Movie Review: EL BUQUE MALDITO

aka THE GHOST GALLEON
aka HORROR OF THE ZOMBIES
Directed by Amando de Ossorio
Spain; 1974

Based on my film viewing experience, if you are an attractive woman between 17 and 30 years of age and your in a low budget motion picture made in either Italy or Spain during the 70's, there is an 80% chance you are playing a high fashion model. If your an attractive woman who is older than 30, then you will probably be playing the head of the modeling agency. The Ghost Galleon adds a good deal of credence to my theory as a movie about undead knights running amok on a decrepit ocean vessel, opens with a fashion shoot. I'm guessing that by making your female characters models it allows you to place them in odd and precarious situation in very little clothing, if any. For instance, stranded on a small boat in the middle of the sea with only a thin whisper of a bikini to protect you from the elements.

Amando de Ossorio 3rd entry into the Blind Dead films rarely gets the love or attention that his previous films, Tombs of the Blind Dead & Return of the Evil Dead do. I think mainly because the first half of the film is so utterly weird & preposterous. Of course this is also the reason I find myself so found of the film. 2 models have been hired by a boating tycoon who is about to introduce a new brand new line of motorboats. The models are to take the boat out into open water, act as if they are stranded and wait for passing ships to approach. Once they are picked up and brought back home the news outlets and paparazzi would then instantly be drawn to such a story as two young hot models rescued from certain dehydration and fatigue from a passing vessel. The resulting publicity would then attract more attention to the motorboat they were riding. Sounds ridiculous, but with today's era of wacky inter-net campaigns and Geico commercials it also almost sounds plausible.

Of course once the two ladies find themselves set adrift they find that passing ships are few to come by. While radioing back to home base they encounter a think fog. Drifting deeper into the think soup they come across The Ghost Galleon. A decaying dilapidated ship which comes across as the inspiration for The Black Pearl, the pirate ship in those Johnny Depp films the kids like so much. It really depends on the shot however, as some glimpses of the Galleon our obviously a model boat floating in a sink somewhere in Spain. Once the girls boat lines up with the Galleon an amazing thing happens that I feel has gone mostly unnoticed. In your typical horror situation, once the eye candy finds what is obviously a haven for death and a path toward certain doom, they run right towards it. In The Ghost Galleon however, one of the models (the more attractive one in my opinion played by Blanca Estrada) stays in the motorboat. Something in her tells her, "You know what, uh uh". Granted she does climb aboard the Galleon the next day, but the fact that she didn't "run toward the danger" the moment she came across it, was a welcome surprise. Of course once on board both women meet their fate at the hands of the undead Knights Templar. With the 2 models disappearance, a rag tag group of men and woman then make their way out to the same local where the fog was reported and eventually they too find themselves face to face with the Galleon and her crew.

The best part of any Blind Dead film are those scenes featuring the undead Knights themselves. No background information is given about their origin this time, which is in striking contrast to the previous two Bind Dead films. Both of which offer some what conflicted accounts to the Templar origins. I personally prefer the original where their eyes are peaked out by crows. But having ones eyes burned out before being executed is also a deliciously macabre visual.

The Knights move slow but they always seem to out number their prey. One minute their are 4 approaching, only to turn around and face 20. It's as if every possible crevice or crack in the ships wood could hold one of the undead. This adds to a dark and deeply oppressing atmosphere and some of the most striking visuals in the Blind Dead series. The final scene where several knights walk out of the water onto the shore in constant pursuit of the remaining castaways, is a particularly memorable image. Such a scene is often used in zombie films (ex. Zombie Lake, George A Romero's Land of the Dead) but the Knights in particular stand out as being deader than most. When they rise out of the sea, water cascades from inside their skulls out of their eye sockets & on to the rocks and sand below. The visual effects and costumes for the knights are as impressive today as they must have been when they first took to horse back and galloped across the big screen.

It feels a little rushed here and there and you do you get the feeling that the filmmakers where grasping for a different angle to approach the Knights, but with its weird premise, thick atmosphere & striking visuals, The Ghost Galleon is worth checking out. My hopes are that this series is revised and that next time we find the Knights on the Moon. All we have to do now is figure out how to get some hot models up there.


Review by The Undead Film Critic!

Specs and cover art for long-awaited Jodorowsky DVDs!!!

A Golden Age is upon us. Soon we will live in an era when Alejandro Jodorowsky's extrordinary films EL TOPO and HOLY MOUNTAIN will be available in restored and decked-out-with-extras special edition Digital Video Discs at affordble prices. I almost feel like crying.
From the Fangoria website, an offering of information:



Streeting May 1 will be a boxed set containing 1970's EL TOPO, 1973's THE HOLY MOUNTAIN and 1968's FANDO Y LIS, with TOPO and MOUNTAIN also available separately. Each movie has been digitally restored, with TOPO presented fullscreen, MOUNTAIN in 16x9-enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen and FANDO in 1.66:1 widescreen; the first two have Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 stereo soundtracks, with TOPO and FANDO in Spanish with optional subtitles and MOUNTAIN in English. Extras are as follows:

EL TOPO:
* Audio commentary by Jodorowsky (in Spanish with optional subtitles
* English dub track * Exclusive interview with Jodorowsky * 2006 on-camera interview with Jodorowsky (in English) � Photo gallery/original script excerpts * Original theatrical trailer (with English voiceover)

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN:
* Audio commentary by Jodorowsky (in Spanish with optional subtitles
* Deleted scenes with Jodorowsky commentary (in Spanish with optional subtitles)
* THE TAROT short with director commentary (in Spanish with optional subtitles)
* Restoration process short
* Photo gallery/original script excerpts
* Original theatrical trailer (with English voiceover)
* Restoration credits

FANDO Y LIS
* Audio commentary by Jodorowsky (in Spanish with optional subtitles
* La Constellation Jodorowsky documentary
* French and English stereo tracks

In addition, the boxed set comes with CD soundtracks for EL TOPO and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, plus a bonus DVD of LA CRAVATE, Jodorowsky's never-before-released first film. This package retails for $49.98; the TOPO and MOUNTAIN discs retail separately for $24.98 each.

Check out the Cetin Inanc fansite!!!

We're about to take an extended break here at Worldweird and so I'm loading up a handful of stories one after the other over the course of this afternoon and evening. After that it might be more than a week before we start up again with fresh content. Please hang-tight, as this year promises to be a banner year for weirdfilms of all sorts, and we will be there to cover it with enthusiasm and style!



You've gotta see this! - a website of major Worldweird Cinema interest: A Myspace fanpage for the director of the all time worldweird classiks DEATH WARRIOR, THE BIGGEST FIST and THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD, the great Cetin Inanc! They've included biographical info, a partial filmography, extrodinarily rare original trailers for amazing films he made with Turkish superstar Cuneyt Arkin and more.
An absolute must-see. Go here, pilgrims.

DORT YANIM CEHENNEM ( THE MUMMY ) THEATRICAL TRAILER

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Severin Films continues to take our money.

Here's a rundown of the amazing stuff Eurotik DVD specialists Severin Films has in store for it's devotees:

BLACK EMANUELLE'S BOX

Limited Edition Collection Features A Never-Before-Seen Interview With Cult Director Joe D'Amato & All-New Soundtrack Compilation CD!

The breathtakingly beautiful Laura Gemser stars as the infamous sexual adventuress in these three erotic epics now on DVD for the first time ever in America: EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK - Emanuelle prowls the steamy underbelly of the Thai city on an odyssey of opium orgies, depraved Republicans and flying ping-pong balls. SISTER EMANUELLE - Emanuelle renounces her wanton ways and joins a convent for wayward schoolgirls, only to face temptation from some very unholy sins of the flesh. EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD - In director Joe D'Amato's notorious jaw-dropper, Emanuelle uncovers a global conspiracy of enslaved women, kinky Senators and inappropriate uses for exotic pets. BONUS CD: GETTING DOWN WITH BLACK EMANUELLE - An all-new compilation of remastered soundtrack music by composer Nico Fidenco. ...plus eye-popping deleted scenes, an exclusive featurette and more, all waiting within the succulent confines of BLACK EMANUELLE'S BOX. “SUPERHUMANLY SEXY... Laura Gemser Is A Honey-Dipped Cup Of Juicy Java Goodness!” - Mr. Skin

Colour / 1.85:1 / 16x9 / 281 mins / Not Rated / $69.95 / Reg 0 (NTSC) / 3 x DVD 5 + 1 x CD English / Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 / English Subtitles UPC 891635001162 / Item SEV1110

Director: Aristide Massaccesi (as Joe D'Amato) + Giuseppe Vari (as Joseph Warren)

Starring: EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK: Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Ely Galleani [Elide Galleani], Ivan Rassimov, Venantino Venantini... SISTER EMANUELLE: Laura Gemser, Monika Zanchi, Gabriele Tinti... EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD: Laura Gemser, Ivan Rassimov, Karin Schubert, Don Powell, George Eastman [Luigi Montefiori]...

Aka: EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK: Emanuelle nera - orient reportage / Black Emanuelle Goes East SISTER EMANUELLE: Suor Emanuelle EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD: Emanuelle - perché violenza alle donne? / Emanuelle Versus Violence to Women / The Degradation of Emanuelle / Confessions of Emanuelle

Extras: Disc 1: EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK Joe D'Amato At Eurofest Theatrical Trailer Disc 2: EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD Black Emanuelle's Groove - Interview with Composer Nico Fidenco Theatrical Trailer Disc 3: SISTER EMANUELLE Deleted Scenes Theatrical Trailer Disc 4: GETTING DOWN WITH BLACK EMANUELLE (Bonus CD) Newly Remastered Soundtrack Compilation CD of Music by Nico Fidenco

Two new Jess Franco DVDS:
THE SEXUAL STORY OF O

Sado-erotic French literary masterpiece The Story Of O is updated, unrestrained and unleashed courtesy of infamous euro-cult master Jess Franco! Odile, a young nymphet played by the luscious Alicia Princípe, submits to more than she bargained for when she is seduced into a sexual game by her shameless neighbors. Torrid afternoon threesomes soon transgress into a haven of degradation when two brutal perverts enter the lurid scene. How far will Odile's carnal curiosity push her before the ultimate climax is fulfilled? Daniel Katz (NIGHT OF 1,000 SEXES) co-stars in this scorching tale of sex and sadism that remains one of Franco's most renowned early 80s features. Severin Films is proud to present it now fully restored from original Spanish vault elements, featuring all-new Bonus Materials and presented totally uncut & uncensored for the first time ever in America!

Colour / 2.35:1 / 16x9 / 92 mins / Not Rated / $ / Reg 0 (NTSC) / DVD 5 Spanish Dolby Digital Mono / English Subtitles UPC 891635001216 / Item SEV1115

Director: Jess Franco

Starring: Alicia Principe [Alicia Pedreira], Carmen Carri—n, Daniel Katz, Mamie Kaplan, Mauro Rivera.

Aka: Historia sexual de O

Extras: Franco's O - Interview with Director Jess Franco

THE INCONFESSIBLE ORGIES OF EMMANUELLE

This is Emmanuelle as you've never seen her before a unique take on the insatiable sexual adventuress courtesy of Jess Franco! French TV star Muriel Montossé (billed here as Vicky Adams) follows in the uninhibited footsteps of Sylvia Kristel and Laura Gemser as Emmanuelle, exploring carnal fulfillment in the most unlikely places. But after an impromptu live-on-stage lesbian exhibition with a sultry stripper, her friends think she may be out of control. Will she resist the allure of every extreme erotic opportunity that comes her way or can she seduce her partners to submit to THE INCONFESSABLE ORGIES OF EMMANUELLE? Known to late night cable connoisseurs as EMMANUELLE EXPOSED and co-starring Carmen Carrión (THE SEXUAL STORY OF O) and Robert Foster (MACUMBA SEXUAL), this lascivious erotic masterpiece is now fully restored from the recently discovered original negative, with all-new Bonus Materials featuring Jess Franco himself, and presented totally uncut & uncensored for the first time ever in America!

Colour / 2.35:1 / 16x9 / 86 mins / Not Rated / $29.95 / Reg 0 (NTSC) / DVD 5 English / Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 / English Subtitles UPC 891635001223 / Item SEV1116

Director: Jess Franco

Starring: Vicky Adams, Robert Foster, Carmen Carrión, Ida Ralin, Tony Skios.

Aka: Las orgias inconfesables de Emmanuelle / Emmanuelle Exposed And don't forget, on Febuary 27th: PERVERSION STORY aka ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER What is the Most Incredible Thing a Woman ever did for $1,000,000? AN EXQUISITELY CRAFTED THRILLER... Guaranteed To Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat! - THE SPINNING IMAGE In a controversial career that flayed every envelope of cinematic excess, nothing can prepare you for this stunning thriller from the infamous director of ZOMBIE and THE BEYOND. Jean Sorel (BELLE DE JOUR) stars as an arrogant San Francisco doctor trapped between his sultry mistress (Elsa Martinelli of BLOOD AND ROSES) and an amoral stripper (Marisa Mell of DANGER: DIABOLIK) who bears an uncanny resemblance to his recently deceased and possibly murdered wife. What follows has been called Fulci's first true masterpiece, where sexual obsession, cruel deception and depraved murder all come together in one unforgettable PERVERSION STORY. John Ireland and Faith Domergue co-star in this gripping giallo - also known as ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER - that features eye-popping nudity, provocative locations (including the gas chamber at San Quentin) and a badass jazz score by Riz Ortolani (MONDO CANE, KILL BILL). Severin Films is proud to present PERVERSION STORY in a startling new high definition transfer from the original vault negative thought to be lost for more than 35 years!. Colour / 1.85:1 / 16x9 / 103 mins / Not Rated / $29.95 / Reg 0 (NTSC) / DVD 5 English / Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 / English Subtitles UPC 891635001155 / Item SEV1109 Director: Lucio Fulci Starring: Marisa Mell, Jean Sorel, Elsa Martinelli, John Ireland... Aka: Una sull'altra / One on Top of the Other / Una historia perversa Extras: # Rare bonus CD featuring music by Riz Ortolani # Theatrical trailer

Major Worldweird DVD News!!!!!

Things at Worldweird HQ are a bit in flux at the moment, but I had to share these two MAJOR news-stories with you.
First, and at long last, We have the first details concerning the Jodorowsky DVDs. Got this info via the Digital Bits website (no time for links, google it) via the DVD Maniacs forum:

ABKCO Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment have just announced a pair of titles that we've been waiting for on DVD since Day One of this format... El Topo and The Holy Mountain! No kidding!Anchor Bay will release a special limited edition collector's box set, The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky, on DVD on 5/1 (SRP $49.98).The set will contain El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Fando Y Lis on DVD, fully restored and remastered from new HD transfers in anamorphic widescreen video, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 audio. The box set will also include 2 music CDs containing the soundtracks for El Topo and The Holy Mountain, as well as a DVD of Jodorowsky's never-before-released first film, La Cravate. El Topo and The Holy Mountain will also be available separately (SRP $24.98 each). The El Topo DVD will contain audio commentary by the director, the original theatrical trailer (with English voice-over), a 2006 on-camera interview with the director as well as an exclusive new interview, a photo gallery and original script excerpts. The Holy Mountain DVD will include audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes with commentary, the original theatrical trailer (with English voice-over), the Tarot short with commentary, a restoration process short, restoration credits, a photo gallery and original script excerpts. Fando Y Lis will include audio commentary with the director and the La Constellation Jodorowsky documentary.Subtitles on the discs will be available in English, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Oh my sweet fucking Odin. I can hardly believe the day is almost here. May 1st. Mark it on your calender.
The only thing that could possibly match the sweetness of this moment is some news concerning our fav DVD boutique Mondo Macabro's roster of 2007 releases. Well, dig this blog from MM's myspace page:

Happy 2007 to all our fans!
We hope that the holidays were good to you and you all got plenty of Mondo Macabro DVDs in your stockings this year. 2006 was a banner year for Mondo as we released some of our finest DVDs yet and received some of our strongest reviews. We're extremely proud of such discs as VIRGINS FROM HELL, DON'T DELIVER US FROM EVIL, THE DEVIL'S SWORD, and THE BOLLYWOOD HORROR COLLECTION VOLUME 1 and the feedback that we've been getting from all of you has been part of what keeps us going. You may have noticed that we haven't announced any new titles since we released SNAKE DANCER back in November. But we haven't been idle. Oh dear me, no. We've been working on our very first feature film production. That's right, a Mondo Macabro movie! If you want to learn more then read about it here.
As you can imagine, this has kept us pretty busy. But you can expect to see a full slate of Mondo Macabro titles all through 2007 and well into 2008 with some of the most mondo films we've ever released. Here's what you can expect from us starting in spring/summer 2007:

THE BLOOD ROSE (aka RAVAGED and DEVIL'S MANIAC) – Claude Mulot's erotic horror classic.

THE WARRIOR – The Barry Prima action classic, finally on DVD and completely uncut!

QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC – The Indonesian horror classic, also known as BLACK MAGIC III.

DAUGHTER OF EVE (a.k.a. SILIP) – Filipino erotic classic now available for the first time on DVD anywhere. Read more about it here.

THE BOLLYWOOD HORROR COLLECTION VOLUME 2

There are even more exciting titles in the works, but we're not ready to discuss them just yet. You'll hear about them soon enough, that's for sure!

Cheers, Your friends at Mondo Macabro

Very, very coooool.
We've been a little worried about the state of affairs in cult DVD land, but with all these mouth-watering titles 2007 looks to be a banner year for all things weird and digital.
See ya soon, worldweird-o-philes!

Jodo-Watch!!

Some info concerning our favorite film-maker/comic-book author/modern mystic Alejandro Jodorowsky, from an interview on the Premiere Magazine (of all places) website.

On the upcoming DVD (box set?):
"After almost 25 years of conflict with Allen Klein, we made a friendly arrangement. I went, some months ago, to New York to remaster EL TOPO, arranging the color. I made wonderful work with the daughter of Allen Klein, Robin. The DVD includes three of my best pictures FANDO Y LIS, EL TOPO, and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, with two hours of bonus features including the first film I made when I was 24 years old, which was lost. The picture was a tale of Thomas Mann, a pantomime called THE TIDE. There are interviews, commentaries."

On the re-mastering process:
"They have a new machine [to make] the colors I wanted. At that time [I made the film], the technique was not so perfect. Also, some shots that were dark are clear and shots that were static, I gave them movement. It's perfect now. For the first time in my life I have the picture as I like it. I did this with all three pictures. The first picture was black and white, so it was not a problem, but EL TOPO was a problem because the color was not good. And THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is like a painting."

On his next film:
"It's called KING SHOTS. It's a gangster movie. There are a lot of actors who want to play in the picture. Marilyn Manson will play the role of a 300-year-old Pope. Nick Nolte called me and said he saw a picture I did called SANTE SANGRE. He said, "I want to work with you." I said, "How can I pay you." And he said, "That is not important." I want to shoot in Romania and in the desert in Spain where Leone shot his pictures. It's set at a casino in the middle of the desert and all the gangsters come to gamble. In the desert they find the skeleton of a giant man as big as King Kong. I wanted to make a film called ABEL CAIN which was the SON OF EL TOPO but I could not raise the money. Too expensive. You know, I am a poor poet trying to make artistic, individual pictures. I am not a multinational. I think my pictures are some kind of an elixir that can change the mind for the better. I hate pictures where you go in silly and you come out silly, not changed. With my pictures I want to change the way you see the world. That is for me is the meaning of cinema."

Movie Review: EN BUYUK YUMRUK

aka THE BIGGEST FIST
Directed by Cetin Inanc
Turkey; 1983

Cuneyt Arkin is one suave motherfucker.

There could hardly be a better representation of this inherent suaveness than the 1983 crime flick EN BUYUK YUMRUK, wherein our man Arkin displays devastating levels of both disarming charm and bone-cracking ass-kickery. Directed with a brilliant haphazard verve by Turko-flick vet Cetin Inanc, this little film is as essential an introduction to the wild, wild world of Anatolian Cinema as one could want. It may struggle with its crippling lack of budget, but more than makes up for that with insanity, creativity and the Movie Star God appeal of Worldweird Cinema’s #1 icon Cuneyt Arkin (who also produced and wrote the script; what a renaissance man!)

I can’t really give you a synopsis of the plot, since I don’t (unfortunately) speak Turkish and my copy bore no English subtitles. And heck, you don’t really need to know what’s going on here. Cuneyt Arkin beats up bad guys. Cuneyt Arkin shoots bad guys. Cuneyt Arkin blows up lots and lots of bad guys. Cuneyt Arkin occasionally makes passionate love to his equally ass-kicking girlfriend. Cuneyt Arkin does what Cuneyt Arkin does.

Beyond that there are many instances of typical Turkish insanity. Ridiculously evil villains, casual sadism, misogyny by the boatload, child endangerment, and footage stolen from other movies (a common trait of the Arkin/Inanc films of the early 1980s see also DEATH WARRIOR and THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD). For example, when Cuneyt stages his climatic raid on Villain HQ his bullets and bombs seem to find victims in the form of cowboys from a western and Nazis from a WWII film, no doubt both culled from cheap Italian productions. It only adds to the utter surrealism of the whole thing. This is really an amazing movie for those who dig on the magick of Z grade sinema. The Turks really knew how to do it up right, and it doesn’t get any more right that this Cuneyt Arkin star vehicle.

You must get. You must watch. You must worship.

Print provided by Shocking Videos.

Worldweird Newsbrief!!

Howdy pardners!
We got just a few tidbits from DVD land to pass on, if you haven't already heard about 'em that is.
Firstly, from the mighty Severin Empire of Eroticism, a limited edition BLACK EMANUELE box set!!!!! Holy Shit, that rules the freakin' roost!
Details, kiddies:

This March expect the first volume of Black Emanuelle's Box in a Limited Edition of 4000 Units. This four disc set will contain the uncut version of Joe D'Amato's EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK, the X Rated Version of the outrageous EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD, Giuseppe Vari's SISTER EMANUELLE and a newly mastered compilation cd of Nico Fidenco music produced by Claudio Fuiano called IN BED WITH BLACK EMANUELLE. Box comes with six poster art reproduction post cards from around the world. Extras will include interviews with D'Amato and Nico Fidenco, deleted scenes and trailers.

They already have our money. And our hearts. And our hard-ons.

Next, we have yet still more Anchor Bay Italo-Horror re-hashes from Blue Underground.
Namely, these:




Cool, I guess. But why don't they release something y'know, new?
Speaking of not releasing something new, here's the details on Shriek Show's new (and hopefully improved) LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN DVD, from the Fangoria website:

The disc will include a 103-minute cut of the movie (the longest available anywhere), remastered in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English 5.1 and mono and Italian mono soundtracks. The special features are:
* Half-hour interview with Fulci expert Professor Paolo Albiero
* Featurette on the history of the film�s censorship, with Albiero
* Original Italian titles
* Fulci trailer reel
* Shriek Show trailers

Retail price is $19.95.
Out March 13th.



Lastly, we here at Worldweird have been waiting impatiently, very impatiently, for any news out of Mondo Macabro concerning their 2007 roster of sure-to-be-mind-roasting flix. But all we've heard from them is deafening silence. But we were checking out their Myspace page today and found this possible hint among their "pics":



Can anyone tell us what movie this is from? Our guess is SNAKE SISTERS, a Filipino film MM have been rumored to be releasing. But that's only a guess. We shall see.
Gods willing, they will make the official announcement very soon.
Quite frankly, we're tired of waiting.

See ya next time, boys and girls!!

A YouTube Tribute to Jean Rollin

Although it hasn't really been reflected in the posts here (yet!), lately we've been pretty much obsessed with the cinema fantastique of the great French film-maker Jean Rollin. Here is a smattering of trailers and clips of his singular work found on the YouTube for you to peruse. If you haven't yet discovered the odd and mesmerizing world of the "Rollinade", let these vids be your gateway drug. You're warned though, they can be very, very addictive.
(Another Warning: Clips contain nudity!)

La Nuit des traquées (1980)


Lèvres de sang (1975)


Requiem pour un vampire (1971)

Movie Review: SEVENTH CURSE

aka YUAN ZHEN-XIA YU WEI SI-LI
Directed by Ngai Kai Lam
Hong Kong; 1986

Hong Kong horror and fantasy cinema of the early to mid-80s really excels in delivering a kind of pure enjoyment and excitement. It may not have entirely original plots, scores, or ideas, but there's often something surprising to be found even in the midst of a routine exercise in genre; something that could not be said about Hollywood films of the same era. SEVENTH CURSE, based on a series of popular Chinese adventure stories, may take several cues from the first two INDIANA JONES movies, but I guarantee that there are at least a few things that you've never seen before in this film.

It begins, in perhaps a conscious nod to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTIEN, with a group of high society types sitting and enjoying alcoholic beverages in their evening wear. An old man, presumably the writer of the story we are about to see, is discussing the merits of wine-drinking and story crafting to a bunch of women who are far too young and attractive for one to believe that he could be fucking them, no matter how drunk he gets them. For a second I thought I was watching a Chinese cognac commercial, but then the plot reveals itself as aforementioned old man admits that some of his best stories are based on the real-life adventures of his two friends: Yuan and Wesley (also known as Wisely and Wei). Enter the two tuxedoed men (the latter played by Chow Yun Fat), who with a wink and a nudge take us into a flashback…

Cut to a tense hostage situation, in which Yuan is sent into a building (the reason seemingly to show us his martial arts skills) while a SWAT team prepares to bombard. Another ostensible reason for the scene is to introduce us to Maggie Cheung's character, Tsai-Hung, whose main purpose in the story is to pop up in a place where she shouldn't be, much to the consternation of Yuan. Later at a party, Tsai-Hung tells Yuan she is following him, the great adventurer, in hopes of getting an interview and some naked pictures for a story.

Real trouble begins when Yuan returns home from the party and is attacked by a stranger. After smashing the stranger into just about every piece of glass furniture to his name, Yuan finally relents, and it turns out the stranger is not an assassin, but a messenger. His name is Huh Lung, and he comes from Thailand with a warning for Yuan: the blood curse, which Yuan apparently received on one of his previous adventures, will kill him shortly. Furthermore, he should avoid lovemaking, because it will exacerbate the problem. He urges him to return to Thailand. Yuan pooh-poohs the advice and proceeds to sex-up his lady friend. Turns out, Huh Lung wasn't joking: Yuan's veins begin to throb, and eventually a bubble forms on his thigh and pops, spraying blood all over.

Obviously concerned over having popping veins, Yuan consults his good friend Dr.Wei, who identifies the malady as some form of Thai black magic. Dr.Wei asks Yuan, "Have you been to Thailand recently?" Here the movie makes the audacious move of entering into another extended flashback (remember we're already in one from the beginning, so that means that Yuan & Wei are now telling the old man and sexy ladies about this flashback).

On an expedition in Thailand, Yuan oversees a beautifully woman named Betsy, wearing what appears to be nothing but a long white t-shirt, bathing in a pond. So overcome by this private wet t-shirt contest, Yuan drops his binoculars and becomes completely enamored with the woman. Later Yuan's friend warns him to stay away from her and her village, but curiosity drives him and a group of friends towards the village where they arrive just in time to witness a crude ceremony. High priest Aquala, Hong Kong's answer to Mola Ram, is selecting victims for a blood sacrifice to "Old Ancestor", and you can guess who is on the chopping block.

Yuan's attempt to save the woman from sacrifice leads to an awesome kung-fu fight with a skeleton (the aforementioned "Old Ancestor"). The skeleton, for some reason, can also morph into a creature that looks like an H.R.Geiger alien (as in from the movie ALIEN) with wings. Betsy makes it to safety, but unfortunately Yuan and his friend are captured and tied to posts. Aquala spreads magic goo on Yuan's friend which causes his skin to swell and burst with maggots! Aquala then begins to give Yuan his blood curse, each popping vein accompanied by a sound effect that may actually be the sound of a cork popping out of a champagne bottle. Luckily, Yuan is able to escape by focusing light onto the ropes that bind him, burning through them. When he meets up with her again, Betsy thanks Yuan for saving her by taking a knife and cutting a magic item from inside her left breast. She tells him it will cure his blood curse, so he gobbles it up and thus ends the flashback.

As it turns out, the cure only lasted a year, and if he doesn't return to Thailand for a more permanent cure, Yuan will suffer several more vein bursts over the next 48 hours until he dies. This revelation moves our heroes to Thailand where, accompanied by the relentless Tsai-Hung, they attempt to locate a cure for the blood curse, rescue Betsy (again), and stop Aquala and "Old Ancestor" once and for all. I'll intentionally leave a lot of details out here to give you some incentive to track this movie down, but let's just say that there is a "Little Ghost" who is brought about by a potion made from the blood of 100 children, a booby trapped jungle, a race up a giant statue of Buddha, fighting monks, possession, cow placentas, a rocket launcher, and a climatic battle for the ages. Additional elements borrowed from Indiana Jones include a village where all of the children have gone missing (given a nearby context clue, can you guess where they are?!*) and a boulder chase with a clever substitution for an actual boulder. At 77 minutes long, the movie speeds along from set-up to set-up with a strange mixture of adventure, martial-arts, and horror.

I realize that this is more of a description than a review, but it really is difficult to translate an experience that is as immediate and visceral as SEVENTH CURSE into words that people would want to read on the internets. As I said before, there is something pure to the mayhem and adventure that is contained within this movie and others like it. It lacks the psychedelic excess of BOXER'S OMEN and the sleaziness of SEEDING OF A GHOST, so I can't recommend it as highly as those, but I still think it's something special. Untainted by Spielbergian aspirations of commercial appeal and critical acceptance as well as freed from the constraints of decency and taste by the Hong Kong Category III rating, films like this relish in the simple joy that is watching characters transverse fantastic sets, fight monsters, and commit superhuman feats of strength and endurance. Narrative logic is traded for excuses to show gore and tits, and this is a good thing. If the movie took itself any more serious it would be a drag, and at the same time, if it was too aggressively stupid it would be as tedious as a Troma movie, or worse, something smug and self-knowing like SLITHER (apologies to fans, I don't think it's a bad movie. I just didn't like it.). Not everything in the movie is played for laughs, and though it will make most people laugh, I hope that others can find the same wide-eyed admiration I find for movies that aren't afraid to be exactly what they are and should be.

*Answer: The children are being lowered into a giant stone vice where they are crushed for their blood. It is a scene that would be horrifying were it not so absurd.

Review by the newest member of Team Worldweird Laird Jimenez!

The Worldweird Top 7 of 2006!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, here's my (Jared, your editor-in-chief!) list for the top 7 "Worldweird" DVDs released during the calander year of 2006.
Let's get this shit out there!

7) BOXER’S OMEN (Celestial/Image) - One of the wildest films ever, this HK horror head-fuck is one of the most unlikely and welcome DVD releases of the year, and probably my favorite movie unleashed this year. So why isn’t higher? Despite informative and well-written liner notes by Steven Gladwin , this DVD is pretty bare bone’d and could’ve used a few more bells and whistles to send it into orbit. A Cantonese language soundtrack would’ve been nice as well. But it seemingly is fairly unaffected by the somewhat lackluster PAL-to-NTSC video transfers that have marred the previous Celestial/Image SB titles BLACK MAGIC and SUPER INFRA-MAN. The former there I think is also one of the year's more significant DVDs , being a great movie and an important one for understanding an entire strain of Asian Horror. But the picture quality is a little problematic on that one, so a bride’s maid it remains. Get BOXER’S though. It is an entirely awesome and unbelievable spectacle.

6) STREET LAW (Blue Underground) – Sawing through my eyes unlike any Italo-crime potboiler ever had before, SL is a masterpiece of gritty Roman celluloid madness. Castellari has crafted balls-out slug-fest that batters and surprises at every hook and angle. Franco Nero, DJANGO himself, tops that legendary performance in my mind with his astonishing portrayal of an ordinary man pushed to far. He makes that crap-movie cliché come to vivid existence like almost no actor before or since. Incredible soundtrack too, for those who care about such things (like me). Utterly essential, if you love Italian genre or 70s crime films. The other Castelleri BU DVS BIG RACKET and THE HEROIN BUSTERS are the tops too, but don’t quite leave the bruises that STREET LAW does. There were lots of great Italian pop-thrillers re-born this past year, from both BU and the stellar NO SHAME label. All in all, a fine year for the once lost or ignored cinematic treasures of our Italian friends. Let’s hope it keeps up, eh?

5) MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD (Severin) – The biggest surprise of the year for me. I wasn’t expecting much from this one. Interested yes, of course. But I focused most of my pre-release enthusiasm on it’s sister Jess Franco release MACUMBA SEXUAL, which is indeed a bizarre and groovy psycho-sex flick, while only picking up MANSION when I found it used at a local musique shoppe. Imagine my surprise when it emerged from the screen a far more fascinating, odd and haunting film than MACUMBA, in fact it’s more fascinating, odd and haunting than almost any film I saw all year. MANSION builds from its obnoxious, frothy sex comedy beginning to a cheesy-but-uneasy horror movie cliché middle act and on to an utterly mind-rending finale, full of weird, ambient dread and kinky mindgames. Some have slogged this one as a minor, barely entertaining blip in director Jess Franco’s career, but we have to disagree most aggressively. MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD is one of Franco’s most outré and arrestingly original films. Yeah, deal with it.
MACUMBA does rule too, however and both DVDs feature typically fantastic interviews with ole Jesus himself as well as his longtime companion and singular filth muse Lina Romay. You need both of these, trust me.

4) WITCH’S MIRROR (CasaNegra) – Uncanny. Otherworldly. These adjectives come most easily to mind when wanting to describe this Mexican horror oddity. But neither really comes close. A true cinematic poetry arises out of the cheesy hodge-podge of horror movie tropes and stock stories the make up the plot of WITCH’S MIRROR, unlikely as it may seem. It’s a spell-binding experience, a ‘pure’ cinema, full of searing images, which could awaken magick possibilities in the imagination of the viewer if he/she is in the right frame of mind. It’s fun too; those plot mechanics are handled with utter confidence and even perhaps knowing wink here and there. Outstanding cinema and an essential DVD. Close behind this masterpiece is more Latin Gothic weirdness in the form of BRAINIAC and CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMEN. Amazing surrealist fever-dreams dressed as silly b-movie monster mashes. Fucking Christ, so good it almost hurts.

3) DUST DEVIL (Subversive) - South African director Richard Stanley’s metaphysical serial killer opus is possibly the best single movie I saw all year (that I hadn’t seen before, anyway) and Subversive’s 5-disc (!!!) special edition is topping various “Best Of” lists for a very good reason: it’s one of the most comprehensive DVD releases in the history of the format. Every aspect of the film’s labored history is explored and well as other aspects of Stanley’s career via his startling and original documentaries. It’s an exhaustive and astounding set that every film fan needs to have in his collection. It’s limited; though so, pick it up while you still can!

2) 3 DEV ADAM (Onar Films) – Check our original review here. It says everything pretty much. But to summarize: Onar’s amazing and unlikely DVD is boon for all cult film fans and for obscure international pop culture awareness. The movie itself is 75 minutes of gonzo comic-book exhilaration and hysterical disbelief. Absolutely essential. As are the earlier KILINK discs we also reviewed here. Be on the lookout for the TURKISH HORROR DOUBLE FEATURE and the TURKISH SUPERMAN DVDs coming up soon enough. They promise to be even better, weirder, more obscure and are all guaranteed to bring a mischievous smile to every weird film fan’s relieved visage.

1) BOLLYWOOD HORROR COLLECTION VOL. 1 (Mondo Macabro) – The most fun I had in front of the TV screen all year. Absolutely joyous Curry-Gothic blockbusters of the most rare and delectable sort. PURANA MANDIR and BANDH DARWAZA take 50s and 60s Euro-Goth stories and apply them to the wild and wooly homegrown recipes for film madness that the Indians are famous (or infamous to some in the West) for. I don’t think there was a single moment in either film when I wasn’t overwhelmed with sheer good old fashioned movie-watching exhilaration. Mondo Macabro deserves a heapin’ helpin’ of good will for laying this doozy on us. But it was merely the peak in an overall outstanding year of DVD releases from our favorite label. SATAN’S BLOOD was my other fave, an outrageous and surreal Spanish horror that lingered in my mind unlike any other film I saw this year. Bizarre, sexy and totally fucking off-it’s-rocker, SATAN’S is the year’s most essential Eurohorror re-release. Although the Gallic shocker DON’T DELIVER US FROM EVIL comes damn close. It’s a downbeat and subtle yarn that possesses a unique and morbid vision, a true-crime film that flirts with a kind of existential-fantastical quality. MM also gave us two amazing Indonesian efforts this year. THE DEVIL’S SWORD you can read about here. VIRGINS FROM HELL, aside from being a completely nutty blast of celluloid cheesiness boasts the year’s single most entertaining special feature: an entire disc of Indonesian exploitation and fantasy trailers. Fun, fun, fun. I also was extremely pleased that the two titles I was somewhat ambivalent about, LIFESPAN and SNAKE DANCER turned out to be real winners as well. Both are terrific, odd little films with their own weird concerns and methods. Consider all these MM titles to be must-buys discs. If you want your collection to be sufficiently Worldweird you need to pick each one up and absorb them into you subconscious at your earliest convenience. Ah, fuck that, GO AND BUY THEM NOW! What are you waiting for?

And now, I (Jared, again) am proud to present a series of competing Top 7 lists from esteemed contibuters and friends!Firstly, here are two (!!) lists is the singular Scott Wallis!

TOP 7 DVD RELEASES 2006:

BLACK MAGIC ('75)
The first domestic Shaw Bros. release from CELESTIAL FILMS. They have over 750 Shaw titles in their library, and have been making them available overseas since 2003. It's about time they spread the wealth. Fuck the Weinsteins and their Dragon Dynasty DVD!

3 DEV ADAM ('73)
My favorite of the ONAR FILMS releases. A reason to love being alive, and be of wage-earning age!

THE GLORIOUS LIFE OF SACHIKO HANAI ('05)
"George W. Bush in a Pink Film?" was the oft-accompanying tag of this low budget bizarre mindfuck overflowing with wall-to-wall nudity and softcore sex. My fave of the New Wave.

GANJA & HESS ('73)
Finally! This replaced the existing VHS print, BLOOD COUPLE, which was cut by 30 minutes! All Day Entertainment seems to be picking up steam with two releases this year.

MARJOE ('72)
Another much anticipated release in excellent quality! Infamous child evangelist Marjoe Gortner went out of the snake oil racket with a bang in this "how-to" documentary.

REN & STIMPY: THE LOST EPISODES ('03)
All six eps John K. made for Spike TV (back when it was still "The New TNN"), three of which were never aired in the original 2003 run. A genius recognized.

BEST OF MATCH GAME DVD COLLECTION ('73-'75)
The second best game show ever (Gong Show is #1), this box set contains 30 uncut episodes and some very nice extras. A wonderful tribute!


----------------------------------------------


TOP 7 FILM/TV EVENTS 2006

THE THIRD MOTHER
Argento is finally completing the trilogy that began 30 yeras ago.

BARRICADE
Timo Rose is back with a buzz that has me champing at the bit. As a result, German Splatter gets the well-deserved videohound spotlight.

UNEARTHED FILMS
Finally getting their shit together and getting their shit out the door.

CODE RED DVD
The website was up for nearly two years before their first release, but the gears are finally turning to crank out their awesome catalog.

CASA NEGRA
Mexican horror from the '60s, uncut and pristine. 'Nuff said.

JOHN WATERS PRESENTS: MOVIES THAT WILL CORRUPT YOU
13 films hand-picked and introduced by the Pope of Trash, for the PPV network HERE!. Some rare gems and tasty offerings added to my collection for cheap.

TIM AND ERIC
Creators of TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR had a hell of a year with new eps of TGTTM, a brand new series to debut in '07, and a two city interactive live show tour, which I was lucky enough to attend, that either confirmed their genius, or verified their mental deterioration.

That's grippa tight.
Now feast you eyes on the unrelenting Undead Film Critic's List of Lists! From the chilly area beyond the beyond ...

07. 3 DEV ADAM - Super Collectible Edition (1973) - Finally! Thanks to Onar Films, one of cult cinema's weirdest & wildest achievements received the tender loving care that it so richly deserved.

06. GOJIRA - Godzilla Classic Collector's Edition - Presenting both the original 98-minute Japanese horror film & the 79 minute "Raymond Burr" cut, this release was a long time coming. I was particular impressed by the packaging and presentation of the material. An essential addition to any DVD collection.

05. Severin Films - The Criterion of Smut! God Bless 'em. Bringing to the masses GWENDOLINE AND HER MANY ADVENTURES IN THE LAND OF THE YIK YAK was a steamy introduction to a company that understands the sweaty and sleazy appeal of the more carnal cult gems.

04. GIRL BOSS GUERILLA / TERRIFYING GIRLS HIGH SHCOOL: LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM - Panik House released two titles from their The Pinky Violence Collection (boxset) as stand alones, so those of you who don't already own the box set can finally bear witness to some of the GREATEST films ever made. If you don't already own the The Pinky Violence Collection (boxset), which was released last year, you owe it to yourself to seek it out. It has to be my favorite box set ever. If it had a little sexual hole on the side of it, I would take it to bed with me every night.

03. KAMIKAZEE GIRLS (2004) - I fell deeply in love with Kamikaze Girls this year. A kinetic & colorful film filled with Female Punk Rock Scooter gangs, 18th Century French fashion, Cabbage & Embroidery. Entertaining as all hell, Kamikaze Girls is like making out with Japanese Pop Culture. And yes, there is a happy ending.

02. OLDBOY - 3-Disc Collector's Edition - The second chapter of Park Chan-wook's Revenge Trilogy is a modern masterpiece. And this 3 disc set goes above and beyond in terms of presentation. A think tin case encloses 3 all encompassing discs, a film cell and a copy of the manga of which the film is based.

01. CasaNegra - A division of Panik House, CasaNegra has found a place for itself by filling a void. Latin cinema simply had not be properly presented in the US on DVD, until now. Treating each title with reverence and respect, CasaNegra has set it self up as THE label to watch in 2007. This year I was especially impressed with their release of BRAINIAC (Barón del terror, El) & THE VAMPIRE COLLECTION - 2-Disc Special Edition.

Honorable Mention - THE BOLLYWOOD HORROR COLLECTION (Volume 1) / DUST DEVIL - The Final Cut - Limited Collector's Edition / THE EMILIO MIRAGLIA KILLER QUEEN Box Set - Limited Collector's Edition / THE GREAT YOKAI WAR - Double-Disc Special Edition / STREET TRASH - Special Two-Disc Meltdown Edition

Great!
And here we have another outstanding list! This one from the gregarious Greg Goodsell!

The year 2006 saw the release of two of my favorite films on DVD! SINGAPORE SLING and THE DEVIL’S SWORD both joined the digital age at long last – and another wayward film from Thailand shocked, surprised and entertained me.

1. SINGAPORE SLING (Greece)
2. THE DEVIL’S SWORD (Indonesia)
3. THE WAYWARD CLOUD (Thailand)
4. THE FIFTH CORD (Italy)
5. COP KILLERS (USA)
6. SHE MALE and SINS OF RACHEL (USA)

Be sure to purchase DVD’s from Code Red DVD – THE FOREST and the upcoming SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS and LOVE ME DEADLY! All three feature commentary tracks hosted by yours truly!

You heard the man! Check out them digs, kids!
And last but you better believe not least our Hero from Hellas, magik Miltos Kordas! Who of course is a.k.a. CINEHOUND.
Listen to him, he knows his stuff.

VAHSETIN ESIRLERI (Turkish gory western, 1971)

SALDIRGANLAR (Turkish mega-violent hardcore)

A HITMAN CALLED PAPAKO (Brazilian weird h/c Django western)

THE LADY OF THE BLACK MOONS (Egyptian erotic horror, 1971)

WOLVES DON'T EAT MEAT (Egyptian strong sleazy action/crime, 1973)

VENGEANCE (Hindi "woman's revenge for rape", 80s)
MAUT (Hindi Horror)

Infreakingcredible!
Thanks to all these Kings among Critics for lending us their thought and ops. And thanks to you for checking us out in 2006. And in 2007! Right? Right?
Happy New Year!
Worldweird Cinema loves you!!!

TURKISH HORROR DOUBLE FEATURE is coming!!!!!!

At long last: One of our most anticipated DVD releases of 2006 is arriving ... in 2007.
Better late than never! Needless to say, we are stoked.
The Low Down:



1) OLULER KONUSMAZ KI (THE DEAD DON’T TALK): Sometimes the dead DO talk
if ONAR gives them a chance, like this God-forgotten 1970 Turkish Gothic
Horror gem. A haunted house in the forest, a ghostly zombie-like
bogeyman, a curse, pretty ladies meeting horrible deaths, endless
macabre boo-ha-ha's, gloomy suffocating atmosphere, Aytekin Akkaya(3 DEV
ADAM'S Captain America), pretty ladies, stolen music from Space
Odyssey(well, Richard Strauss, that is) and giallos, exorcisms and other
goodies guarantee a hair-raising experience. This is another worldwide
premiere, never seen before on any kind of media. Luckily, the master
was found in satisfactory condition so the picture is close to great.

2) ASKA SUSAYANLAR SEKS VE CINAYET (THIRSTY FOR LOVE SEX AND MURDER): If you are thirsty for a genuine giallo with lots of blood, sleaze, mystery
and twists, this one is for you. It could be a Sergio Martino film, like
STRANGE VICE OF MRS WARDH, but it comes straight from Turkey! Here, a
maniac (or two?) with a sharp huge razor is after pretty girls. A woman
is suffering a youth trauma and is haunted by the nightmare of her past.
The only remaining master was found in good condition so the picture is
not great but good enough for a Turkish 70’s film.

Country: Turkey

Year: 1: 1970, 2: 1972

Director: 1: Yavuz Yalinkilic, 2: Mehmet Aslan

Actors: 1: Aytekin Akkaya, Dogan Tamer, Giray Alpan

2: Yildirim Gencer, Kadir Inanir, Meral Zeren, Eva Bender

FEATURES:

1200 numbered copies

Turkish audio

English & Greek subtitles

B/W (1), Colour (2), 4:3, DVD9

3 Interviews with AYTEKIN AKKAYA , METIN DEMIRHAN (horror director and
author of the cult book TURKISH FANTASTIC CINEMA) and GIOVANNI
SCOGNAMILLO, actor and co-author of above book. Turkish audio with
English subs.

Galleries (TURKISH HORROR GALLERY & AYTEKIN AKKAYA GALLERY)

Filmographies OF DIRECTORS

Biographies OF DIRECTORS

Trailers

Coming "Middle January"! Still not soon enough! We wants it now!!!!

Trailers

Movie Review: HASEENA ATOM BOMB

aka ATOMIC BEAUTY
Directed by Saeed Ali Khan
Pakistan; 1990

HASEENA ATOM BOMB heaps on the insanity, never ceasing in its attempts to bury you under glitzy, near-psychedelic song-and-dance numbers and go-for-broke fisticuff scenes. It’s a pop-art extravaganza on the most limited budget imaginable. The movie does become something of an endurance test here and there at nearly three hours, like most South Asian films, but is so weird and overwhelming you can’t help but to watch, hypnotized by the z-grade skullduggery. And at times you might feel a little lost, if your copy like mine lacks English subs, at the subtle nuances of plot. Characters flow willy-nilly in and out of the story, which would seem to be balance at least two main plot-lines, if not more. It gets rather confusing. But let it ride. Give in to the uncanny and exotic kitsch on display, and it will reward you with exploitation riches of the most unusual kind.

ATOM BOMB is a sleaze fest from Pakistan. That’s right, Pakistan. In fact, the film originates in the Pashtun area, on the northwestern frontier which borders Afghanistan, which is the very cultural matrix that gave rise to the Taliban. And yet during the 1990s, this culture gave the world (or a small part of it anyway, these movies were not widely exported) an exploitation film industry that delivered astounding levels of sleaze and weirdness. ATOM BOMB is one such film, and according to critic Omar Khan, caused quite the sensation throughout greater Pakistan when it “blew up” on screens across that sun-baked, mountainous nation. He goes so far as to call it “a major work of art” and a “searing sociopolitical indictment” and while I agree that it totally rules, I don’t know if I’d go quite that far. But it certainly is an astonishing blast of gonzo world cinema at its most bewildering.

Compared with the graphic displays of naked flesh in American and European exploitation, you might think that this Pashto shocker would look kind of tame to us jaded westerners. But incredibly, it doesn’t. Sure there’s not a girl in the film that shows a bit of skin that’s not on her face or hands but the tone and technique of the movie thrusts sex and violence in your face at nearly every turn. The plot is (yet another) rape-revenge yarn, with an abundance of mustachioed bad-guys doing mustachioed bad things and getting their violent comeuppance. My favorite is the guy who punishes evil drug dealers by draining their blood with a giant syringe. It’s a truly bizarre site you won’t soon forget, even if you going blotto with uncontrollable laughter as you witness it. The songs are fun, and are highlighted with a high school drama club set design run psychedelically riot. Cheap, utterly poverty-ridden in fact, but like all great low budget cinema epics, it turns this limitation into an asset, an unusual and uncanny mis-en-scene un-achievable by more lavishly funded flicks. And the fight scenes are just as plentiful, thankfully, as the singing and dancing and are marvels of sub-Kung Fu action hysteria, with every hit, punch and kick reverberating across the screen with a loud, thunderous THWACK that pulverizes you even if you don’t believe for a second that those punches are connecting with their targets.

There’s a lot to recommend here for the adventurous cult-film fan. But South Asian films are a bit of an acquired taste, and can be utter torture to some. But if you’ve cut your teeth on the films of Italy and Hong Kong, and moved on to Indonesia and Turkey but are looking for something a little further out, then the low budget cinema of India and Pakistan might just be thing you’re lookin’ for. Just don’t try and watch these movies in one sitting. I don’t think it could be done anyway, but if you do, I think you might be risking aneurysm as these exotic potboilers will rend your brain if you aren’t ready. You’ve been warned.

Print provided by Shocking Videos.

PRIMITIVES: The World of Indonesian Horror and Exploitation Cinema

This is an article originally published in BRUTARIAN Magazine #33, back in 2001. We proudly re-present here with full permission from it's author, Greg Goodsell.
Thanks Greg!

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

An American graduate student’s head flies away from her body, her intestines and lungs trailing behind her in the breeze. An evil sorcerer transforms a suave martial artist into a “were-pig”. A band of Asian babes in halter tops, hot pants and thigh-high boots mount their dirt bikes to do battle with drug lords ...

All of these lurid situations and images should be readily familiar to followers of Indonesian horror and exploitation films. MYSTICS IN BALI (1981), WARRIOR AND THE NINJA (1987) and VIRGINS FROM HELL (1987) from which the above scenes originate from respectively have delighted discerning western audiences with their exotic, flavorful elements.

Shot quickly and with very little, if any budget, these films entertain with jury-rigged special effects, silent movie plots and an overall cinematic technique that could be charitably called “rustic.”

Many extenuating factors contribute to these movies’ appeal. Usually set in the lush, dense forests and jungles of its homeland, peopled with natives who live a way of life untouched by industrialized society, these films cater to the video armchair traveler. Indonesian films also have a fierce integrity to them, untouched by irony and sophistication. A film set in a village with mud walls, bamboo roofs and wandering livestock has the undeniable ring of authenticity to it. These are no movie sets. The viewer gets the impression that once the movie lights were switched off from the generators, the film crew retired to hammocks slung between palm trees to continue shooting the next day.

A certain cultural ignorance surrounding these films adds to their aura. Only occasionally using conventions found in Western movies, the Indonesian horror film has little or no use for vampires and werewolves. These films dip deeply into Southeast Asia’s rich folkloric tradition, offering sights and sounds found nowhere else.

Before the viewer plunges in with a machete a pith helmet into this rough cinematic terrain, two things must be kept in mind. First, Indonesia is a fiercely Islamic nation, most unusual for this part of the world. Islamic symbols and motifs pop up continually through these films, as well as informing their sensibilities. While graphic violence is plentiful and nauseating, few Indonesian films feature female nudity below the shoulders. This results in odd, ethnocentric situations. I WANT TO GET EVEN (1988) features a bad guy being blown into fleshy tissue by a bazooka -- but the leading lady is not photographed below the face in her frequent rape scenes.

Another factor in these films is that all were made under the iron-fisted rule of President Suharto. As recounted in the film THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (1982), the Javanese strongman expelled the communists from power in a bloody coup and took control in 1967. Welcomed by the West who was then concerned with the spread of communism in that part of the world, the Indonesian proletariat began to enjoy limited modernization and a certain economic prosperity under his reign. As Pete Tombs’ explains in his indispensable examination of world exploitation cinema Mondo Macabro, these films were intended for a blue-collar, working-class audience who demanded escapist fare. Fantastical in nature, these motion pictures were intended for the worker done with his shift at the American-owned oilrig. These films could be read as part and parcel of Suharto’s bread-and-circuses governorship. The regime was not above forcibly removing a film from theaters that did not suit its purposes - LADY TERMINATOR (1988) was yanked after a 10-day run when it became apparent it would become the popular film in Indonesian history.

Suharto resigned in 1998 amidst accusations of corruption. Indonesia today remains a politically unstable region, like most Third World Nations, nothing encouraging is heard from. Ethnic riots and violence are a daily occurrence. Its currency the rupiah plummeted on the world market and was a chief contributing factor to the Asian economic crisis of the past century.

One casualty of all of this upheaval appears to have been its genre cinema. In the seventies and eighties, independent producers along with established studios such as Rapi Films ground out product that found broad appeal among the people of the world’s fourth most populous nation.

At their best, these movies drop the viewer in a strange jungle wilderness populated with strange beings, sights and sounds. The viewer is left to hack their way through the underbrush without a compass. Those who have covered this terrain find it’s a trip worth taking over, again and again.

THREE EARLY EFFORTS


While Indonesia has had a bustling film industry since the 1930s and beyond, we will begin this survey with three features shot in the late 1970s, early 1980s. One follows the template of countless Asian fantasy films; another mimics a Western horror film almost shot-by-shot and winds up putting its own distinct spin on things; and the third tries to cash in on an exploitation staple only to get it gloriously, hilariously wrong.


PENANGKAL ILMU TELUH (Circa 1978: Loose English translation: Black Magic Talisman Knowledge) directed by S.A. Karim, is a typical supernatural Asian horror film. A husband in a rural farming village thinks his wife is being unfaithful and enlists the aid of a local wizard to cast spells against her perceived lover. Bargain basement special effects ensue, as another wizard is enlisted to do battle in a war of magic. One especially graphic scene has the village round-heeler stricken with premature aging, leaving her face terribly wrinkled. Seeking the services of a witch, the woman undergoes a Third World “chemical peel” where the hag flays the woman’s face with dull knives. The witch then applies a thick cream that is peeled away as a mask, restoring the woman’s face to its previous beauty.

Any viewer familiar of the horror films of Hong Kong, South Korea, Cambodia, Japan and Vietnam will instantly recognize the flimsy plot. Sexual jealousy, real or imagined, causes one of the characters to use magical means against their unfaithful lover. It would be easy to assume that these films prey upon the distrust, superstitions and xenophobia of their intended audiences. Hong Kong horror films in particular have an unspeakable dread surrounding people from Mainland China, Macao and Taiwan.

This conclusion is overly facile. A casual viewing of any of these movies reveals that any character that resorts to magic -- either for vengeance or to combat witchcraft, is doomed to failure. Even the most sympathetic characters that seek the assistance of a shaman or sorcerer invariably come to a bad end. The true Asian horror film routinely admonishes the viewer to reject the ancient fears and superstitions from which it draws its inspiration.

Another thing entirely is DUKUN LINTAH (Loose English translation: Leech Warlock, circa 1978) directed by Ackyl Anwary, the scriptwriter of Penangkal. It closely follows Asian horror film conventions as well. A young man’s advances to a rich girl are rejected as she takes her true love’s hand in marriage. The young man seeks the services of a jungle witch doctor, which as the title suggests uses bloodsuckers to mete out vengeance. DUKUN LINTAH then abruptly turns into a slavish, frame-by-frame remake of David Cronenberg’s SHIVERS/THEY CAME FROM WITHIN (1975)! Viewers will recognize and begin to mentally check off scenes lifted in their entirety from the original, almost down to the camera angles.

What makes DUKUN LINTAH so fascinating is not its blatant plagiarism (Cronenberg’s attorneys are either unaware of this film’s existence or assume all they could get in damages would be earthen pots and rice), but how the narrative plays in a diametrically opposed setting. THEY CAME FROM WITHIN’s gross-out sequences are reproduced in loving detail; leeches swim up a bathing beauty’s nether regions as she soaks in a river, the hero tries to stuff the parasites in his mouth once they’re removed from his stomach; a fat. elderly woman becomes a sex-crazed maniac, et cetera. It soon becomes abundantly clear that a horror film about the alienation of modern life simply doesn’t play the same after the setting is changed from a sterile apartment complex to a mud-caked village with outdoor privies - although it does make for some fascinating comparisons. It comes as no surprise that the leech-infected villagers in DUKUN LINTAH do not go on to infect the outside world as in the original, but revert to happy villagers after a holy man says a prayer.

How Indonesian filmmakers take a particular story or genre element and tailor it to parochial tastes is highly evident in PRIMITIVES (1978). Shot at a time when movies such as MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST were packing them in grind houses, director Sisworo Gautama gathers all the appropriate elements and bluntly refuses to follow any of this sub-genre’s conventions. How, you may ask? PRIMITIVES is the only Third World Cannibal movie from a Third World nation without the slightest trace of cannibalism in it. A careful viewing of the film shows villagers scarfing frogs, turtles and in the film’s show-stopping draw - a live crocodile as it snaps at the savage’s grasping hands -- but no human flesh.


PRIMITIVES follows a trio of intrepid city explorers, led by Indo-trash perennial Berry Prima in search of an undiscovered jungle tribe. Predictably, our heroes fall into the clutches of a gang of savages who delight in trussing them up and forcing them to eat Gila monster pate. They manage to escape, but not before the bespectacled, nerdy member of their party dies from his wounds. In a poignant moment, his life flashes before his eyes of happier times, i.e. eating snow cones in a filthy water slide park!

The cannibal genre that enjoyed a vogue in the late 1970s was essentially the product of white Europeans (Italians, mostly) contrasting the differences between brute savages and “civilized man.” Films in this canon are rife with racism and xenophobia while simultaneously pointing out the inherent brutality of modern civilization. Primitives can’t begin to address these themes, because, well ... it features Southeast Asians being menaced by Southeast Asians in third-rate caveman outfits!

Such an ill-advised attempt is revealed early on in the musical cue that occurs immediately after savages in a jungle glen dispatch a man; as the credits roll, it’s not chanting or percussion we hear but Kraftwerk’s electro-funky “We Are the Robots!”

These films out of the way, we now turn our eyes to an important Indonesian feature that used its naiveté and lack of polish to literally cast a spell on this reviewer to go in search for other videos from this far-flung land --

MYSTICS IN BALI (1981)

It all began after a friend of mine loaned me this video he said he absolutely hated. MYSTICS IN BALI, along with THE BOXER'S OMEN (1983), is the one feature that left me scratching my head in wonderment as to what planet this broadcast was transmitting from.

MYSTICS IN BALI, directed by H. Tjut Djalil was at one time a hot and widely discussed commodity on the U.S. video bootleg circuit that fulfilled the viewer's demands for . . . . Something different.

The film opens against a montage of Balinese dream warrior masks. The story concerns American occult scholar (Ilona Agathe Bastian) Katherine Keane, fresh off the plane to research Balinese Leak (pronounced Lee-ak) Black Magic. Enlisting the aid of her native boyfriend Mahendra (Yos Santo), they arrange a meeting with a practicing witch in the nearby rain forest. The hag, who keeps her decaying face hidden in the darkness, agrees to instruct Kathy in exchange for bottles of human blood.

Returning the following night with withdrawals from the local blood bank, the witch begins to instruct Kathy on the ways of Leak sorcery. But the cackling hag enacts a big price from Kathy, as the crone gradually regains her youthfulness, and Kathy becomes an unwilling pawn in a climactic battle between demonic forces.

MYSTICS IN BALI gives the Third World special effects unit ample opportunity to indulge in cut-rate theater. They are plentiful, and all would not fool a preschooler. Kathy and her witch instructor shape shift into snakes and pigs through the wonder of clay and papier- mache. A gigantic serpent tongue that extends through the forest is an all too obvious hand puppet. Battling wizards and magicians are represented by basketballs set on fire and suspended on fishing line.

In the film's most notorious scene, Kathy's head separates from her body to fly through the air to devour newborn infants, accomplished by blue-screen TV effects and puppet strings.

As Pete Tombs would rave in Mondo Macabro: “MYSTICS IN BALI[ ‘s] . . . . awkwardness and shooting style give it a strange kind of authenticity. The camera hardly ever moves; most scenes are filmed in one take, using medium or close shots. In the many night sequences there are no foregrounds. The characters are isolated against the vast, empty backdrop of black space. There’s a constant feeling of mystery, of tension, as though almost anything might emerge from the blackness.”

One can readily laugh at MYSTICS IN BALI's many technical shortcomings. And yet . . . . the film exerts a strange power over the viewer. Western audiences, accustomed as they are to razor sharp production values and computer generated imagery, are taken aback by the film's unshakable integrity. One gets the impression that the filmmakers genuinely believe in the subject matter.

Sometimes, sincerity is the most effective component in art. Such is the case with MYSTICS IN BALI.

O, SUZZANNA!


Described as “South East Asia’s reigning horror diva,” the films of Suzzanna (sometimes referred to as JP Suzzanna) are very enigmatic. A pretty, if plump actress who recalls Imelda Marcos crossed with Elizabeth Taylor, Suzzanna seems to have been well into middle age at the height of her hold on the box office. A lack of printed information on her adds to her mystique. Is she the wife of a producer?

Suzzanna entered moviegoers’ consciousness back in 1979 with QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC (1979), which found limited domestic exploitation play as BLACK MAGIC III, in an attempt to associate it with the Shaw Brothers’ unrelated BLACK MAGIC series. In a backwoods village, Suzzanna plays a woman wrongfully accused of witchcraft. Her mother is killed; her home destroyed and is driven into the jungle by the angry township. She meets a wizard who has his own reasons for disliking the village, and the predictable magical mayhem ensues.

Suzzanna would come into her own in what one suspects is a series of films about the Snake Queen. Either an obscure South Seas or perhaps Hindu goddess, the Snake Queen is a malevolent deity who reappears with frequency in Indonesian cinema. A haughty personage, the Snake Queen dishes out harsh judgment to those who would obtain success without working for it, and dispenses some hard-won wisdom to those who survive the final reel.

The character is introduced in all her supercilious glory in THE SNAKE QUEEN (198?). Suzzanna delivers good fortune to her followers under the provision that a human sacrifice is made in her honor within the year. The special effects are surprisingly good, perhaps showing the hands of the film’s Japanese co-producers. Attended by her many chorus girl supplicants in a glittery grotto, SNAKE QUEEN is rich in kitschy exoticism. The opening scene where the Queen is introduced to the audience gliding through a series of psychedelic alcoves in an outrageously phony cave setting could pass muster as the Most Boring Ride in Disneyland.

Not so serious in tone is HUNGARY SNAKE WOMAN (1982), directed by PRIMITIVES’ Sisworo Gautama. The Snake Queen this time advises a young ne’er-do-well to kill three women and dine on their breasts. The film has a bit too much fun with the character; Suzzanna beds down with a mere mortal and the circular bed swirls magically around a series of undisguised disco spotlights.

The last film to make the U.S. bootlegging rounds with Suzzanna has been WHITE CROCODILE, available only in the Bahasan language. WHITE CROCODILE is little more than outrageous gore effects on a $1.99 budget. All the elements, such as chorus girl followers are stupid jungle explorers winding up as crocodile food are present. CROCODILE’s budget appears paltry. Alligator fins on the costumes of her followers are undisguised, paper-cut white cardboard. The reviewer readily admits having given up halfway on CROCODILE with its plethora of dialogue scenes.

Fascinating in their excess, the films of Suzzanna are ripe for camp stateside discovery.

I WANT TO GET EVEN!


I WANT TO GET EVEN! (1988, aka VIOLENT ASSASINS aka LADY EXTERMINATOR). The film is a weird hybrid of silent movie-style melodrama, crime and action genres. The plot is a simple one. Irma (Eva Arnaz) is the long-suffering wife of cab driver Rudy (Clift Sangra). A demure lotus blossom with beautiful features, blue eye shadow, red lips and furry armpits, she works as a cashier at a nightclub to make ends meet. The nightclub is the front for a drug and weapons smuggling operation lorded over by Sid Haig-lookalike Cobra. Gang rape is a favored pastime of Cobra’s business associates, and a trio of thugs drags Irma into the jungle for a quick one-two.

Husband Rudy, who appears to have his eyebrows and moustache drawn in with felt pen, doesn’t take too kindly to the news. In spite of Irma’s first trimester pregnancy, Rudy insists the gang rape is all Irma’s fault and sends her sailing out of his speeding taxicab! As the viewer can guess, their marriage is more than just a dysfunctional one. Turned out of the house, Irma seeks solace in a friend who advises her against abortion. As her friend points out, her mentally defective handicapped daughter (played by a real mentally defective handicapped girl - a taboo Asian cinema frequently indulges in) born under duress has grown into the light of her life. “A man is only his own pride,” Irma discovers upon reflection.

The rest of the film details the activities of Cobra’s gang and Rudy’s attempts at vengeance. Irma loses her baby in childbirth in a blood-drenched, dinner-losing scene. She figures enough is enough, and donning a Rambo-style headband and mounting a dirt bike, she trains her bazooka on the remnants of the gang before riding off with her now-wiser husband into the sunset.

The film has all the sleaze and cheese viewers have come to expect. Cast members are dressed in ugly primary colors, sometimes in T-shirts with incongruous English slogans. In a standout scene, another innocent girl is gang-raped off screen as a gangster moll bites her thumb listening to the sounds of passion coming from the other room, her T-shirt reading “The Grand Canyon is for lovers.” I WANT TO GET EVEN’s attitude towards the inequity of the sexes is just astonishing. The abusive, monstrous husband is seen as the film’s hero and the wife is expected to stand by him through hell and high water.

Especially telling is director Maman Firmansjah’s first scene. Panning across a slum neighborhood over the opening credits, the camera lights upon various apartments. A montage of depravity including alcoholism, intravenous drug abuse and porno video shoots includes a shot of a young lovely opening a vein in her wrist with a razor blade and drinking her own blood. We return to the same scenes at the film’s close, which ends with a stern biblical verse.

More engaging than most serious documentaries on the subject, I WANT TO GET EVEN is an over-the-top exploitation feature that reveals dire situations that exist in the Third World.

FILMS IN THE CITIES


We will conclude our survey of Indonesian trash cinema with two atypical films that are set in urban areas. LADY TERMINATOR (1988; known under countless titles such as NASTY HUNTER and REVENGE OF THE SOUTH SEAS QUEEN) and DANGERSOUS SEDUCTRESS (1992) rely on the old genre staple standbys such as curses, vengeful goddesses and cut-rate special effects, but strive for a contemporary feel by setting their narratives in the relatively modern environs of modern Jakarta. Stalwart veteran H. Tjut Djalil, under his nom-de-plume “John Miller,” directed both TERMINTOR and SEDUCTRESS.

LADY TERMINATOR is arguably the most widely known and seen Indonesian exploitation film. It enjoyed a robust release in the United States and many mom-and-pop video stores still carry copies. LADY TERMINATOR also enjoyed dynamite box office in Indonesia before Suharto and his clan forcibly ended the film’s 10-day run.

Make no bones about it; LADY TERMINATOR is a shameless rip-off of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popular action franchise with a few stray South East Asian trappings. The film’s notoriety comes from a stilted prologue set 100 years into the past wherein the evil blonde South Sea Queen castrates her male lover for failing to satisfy her. One wily sailor is able to exorcise her malevolent spirit by coaxing a cartoon snake out of her vagina. The execution of this one particular scene is a hoot. The malevolent spirit is represented by an optical that suggests black felt pen drawn directly on to the film’s frames. The queen utters a curse that she will live on a hundred years hence in the body of an unwilling host.

Terminator then switches to present day, with lovely brunette (Barbara Anne Constable) studying oceanography. On a boating expedition, evil forces drag her to the bottom of the ocean floor and the crude cartoon snake penetrates her. Reborn, she becomes the female incarnate of Ah-nult’s android destroyer. She makes her way to Jakarta and begins to decimate the city with her trusty machine gun in a body count that far exceeds the triple digits.

There is no point in defending LADY TERMINATOR as anything more than blood-soaked entertainment. To the trash fan, it is little more than Judgment Day without a nuclear war sequence to slap the audience’s wrists for indiscriminate bloodshed. But its withdrawal from cinemas implies a deeply buried political subtext that didn’t gibe with the then regime. Indonesia is a land where the nation’s OPEC-laden wealth is very unevenly distributed. The very same shopping malls and bustling city squares used in TERMINATOR were to serve as locations for widespread revolt and rioting in 1998.

The most recent Indonesian horror film to reach western eyes has been DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS, released on video in South Korea. In a story that by now writes itself, the Queen of Darkness seduces a not-very-bright young woman (the blonde, buxom and just a little bit plump Tonya Offer) into procuring playboys to satisfy her voracious blood thirst. Like all of the films mentioned here, Seductress is a multitude of sins masquerading a banquet of pleasures. Terrible acting, editing, special effects and photography work in the service of bringing moments that shock and amaze viewers. When the Queen of Darkness is resurrected, she is a combination of skeleton and hard body, one foot trapped in an eldritch grave. A disinterested, mangy dog comes along and gnaws on her thighbone! Jewel thieves in a speeding car eluding police yell and berate the car’s driver by repeatedly hitting him in the face! Mystical forces suggested by laying the camera on its side and running the film backwards! What a world …

DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS’ attempts at sophistication fail uproariously. An Enigma-knockoff theme song, palatial settings decorated with chintzy décor and a heroine who would fail to get past cherries on Pac Man all add to its entertainment value. It is perhaps fitting we end our survey of Indonesian horror films here, as DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS offers a summation of their appeal. They don’t make them like this any more, but it’s wonderful that films like these were still being made as late as 1992.