Tag Archives: coming attractions

Shut up, Billy Dee Williams — It’s Time For Six More Trailers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers.  (I know, I know — worst intro paragraph evuh!  Following the tradition of the Pieces trailer, which can be found below, I’m keeping things simple.  I’ll be back to my usual complicated self next week.)

1) Fear City

Believe it or not, this was directed by Abel Ferrara, the same man who directed Ms. 45.  Fear City is one of the few Ferrara films that I haven’t seen but the trailer just oozes sleaze doesn’t it?  And speaking of sleaze, maybe that’s what all the men in this film were putting in their hair.  Seriously, why not call it Gel City?  And how about Billy Dee Williams there, sounding like the angel of the final judgment?  Shut up, Billy Dee Williams!

2) A Cat In The Brain

This is one of Lucio Fulci’s final films and you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it.  The film is surprisingly meta for an Italian horror film not directed by Michele Soavi.  This is the one where Fulci plays himself and attempts to personally answer his critics.  Anyway, the reason I love this trailer is because of the cat puppet that appears at the end.  It’s so cute!  (Ignore the quote from Clive Barker — he’s almost as much of a whore as Stephen King.)

3) Pieces

“It’s exactly what you think it is!”  Anyone who wants to go into advertising should watch this and learn.

4) The Stud

I imagine this is another film that’s “exactly what you think it is.”  I love trailers that show off what was considered to be chic and decadent in the past.  This is one is from the 70s.  (Surprised?)

5) Cannibal Apocalypse

While the rich people were partying in London, cannibals were apparently ruling the streets of Atlanta.  According to actor John Saxon, starring in Cannibal Apocalypse made him suicidal.  Cannibal Apocalypse is actually a pretty good film with an anti-war subtext and it features a great supporting performance from Giovanni Lombardo Radice so seriously — shut up, John Saxon!  (Actually, Saxon gives a really great performance here — of course, his character is meant to be suicidal — and he’s the main reason that Cannibal Apocalypse works.)

6) Cannibal Man

Much like Cannibal Apocalypse, Cannibal Man is actually an allegory of alienation that’s disguised as a horror movie.  Cannibal Man is a seriously strange movie and highly recommended.

6 Trailers In Rememberance of Lisa Marie’s Youth

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers is a sentimental  and sad occasion for me.  I’m a Scorpio (and, seriously, who is shocked to hear that, right?).  What that means is that I’ve got a birthday coming up this Tuesday.  I’ll be turning 25.  I’ll be a quarter of a century old.  So, this will be my last installment of this series as a young woman.  Next weekend, when I post the next installment, I’ll be an adult.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really think about this until I’d already selected my trailers for this installment.  So, I wish I could say that there’s some sort of deep meaning behind why I picked any of these posts.  But there’s not, with the exception of I Drink Your Blood.  And my selection of I Drink Your Blood has less to do with my birthday and more with the fact that it’s the 17th greatest movie ever made.

Anyway, let’s get to the trailers and try not to think about the fact that I’m getting old…

1) Food of the Gods

Two things I love about the trailer: the pompous opening 40 seconds (I loved it when Exploitation mocks the Mainstream through imitation) and the presence of Marjoe “Bad, not evil” Gortner.

2) Tintorera

This is the Mexican version of Jaws.  Not only was it directed by the infamous Rene Cardona, Jr. but it stars the original HUGO STIGLITZ! 

3) Prisoner of Paradise

Prisoner of Paradise (which I have never seen) is apparently a hardcore war film from the 70s that starred John C. Holmes’s cock.  The star does not appear in this trailer.  Instead, we get things blowing up followed by something else blowing up which is followed up by something — wait for it — blowing up.  And then, suddenly, we’re on the beach.

4) Machine Gun McCain

Speaking of blowing things up…Machine Gun McCain is one of the many Italian crime thrillers that came out in the late 60s.  They were not only far more violent than American thrillers but usually a lot more interesting too.  Earlier on Saturday, I bought this movie on DVD.  The guy working the register looked at it and said, “I’d watch this first because Britt Ekland’s in it.” 

5) Hell’s Bloody Devils

While the Italians were exploiting the Mafia, Americans were exploiting motorcycle gangs.  Hell’s Bloody Devils is a typical example with a typically 1970 political subtext.  It was directed by Al Adamson who, years later, was apparently murdered and buried in cement.

6) I Drink Your Blood

I Drink Your Blood was released on a double bill with an old black-and-white zombie films called I Eat Your Skin.  All the  scenes in the trailer below are from I Drink Your Blood.  I love the trailer because it is just classic grindhouse.  However, I Drink Your Blood is also one of the best films ever made.  The 18th best, to tell the truth.  Seriously.

6 Trailers From The Valley of the Exploited

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

No, the Valley of the Dolls is not one of the trailers included in the latest installment of Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers.  It just happens to be the movie that I’m watching as I edit this post.   Anyway, Valley of the Dolls was an exploitation film mostly because of human error.  The trailers below are for films that came by their exploitation label honestly.

1) An American Hippie In Israel

There’s some debate as to whether or not this movie actually exists.  I originally saw this trailer as an extra on the I Drink Your Blood DVD about three years ago.  At that time, Grindhouse Releasing claimed that it would be releasing this film on DVD “soon.”  Three years later, the DVD has yet to be released.  Perhaps it’s for the best.  I doubt that actual film could live up to lunacy and silliness of the trailer.

2) Best Friends

This is a good example of a movie that, if it was released today, would probably be marketed as an indie art film.  However, since it came out in the 70s, it played in grindhouses and drive-in movie theaters.  It’s actually a surprisingly well-made and well-acted film.

3) Chappaqua

Much like Best Friends, Chappaqua is proof that art and exploitation often go hand-in-hand.  The film was produced and directed by Conrad Rooks and features William S. Burroughs at his cynical best.

4) The Hellcats 

This is another one of those trailers that proves that, in the late 60s, liberated women were actually more menacing than murderous biker gangs.

5) Hell’s Belles

This movie, I suppose, could also have been called The Hellcat.  Adam Roarke, the star of this one, appeared in every biker film released in 1970.

6) Savage Sisters

This is another one of those films that, frustratingly enough, is not yet available on DVD.  That’s a shame.  The world needs more movies about women kicking ass.

Banned in Vermont: 6 More Shocking Trailers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The latest installment of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers features trailers that are too intense, too shocking, and too controversial for the new age hippies of Vermont.

1) Axe

This film was originally titled Lisa, Lisa.  Isn’t that just a great title?  Seriously, how can you go wrong with a title like Lisa, Lisa?  Just say it a few times.  Lisa, Lisa.  What a great name.

Anyway, this trailer is just pure exploitation and the narrator really loves saying “Axe” repeatedly.  Still, I think he would have been happier saying, “Lisa, Lisa…”

2) Snuff

“The film that could only be made in South America…where life is cheap!”  I’ve never actually seen Snuff though I’ve read a lot about it.  Apparently, this was originally a film called Slaughter.  It was made by pornographic pioneers Roberta and Mike Findlay.  Anyway, the film was bought by another distributor who tacked on some footage of one of the actresses supposedly being killed on camera.  Snuff was then advertised as being an actual snuff movie and, of course, a bunch of dumbfugs believed that it actually was.

3) Olga’s Girls

This is a movie I’ve been meaning on reviewing for a while.  Olga’s Girls is from 1964 and the trailer — like all good grindhouse trailers — makes the film seem a lot more sordid and explicit than it actually is.  The actual film is almost quaint.

4) The Syndicate: A Death In The Family

“The Underworld touches everyone…even you.”  I love the shameless melodrama of this trailer and the serious tone of the narrator.  I also love the swinging crime music.  This Italian film is apparently not available on DVD.

5) The Weird World of LSD

“To fly a giant bird!”  MK-Ultra much?  This is another film I haven’t actually seen and I’ve had next to no success in tracking down a copy.  Why is LSD always so much more fun in the movies than in real life?  Seriously.

6) Possession

As I said in an earlier post, Europe’s art films are often repackaged as America’s grindhouse and exploitation films.  1981’s Possession is a perfect example of that.  People either love or hate this film.  It gave me nightmares but I still think its one of the best (and most important) films ever made.  Everyday, when faced with adversity, I ask myself — “What would Isabelle Adjani do?”

6 Trailers For A Sick, Sick World

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to the latest installment of Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse Trailers.  Since I’ve been battling a pretty bad cold for about a week now, I thought I would use this installment to highlight a few trailers that prove that the rest of the world is just as sick.

1) Massacre at Central High

I’ve read so much about this 1976 film but — for whatever reason —  it has never officially been released on DVD (though there all bootlegs out there as well as an “all-regions” DVD that apparently is not “all-regions.”)  From what I’ve read, this is apparently a political satire disguised as a high school revenge film.  The trailer has an oddly off feel to it.  Maybe it’s just the exploding locker…

2) Class of 1984

 I first saw this film (directed by Mark Lester) on DVD about three years ago.  I was expecting to see a silly, urban vigilante film from the early 80s so imagine my surprise when I discovered that Class of 1984 is a seriously dark and oddly disturbing movie.  Tim Van Patten (he’s the one going, “I am the future…”) is now a pretty succesful television commercial.  He actually gives a pretty good performance in this film, something that’s not necessarily obvious from this trailer.

3) Savage Streets

Yes, another high school revenge film.  In this one, Linda Blair’s sister is raped so Linda tracks and down and kills the Class of 1985.  Usually, this is where I’d make my standard argument that this is a case of exploitation serving to empower.  Honestly, though, it would be more empowering if the film’s villains weren’t so silly and stupid (you get the feeling that they’re all going to die soon anyway regardless of what Linda does) and if the avenging angel was played by someone other than Linda Blair. 

4) The Warriors

The Baseball Furies always make me smile. 🙂

For extra fun, imagine the “gang” from Savage Streets trying to fight any of the gangs in this trailer.

5) Sweden: Heaven and Hell (not available from Amazon.com)

The previous trailers paint a pretty grim picture of America.  According to the “documentary” Sweden: Heaven and Hell, the best thing about America is that it wasn’t Sweden.

Sweden: Heaven and Hell is actually an Italian mondo film, a rather vile form of “documentary” that was big from the mid-60s up until Ruggero Deodato did the world a favor and satirized the genre out of existence with Cannibal Holocaust.  It was released in the States in 1968 (I think).  This is one of those movies that I know by reputation as I’ve never actually seen the actual film.  However, the trailer is grindhouse tackiness at its absolute best.  Everything from the narrator’s leering tone to the “shocking” footage (a woman dancing with another woman — gasp!) makes this trailer a perfect time capsule of the Grindhouse Era.

6) Skatetown USA (not available in any format on Amazon. com — how odd)

But, as sick as Sweden apparently was, can it possibly be sicker than whatever it was that was going on at Skatetown, USA?  Seriously, what was wrong with this country in the 70s?  That said, I do like this ludicrous trailer if just for the sight of a young and dangerous Patrick Swayze.  Plus, how can you dislike any trailer that claims to be advertising “the greatest story ever rolled?”

Seriously, the 70s were fucked up.

SPECIAL BONUS TRAILERS FOR A SICK, SICK WORLD

7) Roller Boogie

Seriously, what was the deal with people roller skating at a disco?  Is that what passed for fun back in the 70s?  Weird.  Maybe it was all the cocaine.  I came across this trailer while I was downloading the Skatetown USA preview and I just had to include it.  Not only is the movie called Roller Boogie but it’s directed by the director of Class of 1984 and it stars the star the Savage Streets.  So, everything ties together.

8 ) Finally, since I hate to end things on an odd number, here’s a silly little trailer that I made for my DVD collection.

6 Trailers From 1981

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi and welcome to the latest installment of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers.  I apologize for being a few days late with this installment. 

This week, I’m highlighting trailers from the year 1981.  1981 not only saw the release of Lucio Fulci’s twin classics The Beyond and The House By The Cemetary, it was also the year that my sister Melissa was born.  (Happy birthday, Melissa Anne!) 

You may notice that, despite citing them above, I did not include the trailer for either one of Fulci’s films in this post.  I’m saving them for a future edition.  Instead, let’s start with Alien Contamination and end with Christiane F. and see what waits in the middle.

1) Alien Contamination

Earlier in this series, I featured the trailer for Luigi Cozzi’s Star Wars rip-off, Starcrash.  This is the trailer for Cozzi’s attempt to rip-off both Alien and Lucio Fulci’s classic Zombi 2.  The film is pretty dull but I have to give the trailer mad props for actually making this movie look like it might be kinda fun.

2) Scanners

In this trailer, David Cronenberg proves that nothing sells a film like an exploding head.

3) Dead & Buried

I haven’t seen this film but I’ve read several favorable reviews of it.  While the trailer isn’t nearly as graphic as some of the other trailers that I’ve featured in this series, I still like it.  With the ominous narrator and all, it has a nice retro feel to it.

4) The Evil Dead

Speaking of retro, here’s the trailer to the original Evil Dead. 

5) Copkiller a.k.a. Order of Death

I recently ordered this Italian film off of Amazon but I have yet to sit down and watch it.  The trailer, for me, is memorable just because it’s a chance to see both Harvey Keitel and Johnny Rotten (who were both quite the sexy beast back in 1981) occupying the same space.

6) Christiane F.

Some people, I know, would disagree with me referring to Christiane F. as being an exploitation film.  I’m sure that the film’s award-winning director — Uli Edel — would disagree with me.  However, Europe’s art films were often sold as America’s grindhouse movies and, just from anecdotal evidence, that was often the case with Christiane F.  Besides, I love this trailer if just for the music alone.

6 More Trailers: The I Am Woman Hear Me Roar Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the weekend and that can only mean that it’s time for another installment of my favorite grindhouse and exploitation trailers.  This installment is devoted to films about women kicking ass.

1) Faster Pussycat!  Kill!  Kill!

From infamous director Russ Meyer comes this classic drive-in feature.  I just love that title, don’t you?  This was the original cinematic celebration of women kicking ass.  As the lead killer, Tura Satana has to be seen to be believed.  Whenever I find myself struggling with insecurity or fear, I just call on my inner Tura Satana.  (All women have an inner Tura Satana.  Remember that before you do anything you might regret later…)

2) Vixen

This is another one of Russ Meyer’s films.  Released in 1968, Vixen is best remembered for Erica Gavin’s ferocious lead performance.  For me, the crazed narration makes the entire trailer.

3) Coffy

I love this movie!  Pam Grier battles the drug trade and kills a lot of people.  When we talk about how a film can be both exploitive and empowering at the same time, Coffy is the type of movie that we’re talking about.

4) Kansas City Bomber

Before there was Ellen Page, there was Racquel Welch.  Playing her boyfriend/manager in this film is Kevin McCarthy who was the lead in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  My mom used to love this movie.

5) Shock 

This was the last film that Mario Bava ever directed and it’s one of my personal favorites.  In the lead role, Daria Nicolodi gives one of the best performances in the history of Italian horror.

6) Let’s Scare Jessica To Death

This is one of the greatest horror movies ever made and it reamins sadly neglected.  You must see this film before you die (which, hopefully, will not be for a very long while).

And Then There Were Six More…

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I recently came to the realization that my destiny is to list and share 666 of my favorite grindhouse and exploitation film trailers.  Previously, I’ve shared 12.  Here’s 6 more.

Part One and Part Two of my trailer survey can be found here.

1) Liquid Sky — Have you seen Liquid Sky and if the answer is no, why not?  Liquid Sky is one of the great underground films of the early 80s, an epic about drugs, aliens, bisexuality, and performance art.  Quite simply put, you must see this movie.

2) Blacula — When I first saw this trailer, my first thought was, “Oh, that is sooooo wrong.”  But, the movie actually isn’t that bad.  William Marshall is wonderfully dignified and haunted as the tragic title character.

3) Bio-Zombie — I haven’t actually seen this movie but I love this energetic trailer (and the Hello Kitty reference, as well).

4) Martin — This trailer for George Romero’s vampire movie features the film’s star, John Amplas, speaking to the audience in character.  Martin is one of the unacknowledged great vampire movies.  Supposedly, there’s a remake in the works which, needless to say, is not necessary in the least.  The original is more than good enough.

5) Near Dark — Speaking of vampire movies, here’s Near Dark.  Before Kathryn Bigelow won an Oscar for The Hurt Locker, she made her debut with Near Dark.  Of the two, Near Dark is the better film.

6) Rabid — This is an early David Cronenberg film and probably one of his first stabs at being a “commercial” filmmaker (I would have to ask R-Lee for sure on this as he’s the resident Cronenberg expert).  The late Marilyn Chambers plays a young woman who gets infected with rabies and proceeds to spread the disease throughout Montreal.  As you might expect with a Cronenberg film, the Canadian government quickly turns fascist and a lot of Canadians die as a result.  The movie’s not totally succesful but the trailer is.  As a sidenote: in 2004, Marilyn Chambers Taylor was the vice-presidential candidate of the Personal Choice Party.  I cast my first vote ever for her.

6 More Exploitation Film Trailers That I Love

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Back in May, I posted 6 old school exploitation trailers that I love.  At the time, I said that even though I only posted 6 of them, I could have easily listed 666.  While I don’t have the space to put up quite that many, here’s 6 more exploitation film trailers that I love.

1) A Black Veil For Lisa — There’s several things that I love about this trailer.  I love the faux-noir narration.  I love the teasing tone.  I love the old school femme fatale attitude of lead actress Lucianna Paluzzi.  But, to be honest, the main reason I love it is because it’s all about a redhead named Lisa.  That and the line “Every man wants a Lisa…”

2) The Italian Stallion — This is the trailer for the re-release of Sylvester Stallone’s porn debut, A Party At Kitty and Stud’s.  I’ve never seen the movie nor do I have much desire to see it but this trailer just amused me to no end.  Whether its the awesomely phony line readings of Gail Palmer or the catchy and empty theme song, this trailer feels like a genuine time capsule.

3) The House On The Edge of the Park — Speaking of catchy but empty theme songs, Ruggero Deodato’s The House on the Edge of the Park features my personal favorite, Riz Ortolani’s infamous Do It To Me (Once More).  It can be heard at the end of this trailer and once it gets stuck in your head, it’ll stay there forever.  As for the trailer itself, it’s a perfect example of how a well-edited trailer can actually make a somewhat draggy film seem exciting (that said, this movie is one of my all-time guilty pleasures, as misogynistic and wrong-headed as it ultimately is).  A few things I love about this trailer — the blue-tinted views of New York City, David Hess’s iconic psycho performance, the sight of my man Giovanni Lombardo Radice dancing, and the fact that the trailer actually manages to 1) get the movie’s name wrong and that 2) nobody ever bothered to fix it.

(Author’s note: Whoops!  Before you watch this, I have to admit that I’d forgotten just how explicit, violent, and exploitive this trailer really is.  So, consider this to be definitely NSFW — not that you should be watching any of these trailers at work, to begin with — and seriously, no joke, don’t watch this trailer if you are easily upset or offended.  Honestly, if I saw this trailer without having any knowledge of how silly the actual movie really is, I would probably find this trailer to be deeply offensive.  Well, no, actually, I probably wouldn’t.  For the most part, I’m only offended by things that happen offscreen in the real world. — Lisa Marie Bowman)

4) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre — Yes, I know everyone’s probably seen this trailer a hundred times but it’s still probably one of the best and most effective trailers of all time.  Plus, I’m from Texas so you know I had to mention this movie at some point.  (I may have mentioned this in the past, but seriously — try to imagine this movie being as effective if it was called The Vermont Chainsaw Massacre.)

5) Mindwarp (a.k.a. Galaxy of Terror) — I’ve been eagerly awaiting the chance to buy this film on DVD ever since seeing this trailer on the latest 42nd Street Forever compilation.  Rumor has it that this film was actually directed by James Cameron, back when he was still interesting.  Supposedly, this film features a very aggressive tentacle but, to be honest, I mostly just want to see Sid Haig’s arm get cut off.  (Seriously, who doesn’t?  Take that, Capt. Spaulding!)

6) Stage Fright — This is the wonderfully intense and claustrophobic trailer to the great Michele Soavi’s 1st film, Stage Fright, a movie I’m going to watch as soon as I finish up this post.  So, with no further delay…

6 Exploitation Film Trailers That I Love

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The only thing I love more than a good exploitation film is a good exploitation film trailer.  I’ve been known to buy Anchor Bay DVDs of films that I hate just to see what trailers will be included in the extras.  Often times, when I find myself suffering from writer’s block, I cure it by watching 42nd Street Forever.

Below are 6 exploitation film trailers.  They are six of my personal favorites though I could easily list 666. 

Enjoy!

1) Teenage Mother (1967) — This trailer (if not the actual film, which is pretty dull) is pure exploitation perfection.

2) They Call Her One Eye (1974) — They Call Her One Eye is the American title for a Sweedish film called Thriller, A Cruel Picture.  It’s an appropriate title but its also one of the best movies ever made in the history of cinema.

3) Ms. 45 (1981) — I love this movie.  Whenever I break up with a boyfriend or just find myself annoyed with men in general, this is the movie that I end up popping into my DVD player.  Consider yourself warned. 🙂

4) The House With The Laughing Windows (1976) — This giallo, directed by Pupi Avati, is probably one of the best films ever to come out of Italy period.  The trailer only begins to hint just how girm, dark, depressing, disturbing, and downright odd this little gem really is.

5) Starcrash (1979) — Starcrash was Luigi Cozzi’s attempt to cash in on Star Wars.  For what its worth, Starcrash is actually a lot more fun and, as played by Caroline Munro, intergalactic priate Stella Starr is actually one of the few truly strong women to appear in Italian exploitation cinema.  (The next Halloween party I’m invited to, I’m going to go as Caroline Munro in Starcrash.)  The special effects pretty much define the whole concept of “That’s a great movie when you’re stoned.”

6) Spasmo (1974) — Our final trailer is for that rarest of things, a good movie directed by Umberto Lenzi.