Cult Radar: Part 4

Posted on 30 augustus 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Off course a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Green Hornet (USA, 1974)

Directed by: William Beaudine, Norman Foster, E. Darrel Hallenbeck
Written by: Charles Hoffman, Ken Pettus, Jerry Thomas, Arthur Weingarten
Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Charles Bateman, Walter Brooke

This is the first of two movies, compiled of The Green Hornet TV-episodes. It follows the adventures of Britt Reid aka the Green Hornet (Van Williams). In the daytime he is the publisher of a newspaper called ‘The Daily Sentinel’ and a news broadcaster. At night he is a masked vigilante who investigates crime, together with his sidekick Kato (Bruce Lee). In this film they take on various racketeers and a brilliant scientist that wants to drop a H-Bomb. While Reid does most of the investigating like some sort of Phillip Marlowe, Kato uses his martial art skills to kick the bad guys asses. The TV-budget obviously didn’t leave a lot of space for production design, but this is nevertheless entertaining stuff. If only to see an early example of Lee’s great talents at work.

Fury of the Dragon (USA, 1976)

Directed by: William Beaudine, Norman Foster, Robert L. Friend, ao.
Written by: Ken Pettus, Arthur Weingarten
Cast: Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Walter Brooke

This is the second compilation film made out of The Green Hornet TV-episodes. This time around the Green Hornet and Kato have to rescue the abducted daughter of a Middle-Eastern prince. They also take on a corrupt cop, a ring of drug dealers and a gang of art-thieves. The transitions between the four different episodes are a bit odd, but the episodes chosen are pretty decent. Al Hirt’s great trumpet theme score is missing most of the time, but the other Green Hornet elements are there: detective work, Kato’s martial arts and the usual comic book gadgets. Like the first film, this is entertaining super hero stuff.

Goin’ Up (Netherlands, 1983)
OT: De Lift

Directed by: Dick Maas
Written by: Dick Maas
Cast: Huub Stapel, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Josine van Dalsum

Expertly made Dutch thriller about an elevator that starts to live a life of its own. The visitors and inhabitants of an office building are terrorized and killed by the elevator, until maintenance man Felix Adelaar (Huub Stapel) starts to investigate the mysterious occurrences. The limited concept of this movie seems more like material for a short, but writer / director Dick Maas stretched it out over a feature that pretty much manages to entertain throughout its duration. The characters are a bit flat and the resolution a little silly, but this is made up by a few terrific shocks and excellent cinematography.

Body Snatchers (USA, 1993)

Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Written by: Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, Nicholas St. John
Cast: Gabrielle Anwar, Terry Kinney, Billy Wirth

New York filmmaker / artist Abel Ferrara directs a fabulously creepy remake of the fifties sci-fi classic about aliens attempting to take over the world. The alien pods’ tentacles infiltrate the bodies of sleeping people and make copies. The old bodies just disappear and one by one, all people are replaced by pod-people. Gabrielle Anwar is one of the few humans still able to resist. On a notable modest budget, Ferrera has perfectly captured the paranoid spirit of the original. The good cast and efficient shock effects complete this as a direct-to-video must-see.

Iron Monkey Strikes Back (Hong Kong / Taiwan, 1977)
OT: Jue dou Lao Hu Zhuang

Directed by: Hsueh Li Pao
Written by: Shu Mei Chin
Cast: Kuan Tai Chen, Sing Chen, Ling Chia, Lin Chiao

Despite what the title might suggest, this movie has nothing to do with the popular Hong Kong flick Iron Monkey. In fact it is unclear what ‘Iron Monkey’ from the title refers to in this movie. This is a much older martial arts film set in the Ching Dynasty. The emperor’s wife is murdered by a mysterious assassin. An investigation is started by inspector Coolhead, who tries to unravel the conspiracy. Although there is reasonable looking action every few minutes, the ridiculous dubbing and sound effects take a lot of fun away. Only for real kung-funatics.

Cult Radar: Part 3

Posted on 12 juli 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Of Course, a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

Dracula A.D. 1972 (UK, 1972)

Directed by: Alan Gibson
Written by: Don Houghton
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham

This is the sixth Hammer production that stars Christopher Lee as the uncanny Count Dracula. This time he appears in London during the seventies, as one of his descendants. Johnny Alucard (spell his surname backwards), performs a ritual which brings his old master back to life. Dracula rapidly starts to suck the blood out of young girls. Luckily for the London hippie community, a descendant of the legendary Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), discovers what’s going on and he bows to destroy the evil count forever. Lee and Cushing are a joy to watch as always. They are very charismatic speakers, both equipped with a great voice that enables them to make almost everything they say sound interesting. It’s only a shame that Lee gets too little screen time. Also, the actors playing the hippie characters are extremely unconvincing. Just because someone’s on acid doesn’t mean he will barely react to strange and shocking occurrences. One of the weaker and duller Hammer Dracula flicks.

The Galaxy Invader (USA, 1985)

Directed by: Don Dohler
Written by: Don Dohler, David Donoho, Anne Frith
Cast: Richard Ruxton, Faye Tilles, George Stover

It starts with a Predator-like intro-shot of a fireball flying towards earth, followed by a pulpy credit sequence, including the typical cheesy synthesizer score. The fireball (spaceship) lands in Maryland and the aggressive alien creature onboard starts to roam the outside. A group of rednecks start to hunt it down for the money and a deadly confrontation ensues, while a UFO hobbyist and his former pupil get involved when they attempt to rescue the alien. The first time the Galaxy Invader appears (within five minutes), you’ll see a guy in a suit so ridiculous, it makes you wonder why they even bothered continuing this production at all. Despite these crappy effects, the movie is often quite hilarious because of the stupid (inter)actions of the yokels and the ludicrous action scenes. The alien shoots firework rockets from his gun for Christ sakes! It looks as though the budget was just a few thousand dollars. Great movie though, if you got a thing for the ultra-cheap stuff.

Kong Island (Italy, 1968)

Directed by: Robert Morris
Written by: Chang Cheh
Cast: Brad Harris, Marc Lawrence, Esmeralda Barros

Released on a Grindhouse double feature DVD together with The Galaxy Invader. The picture quality of this film is so bad that you can barely see what’s going on at times. Not that the story is very complicated. In the Nairobi jungle, a mad scientist creates a number of brain-controlled killer gorillas. They kidnap the young girl Diana who belongs to a local expedition group. Mercenary Burt leads a rescue party into the labyrinth jungle, financed by Diana’s father, a bastard who also secretly sponsors the scientist’s experiments. The rescue party gets ambushed and all except for Burt die. Soon after, he meets the ‘sacred monkey’, a girl raised by apes, who helps him find the scientist’s underground lab for a final showdown. Dull movie with virtually nothing to make it worth your while. Also known as Eve, The Wild Woman and King of Kong Island. Best to avoid.

Lucker (Belgium, 1986)

Directed by: Johan Vandewoestijne
Written by: Johan Vandewoestijne, John Kupferschmidt
Cast: Nick Van Suyt, Helga Vandevelde, Let Jotts

The heavily insane John Lucker (Nick Van Suyt) escapes from a mental institution. We learn that he has killed eight woman and performed sexual acts with their already decomposing corpses. That already says it all right? Lucker doesn’t talk much, which makes him all the more scary when he brutally murders someone. Not that it is so much better when he does talk. A prostitute, one of his victims, tells him “this is not my idea of a good time”. Same goes for the viewer: it’s all very unpleasant and nasty. But despite its dark and gloomy ugliness, there is something fascinating about Vandewoestijne’s approach. He created a visually impressive work that features good acting. Hats off for those poor victim girls, who make their torment seem very real. Also kudos for Van Suyt’s disturbing portrayal of John Lucker. A deeply messed-up maniac filled with misogyny. If you decide to watch this, prepare for the worst though.

Nightmare Concert (Italy, 1990)
OT: Un gatto nel cervello

Directed by: Lucio Fulci
Written by: John Fitzimmons, Lucio Fulci, Giovanni Simonelli, Antonio Tentori
Cast: Lucio Fulci, Brett Halsey, Ria De Simone

The DVD-cover of Nightmare Concert aka A Cat in the Brain describes this as Fulci’s bloodiest film. Hard to believe, but it is actually kind of true. I can’t remember many films with this much red in it. It is a special film as well: Fulci stars as himself, a film director with a taste for gore, who begins having violent fantasies. He visits a shrink who hypnotizes him. As a result, Fulci can no longer see the difference between his films and reality which results in loads of brutal slayings. The idea is crystal clear: screen violence leads to real violence. Many recognizable Fulci elements are present in Nightmare Concert: inventive kills (driving over a corpse ten times), less inventive kills (body part dismemberment by chainsaw), some sex and quite a lot of black humour. It is also completely over the top and contains a few lovely moments of self-parody. Just as trashy as most of Fulci’s films, but when the man is on a roll, who’s complaining?

Dracula A.D. 1972

Cult Radar: Part 2

Posted on 30 mei 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

Policewomen (USA, 1974)

Directed by: Lee Frost
Written by: Wes Bishop, Lee Frost
Cast: Sondra Currie, Tony Young, Phil Hoover

A foxy police woman called Lacy Bond takes on the dangerous task of infiltrating a criminal gang of females. Luckily she is good with weapons and martial arts, so ass-kicking the baddies forms little problem for Lacy. This film was released on a ‘Welcome to the Grindhouse’ double DVD with Las Vegas Lady. This is apparently the better half. Though no masterpiece it at least has a pleasant rhythm and some camp value. At moments the dialogues and karate scenes get a bit too silly, but most of the time these ‘problems’ are easily ignored. Sondra Currie is also a very charming presence.

Las Vegas Lady (USA, 1975)

Directed by: Noel Nosseck
Written by: Walter Dallenbach
Cast: Stella Stevens, Stuart Whitman, George DiCenzo

Las Vegas in the seventies must have been more fun than this boring TV-movie makes it look. The plot revolves around three ladies who want to steal half a million dollars from a criminal casino owner. Or something. The unfocused plot and stretched dialogues make it nearly impossible to get into this movie. Stella Stevens and the other dames are visual assets, but censorship robbed this film of any sex that might have been originally inserted. The action that could be expected during the climax is also missing. Jeppe says: not worth wasting your time on.

Cannibal ferox (Italy, 1981)

Directed by: Umberto Lenzi
Written by: Umberto Lenzi
Cast: Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei

An anthropology student and two companions travel to Mañyoca, a small village located in the Amazon jungle of Paraguay. She is writing a thesis on the myth of cannibalism and is searching for evidence to support her cause. A maniacal New York drug dealer is also in the area committing cruelties to a local Indian tribe who in their turn want revenge on the intruders. Your ‘enjoyment’ of this film depends on your tolerance for graphic torture of both humans and animals. If you can stand it, this is a pretty well-paced and in a strange way ‘entertaining’ viewing. However many will justifiably wonder what the significance is of showing (and watching) such horrors and very few won’t feel slightly depressed afterwards. The most memorable gruesome act? Hard to say, but I’ll go for the hooks in Fiamma Maglione’s breasts.

The Magnificent Trio (Hong Kong, 1966)
OT: Bian cheng san xia

Directed by: Chang Cheh
Written by: Chang Cheh
Cast: Chin Ping, Margaret Tu Chuan, Fanny Fan

Farmers kidnap the daughter of a corrupt magistrate in order to make him lose his grip on them. They are protected by the mighty warrior Master Lu, who later teams up with the equally powerful Huang and Yan Ziquin, forming a magnificent trio against the army of the magistrate. In 1966, the martial art genre was still undeveloped at the Shaw Brother Studios. In it’s time The Magnificent Trio must have been an exciting feature. By today’s standards however, it barely contains enough action and spectacle to please the genre enthusiasts. On the other hand, those interested in the development of this movie niche will probably find some value here, as well as beautiful art-direction and a finale worthy of director Chang Cheh’s reputation.

Frogs (USA, 1972)

Directed by: George McCowan
Written by: Robert Hutchison, Robert Blees
Cast: Ray Milland, Sam Elliot, Joan Van Ark

A production by Samuel Z. Arkoff, who has produced over a hundred similar campy movies. Some are better than others. This dull film unfortunately belongs among his weaker productions. Millionaire Jason Crocket (Milland) hosts a family party at his Southern estate. Nature photographer Picket Smith (a young Sam Elliot) arrives and soon finds out that nature-hater Crocket has abused the area with pesticides and poisons. The many frogs and other creatures from the local ecosystem start taking revenge on Crocket and his family leading to a number of strange and painful deaths. The movie’s uneventful first hour could have been forgiven if the second half would have offered some satisfying pay-off. This never happens. The characters remain caricatures and their uncreative deaths therefore leave the viewer cold as ice. A shame, but what can you expect from a film that carries this title?

Policewomen

Cult Radar: Part 1

Posted on 26 december 2007 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

Stink of Flesh (USA, 2005)

Directed by: Scott Phillips
Written by: Scott Phillips
Cast: Kurly Tlapoyawa, Ross Kelly, Diva, Billy Garberina

Matool roams a zombie-infested America armed only with his fists, some large nails and a hammer. After he escapes some tight situations he gets abducted by the mysterious couple Nathan and Dexy. It turns out that Nathan likes to watch other men bang his wife while he watches. Matool takes on the job enthusiastically while zombies and other lusty survivors head towards their hide-out. Ultra low-budget sexploitation splatter film has the occasional outrageous moment, witty line and stylish kill. But too many flaws are still transparent. The acting sucks and so does the sound (despite some good use of music). And the story, though original in a way, goes ultimately nowhere. It’s a shame this flick’s great tagline: ‘how do you lead an alternative lifestyle…When everybody’s dead?’ is better than the flick itself.

Zombie Holocaust (Italy, 1980)

Directed by: Marino Girolami
Written by: Fabrizio De Angelis, Romano Scandariato
Cast: Ian McCulloch, Alexandra Delli Colli, Sherry Buchanan

Body parts go missing in a New York hospital. It quickly turns out that Moluccan cannibals are terrorizing the country. An expedition leaves for the Muluccan island Kito to investigate the case. Over there, they stumble upon a cannibalistic tribe and a bloodthirsty doctor that experiments with reviving the dead. So begins a terrible struggle for survival. Although the story isn’t really carried in a convincing way, one can see why this is a favorite among fantastic film lovers. It certainly contains enough gory action, suspense and beautiful locations to forgive it its clumsy mise-en-scène and not too great acting. If this is your thing, you should certainly check it out.

Santo Vs. the She-Wolves (Mexico, 1976)
OT: Santo vs. las lobas

Directed by: Rubén Galindo, Jaime Jiménez Pons
Written by: Jaime Jiménez Pons, Ramón Obón
Cast: Santo, Rodolfo de Anda, Gloria Mayo, Jorge Russek

The legendary Mexican wrestler Santo stars in his 48th feature film (out of 54!). Our silver masked hero takes on an army of werewolves that want to take possession of the earth and destroy all humans. To do this he has to annihilate their entire army before the night of the red moon ends. Weird and often ridiculous plot takes some fun away from this campy mix of supernatural mystery and action. Santo gets far too little chance to display his fantastic wrestling moves. Only during some matches in the beginning and a few brief action scenes towards the end he gets to show who’s the boss. Therefore, the viewer starts to wonder how tough Santo really is, a fatal flaw in a superhero movie. The acting, costumes and effects are pretty terrible, and the extremely disappointing ending deserves special mention. Reasonable DVD transfer available from Yuke Pictures, but maybe it’s better to wait for some other Santo movies to come along.

Detroit 9000 (USA, 1973)

Directed by: Arthur Marks
Written by: Orville H. Hampton
Cast: Hari Rhodes, Alex Rocco, Vonetta McGee

Quentin Tarantino is never shy to lend his name to exploitation film presentations. This flick was recently released under the Rolling Thunder Pictures label, just like The Mighty Peking Man and Switchblade Sisters. Tarantino’s name is all over the cover, so it can profit from the buzz around Grindhouse. One can easily see why he likes this. It’s a pretty gripping cop-drama that contains sex, a blaxploitation message, plenty of shootings, and a funky soundtrack. The characters are not really compelling, except Alex Rocco’s cynical detective Danny Bassett. There’s a little too much yakking about black and white issues, but it is still a pretty entertaining viewing. The twisty ending is also a nice touch.

War of the Monsters (Japan, 1966)
OT: Daikaijû kettô: Gamera tai Barugon

Directed by: Shigeo Tanaka
Written by: Nisan Takahashi
Cast: Kojiro Howgo, Kyoto Enami, Yuzo Hayakawa

This second installment in the Gamera series sees three treasure hunters find an opal that turns out to be the egg of monster Baragon. I was hoping for some inventive special effects but ended up very bored and disappointed. First I had to sit through forty minutes of sleep-inducing build-up. Then the action arrived in the form of two men dressed in ludicrous monster-suits fight each other around terrible looking scale models. Gamera (a ‘huge’ turtle) gets defeated within five minutes, so we are forced to watch Baragon (a dinosaur of sorts) roam around, looking stupid for another forty-five minutes. I thought the movie was black and white, until I noticed a blue ray (no pun intended). That’s how great the DVD-release from Alpha Video is. No redeeming qualities at all which makes this a complete piece of garbage.