BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 4/22/2020

 

Filmmaker Al Adamson made a lasting name for himself by creating lurid low-budget exploitation movies with that indefinable "so bad it's good" greatness that many strive for but few achieve.  A well-made documentary about his lively career would be interesting enough, but even more so if his personal life ended on a note that was way more fascinating, mystifying, and downright creepy than any of his actual films ever came close to being.

BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON (Severin Films) is that documentary, and it's well-made indeed. It's tricky to construct a documentary with just the right balance of talking heads and informative narration, along with movie clips and other audio-visual elements, while maintaing our interest to the same degree as a fictional narrative, and this one does so in a way that's utterly involving.

Any collection of clips from Adamson's films would be fun to watch, and here we get plenty of footage from such trash classics as "Satan's Sadists", "Horror of the Blood Monsters", "Brain of Blood", "The Female Bunch", "Blazing Stewardesses", and of course what some might consider his magnum opus, the immortal "Dracula vs. Frankenstein."

These are augmented by interview clips with the most important players in the Al Adamson saga, including (besides Al himself) such familiar names as Vilmos Zsigmond, Russ Tamblyn, Fred Olen Ray, Gary Graver, and many others who offer a wealth of personal stories about working with a man whom most remember very fondly, some with gratitude for helping them begin successful careers in the film business.  (Celebrated cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs also started out with Adamson.)

Best are the stories of Adamson's endearing eccentricities and his devotion to making films not to win awards but simply to entertain the masses, using his imagination and ingenuity to overcome meager budgets and resources that would severely daunt other struggling filmmakers.

His exploits in the field serve as a primer for others wishing to follow in his footsteps and are scintillating stuff for those of us who simply love hearing about such adventures.

Adamson's efforts to knock together these films, usually offering his cast and crew valuable experience rather than money, also include the fascinating field of promotion and distribution in which such commodities were sold to the public in whatever form and by whatever means would be most exploitable.

Thus, a film about outlaw bikers might, if trends suddenly changed, be transformed through editing, reshoots, and a new title into a horror or crime thriller.

Conversations with Oscar-winner Russ Tamblyn are fun since he takes an amusedly lighthearted view of his association with the B-movie maven. Like many stars persuaded to participate in these films, Tamblyn was a big name on his way down who was happy for the work since Hollywood was no longer calling. Others included the likes of John Carradine, Kent Taylor, Broderick Crawford, Yvonne DeCarlo, J. Carroll Naish, and Lon Chaney, Jr.

The latter two joined Tamblyn for what may be Adamson's most celebrated classic, "Dracula vs. Frankenstein", which underwent drastic thematic changes during its creation (the original script didn't even include the title monsters).

Dealing with an alcoholic Chaney and a wheelchair-bound Naish, with his noisy dentures and inability to remember his lines, are just two of the interesting elements of this film's production.I had the pleasure of seeing it on a double bill with "Horror of the Blood Monsters" back in the 70s, a movie-going experience that I still treasure.

Long-time producer and partner Sam Sherwood adds invaluable personal knowledge of everything including Adamson's devotion to his wife Regina Carrol, a blonde bombshell who starred in many of his later films until her untimely death from cancer, and a strange project he undertook concerning UFOs and aliens which Sherwood believes was discontinued under shady circumstances involving the government.

But most mysterious of all are the circumstances surrounding Adamson's death, the details of which are fully explored in the film's final third and have all the morbid fascination of an Ann Rule true-crime book.

Even the director's previous association with Charles Manson and his flaky followers at Spahn Movie Ranch pales in comparison to the story of his disappearance from his desert home and the following investigation which uncovered a grisly fate that's right out of a horror movie.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films consists of not only this film but a bonus feature, Adamson's 1971 sleazefest "The Female Bunch" which co-stars a hard-drinking Lon Chaney, Jr. as well as Russ Tamblyn and Regina Carrol.  Pieced together from the best available elements, the print has a delightful grindhouse feel.

The disc also offers some irresistible--one might even say essential--outtakes from the documentary including an in-depth look at Adamson's western movie star father Denver Dixon, Russ Tamblyn's mysterious melted TV, some more creepy stuff about Charles Manson, and a promo reel for that eerie, unfinished project about aliens and UFOs.

Regardless of the man's gruesome demise, however, what lingers most for me after watching BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON is his joyous devotion to making exploitation movies and, we discover, his delight that after many years they were still being enjoyed and even revered by fans old and new.  That many of his most fervent fans include the very people who knew him best is a testament that this documentary so richly conveys.



Buy it from Severin Films

Special Features:

    Outtakes – The Cowboy Life Of Denver Dixon, Russ Tamblyn’s Melted TV, Manson & Screaming Angels, and The Prophetic Screenplay Makes Gary Kent Testify
    Beyond This Earth Promo Reel
    Trailer
    BONUS FILM: The Female Bunch
    The Bunch Speaks Out
    THE FEMALE BUNCH Trailers

WATCH THE TRAILER:

MANKILLERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted 9/14/2016

 

In 1984, Sybil Danning led a group of female merceneries called THE PANTHER SQUAD, and in '86 a bevy of Las Vegas showgirls went commando as the HELL SQUAD.  It was as though SCTV's Johnny LaRue (John Candy) had become a real person producing his own special brand of cheap exploitation flicks combining improbable action with generous amounts of T & A.

The pinnacle of this wonderful little distaff genre, in my opinion, is the 1987 anti-epic MANKILLERS.  Not only does it have a cast that includes Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, "Mannix" co-star Gail Fisher, and eternal starlet Edy Williams of Russ Meyer fame--as well as beautiful HELL SQUAD star Bainbridge Scott and Andy Sidaris regular Julie K. Smith--but it also has the most kickass babes and badass bad guys (if you use your imagination a bit) as well as waves of exquisite unintentional hilarity.

Pretty blonde Lynda Aldon is intense as Rachael McKenna, a top government agent whose partner and boyfriend Mickland (William Zipp) betrayed her and left her for dead to become a South American drug kingpin. Years later, Rachael is offered the chance to put together her own commando squad to go down there and clean out Mickand's operation.



Rachael heads straight for Supermodel Prison and chooses an all-female attack force made up of hardened criminals in a sequence that blatantly borrows from THE DIRTY DOZEN, complete with a rebellious "Victor Franco" type in the form of sassy Maria Rosetti (Christine Lunde), who we just know will eventually get with the program and start being all heroic and stuff.  But not before she tries to escape from the training camp and is forcibly restrained by two of her cohorts, who pull the old "she slipped on a bar of soap" routine with Sergeant Edy.

After we get to watch these uncoordinated big-haired bimbos jiggling through their accelerated training program for awhile, it's time to hit the jungle trail where they engage in the first gunfight with Mickland's men.  This consists of Rachael's girls posing cutely behind trees and firing off hundreds of rounds while the guys stand around like idiots waiting for their squibs to go off.  Rachael and Maria get in some cool hand-to-hand contact as well, and of course there's the obligatory kick to the groin here and there.

Meanwhile, Mickland's back at his compound doing dastardly stuff like raping and killing his female captives for fun while taking care of drug and sex-slavery business, which also involves killing people and generally being all scowly and evil.  When he hears about his men being wiped out by a bunch of women, he takes matters into his own hands and leads a counterattack in which he and "Kookie" manage to capture Rachael.

With their leader in the hands of the bad guys, the now-repentant Maria gives the rest of the Mankillers a stirring pep talk and they invade the compound, using their feminine wiles to seduce and then overcome Mickland's men.  This leads to a low-budget free-for-all with lots of gunfire and even some small-scale explosions, and finally a showdown between Rachael and Mickland in which he proves harder to kill than Chucky. 

Several moments stand out during the film, such as the scene in which Rachael can't sleep and gets up to enjoy a cool bottle of brand-name seltzer water which she displays for the camera in a comically blatant case of product placement.  In another memorable moment, one of the Mankillers comes on to Edd Byrnes' vile "Jack" character before pulling a knife and giving him an impromptu vasectomy that will have male viewers crossing their legs.  And then there's the dialogue, which includes this deathless exchange:

MICKLAND: "Well, if it ain't Rachael McKenna.  After all these years I thought you were dead."
RACHAEL: "I'll bet you did."
MICKLAND: "This time...you're gonna die."
RACHAEL: "No...YOU are."

The budget is so low that the Mankillers' training camp and Mickland's compound appear to be virtually the same set, consisting of nothing more than a small array of corrugated tin sheds.  This is par for the course, however, when we learn that the writer-director of MANKILLERS is none other than David A. Prior (KILLER WORKOUT, DEADLY PREY), who gave us the early shot-on-video classic SLEDGEHAMMER (1983) and was used to creating something out of nothing.

The DVD from Martini Entertainment and Slasher Films (a division of Olive Films) has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is window-boxed.  Apparently the best available copy of the film for transfer is in PAL Beta SP format, which gives it quite an appropriate 80s videotape ambience that will stoke feelings of nostalgia in many viewers.  There are even the usual videotape imperfections in the picture here and there. 

The Blu-ray/DVD covers continue this theme by resembling videotape boxes right down to the "Action" label and "Please Be Kind--Rewind" tags. In addition to the trailer, a photo gallery also emphasizes the film's home video origins. 

Whether you rented it when it first hit video stores way back when or happened to catch the edited version on "USA Up All Night", this is your chance to enjoy MANKILLERS again in all its sleazy, cheezy glory.  Sure, it's junk--but it's a good junk. 

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DVD

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NOTE: Stills shown are not taken from the DVD.

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE -- DVD review by porfle

 Originally posted on 9/11/2011

 

An irresistible treasure trove of blood red Lewis-abilia, Image Entertainment and Something Weird Video's HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is just about the most absorbing and utterly delightful documentary that fans of the pioneering filmmaker could hope for.  Covering his entire career in exhaustive detail, we're treated to first-hand insider accounts along with a wealth of film clips, outtakes, press materials, and other goodies. 

"Part filmmaker, part carny" describes both Lewis and his longtime partner, producer/distributor David Friedman, who take an active part in the production and supply us with most of the behind-the-scenes information.  A teacher of English and Humanities, Lewis drifted into advertising before buying half interest in a film studio and making his first erotic exploitation film, "The Primetime" in the late 50s.  ("It wasn't the greatest film in the world," says Friedman, "but it had sprocket holes and could run through the machine.")  For his next one, "Living Venus", he discovered frequent star William Kerwin and a young Harvey Korman in a home economics film called "Carving Magic." 

Self-distribution led to screenings in burlesque houses, which then got Lewis and Friedman started making "nudie cuties" (which the documentary's co-director Frank "Basket Case" Henenlotter calls "the stupidest movies ever made.")  Russ Meyer's "The Immoral Mr. Teas" inspired them to expand these short films into nudist-camp features such as "The Adventures of Lucky Pierre" (shot for $8,000) with Lewis and Friedman serving as the entire film crew.



Just about any film or individual mentioned during the narrative is accompanied by clips and/or photos--even "Carving Magic" is briefly seen.  The first part of the film is a concise history of nudie cuties and nudist camp features in the 50s and early 60s, with generous feature clips and behind-the-scenes footage.  Even a nude and surprisingly fit Mal Arnold, who would later play villain Fuad Ramses in "Blood Feast", can be spotted in shots from "Goldilocks and the Three Bares." 

As the novelty value of these films began to wear off, Lewis and Friedman moved on to the next logical frontier of exploitation--gore.  Here we get into the real meat, so to speak, of the documentary, with detailed accounts of the making of "Blood Feast" (1963), "Two Thousand Maniacs" (1964), "Color Me Blood Red" (1965), and other horrors that were extremely shocking at the time and brought the ire of local censor boards down upon anyone connected with them.  Again, this segment is packed with highlights and outtakes from each film, with an enthusiastic Lewis speaking at length about what went on during production and Mal Arnold adding his own recollections about "Blood Feast"--which was shot in four-and-a-half days for $24,500.

Lewis non-gore efforts are covered as well, including the ripped-from-the-headlines "The Girl, the Body, and the Pill" and a delightfully lame rock'n'roll comedy called "Blast-off Girls" (both from 1967), which featured, of all people, Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame (who supplied the cast and crew with free chicken in return for some product placement).  We also see scenes from Lewis' director-for-hire film "The Magic Land of Mother Goose" and the outrageous bad-girl biker flick "She-Devils on Wheels."



Briefly flirting with a more mainstream appeal, Lewis made the less violent "A Taste of Blood" in 1967 before delving back into gore with a vengeance.  As is demonstrated by the numerous clips, films such as "The Wizard of Gore", "The Gruesome Twosome", and 1972's horrendous "The Gore-Gore Girls" (his final film, which featured legendary comedian Henny Youngman) are some of the most cheerfully depraved forays into graphic violence Lewis ever directed.

Despite his reputation, however, Lewis comes off as an earnest and personable guy whose excitement and sense of fun are infectious.  In addition to the talking head stuff (which in no way dominates the film) we see him at the home he shares with wife Margo and addressing a direct-market advertising conference, which is his current passion.  We also follow him and Friedman to St. Cloud, Florida, the location for "Two Thousand Maniacs", where they're warmly received by the town's current citizens (in a funny re-enactment of the film's opening scenes) and reunited with longtime junior partner Jerome Eden. 

Best of all, the film ends with Lewis appearing along with "Blood Feast"'s Mal Arnold and Connie Mason at the 2005 Chiller Theater Expo, where he performs a rousing rendition of his "Two Thousand Maniacs" theme. "Ya-HOOO!  The South will rise again!" he croons with boyish glee as the crowd goes wild.

Also appearing in the film are Lewis devotees Joe Bob Briggs, John Waters, and Frank Henenlotter, whose insights into the maverick filmmaker's career are invaluable, and a host of Lewis associates with extensive personal experience in the making of these films.  Lewis' son Robert gives us the lowdown on the fine art of squeezing an eyeball for the camera.  Actor Ray Sager enhances his comments with a spot-on Lewis impersonation, while cinematographer Steven Poster admits, "I don't know if I've ever actually seen one of his movies."  Andy Romanoff, who accurately opines that these films are memorable "for their lack of craft" and "because they're so terribly made", inspires this exasperated remark from Lewis: "The problem I had with Andy Romanoff was that he wanted to make a good movie!"



Fans of the great Bill Kerwin (probably best known as the star of "Blood Feast" along with the non-Lewis trash classic "Playgirl Killer aka Decoy For Terror") will be happy to discover much behind-the-scenes footage and information about this legendary actor.  In addition to "Carving Magic", we also get to see a scene from an industrial short which actually shows Kerwin involved in a happy, shiny song-and-dance routine.  Described as a hard-working, hard-drinking go-to guy who proved invaluable to Lewis on the set, Kerwin is showcased in footage from the unfinished "An Eye for an Eye", which was unearthed and partially assembled by Something Weird to give us an idea of what this lost film might have been like.

The DVD from Image Entertainment and Something Weird Video is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby stereo.  No subtitles.  Extras include H.G. Lewis trailers (with taglines such as "It's tantalizing, titillating, and tantamount to tremendous!"), a Lewis nudie short entitled "Hot Night at the Go-Go Lounge!", and a photo gallery.  Best of all is a full hour of deleted material from the documentary, which is practically a whole extra feature in itself.  One of the highlights is the sight of Bill Kerwin punching out a plate glass window with his bare hands.

H.G. Lewis fans can't go wrong with HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE, which captures the excitement of making underground films about forbidden subjects which shocked and horrified contemporary sensibilities.  As Lewis tells us, "That was the entire intent, to make something outrageous.  And in that respect, yes, we did succeed."  To which Friedman adds: "We had fun."


Buy it at Amazon.com
Read our coverage of the "Blood Trilogy" Blu-Ray collection

JACK THE RIPPER (1959) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

I saw JACK THE RIPPER (Severin Films, 1959) on TV as a kid in the 60s, and the thing I remember most is the horrific elevator scene at the end.  Sure enough, that memorable moment is right here in my long-overdue rewatch, and, although the rest of the film is in glorious black and white, that final ghastly image is in living, bloody color.

At least, it is in the US version. Severin's Blu-ray release has both this and the original British version, the rights of which were purchased for release in the States by famed film entrepreneur Joseph E. Levine (HERCULES) and jazzed-up (literally) with a new musical score, a teasing voiceover intro by Paul Frees inviting us to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper ourselves while watching the film, and other small touches here and there including that color shot.

The film's original elements are gone, so Severin has assembled the best looking prints of both versions with the elements available.  The British director's cut, which is in 1.33:1, is near-pristine and quite lovely, while the US print (1.66:1) is considerably more worn.

This, however, is a plus for me, as my frequent readers will know.  I love a print that looks like it has been around the block a few times--it's a nostalgia thing, and a big reason why I love PLANET TERROR so much.

The story itself is a taut, wonderfully compelling fictional account by screenwriter Jimmy Sangster (CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HORROR OF DRACULA) of the famous tale about mysterious serial killer Jack the Ripper's six notorious and very brutal slayings of prostitutes in London's Whitechapel district in 1888, a case that was never solved.

Here, London police inspector O'Neill (Eddie Byrne) and his American friend, Detective Sam Lowry (Lee Patterson) stay one step behind the killer's trail of ravaged bodies found in back alleys, their deaths apparently the work of a surgeon or other person with knowledge of anatomy and surgical tools.

Seeking advice from medical experts leads them to a hospital where we meet some of our main suspects--chief surgeon Sir David Rogers (Ewen Solon), aging and possibly over-the-hill Dr. Tranter (John Le Mesurier), surgical assistant Dr. Urquhart (Garard Green), and facially-disfigured hunchback (and thus chief suspect in the film's publicity) Louis Benz (Endre Muller), who tends to the surgical instruments during operations.

The atmosphere in the district is heated and volatile, with mobs of angry and often drunk men ready to form at a moment's notice to hunt down anyone even slightly suspected of being the ripper, resulting in a few tense sequences.

This mood is exacerbated by the sometimes claustrophobic nature of the film's stagebound sets (at Shepperton Studios), which are otherwise ideal for establishing the 19th-century setting filled with grimy cobblestone streets and dark, foggy alleyways where dastardly deeds are performed in the shadows.

In contrast to these are the bright music hall scenes that are alive with period frivolity including a raucous can-can dance sequence and a clash between some posh visitors on the prowl for a good time and a naive young dancing girl who didn't realize this was part of her job description. When she gets wise to her companion's intentions, she flees into the night and right into the clutches of the mysterious stalker.

Production, direction, and photography are all credited to Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman, who stage each scene in a just-right way that, unless I'm mistaken, was an inspiration for some of the visuals of the later version, FROM HELL.

The black and white cinematography is exquisite, and the music in both versions very good. I enjoy the brash Jimmy McHugh and Pete Rugolo score (I had the 45 rpm single of the main theme at the time) while some might prefer the more stately original by Stanley Black.

The cast is top-notch, delivering Sangster's snappy dialogue with aplomb.  The romantic angle between Detective Lowry and Dr. Tranter's beautiful, plucky ward Anne (winsomely portrayed by Betty McDowall), who works at the hospital, is well-handled.

The main draw, of course, is the sick thrill of Jack the Ripper's horrific murders (some shockingly staged for 1959) and the increasing urgency for our detective heroes to put a stop to them.  In the exciting finale, the killer finally tracks down the woman he's been searching for (each murder begins with him asking, in creepy, sotto voice, "Mary Clark? Are you Mary Clark?") and then menacing Anne herself as Lowry races to her rescue.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is in 2.0 English mono sound and 1080p full HD resolution.  The British version has English subtitles while the US version does not.

Besides the two versions of the film, extras include the US trailer, photo and poster gallery, alternate "continental" takes which contain nudity, an essential interview about the film with author Denis Meikle ("Jack the Ripper: The Murders and the Movies"), and a history of the case entitled "The Real Jack the Ripper." Last but not least is a commentary track with Robert S. Baker, Jimmy Sangster, and assistant director Peter Manley, moderated by film historian Marcus Hearn.

JACK THE RIPPER is moody, atmospheric black and white 50s-style horror entertainment at its best, sharply-rendered in all aspects and a real treat for genre fans.  And there's a reason that elevator scene stayed in my memory for over half a century--it really tops off the movie in shocking style.


Buy it from Severin Films

Special Features:
British Version
US Version
Audio Commentary With Co-Director/Co-Producer/Co-Cinematographer Robert S. Baker, Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, Assistant Director Peter Manley, Moderated By British Horror Historian Marcus Hearn
Alternate Continental Takes
Interview With Denis Meikle, Author of “Jack The Ripper: The Murders And The Movies”
The Real Jack the Ripper Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery

BLACKENSTEIN -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 5/12/2017

 

Back in the early 70s, it was sort of a "thing" to take popular movie titles and add the word "black" to create new concepts in Blaxploitation.  This led to such films as BLACK GODFATHER, BLACK CAESAR, BLACULA, and, last but certainly not least, the unforgettably named BLACKENSTEIN (1973).

(Fortunately, this trend faded out before anyone came up with BLACK JAWS or BLACK ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.)

Despite the rather obvious joke reference of the title, however, BLACKENSTEIN isn't true "Blaxploitation" at all, since it lacks any of the usual dubious elements of that genre (pimps, hookers, drug dealers, guns, gratuitous racial references, etc.).

That we visit a blues club frequented mainly by black patrons in one scene is purely incidental.  In fact, the race of any character in the film could, as far as the story goes, be totally interchangeable.

Even the sadistic white male nurse who verbally abuses helpless Viet Nam vet Eddie, a black man, during his stay in a veterans' hospital, refrains from adding any racial epithets to his spittle-spewing tirade. (Prolific actor John Dennis gives what is probably the film's best performance here.)

The story is actually rather old-fashioned "Monster Kid" stuff about a brilliant scientist, Dr. Stein, who offers to help reconstruct Eddie after a landmine has blown off all four limbs.

Complicating things is the fact that Dr. Stein's creepy assistant Malcomb has fallen in love with Eddie's bride-to-be, the beautiful Dr. Winifred Walker, who's helping Dr. Stein with the procedure.  After she rejects his advances, Malcomb maliciously alters Eddie's DNA injections so that he will gradually evolve into a bestial, Frankenstein's Monster-like killing machine and go on a bloody rampage. 

An ornate Old Hollywood mansion provides ideal exteriors, as well as some of the dark, shadowy interiors, for Dr. Stein's modern Gothic abode (which, though sunbaked by day, seems forever plagued by lightning storms and fog at night).  Sparser sets make up the rest of the interior locations such as bedrooms for Dr. Stein's various experimental patients including Andrea King (THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS). 

The doctor's laboratory itself consists of a large, shadow-strewn room adorned with as much realistic-looking medical and electrical gadgetry as the filmmakers could muster, including, interestingly enough, some of Kenneth Strickfaden's original FRANKENSTEIN equipment.
  

Production elements such as direction, editing, and camerawork are decidedly unpolished, yet hardly unwatchable.  In fact, the film has its own earnest and oddly compelling quality which I found rather endearing. 

One thing BLACKENSTEIN does have going for it is a fairly tight pace, with director William A. Levey (SKATETOWN U.S.A., THE HAPPY HOOKER GOES TO WASHINGTON, WAM BAM THANK YOU SPACEMAN) moving us right along from one important plot point to the next with little or no padding and sometimes not much of a transition, either. 

Library music is wielded like a blunt instrument in piecing together the film's extensive score--often it's so wonderfully overwrought that it makes even Albert Glasser seem sedate by comparison.  Adding to the mood are some evocative blues songs by Cardella DeMilo, who appears in the nightclub scene.

What really makes this a fun monster movie is, of course, its monster.  Despite looking decidedly on the low-rent side, Joe DeSue's shuffling "Blackenstein" monster is an amusing, fun creation (even with his turtleneck shirt, square afro, and "Dad" boots) who manages to create a good amount of bloody havoc wherever he goes. 

A visit to that abusive male nurse is the first item on his rampage list, which he follows up on successive nights by slaughtering some nightclub patrons and then making quick work of several other hapless individuals who cross his path, complete with crude but colorful gore effects. 

The ending, involving a pack of vicious police dogs who seem not to have been fed recently, is particularly splattery.

In addition to the graphic violence, there's also a bit of nudity here and there, notably when Blackenstein pays a nocturnal visit to the home of famed stripper and mob moll Liz Renay, who resembles a young Dolly Parton and appears briefly in a see-through nightie.   

John Hart, probably best known for playing TV's "The Lone Ranger" for a season back in the early 50s, is a bland and rather philanthropic Dr. Stein, a stark contrast to the mad doctor of so many other Frankenstein spinoffs. 

Ivory Stone is a winsome Dr. Winifred Walker, while stoic Joe DeSue does an adequate job as Eddie before and after his fateful transition.  As Dr. Stein's assistant Malcomb, Roosevelt Jackson creeps us out by always sneaking furtive glances at Winifred even as she ministers to her bedridden fiancé between operations.   

The Severin Films Blu-ray offers both the Theatrical Version and a new Video Release Version with about eleven minutes of extra footage.  These bonus scenes haven't been restored since the original elements no longer exist, which makes it easier to tell when we're seeing the added material.

Interestingly, the new and extended segments contain some relatively impressive camera moves and allow smoother transitions from one scene to the next.  Even the performances seem somewhat better with the fleshing out of the characters and dialogue.

The Blu-ray is in 1080p full HD resolution with English 2.0 sound.  Subtitles are available for the Theatrical Version.  Bonus features focus mainly on the fascinating life and mysterious execution-style murder of the film's writer-producer Frank R. Saletri.  His sister June Kirk is interviewed in the touching featurette "Monster Kid", while producers/directors/actors Ken Osborne and Robert Dix weigh in with their remembrances.  There's also an interview with monster makeup creator Bill Munns, an archive news broadcast about Saletri's unsolved murder, and a trailer.

The thing that struck me most about BLACKENSTEIN is that it isn't nearly as irredeemably awful as I'd always been led to believe.  That is, while the "so bad it's good" fun-factor still goes straight to eleven, there's also a kind of sincerity that's disarming. Even at its most lurid, exploitative, and inept, in its heart it just wants to be an old-fashioned monster movie.


Buy it from Severin Films

VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE -- DVD review by porfle

  Originally posted 6/25/2014

 

For those unfamiliar with the story, Severin Home Video's new 3-disc DVD set VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE should serve as a more than adequate recap of one of the strangest cultural battles ever to take place on English soil. And even if you already know all the information imparted by the collection's first disc documentary, "Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape" (2010), the barrage of trailers on discs 2 and 3 should keep you entertained for hours.

The 2010 documentary, directed by Jake West, begins as the home video craze is heating up in the early 80s. One of the hottest attractions is what would become known as the "video nasty", namely those cheap but extremely gory horror flicks that had many of us haunting our local mom 'n' pop video stores looking for anything with some of that good ol' shock value.

But when societal watchdogs in England such as aging activist Mary Whitehouse noticed that these gruesome films were bypassing theatrical age restrictions and being watched on home VCRs by little kids, something was bound to hit the fan.

With something new to censor, various members of Parliament joined Ms. Whitehouse and an indignant press in stirring up public outrage against the "sadist videos" (which Whitehouse admitted to never having watched) along with some heavy legal backlash. The first step was a widespread confiscation, with 32,000 tapes such as DRILLER KILLER and DEATH TRAP being seized and burned in London's Metropolitan area alone.

As righteous anger over these videos grew, so did the penalties for distributing and renting them, with several offenders paying large fines and even going to jail. Newspapers and police began using the films to conveniently explain all sorts of criminal behavior, accusing them of potentially "corrupting and depraving" anyone who watched them.

It wasn't long before Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher jumped on the bandwagon in order to attain some much-needed moral cred, coming up with a list of 72 banned titles that could get you into big trouble if caught renting or distributing them. This list, of course, became a "must-see" menu for fans of the genre although the films were becoming increasingly difficult to find.

The documentary describes how the banned video nasties got copied and passed around by fans, and how these multi-generation tapes had a fuzziness which helped obscure bad FX and make the images seem more mysterious and realistic. One of my favorite things about "Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape", in fact, is how it delves into the nostalgia those of us from the VCR era still have for those big, clunky machines and often battered tapes that we ran through them.

The documentary--and, in fact, the DVD packaging and menus themselves--display an almost fetishistic regard for VCRs, VHS, videotape imperfections, and other quirks of the medium with which I could strongly identify. There's also a fond remembrance of those hole-in-the-wall video stores that seemed to pop up just about everywhere in the 80s, each of which had its own individual ambience and unique variety of titles both familiar and obscure.

What I didn't like so much about the documentary--and it's a small gripe--is that it leans rather heavily on talking heads (politicians, filmmakers, critics, and other interested parties from the era) and not enough film clips. However, since discs 2 and 3 more than make up for this, then disc 1 can be forgiven for being more of a history lesson than anything else.

Disc 2 features trailers for "The Final 39", or the films that were successfully prosecuted in UK courts and "deemed liable to deprave and corrupt." Retailers and distributors could be heavily fined and even imprisoned for handling these hot-button horrors. The trailers range all the way from something called ABSURD to ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS, with some of the titles in-between including: THE BEAST, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, THE DRILLER KILLER, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN (I think I rented this under the shortened title NIGHTMARES), and the infamous fake-out SNUFF.

Disc 3 contains trailers for the 33 films that were initially banned but later removed from the "leper list" (as I just now decided to call it). Are they truly milder than the notorious 39 and less likely to turn viewers into gibbering sadists? It's your call as the line-up includes such blood-soaked fare as THE BOGEY MAN, DEATH TRAP, DEEP RIVER SAVAGES, THE EVIL DEAD (that one definitely warped MY mind), THE FUNHOUSE, HUMAN EXPERIMENTS, THE TOOLBOX MURDERS, and ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH.

The trailers on Discs 2 and 3 can be viewed in all their uninterrupted glory, or with introductions and reviews (some pretty in-depth) from some of the talking heads seen in Disc 1's feature documentary. Cult horror presenter Emily Booth greets us at the start of each disc. Other extras include VHS box art and video logo galleries. The discs are in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby digital sound. No subtitles.

"Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape" is an interesting but slow-moving and occasionally dull account of a fascinating time in British history. Lots of yakkity-yak and not enough video clips slow things down to a creep even though this is a valuable historical document that should be seen by anyone interested in the subject. But it's that collection of "must-see list" trailers that really rates VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE a nasty niche in your own video library.

Buy it at Amazon.com

Read our review of Part Two

 

THE BLOOD DRINKERS -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(This Blu-ray disc is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, and BRAIN OF BLOOD.)


Another fun horror outing from Philippines-based Hemisphere Pictures, THE BLOOD DRINKERS (1964) is also another superlative low-budget thriller from prolific, talented director Gerardo de Leon (CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, TERROR IS A MAN, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BRIDES OF BLOOD).

His visual style here is pleasingly old-school, taking his limited resources and fashioning a Gothic horror tale which, like his later CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, eschews gore and cheap sensation in favor of mood, fever dream visuals, and an atmosphere of growing claustrophobic dread.

This time we meet Dr. Marco (Ronald Remy), the bald, black-caped head vampire of a small group who, in their crypt headquarters, are trying to revive Marco's one true love Katrina (Amalia Fuentes, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES).

 

But to do so, they need the heart of Katrina's twin sister Charito, who was raised by foster parents and is unaware of her twin.

Meanwhile, the tragically-conflicted mother of the girls (Mary Walter, who would give such an impressive performance as a raving vampire in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES), is forced by the lovestruck Marco into betraying one daughter so that the other may live.

This basic plot serves as a springboard for a prolonged clash between good and evil with a venerable old local priest and a circle of loyal friends helping Charito battle not only Marco but her foster parents who were murdered by Marco's vile hunchback henchman and have risen from the grave as bloodthirsty vampires themselves.

Director De Leon pours on the consistently engaging visuals complete with spooky cemeteries and crypts shrouded in swirling fog.  Marco's lackeys are a repulsive lot, including a huge bat who growls like a wild animal and looks creepy in its frequent close-ups even though it's utterly fake-looking. 

The vampire attacks and other action, including some furious fistfights between Marco and his gang and Charito's staunch, oily-haired admirer Victor (Eddie Fernandez), are staged with flair and keep the movie moving along at a good pace between the slower dramatic scenes. 

Interestingly, Marco isn't played with the usual vampire mannerisms we're so used to from actors such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.  He's actually more of a Bond villain type, although his only motivation is a tragic love for his dying Katrina (who, technically, is already undead, but we won't go into that).

As in CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, the eternal clash between the diabolical forces of evil and the power of religious faith, as represented by the old priest and his congregation, is conveyed in no uncertain terms as a very real and ongoing thing in which monsters such as Marco and his ilk must be conquered.

One thing which must be noted on the technical side is an interesting visual conceit, being that the film is shot mostly in black-and-white which has been tinted various colors--blue for night time scenes, red for scenes depicting vampiric activity, and so on--with the odd scene here and there in color.  Some may find this effect jarring, while others will no doubt be captivated by it.

The print is good, presumably the best one available.  Dialogue is dubbed into English, with English subtitles available.  As usual, Severin Films offers a full menu of enjoyable extras which are listed below.

THE BLOOD DRINKERS comes to a head in the exciting conclusion with Marco's final desperate push to vanquish Charito's allies and get his hands on her precious heart.  It's all wonderfully old-fashioned in a classic horror sort of way but with touches of the more garish Hammer influence of the 50s and early 60s, and horror fans should find this a pleasingly novel confection.


Buy the Stand-alone Blu-ray at Severin Films

Buy the Hemisphere Box of Horrors Collection


Special Features:

    Manong of the Philippines: Interview With Script Supervisor and Gerry De Leon’s AD Dik Trofeo
    Hemisphere Appreciation by Filmmaker David Decoteau
    Audio Commentary With Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
    Partial Audio Commentary With Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
    Deleted Scenes
    Blood Drinkers Trailer
    Vampire People Trailer
    Radio Spot

CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 (This Blu-ray disc is part of Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection along with THE BLOOD DRINKERS, THE BLACK CAT/ TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, and BRAIN OF BLOOD.)


Somber and absorbing, with the old-school Gothic atmosphere of a classic horror film, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES (Severin Films, 1966) is satisfying stuff for those who enjoy the spirit of the old Hammer vampire flicks.

Not as top-drawer as the early Hammers or as visually sumptuous, this earnestly-told vampire tale, shot in the Philippines with Filipino actors, takes advantage of its Spanish villa location for added production value as well as a fine cast and able direction by Hemisphere Pictures veteran Gerardo de Leon (THE BLOOD DRINKERS, TERROR IS A MAN, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, BRIDES OF BLOOD).

The stately pace allows us to appreciate every element of the story as it unfolds around two aristocratic Spanish families, with fervent lovers Leonore Escudero (Amalia Fuentes) and Daniel Castillo (Romeo Vasquez) denied permission to marry by Leonore's dying father.

 

He gives no reason for his denial, but we soon find out that there's a history of vampirism in the Escudero family.  Very recent history, in fact, since a hidden underground chamber contains the coffin of Papa's living dead wife (Mary Walter in a stunning performance).

Mama, it turns out, is a snarling, bloodthirsty vampiress who will eventually escape her captivity and start spreading her hideous disease amongst her own family members, one bloody bite at a time.

Leonore and her headstrong brother Eduardo (Eddie Garcia) clash over their father's dying wish that the house be burned to the ground upon his death.  Eduardo also butts heads with Daniel, a clash that is intensified when Eduardo turns into a vampire, attacks Daniel's sister, and then forces her to marry him.

The whole "family vampire curse" thing also leads Leonore to call off her own marriage to Daniel, further adding to the film's enjoyably rich sense of pure melodrama. How their story resolves itself leads to a satisfying conclusion that reminded me a bit of "Wuthering Heights" of all things.

It's all quite lively and suspenseful, yet CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES maintains its old-school atmosphere by holding back on the blood and violence while offering plenty of stunningly staged vampire action. 

Mary Walter makes a particularly effective vampire (closeups of her during the opening titles are chilling), while Garcia's Eduardo comes to the fore as the film's chief purveyor of undead villainy.

The print itself looks good, especially for an old Eastmancolor film.  Dialogue was filmed in Filipino and dubbed into English, with English subtitles available.  As usual, Severin Films offers a full menu of enjoyable extras which are listed below.   

CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES eventually finds Eduardo and his creepy vampire progeny beseiged by an army of crucifix-carrying townspeople in a final clash between good and evil.  For those who enjoy their vampire tales in the Hammeresque old-school style, featuring snarling, fang-baring bloodsuckers stalking the living amidst classic Gothic trappings, this is one you'll definitely want to indulge in.


Order the stand-alone disc from Severin Films

Order the Hemisphere Box of Horrors From Severin Films

Special Features for Curse of the Vampires:

    Cursed Vampire: Interview With Actor Eddie Garcia
    The Market Of Hemisphere: Interview With Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
    Audio Commentary With Philippine Genre Documentarian Andrew Leavold
    Partial Audio Commentary with Sam Sherman
    Deleted Scenes
    Trailer
    Beast of Blood / Curse of the Vampires radio spot

 

THE BLACK CAT/ THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(The double-feature Blu-ray disc of THE BLACK CAT/THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM is exclusive to Severin Films' "Hemisphere Box of Horrors" Collection, which can be ordered HERE.)



THE BLACK CAT (1966)



Stark, crisp black-and-white photography and a knack for embellishing Edgar Allan Poe's short story with a modern edge highlight THE BLACK CAT (Severin Films, 1966), a Dallas-based horror that transcends its low budget while still retaining that old bargain basement charm in a way somewhat reminiscent of CARNIVAL OF SOULS.

This time, a troubled young heir named Lou (Robert Frost), still holding a grudge against his dead father, eases his fractured psyche with alcohol and bad behavior while his faithful wife Diana (Robyn Baker) looks on in helpless despair.

Hoping to lessen his hostility, she gives him the gift of a black cat which he names Pluto. But the cat, who is a good judge of character, strikes out at Lou, who then cuts out the animal's eye in a fit of drunken rage.

 

Later, he tortures and then electocutes the cat, burning down his own uninsured mansion and ending up near-destitute.  Shock treatments and a stay in the psycho ward seem to get him back on the right track, but after returning home he reverts to his old drunken, violent ways and ends up committing a heinous act that readers of Poe will have anticipated since the first scene. 

Poe, thankfully, is well-served by this imaginative adaptation which pretty much hits all the main notes of his immortal short story while enriching it with interesting character studies and a few surprises. (I doubt if even Poe conceived of ending the story with a car chase.)

The brief use of gore is effective, with one shot of a hatchet lodged in someone's skull quite familiar to those of us who grew up reading Denis Gifford's "A Pictorial History of Horror Movies."

The acting is often rather unpolished but the enthusiasm of the cast makes up for this.  Frost is particularly intense and watchable in his portrayal of the slowly disintegrating Lou, while the lovely Baker elicits our sympathy.  Sadie French is effective as their concerned housekeeper Lillian.

Fans of another Texas-based production, Larry Buchanan's CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE (also from 1966), should recognize that film's mad scientist, Jeff Alexander, as one of the two police detectives who visit Lou in his home in the final scenes. 

This is director Harold Hoffman's only directing credit, and he acquits himself well with a lean and briskly-paced effort.  Being a sucker for good black-and-white photography, I loved the look of the film.

 

One of the last existing 35mm prints is used here, with a few missing bits filled in from a more time-worn copy. The result is a mostly pristine picture with occasional defects, which, for me, only add to its nostalgic appeal.

The only problem I had with THE BLACK CAT is that, as a cat lover, I cringed at the apparent abuse of the cat in some scenes. I find such elements quite distressing, markedly lessening my appreciation of the movie.

That aside, THE BLACK CAT is the kind of low-budget 60s horror yarn that rises above its modest production values while still retaining an appealing low-rent ambience, a combination devoutly to be wished by conneisseurs of such delectably downbeat fare.



THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (1967)



The second half of this double-feature would be a perfect choice for a festival of quintessential Halloween films.  THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM, aka "Blood Demon" (Severin Films, 1967), is like the most extreme carnival spook house you could imagine, and walking through it should easily supply you with double your daily dose of hokey horror.

This West German production takes place in the olden days of Europe and boasts a non-stop array of impressive found locations and lavish sets, especially when we get to Count Regula's dark, crumbling castle and all its subterranean passageways and chambers of horror.

The story begins with a flashback of the Count's public execution, a well-deserved one in that he has murdered twelve local girls in a quest for immortality which was thwarted by his inability to score the crucial thirteenth.

 

His punishment--to be drawn and quartered in the village square.  His final curse--to return and get revenge upon the descendants of the judge who condemned him and the woman who escaped his dungeon in order to report him to the police.

Flash forward thirty-five years, and we find those descendants drawn to the village by mysterious letters.  They are Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker), a man searching for information about his own origin, and Baroness Lilian von Brabant (Karin Dor), who has been told that she has inherited the late Count's castle.

The two meet on the long coach ride to the castle and are smitten with one another even as the trip proves fraught with danger and growing terror.  With the saucy, gun-toting priest Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar) and Lilian's chipper servant Babette (Christiane Rücker), they arrive at the castle after an extended ordeal through a nightmarish forest filled with human body parts and hanging corpses.

 

Once there, the film lives up to its name with a castle whose creepy torch-lit tunnels lead from one chamber of horrors to another as each member of the group falls victim to Count Regula's wretched undead servant Anatol (Carl Lange) in a series of tortures from which each will barely escape. 

A worse-for-wear Christopher Lee finally makes his entrance as Count Regula about halfway through, setting into motion his plan to make Lilian the thirteenth victim in his bid for immortality. For this, her blood must be super-charged by terror, so she is placed into a pit of vipers while Roger suffers the threat of the slowly-descending pendulum blade (giving the film its tenuous connection to Poe) as the seconds to Regula's great regeneration tick inexorably away.

The cast is marvelous, including a distinguished Lex Barker (one of the many screen Tarzans) and Karin Dor of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE fame at her most charming.  Medar is a delightful comedy-relief Fabian, and Christiane Rücker as Babette is likable as well. As for the two villains, Lange's loathsome Anatol is ample support to the sinister Lee as they indulge in all manner of evil and sadism.

Taken from two collector's 16mm prints of the film, Severin Films' copy is quite satisfactory despite switching frequently between faded color and black-and-white.  It also alternates between good condition and somewhat worn, but as I've said many times, I like a print that looks like it has been around the block a few times. 

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM is a cornucopia of spook-house imagery that's quite graphically gory for 1967 while still comfortably old-fashioned in its execution. The florid script by Manfred R. Köhler (with just a pinch of Poe) tosses in everything but the kitchen sink in order to give us the creepy-crawlies, and the whole thing is lavishly, enjoyably over-the-top.


THE BLACK CAT/ THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (Hemisphere Box of Horrors Exclusive) Special Features:
Blood Demon Trailer
Black Cat Trailer
English subtitles

Torture Chamber trailer:

Hemisphere Box of Horrors trailer: