Notizie

They’re after you, and your wives and children! This Corman/VeSota/Ed Nelson shocker with the excellent poster is a Robert Heinlein knockoff that can’t quite sustain the paranoid pitch of other ‘parasitic possession’ sci-fi horror epics. One of the cheapest of the drive-in cheapies, it remains a must-see title just for the audacity of its ad campaign, and a random moment or two of spooky serendipity. Don’t get your hopes up if you’re coming to see Leonard Nimoy’s performance — unless his voice is enough to satisfy.

The Brain Eaters

Blu-ray

1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 61 min. / Street Date January, 2022

Starring: Ed Nelson, Alan Frost, Jack Hill, Joanna Lee, Jody Fair, David Hughes, Robert Ball, Greigh Phillips, Orville Sherman, Leonard Nemoy (Nimoy),, Doug Banks, Saul Bronson, Hampton Fancher.

Cinematography: Larry Raimond

Art Director: Burt Shonberg

Film Editor: Carlo Lodato

Written by Gordon Urquhart

Uncredited Executive Producer:...

Pam Grier classic Sheba, Baby comes to Blu-ray. To say that indie genre filmmaker William (Grizzly, The Manitou) Girdler’s 1975 “Griersploitation” gem Sheba, Baby is one of its star Pam Grier‘s worst films is odd and yet many fans do just that. Sure, Girdler aint Jack Hill and Sheba, Baby lacks the caustic edge of…

The post Blu-ray review: Pam Grier in Sheba, Baby appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

When you think of a slasher film, images of summer camp and college campuses might dance in your head, but in her first feature film, B.C. Butcher, Kansas Bowling uniquely sets a slasher story in prehistoric times. With Troma set to release B.C. Butcher next year, we caught up with Kansas to discuss making her first movie at the age of seventeen, shooting on 16mm, and much more.

Thanks for taking the time to converse with us, Kansas. Your debut feature film, B.C. Butcher, is a slasher movie set in the prehistoric era. How did you come up with this unique plot?

Kansas Bowling: Thank you so much for showing interest in my film! My friend Kenzie Givens and I came up with the idea when we were in high school. I was 15. It seemed like something easy to do on a tiny budget and it was something that had never been done before!

Cult director Larry Cohen’s sophomore feature, Black Caesar gets a Blu-ray treatment courtesy of Olive Films. One of two bona fide Blaxploitation efforts Cohen made with Fred Williamson before lurching into the upper echelon of cult genre with his notable guerilla techniques, this basic reworking of 1930s gangster films, (borrowing from items such as Mervyn LeRoy’s iconic presentation of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar) displays a bit more integrity in its characterizations than many of these exploitation efforts lack. Reworking a familiar bildungsroman trajectory, Cohen positions his protagonist as an opportunistic product of his environment, leaving us with a moral uncertainty as his hero is completely consumed, an inevitable result of continued sustenance from the gutter. By today’s standards, it’s incredibly problematic rendering of urban certainties has the tendency to repulse, and yet Cohen instills Williamson with a bit of presence and dignity often lacking...

Coffy/Foxy Brown/Friday Foster

Coffy and Foxy Brown written and directed by Jack Hill

Friday Foster written by Orville H. Hampton, directed by Arthur Marks

USA, 1973/1974/1975

Olive Films recently released several Blaxploitation titles on Blu-ray for the first time, all on the same day. This included the Fred Williamson-starring Hammer, from 1972, as well as three Pam Grier films: Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), and Friday Foster (1975). Hammer isn’t a particular favorite, but these latter three were most welcome, especially Coffy, which is quite possibly the greatest of all Blaxploitation features, even better than the more popular Shaft (1971) and Super Fly (1972). As much as anything, these three releases are notable for showcasing Grier at her finest during a period of immensely enjoyable work and exceptional productivity—15 films from her minor debut in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) to Friday Foster. Around these films, she also starred in several other...

Everly, Baby: Lynch’s Grindhouse Glory Shoots Blanks

If Pam Grier had starred in a 1970’s version of Oldboy directed by Jack Hill, it probably would’ve looked something like Everly, actor/producer/editor/cinematographer Joe Lynch’s sophomore effort as film director. Playing like an homage to those cheapie exploitation classics of the vintage grindhouse era, there’s an element of admiration for Lynch’s product, which, at least superficially, appears to honor its battered but resilient female protagonist by eschewing gratuitous nudity and attempting to grant her a character arc that extends beyond her desirable body (though this is accomplished only via typical fashion, i.e. her maternal instinct). But by keeping the action of the film confined to one rundown, grimy apartment in a complex apparently on lockdown a la The Raid or Dredd, no matter of grisly violence can secure our visual absorption through the film’s already slim running time.

Once likened to a sitcom directed by Luis Bunuel, Jack Hill's bizarre mini-budget debut feature was barely seen until the video revolution. This one-of-a-kind jet-black comedy casts Lon Chaney as the harried caretaker of an inbred family of homicidal maniacs. Weird, dark and funny, with standout performances by Chaney, Sid Haig and the mesmerizing Jill Banner, who died in a car accident at 39.

The Times has bought an entire advertising break during Channel 4's Homeland.

The newspaper will use its three-minute slot during Sunday night's (November 23) episode to air short film Bearing Witness, which tells the story of the kidnapping of two of its journalists in Syria.

Bearing Witness features interviews with journalists Anthony Loyd and Jack Hill, who were kidnapped, beaten and shot by a rebel gang in the country. They escaped from their captors in May.

At the end of the short film, The Times will air another advert encouraging viewers to sign up to their subscription service, with an additional 4Od campaign also set for broadcast.

Nick Stringer, chief creative officer at News UK, said that the advertising strategy is a perfect "brand fit" for The Times.

He explained: "Bearing Witness tells a powerful story full of insight into the dangers journalists face in their endeavours to report the...

The 2014 Academy Awards have (finally) arrived, and we can't wait to see what happens.

With huge international stars, like Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matthew McConaughey up for Oscars, and some big movies, like "Gravity," "12 Years a Slave," "Captain Phillips," "Philomena," and "American Hustle," vying for the top prize, this year's ceremony is as competitive as ever.

Throughout the night, we'll be watching and updating the list below, so come back to see who won (and who didn't) as Hollywood's best and brightest take home the awards.

Related: Oscars Red Carpet: Stars Dressed to the Nines at 2014 Academy Awards (Photos)

Best Picture

"12 Years a Slave" (Winner)

"The Wolf of Wall Street"

"American Hustle"

"Nebraska"

"Philomena"

"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity"

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Her"

Best Actor

Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club" (Winner)

Christian Bale, "American Hustle"

Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Chiwetel Ejiofor,...

London, Dec 19: A teenager from Middlesbrough is so desperate for work that he has advertised himself in the For Sale column of a newspaper.

Jack Hill gave himself the bargain price tag of 2.50 pounds for any employer willing to give him an unpaid trial, the Mirror reported.

The 18-year-old said that he had to take the drastic step after applying for more than 10 jobs a week and getting nowhere.

"Apprentice mechanic, young, keen and reliable 18-year-old with full-time welding experience," the free ad in local paper the Evening Gazette read.

"Currently studying motor vehicle maintenance and repair. Looking for apprenticeship or training. Willing to do free trial," the advertisement read.

The ad was.

Jack Hill gives us the lowdown on the tsuris behind his spoofy low budget fantasy epic (credited onscreen to “Brian Stuart”), a paradigm of the kind of movies VHS was made for. Okay, there are no sorceresses to be seen, but we do get a pair of hot medieval barbarian twins, daughters of an evil warlord, who get into violent trouble and doff their duds in time-honored New World Pictures tradition.

Nsfw.

London, Mar 21: A set of letters discovered recently has suggested that Charlie Chaplin may have been born into a gypsy community in the West Midlands.

The letter, written to Chaplin in the Seventies, claims he was born on the 'Black Patch' near Birmingham rather than in London as he had publicly claimed.

Up until now, the true birthplace of Chaplin has remained a mystery.

The faded document was sent by Jack Hill, who lived in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and was only discovered in 1991 after the star's daughter inherited the desk it was concealed in.

In the letter, Hill told Chaplin that he had been born.

British agency concluded that actor – described by Us counterparts as 'parlour Bolshevik' – was no security risk

MI5 opened a file on Charlie Chaplin while he was being hounded by J Edgar Hoover's FBI for alleged communist sympathies.

The FBI, which described the star of Modern Times and The Great Dictator as one of "Hollywood's parlour Bolsheviks", asked MI5 for information to help get him banned from the Us. The results, including information gathered through eavesdropping, are contained in an extensive personal MI5 file released on Friday at the National Archives.

"Chaplin has given funds to communist front organisations … He has been involved in paternity and abortion cases," an MI5 liaison officer in Washington warned in October 1952.

MI5 noted that a decade earlier Chaplin had told the Los Angeles branch of the National Council of American Soviet Friendship: "There is a great deal of good in communism. We can use the good and segregate the bad.

British agency concluded that actor – described by Us counterparts as 'parlour Bolshevik' – was no security risk

MI5 opened a file on Charlie Chaplin while he was being hounded by J Edgar Hoover's FBI for alleged communist sympathies.

The FBI, which described the star of Modern Times and The Great Dictator as one of "Hollywood's parlour Bolsheviks", asked MI5 for information to help get him banned from the Us. The results, including information gathered through eavesdropping, are contained in an extensive personal MI5 file released on Friday at the National Archives.

"Chaplin has given funds to communist front organisations … He has been involved in paternity and abortion cases," an MI5 liaison officer in Washington warned in October 1952.

MI5 noted that a decade earlier Chaplin had told the Los Angeles branch of the National Council of American Soviet Friendship: "There is a great deal of good in communism. We can use the good and segregate the bad.

Spoiler alert: you already live there! The Corman’s World documentary is out today, so here’s a playlist of all the Roger Corman you could ever need!

Look, you simply can’t escape the pull of the Roger Corman singularity at the center of modern Hollywood.

So many of our gurus come either out of the Roger Corman factory or have been influenced by his work greatly. By far, he is the most well-represented filmmaker on our little site, with nearly 40 films commented on by gurus including Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Josh Olson, John Landis, Chris Wilkinson, Howard Rodman, Jon Davison, Mary Lambert, Jonathan Kaplan, Mick Garris, Jack Hill, Amy Holden Jones, Sam Hamm and, of course, Roger Corman himself.

If you ever wanted all of those trailer commentaries in one place, I give them to you now in an extended YouTube Omnibus playlist. Watch every single one.

One...

Edgar Wright’s 3rd season at the New Beverly begins Friday!

Skip my nonsense and click here to buy tickets right now!

You know, apart from executive producing one of my favorite films this year (Joe Cornish’s excellent Attack The Block), co-writing what’s sure to be one of the biggest films of the year (The Adventures of Tintin) and doing a whole host of probably incredible stuff that he’s only hinted at on his Twitter feed, lovable Brit Edgar Wright has also found the time to program two separate series at Los Angeles’ bastion of 35mm glory, The New Beverly Cinema.

At the start of the year, lucky film fans got a taste of some of Edgar’s favorite films. Now, at the end of it, we’re getting a glimpse at classic films he hasn’t seen. Beginning Friday, December 8, Edgar Wright will host 8 evenings of films he’s never seen.

Los Angeles: Come meet some gurus and some Little Shop cast members! Get your DVD early!

You may or may not have heard that we have a brand new DVD coming out on July 5th, featuring 20 all-new, exclusive trailer commentaries and a brand new anamorphic transfer of Roger Corman’s cult classic The Little Shop Of Horrors.

And we’re celebrating this monumental occasion with a couple signings in the Los Angeles area.

On Sunday, June 26 at 2Pm (until 3 or so), we’ll be at the awesome Dark Delicacies in Burbank, CA. Joining us will be gurus Josh Olson, Larry Karaszewski, Joe Dante, Jack Hill and (schedule permitting) Mary Lambert.

We’ll also have on hand a couple of the stars of Little Shop: Jonathan Haze and, for this one signing only, genuine Joe Dante company player, Dick Miller!

The address for Dark Delicacies is:

3512 West Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505-2818

Then,...

As horror fans, we love a great exploitation movie. And as we all know, the Philippines were the backdrop for a number of these outrageous films throughout the '70s and '80s. Now, thanks to our friends at Dark Sky Films, we get a look into the behind-the-scenes world of those intense, trailblazing films.

From the Press Release: Buxom beauties. Bizarre creatures. Gratuitous violence. Gratuitous buxomness. To the exploitation filmmakers of the 1970s and ’80s who sought artistic freedom in the towns and jungles of the Philippines, there was no stunt too risky, no story too ridiculous, and no clothing that could not be removed in the name of mass entertainment. The story of these undaunted, occasionally uninoculated movie makers and stars is told in Machete Maidens Unleashed, an eye-popping examination of an often overlooked grindhouse subgenre. Genre masters Dark Sky Films will be release the DVD via Mpi...

It’s lucky 13 for the Boston Underground Film Festival as they celebrate their raucous 13th annual edition this year. Opening with the much buzzed about bloody feature film Hobo With a Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer and directed by Jason Eisener, the fest then barrels on for eight wild nights and days from March 24-31.

While there’s plenty of underground goodness from the U.S.A., this year Buff feels like it’s a much more international affair with several sick features from around the globe. There’s gory horror and quirky black comedy from Japan in the guise of Yoshihiro Nishimura’s Helldriver and Sion Sono’s Cold Fish; the Argentinian freak-out Phase7 by Nicolas Goldbart; David Blyth’s Wound is a psychological thriller from New Zealand; and Mark Hartley’s Machete Maidens Unleashed! is a look at Philippine exploitation cinema from the ’70s.

Stateside there’s Usama Alshaibi‘s Profane,...

"Like a bat out of Hell" is an appropriate way to describe how Drive Angry 3D, the latest bit of insanity from My Bloody Valentine director/editor Patrick Lussier, plays. It's loud. It's vicious. It knows precisely its place in the world of cinema, and for that alone, it becomes a recommendable piece of trashy and violent film. With Nicolas Cage at the wheel, Drive Angry delivers its entertainment with a Grindhouse mentality, a film that could just as easily have been directed by the likes of Jack Hill or Richard C. Sarafian had it found release in the 70s instead of today. Cage plays Milton, a man who has recently busted his way out of the prison that is Hell. His daughter and her husband have been killed and their baby taken by a cult of Satanists. With the aid of Piper, a tough-as-nails waitress played by Amber Heard,...

Newly discovered letters written to Charlie Chaplin suggest he may have been born into a Gypsy community in the West Midlands

In a bomb-proof concrete vault beneath one of the more moneyed stretches of Switzerland lies something better than bullion. Here, behind blast doors and security screens, are stored the remains of one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. You might wonder what more there is to know about Charles Spencer Chaplin. Born in London in 1889; survivor of a tough workhouse childhood; the embodiment of screen comedy; fugitive from J Edgar Hoover; the presiding genius of The Kid and The Gold Rush and The Great Dictator. His signature character, the Little Tramp, was once so fiercely present in the global consciousness that commentators studied its effects like a branch of epidemiology. In 1915, "Chaplinitis" was identified as a global affliction. On 12 November 1916, a bizarre outbreak of mass hysteria produced...

The history books say Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in Walworth, London. He was the working class Londoner who took the world by storm with his on screen antics and became a legend. But a new handwritten note taken from his archives suggests something else entirely. The first global film icon may have been born in Birmingham, West Midlands and not only that, he might have been a gyspy.

The discovery of a handwritten note was made by his daughter, Victoria Chaplin, inherited a bureau with a dodgy draw. Once it was opened by a locksmith the note was found. It was written by a relative of Chaplin’s named Jack Hill from the 1970s (Chaplin’s mother’s maiden name was Hill). It mentioned his birth:

“In a caravan [that] belonged to the Gypsy Queen, who was my auntie. You were born on the Black Patch in Smethwick near Birmingham.

With one world, one European and five UK premieres, the UK’s biggest horror fantasy festival returns to its second home at the Glasgow Film Festival for the 6th year with their darkest, deranged and daring line-up ever.

Expect the totally unexpected with this eclectic programme featuring a trilogy of sexual terror, uncut Korean serial killers, psychotic tyres, Polish demons, maniacal matriarchs, crazed war veterans and a terrific schlock doc.

With guest directors and filmmakers from all over world (to be announced soon), surprises on screen and off, and our unique community feeling, FrightFest at the Gff has now become a must-attend occasion on the horror fantasy fan’s calendar.

The full line-up

Fri 25

6.30pm. Little Deaths (World Premiere)

One killer anthology from the UK’s most promising horror filmmakers, Andrew Parkinson (I, Zombie), Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), and Sean Hogan (Isle Of Dogs), composed of three disturbingly sensual...

FilmShaft loves FrightFest. The awesome people behind the best horror festival in the whole wide world have announced their Glasgow line-up, so prepare for a scare!

Also there’s the European premiere of Hobo With A Shotgun to look forward to and get excited about.

Below is the full press release and line-up:

“Expect the totally unexpected with this eclectic programme featuring a trilogy of sexual terror, uncut Korean serial killers, psychotic tyres, Polish demons, maniacal matriarchs, crazed war veterans and a terrific schlock doc. With guest directors and filmmakers from all over world (to be announced soon), surprises on screen and off, and our unique community feeling, FrightFest at the Gff has now become a must-attend occasion on the horror fantasy fan’s calendar.”

Fri 25

6.30pm. Little Deaths (World Premiere)

One killer anthology from the UK’s most promising horror filmmakers, Andrew Parkinson (I, Zombie), Simon Rumley (Red, White...

With one world, one European and five UK premieres, FrightFest returns to its second home at the Glasgow Film Festival for the 6th year with their darkest, deranged and daring line-up ever.

Expect the totally unexpected with this eclectic programme featuring a trilogy of sexual terror, uncut Korean serial killers, psychotic tyres, Polish demons, maniacal matriarchs, crazed war veterans and a terrific schlock doc; and much like it’s southern couterpart FrightFest at the Gff has now become a must-attend occasion on the horror fantasy fan’s calendar. The full line-up:

Friday 25th February

6.30pm. Little Deaths (World Premiere)

One killer anthology from the UK’s most promising horror filmmakers, Andrew Parkinson (I, Zombie), Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), and Sean Hogan (Isle Of Dogs), composed of three disturbingly sensual and terrifying tales unified by the twin themes of sex and death. In Sean Hogan’s ‘House and Home’, a...

Filmmaker Mark Hartley helmed one of our favorite documentaries of recent years, Not Quite Hollywood, and Fango was thrilled to see the Aussie dude’s latest effort, Machete Maidens Unleashed, debut at last month’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX. The new docu explores the wild and wacky world of Filipino exploitation films (both homegrown and those made by visiting Americans) and interviews a plethora of familiar genre faces, including Roger Corman (see comments here), Joe Dante, Jack Hill, Dick Miller, John Landis, Sid Haig, Sam Sherman, Eddie Romero and many others. Hartley’s comments (see more here) from the Fantastic Fest red carpet follow.

Creation Entertainment has added three new guests to its already packing lineup for the Weekend of Horrors, being held Friday, October 15 through Sunday, October 17, at the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel.

Joining the previously announced Bruce Campbell, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Sid Haig, Ken Foree, Adrienne King, Jack Hill, Joe Pilato, Frank Henenlotter, Sybil Danning, Greg Nicotero, Joe Bob Briggs, Gary Sales, Paul Ehlers, Fred Williamson, John Saxon, Barbara Magnolfi, Brian Trenchard-Smith, William Lustig, Robert Z'Dar, William Smith, and more will be Clive Barker and "True Blood"'s Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry) and Kristin Bauer Van Straten (Pam De Beaufort).

Clive, Jim, and Kristin will be appearing on Sunday, the 17th, only with Jim and Kristin taking part in a "True Blood" panel at the show.

Adam Malin, Creation Entertainment Co-ceo, said, "Creation Entertainment has been celebrating the bloody best in dark entertainment with our attendees for almost 25 years now,...

It's that time of year again! Creation is rolling into La with another Weekend of Horrors, and we've got your chance to win one of two sets of gold passes that will put you front and center for the entire weekend!

That's right, kids! Here's your chance to meet Bruce Campbell, Sid Haig, Ken Foree, Jack Hill, Joe Pilato, Sybil Danning, Greg Nicotero, Joe Bob Briggs, Gary Sales, Paul Ehlers, Fred Williamson, John Saxon, Barbara Magnolfi, Brian Trenchard-Smith, William Lustig, Robert Z'Dar, William Smith, and newly added guests Clive Barker and "True Blood"'s Jim Parrack and Kristin Bauer van Straten. You can also see Jeffrey Combs in the stage production of Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe. All that and So much more!

Sound good? Of course it does! To be in with a chance to win, send us an E-mail Here including Your Full Name and Mailing Address.

Machete Maidens Unleashed! Directed by: Mark Hartley Written by: Mark Hartley Starring: Joe Dante, John Landis, Roger Corman, Jack Hill, Sid Haig Director Mark Hartley has created a formula for what will hopefully be a continuing series of energetic and entertaining retrospective documentaries that explore the weirder corners of cinema while simultaneously building a virtual shopping list for future Amazon.com purchases. In Machete Maidens Unleashed! he focuses on the Filipino film explosion of the 60's and 70's and how American filmmakers influenced their industry. Anyone who has had the pleasure of catching Hartley's previous film, Not Quite Hollywood, should know exactly what to expect from Machete Maidens. Vibrant opening titles, outrageous film clips and enthusiastic interviews add up to a great, infectiously geeky film-going experience. While previously Hartley tackled the Australian film industry -- more specifically, Ozploitation filmmaking -- this time around we're treated to a ton of fun...

In 2008 - armed with a deep love of cult film, a brace of insightful interviews with key figures, a mountain of skill at the editing board and a seemingly endless supply of jaw dropping B-movie clips to draw from - director Mark Hartley set out to take audiences on a guided tour of the wild world of Australian exploitation film in Not Quite Hollywood. The result was not just a wildly good time, deeply informative and a big hit on the international circuit but was also arguably a much more entertaining film than any of those it profiled. Even the good ones.

Two years later he's doing it again.

The subject this time is the explosion of exploitation film produced in the Philippines - dominantly by American companies - against the backdrop of the crushing Marcos regime. At a time when Filipino productions were severely limited and controlled the same...

[Trailer disappeared briefly due to too many breasts for YouTube. It's back now with a happier home in the Twitch video player and this post back to the top of the page accordingly.]

Bringing more breasts per minute than any other film at the Toronto International Film Festival, or so I presume, Mark Hartley's Machete Maidens Unleashed does for the history of Filipino-shot B-film what Hartley's previous feature - Not Quite Hollywood - did for Australia.

From the early '70s well into the '90s the Philippines was a back-lot for a bevy of B-movie mavericks and cinema visionaries alike. The country was utilized for its inexpensive labour, exotic locations and distinct lack of rules. A large body of genre work emerged that somehow managed to capture the raw, chaotic energy of contemporary Filipino culture. These productions (a cavalcade of monster movies, jungle prison movies, blaxploitation and kung fu hybrids) were miraculously made at a time when the country's political situation was repressive at best.

Machete Maidens Unleashed! is the ultimate insiders' account of genre filmmaking in the Philippines. A role...

Once likened to a sitcom directed by Luis Bunuel, Jack Hill's bizarre mini-budget debut feature was barely seen until the video revolution. This one-of-a-kind jet-black comedy casts Lon Chaney as the harried caretaker of an inbred family of homicidal maniacs. Weird, dark and funny, with standout performances by Chaney, Sid Haig and the mesmerising Jill Banner, who died in a car accident at 39.

Bitch Slap Directed by Rick Jacobson Prepare to get slapped! That tagline is one of the many brilliant marketing strategies accompanying Rick Jacobson's exploitation throwback Bitch Slap. Complete with trio of stunningly beautiful women who carry guns and kick ass, the film is designed to be a teen boy's fantasy. Unfortunately, apart from the advertising, Bitch Slap is a complete waste of time for anyone who isn't a fan of movies that look like video games or Uwe Boll's daydreams. Supposedly an unapologetic tribute to the golden era of exploitation, the film offers little outside of bad CGI and lengthy shots of women getting out of cars in slow motion. Every frame is crammed with as much T&A as possible, yet unlike the old Russ Meyer films it idolizes, Bitch Slap is far from sexy. Nor is it funny, and despite being a tribute to 70's exploitation,...

I met Armando Muñoz at the Los Angeles Weekend of Horrors after moderating the panel on The Lair. He approached me in the dealer’s room and we had a nice chat. I left with one of his films in hand and was soon watching one of the more twisted shorts I’ve seen in a long time.

A week later I had the complete Armando Muñoz collection in my hands – Killer Krapper, Mime After Midnight, Panty Kill, The Terrible Old Tran, Pervula and They Have No Shame. Each one more twisted than the next.

When I first started writing this blog, I vowed I would write about people and films that I found interesting, regardless of whether or not they were well known. With that in mind, I present should-be-better-known, out, underground filmmaker Armando Muñoz.

Watch the entire Pervula short film (10min., Nsfw)

Sean Abley: All of your films,...

It was with great sadness that this Fango contributor learned of the passing of Don Edmonds. You see, ever since I had the pleasure of meeting Don in 2003 (through another Fango writer, Paul Gaita), I have been humbled and honored to call him a friend. Having encountered Ilsa, She Wolf Of The S.S. as a 19-year-old at university in Stirling, Scotland (it was banned in the UK at that time and remains in limbo to this day), I remember being shocked silly by the movie—and eager to find out who on Earth would have made such a thing! Luckily for me, the gentleman behind Ilsa was a gentle, humble and very, very funny soul who was filled with great stories.

Don Edmonds’ legacy includes acting turns (he starred in the drive-in favorite Gidget Goes Hawaiian and the television series Flubber), but it is for the 1975 bad-taste classic Ilsa...

Filmmaker/makeup FX artist Tom Devlin gave Fango the scoop that his latest movie The Trek will be hitting DVD April 11 from Plan 10 Pictures, and gave us a first look at the cover art (see below). The survival-horror opus is the third collaboration between Devlin (serving as writer/producer/FX supervisor) and Lola Wallace (director/writer/editor) after Legend Of The Sandsquatch and Ghoulde Creek.

The Trek stars Erin Fleming and Brett Hundley as Kim and Keith Russell, newlyweds who are terrorized during their honeymoon trip into the mountains by a group of malformed savages. The cast also includes Devlin himself, John Karyus and Splatter Disco’s Trent Haaga, with a brief appearance by Die You Zombie Bastards! director Caleb Emerson. On the unrated disc, the enhanced widescreen transfer will be accompanied by:

• Audio commentary by Wallace, Devlin, Fleming, Hundley and Karyus • Audio commentary by Wallace, Devlin, director of photography...