Drive-In Madness!

Drive-In Madness (1987)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

James Karen plays host and narrator to this "documentary" that has interviews with several famous faces wrapped around countless trailers from "B" movies. Tom Savini, Linnea Quigley, George Romero, John Russo, Bobbie Bresee, Forrest J. Ackerman, Russell Steiner and Samuel M. Sherman are among the people interviewed.

There are dozens of trailers show including those for: Dracula VS FRANKENSTEIN, SATAN'S SADIST, BLOOD CREATURE, BLOOD DRINKERS, BRIDES OF BLOOD, GIRLS FOR RENT, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, NURSE SHERRI, FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR, PSYCHOS IN LOVE, a few Hammer double features and much more.

If you're a fan of watching trailers then there are some pretty good items here to be viewed. The ones that really stand out were the Al Adamson films produced by Sherman. If you've seen these movies then you already know how bad they are yet when you see these trailers you really want to go watch them again. Say what you want about the films but the trailers are actually well-done and certainly build up an interest in the film. FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR, the alternate title to ASSIGNMENT TERROR is also well-made and sells the film perfectly.

As far as the interviews go, it's nice to have them but there's certainly nothing ground-breaking to them. Savini and Romero talk about what they remember of the drive-ins and they also talk about NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Quigley talks about how she got into the business and tells a couple stories about SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. Russo and Romero also talk about their second feature THERE'S ALWAYS VANILLA.

Hosted / narrated by James Karen, and packed with genre luminaries (George A. Romero, Tom Savini, Linnea Quigley, Forrest J. Ackerman, et al.), DRIVE-IN MADNESS is a retrospective of classic horror and exploitation film trailers. Whether you remember the good old drive-in theater days, or you just wonder what it was like, this will give you an idea.

Filled with inside stories and anecdotes, it's informative and fun to watch. Of special interest to yours truly is the saga of Independent International Pictures, as well as the origin of ultra-schlock director, Al Adamson.

Plus, if you're looking for a list of terrifying, terrible, or just plain crazy movies, this is a great place to start! The "Previews of Coming Attractions" are the real stars. Many of the trailers are far better than the actual movies they promote!

Highly recommended for the cult / exploitation / horror / etc. Fanatic!...

My review was written in March 1988 after watching the program on Imagine Video cassette.

"Drive-In Madness!" is an entertaining compilation and interview video which addresses two marginal topics rather than the field implied in its title: the film distributor Independent-International Pictures, and the phenomenon of George A. Romero's 1968 horror film "Night of the Living Dead". As such, tape will be of interest to advanced buffs but a definitive study of drive-ins and their programming remains to be done.

Videomaker Tim Ferrante mixes in equal measure entertaining coming attractions' trailers with informative interview material, all connected by James Karen' wraparound narration. Ignoring the primary contributions of such distributors as AIP, Crown International, Boxoffice International, Fanfare and 1970s New World, he zeroes in on Samuel M. Sherman's Independent-International Pictures. Illustrated by colorful and often imaginative trailers, Sherman provides the history of his company and encapsulates numerous programming trends ranging from horror & sci-fi films to biker pictures and softcore sex romps. Other source of trailers here is Empire Pictures, which is quite misleading since Empire's films belong to the post-drive-in era.

Romero, John Russo and Russell Streiner give a lot of info about "Night of the Living Dead" and its creation from a personal point of view, while Romero's subsequent collaborator Tom Savinin provides an enthusiastic description of how films and filmgoing (particularly seeing Cagney in "Man of 1000 Faces") shape his life and career.

Too much trivia is the tape's main fault, particularly as Streiner repeatedly overestimates the ult appeal and importance of a line of dialog he enunciated in "Night of the Living Dead" or when marginal fantasy film starlets Bobbie Bresee and Linnea Quigley give gushy recollections about their careers. Ferrante is closer to the mark with a monolog by #1 fan Forry Ackerman at his Ackermansion; interviews with more longtime veterans, perhaps thesps from the '50s, would have hit the spot.

Tape offers very little in the way of analyzing the drive-in biz or its decline; recurring staged footage of a young couple (Kevin Kindlin, Sheila McKenna) necking in their car at a Pittsburgh ozoner simply reinforces the cliches about passion pits. It's not pointed out how drive-ins provided low-income families with an economical night out at the movies, nor how the programming shifted away from indie films to playing the same first-run major pictures as hardtops (due to new saturation release patterns) long before home video took hold.

Upbeat conclusion here that because of home video "the new drive-in theater is the living room" is unconvincing and misses the whole point and fun of piling into the old jalopy and heading for the cloverleaf.

DRIVE-IN MADNESS is two things: a documentary, and a collection of old trailers for exploitation films. There are ads for Independent International pictures (NURSE SHERRI, BLAZZING STEWARDESSESS), and other assorted odd-ball fare(THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, MASOULEUM). There are also interviews with scream queens (Bobbie Breesse and Linnea Quigley) and filmmakers(George Romero, Sam Sherman, Joh Russo). There is a fairly long piece on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and what the makers of that film have done since.

My favorite part of this docu-paste-up was when George Romero talks about the state of films today. Romero says he feels that films are much more disposable nowadays(because of video), and it makes it harder for people trying to make something unique. Tom Savini, next to him, agreed, and so do I. Alot of films are very genre-based currently, and you very rarely find a renegade director like Romero anymore. (Incidentally, I think DAWN OF THE DEAD is a classic.)

DRIVE-IN MADNESS is a cheaply made, shoddily edited affair, but it is well-worth seeing for film buffs. The narrator (POLTERGEIST star James Karen) has a perfectly pleasant voice, and he obviously has respect for his subject.

If anyone can grab a copy of BLAZZING STEWARDESSESS, let me know, because that one looks like a hoot.

First watched this when it was released in 1989. At the time, it was a fascinating docu charting the "evolution" of exploitation films as they mutated from drive-in(or grindhouse) fare to straight-to-video releases. (Then-pertinent examples being Empire/Wizard "hits" like PSYCHOS in LOVE and FROM BEYOND). Now in the 21st century, DRIVE-IN MADNESS seems like an artifact from a (very) long-gone era, as even the video rental habit is moribund. Sounds sad? It is. There is irony in the idea that this tape, a lament/ tribute to the bygone era of drive-in schlock can now be seen as a wistful tribute to the time when there seemed to be a video store on almost every corner.

Oh, yeah, the video itself? Much of it chronicles Sam Sherman's Independent International Pictures, as well as the conception and success of Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. (John Russo, actor, author and writer, provides the link between the two entities.) Some of this stuff is priceless (Romero and Savini talking about the "disposable" nature of D-I movies, Russo and Russ Streiner on NIGHT, Sherman talking about the extremes of weather that D-I patrons faced), and the trailers just flippin' rule (GREEN SLIME, HUMAN DUPLICATORS, Dracula, PRINCE OF DARKNESS / PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES combo, DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW, GIRLS FOR RENT, etc).

NOTE: The version known as SCREEN SCARIES is not the same as D-I MADNESS. Judging from the review, there are more? but different trailers and it's about half the running time. Find this if you can.