of Dr Sayer, but is soon driven back into his lair where he begins the ultimate battle of the sexes. It’s unclear just what Dr Sayer is trying to prove, other than masculine dominance over women. This need to dominate comes from a moment when as a child Sayer saw a female scorpion copulating and then devouring the male in it’s moment of climax, and that image scarred him. After to traumatic vision Sayer believed that all women devoured men in the same fashion. Now he’s out to get is revenge on women by capturing them, controlling and dominating them. He sadistically tortures and breaks them down. When he has lured them into a false sense of security about their chances of survival, once the women have bent to his will, he uses his manly charms to lure them into the bedroom and at the moment of his climax he kills them.

Maria is Sayer’s next victim, but it’s quickly apparent that she isn’t quite the push over he expected. She begins to taunt him with her alluring feminine qualities, convincing him to change his evil ways by finding repeated joy from the warm flesh that isn’t going to be made cold by his brutal hands. He breaks down after not being able to perform the final act in this play, confessing that it was all staged, and that hers was to be his first murder but he just couldn’t perform. Their love seems to blossom after this confession, but something isn’t quite right in this romance and we get a finale that is so very Italian.

As obscure as The Frightened Woman perhaps is, it is a remarkably well constructed tale that will probably find an audience of admires fairly easily. Where the film probably succeeds the greatest is in it’s visual elements; in moments like the vaginal entrance way between two legs bent at the knees, where the figure of Sager enters to be devoured by savage lips that leave nothing but a skeleton in their parting. This heavily symbolic scene represents a powerful visual moment in the film, one which that isn’t hard to decipher in relation to the film, regardless of whatever other statements the director might be making.

There are no real depravities to witness, and the over all film is fairly tame by exploitation standards. There are heavy erotic overtones, Maria manages to spice things up pretty effectively by dancing erotically to Sayers interest. There’s nothing to graphic which actually works in the films favor. Our concentration is on the psychological battle that these two strange characters are waging with one another, although you can’t help but wonder what visual treat might be around the corner.

Shameless Films have actually done a very nice job on this film. Restoring footage from a lesser quality source to construct a version that is the longest that has ever been released, even securing the approval of the director. This lesser quality footage is definitely noticeable, but it’s also better being there than not. The disc comes with a collection of trailers for this and other Shameless releases. Unfortunately there is no background on the film, which isn’t unusual for Shameless releases and something that is continually disappointing. Still, this is an interesting little release and one that is definitely more interesting that it perhaps appears.

February 24:
Bird with the Crystal Plumage [Blu-ray]
Label: Blue Underground. Director: Dario Argento
The second Blu-ray release of an Argento title from Blue Underground. Not many of these cool Euro titles are making it to Blu-ray, so support the cause! Go Blue Underground! Although their new titles could be a bit more interesting these days.. There I said it.

Scorpion with Two Tails
Label: Mya Communications. Directed by Sergio Martino
There was a bit of a Egypt kick in the early 80’s in Europe… We had Dawn of the Mummy, Fulci was doing it, and this is Sergio Martino effort. Probably not great, but we gotta have it still. Another new, and interesting release for the mysterious Mya Communications label.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Label: Mya Communications. Director: Dario Argento
Classic. Must have. First time this has been released on DVD in the USA after being wrapped up in legal tape for so long - Paramount wanting too much to release the thing. Finally… Mya Communications strikes gold early on in life.

Sins of Sister Lucia
Label: Mondo Macabro
A Japan nunsploitation movie… need I say more? Where do Mondo Macabro find these bizarre titles? We don’t really care as long as they are releasing them!

Requiem For A Vampire
Label: Redemption. Director: Jean Rollin
Re-release by Redemption to get this movie back in print. Probably has little significant difference from their previous release. If you want an upgrade pick up the European Encore 3-Disc set.

March 31:
Two Evil Eyes [Blu-ray]
Label: Blue Underground. Directors: Dario Argento/George Romero
So-so interpretation of stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and another decent title on Blu-ray. Argento’s tale is much better than Romero’s fairly lastlustre interpretation.

The Cremator
Label: Dark Sky Films
What sounds like a surreal black comedy from the Czech republic, and it sure does sound interesting! A late 60’s lost classic perhaps?

Cat In The Brain
Label: Grindhouse Releasing. Director: Lucio Fulci
Not Fulci at his best, but a great film starring Fulci in the title role as a director being haunted by his work. Autobiographical? Who cares, this is going to be a great release. I’m all over this one…

The Sinful Dwarf
Label: Severin Films
Dwarfsploitation?!? This one will likely throw you over the edge… A dwarf captures and rapes women in what in supposed to be a fairly vile movie. But we were never big fans of Disney anyways, were we? Severin really do know what they are doing…

Exposed
Label: Synapse
Christina Lindberg stars in this piece of celluloid sleaze from Synapse who are doing a good job of getting the Swedish stars film appearances on DVD. Christina will be at Cinema Wasteland in April…

The Escapees
Label: Redemption. Director: Jean Rollin.
This is one of those rare Rollin movies that have never seen the light of DVD. What would we do without Redemption in all matters Rollin?

Starring: Brigitte Lahaie, Franca Mai, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Fanny Magier, Muriel Montosse, Sophie Noel, Evelyne Thomas, Agnes Bert, Alain Plumley, Myriam Watteau, Joe De Lara, Jacques Sansoul

Fascination could most likely be described as Rollin’s most accessible film, and it is, but it’s also a masterpiece of 70’s European horror cinema. Those might be big words, but Rollin’s output is vastly under-rated and under-appreciated, so it only seems fair! And while we might normally equate achieving accessibility with selling out, this is far from the case with Rollin. Every moment of Fascination could easily find its way into any other Rollin film, except there are just more memorable moments, and the story is perhaps a little tighter than his other work.

Fascination is probably the best film to start with when looking for an introduction to Rollins work, it features many of his beloved traits; from the erotic female vampire duo through to the visual heights we have come to expect from Rollin. The film spins the tale of two beautiful women who are sent to a chateau in the French country side to lure an unsuspecting man to an annual gathering of women at the chateau. The gathering culminates in a vampiratic feast.

The poor unsuspecting victim in the game the women play is a member of a gang who happens to steal the gangs bounty. In an effort to escape from the gang he has upset, Marc (Jean-Marie Lemaire), stumbles upon a beautiful chateau surrounded by a moat. He enters the house and finds the two women inside. He holds them at gun point and demands to know if they are alone, they answer him with their big innocent eyes that they are indeed alone. They explain that company arrive in the morning, that they are there early to prepare the chateau for their arrival.

Marc just wants to hide until dark so he can make his escape from the gang that waits outside the chateau, so he locks the two women in their room. The two women have a key stashed in the room and they giggle together at their victory. The control Marc thinks he has is actually non-existent. It is already apparent that these women have far more control over the situation than Marc is ever going to have. It’s interesting to note that Rollin always portrays powerful women in his films, even if they do bare more than a bit of flesh. It is not too surprising to see female figures in roles of authority either, but while we expect authority figures to have dominance, the servants to the said authority also exude this overriding power over the men in the film; these are the women that are currently in the chateau, the servants.

Although also interestingly, there is still a chain of command regardless of gender. At the films opening Marc, the dominant force of the gang, uses the sole female member to gain his escape. He holds her at gun point and takes her with him in an effort to keep them at bay. When the two rest she makes an attempt to escape her captor by using her body, baring her breasts, but this fails and her position in the gang is demonstrated. But when she gets back to her gang of men there is an obvious dominance over the other men, although it is somewhat shared by her husband.

At the chateau under lock and key Eva (Brigitte Lahaie) and Elisabeth (Franca Mai) get down to some lesbian action and then make their escape. They don’t try and escape the chateau though, they go down to play with their toy; they are like cats playing with a mouse. Eva seduces Marc while Elisabeth steal his gun, although she is far from happy seeing Eva naked on the floor with the visitor. In a suspenseful moment Elisabeth manages to resist the urge of swallowing a bullet in a fit of jealousy.

Elisabeth seems to show some compassion towards the stranger, explaining that there is impending doom should he decide to stay till midnight. She warns him that he should leave, almost begs him to leave, at one point telling Marc that “At midnight you’ll see what seven women can do to a lone man!” Powerful words indeed, but more erotically intriguing than frightening, so it is no surprise when Marc decides to stay and see just what is going to happen to him when the other women arrive.

Eva meanwhile is taking the bandits bounty to the gang members waiting outside, most likely in an attempt to have them leave before the other women arrive. But they escort her to the barn where one of the men takes a liking to Eva, and forces her to have a roll in the hay. Eva stabs him while the act is underway, and then dons a clock and scythe and goes about removing the gang from the equation.

The scenes of Brigitte Lahaie naked underneath the black cloak and brandishing the scythe are quite possible the finest moments in Rollin cinema. The point at which she approaches the last gang member, the woman, on her way to the chateau is visually stunning. It encapsulates the beauty and violence that make Rollin’s films such compelling viewing. And, as is the way with Rollin, the moment is played out slowly, giving significant power to the scene. Although the finale, the murder, is fairly lackluster compared to say, the finale of a Dario Argento murder scene. But, it is not so much about how the death looks with Rollin, but more the idea of death; the budget just doesn’t allow for anything else.

It has to be noted that Rollin made Fascination with no script, and even more amazingly, over a two week period. The film works very well considering it’s limited resources, but this isn’t unusual for Rollin. His films are so visually stimulating, and in ways that aren’t very horrific, that the visual representation of moments of violence don’t need to display visceral accuracy. If they did, these scenes would feel out of place with the remainder of the film.

As with any Rollin film, there seems a strange juxtaposition with time. While Fascination seems to take place in the early 1900’s, if a car passed in the distance it wouldn’t feel out of place. Other films by Rollin set in more modern times, Requiem Pour Un Vampire (1971) for example, has the same feeling of a displacement with time, but its manner is reversed. This is something that gives Rollins a truly unique voice, there no other director that manages to warp all sense of time in such a way; the Rollin world is a surreal world.

When the other women arrive at the chateau the games really begin. The group of seven women begin toying and playing with Marc, much to his delight. But when the midnight hour arrives the women change into their costumes, all games come to an end. Suddenly there is a shift. When Marc finds the body of the female bandit he instantly sees that there is more to this gathering than he would have ever believed. He decides it it time to leave these women behind and heads to the stables to get a horse. Eva and Elisabeth are close behind.

As much as I enjoy Rollin’s work, he’s high on my list of important directors, his work is obviously not to everyone’s taste. The slow, dream like pacing of Rollin’s work often sends those who like a faster pace and a bigger bang heading into another kind of dream scape. Rue Morgue magazine recently reviewed the film and found it boring, saying it failed to live up to it’s reputation. But it would be unfair to compare the Frenchman’s work to ‘normal’ everyday horror films. There is far more art involved in the work of Rollin than there is in the more standard horror fare. The cinematography and direction is always interesting, with the camera lingering on beautiful flesh, beautiful landscapes, and littered with surreal images that scream of a search for visual perfection, even if on a limited budget. The dialogue is almost inconsequential. Rollin’s work is continually fascinating, and his voice is very unique in the world of horror. Rollin tells tales of a different kind of vampire, and Fascination is a different kind of film.

Under review is Redemption’s original 1999 release of this classic film. This release has been out of print for some time, luckily it was re-released by Redemption late last year. Unfortunately the new release is just a basic reissue of the previous release, with the addition of a couple trailers for other Redemption releases (including other Rollin titles). The print used by Rollin is nice looking, although there are some blemishes in places. The transferred was made from the Rollin’s own 35-mm inter-negative. There is no anamorphic transfer which this film desperately needs. Fascination could really do with special treatment from the Encore label in Europe who have released several Rollin features in special deluxe packaging; this seems unlikely though given that no new Rollin titles have emerged from Encore in a couple years now. Still, Redemption’s release is far from bad, and it’s good to see this film back in print where it belongs.

Director: Juan Piquer

Starring: Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Edmund Purdom, Paul L. Smith

Grindhouse Releasing are starting to get back into the swing of things with a couple of very interesting releases which hit shelves in October; Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1980) and Juan Piquer Simon’s Pieces (1982). These two releases share certain similarities in their approach, but one is a masterpiece and the other is, well how can I put this… absurdly entertaining.

Pieces owes much to Lucio Fulci’s early 80’s output, with its use of a familiar face (Christopher George - City of the Living Dead), to the overall feel of the film. And, although much of Fulci’s output during this time can hardly be called solidly scripted, much more sense can be made of Fulci’s work than can be of Pieces. But comparing Pieces to anything by Fulci is probably giving Pieces too much credit from the get go. It’s hard to take Pieces seriously and it’s probably closer to comedy than it is serious scares, whether intentional or not.

In 1942 a young boy sits quietly on the floor putting together a puzzle. His mother approaches and when she sees what he’s doing she about loses her mind. The boy is putting together a puzzle of a naked woman, and his mother is absolutely appalled. When she threatens to take all his ‘toys’ away he proceeds to beat her about the head with an axe, ultimately putting her decapitated head in the closet. I guess that told her.

Forty years later a series of brutal murders start taking place at a respected University, girls are being chopped up and body parts are disappearing. The first girl is that of a student studying in a park, she gets disturbed by a chainsaw wielding maniac who proceeds to slice off her head. Willard the gardener finds the body and the red herrings begin in earnest, or at least we hope this early in the game.

Needless to say we know the killer is the kid from the films prelude, but who knows why he’s started killing again, and it’s never really answered. The killer doesn’t know how to let things go, especially since he’s still got that risque puzzle which is covered in the blood stains from his mothers murder.  While the killer murders and mutilates the dorm room dames he collects specific body parts from his victims and completes the corresponding body parts on the puzzle.

As we know from every other slasher movie, when girls get their clothes off the voyeuristic killer is always around the corner ready to penetrate the nubile young girls with his… er, chainsaw. Um, yeah. A chainsaw isn’t the most convenient of murder weapons, granted. But it worked in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so it’s got to work in a slasher too, right? That is obviously beside the point. At one moment in the film the chainsaw is raised in a phallic manner at waist level as we see the killer’s shadow walk proudly towards his victim with his motor running.

The second victim is a girl who goes for a late skinny night dip in the school pool, the killer catches her in a fishing net and drags her to the pools edge, then reaches for his chainsaw. The girl had made plans to meet up with a boy at the pool, and finally he decides to show up - only to discover the body and Willard with blood on his hands. He runs to get help, and the police, who are on campus investigating the crimes, come in an attack Willard arresting him.

This is where things gets a little silly, to say the least. Lieutenant Bracker (Christoper George) who is investigating the case not only has to ask what the murder weapon is, even though a chainsaw is sitting in front of the dismembered body, COVERED in blood. And, even though Willard is caught blood handed and resisting arrest they don’t even get excited they’ve made the arrest. Bracker quickly lets Willard go as they “Don’t have enough evidence”. I’d actually be surprised if a case has ever been solved, especially considering Lt. Bracker also gets the kid in on the case. I mean, seriously! Still, it provides plenty of laughs, and that is really not something to complain about.

Flashdance (1983) has a lot to answer for. A mainstream movie hit such as Flashdance even manages to seep into our beloved horror genre. So prepare yourself to sit through some ‘great’ dancing music as the young women gyrate in their fetching leotards, all we can do is we wait for the killer to make an appearance and do his thing. When he finally appears, he manages to keep up with his victim with little effort, in fact he’s pretty much taking a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park while the poor victim to be is running in a panic! The dancer makes it to the elevator and is approached by a familiar figure. The figure follows her into the elevator, all the time hiding a BIG chainsaw behind his back. When he enters the elevator he whips out his member from behind his back and slices off her arm. Now, there’s a man that knows how to use his tool!

Since things aren’t going that well in the investigation an attractive female professional tennis player is hired to keep on eye on the campus. She takes the role of tennis instructor for the school. Her day job happens to be that of an undercover cop, but her abilities are surely in question when the Lt. asks the boy, or his star pupil, to keep an eye on the tennis player turned cop turned teacher to make sure nothing happens to her. But she gets to show of her professionalism when another body turns up and she screams “BASTARD, BASTARD, BASTARD” to the air. One of the highlights of this pretty silly movie.

If it wasn’t for the insane plot developments and crazy gore scenes Pieces would probably be a pretty boring film. There is still a water bed massacre to witness, some totally out of place karate action, some absolutely hilarious dialogue, and most importantly, a ballsy ending. This might just be about the fastest 90 minutes you could hope to have with a film this badly made, and it’s not really surprising that this film receives such high praise.

Oddly enough, as far as slasher movies go, this Spanish horror is a lot closer to the Italian giallo than it is Friday The 13th et al. The killers identity is hidden from our voyeuristic eyes as he stalks his victim clothed in a black coat and gloves, the chainsaw replacing the knife (although the all important knife makes an appearance or two). There are red herrings a plenty and we are left to guess the killers identity, perhaps this is why the movie has such staying power; there is that extra layer that is missing from regular slasher movies. The Italian flair isn’t that surprising considering Joe D’Amato was involved in the films script, although he’s far better know for his Euro Sleaze than he is giallo.

Grindhouse Releasing have done an absolutely awesome job on this must have DVD. The print of this film is quite stunning for this kind of film and the colors are very rich, especially those blood reds. The disc is also packed with extras, and given a whopping 2-disc treatment; more than we could have dreamed for.

Presentation: Hi-definition anamorphic digital transfer; optional Spanish soundtrack with original score by Librado Pastor.

Special Features: Special audio option - Vine Theater Hollywood experience; interviews with director Juan Piquer and genre superstar Paul L. Smith; Gallery of stills and poster art; liner notes by journalist Chas. Balun; original Spanish opening sequence; theatrical trailer; Eli Roth easter egg.