Tag Archives: Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse Trailers

Your Love Consists Of 6 Trailers In A Blood-Stained Bamboo Cage

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi there!  Welcome to the first edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers for 2011.  All 6 of our trailers in this edition are Italian.  And, as always, most of them should be watched with caution and definitely not watched at work.   (Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Youtube yanked one or two of them offline within a week or so.  So, watch while you can.)

1) Eaten Alive

This is actually one of Umberto Lenzi’s not that terrible movies.  Which doesn’t mean it’s good.  Just means that it’s not that terrible.  This is the movie in which Lenzi manages to turn the Jonestown Massacre into a cannibal film.  Ivan Rassimov, who looks like a Russian Charlton Heston, plays Jim Jones.  Also, you might recognize the music because it ended up being used in about a 100 different Italian exploitation trailers.

2) Andy Warhol’s Frankenstien

One of the most misleading titles of all time as Warhol had very little to do with this film beyond lending Paul Morrissey and Joe Dallesandro.  This is better known as Flesh For Frankenstien.  The trailer really doesn’t do justice to the movie but I had to include it because, even if it’s not my favorite trailer, it’s a classic exploitation trailer in just the shameless way that Andy Warhol’s name is used to sell the film.

3) Zombi 4

Believe it or not, this movie is actually a lot of fun.  One of the stars is apparently a gay porn star but I’ve never been able to figure out who he’s playing in the film.

4) Planet of the Vampires

Believe it or not, this is one of Mario Bava’s best.

5) Emanuelle Around The World

There’s no way I could do a series like this and not include at least one trailer from Joe D’Amato’s Emanuelle films.

6) Murderock

I had to finish out this all-Italian edition with a little Lucio Fulci.  And I had to go with Murderock because it features a lot of dancing.  The trailer is also memorable for revealing the identity of the killer. 

6 Trailers For The End of 2010

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve been under the weather since the day after Christmas (and you probably don’t want the details though they can be found on twitter because my twitter account is my place to be all TMI) so I fear that I’ve been running behind when it comes to posting on this site.  Not only have I not written my review of True Grit and Rabbit Hole, but I haven’t written anything about that video of the beaver opening up the box of tampons yet. 

So, wyle ah work on gittin mah purty lil self all caught up here (and attempt to phonetically recreate my natural country girl accent), here’s the final 2010 edition of Lisa Marie’s Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers. 

1) Made in Sweden

I love how all the imported, soft-core films of the early 70s were always advertised as being sensitive, coming-of-age stories.  Christina Lindberg later starred as the iconic One-Eye in Thriller, A Cruel Picture (a.k.a. They Call Her One-Eye.)

2) Blindman

Yes, the trailer’s in German and no, I don’t speak German.  I speak French which I guess means I’d have to surrender if this trailer ever tried to enter me.  BUT ANYWAY, this is actually an Italian film.  Tony Anthony plays a blind gunslinger who is hired by a bunch of mail order brides to free them from a sadistic bandit played by Ringo Starr.  Yes, that Ringo Starr.

3) Tattoo

If, like my friend Elly, you live in Australia, you can watch this movie on DVD.  Unfortunately, outside of “region 4,” this movie is unavailable.  I’ve never seen it though I read about it in Bruce Dern’s quite frankly weird autobiography.  (I say weird with affection because, seriously — how can you not love Bruce Dern?)  Anyway, Dern says that in the sex scenes in this movie, he and Adams were actually doing it.  Apparently, the film itself is a take-off on The Collector — Dern kidnaps Adams, covers her body in tattoos, and then has sex with her.  It actually sounds like kind of a disgusting movie, to be honest and the prospect I might see it is making me reconsider my plans to eventually relocate to Australia (sorry, Elly).  

As for the trailer,  I just think it’s really nicely atmospheric, especially in the slow-motion sequence at the beginning.

4) Hell Night

This is the old school slasher film that I always wish I had been around to be cast in.  Why?  Because of all the costumes, of course!  If you’re going to be a victim in one of these movies, you might as well get to play dress up beforehand.

5) Invasion of the Bee Girls

There are two trailers for this movie.  This is the mainstream version and it is a heavily cut — and I mean HEAVILY CUT — version of the one that played in the grindhouses.  You can find the uncut version on Stephen Romano’s Shock Festival.  Anyway, this is one of those wonderfully satirical 70s films that was marketed as a standard grindhouse film.  William Smith plays an FBI agent who is sent to Peckham, California to discover why the town’s men are being fucked to death.  Actually, just looking at the men of Peckham, California — they should probably be happy with what they can get.

6) Deep Red

What better way to end 2010 than with the one and only Dario Argento?  This is the trailer for his first worldwide hit, the classic giallo Deep Red.  This is also the film where he first met and romanced Daria Nicolodi.  Plus, this movie probably features the best performance ever from the late and underrated David Hemmings (who would end his career playing a small role in Gangs of New York, a film which also features Giovanni Lombardo Radice.)

As a sidenote, I’ve really enjoyed sharing these trailers through 2010 and I look forward to sharing more in 2011.  Je te donne tout mon amour, mon lecteur.

6 Trailers For A December Moon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers features sinful dwarves, dead Santas, the Peter Cushing Guide To Getting Laid, and the voice of John Carradine!

1) The Sinful Dwarf

How can you not be enthusiastic about a film with a title like “The Sinful Dwarf?”  That said, I think Peter Dinklage could kick this guy’s ass.  This was apparently a “lost film” until a copy was found in a janitor’s closet in Denmark. “What do you think of the blonde?”  “hahahahahahaha”

2) Don’t Go In The House

This is actually a rather depressing rip-off of Maniac.  The trailer makes it look a lot more interesting (and fun) than it actually is.  Which, of course, is what a trailer is supposed to do.  (The DVD, by the way, features a pretty interesting interview with the star of this film, Dan Grimaldi.)

3) Corruption

“No women will dare go home alone after seeing Corruption!”  That’s right, boys, go see Corruption and you will get laid!  You can say a silent prayer of thanks to Peter Cushing after…By the way, I’m planning on seeing Corruption on DVD but I’ll be sure to watch it at a male’s house or apartment in order to make sure that I have someone to escort me home afterward.  So, if any of you guys out there have an hour or two to kill (so to speak)…

4) Swamp Girl

I like this trailer and I have a feeling I might find something to enjoy in the actual film is just because I come from a long line of swamp girls.  That said, I don’t think I could be one myself.  There’s too many little buggies and things flying around the swamp.

Is the haunting Theme From Swamp Girl stuck in your head now?

5) Journey Into The Beyond

In previous editions of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers, I haven’t highlighted any of the several hundred mondo film trailers that are out there because I kind of agree with something that Giovanni Lombardo Radice said: mondo movies are a remnant of fascism.  And they are.  But, I had to include Journey Into The Beyond here because how can you not enjoy listening to John Carradine?

6) Don’t Open Till Christmas

If you happen to watch an Italian or Spanish slasher film made between 1979 and 1983, there’s a fairly good chance that Edmund Purdom will turn out to be the killer.  Well, I guess Purdom got sick of being typecast because, in 1983, he directed a film of his own and it’s a holiday film!

A Bonus-Sized Collection Of Trailers, Part Two

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Part two of this week’s bonus-sized edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation trailers actually kinda sorta has a theme or two.  One unintentional theme is that most of the movies highlighted here have not been released on DVD in the U.S.  However, the other intentional theme is that, to quote the old song, “the female of the species is deadlier than the male.”

(You can view themeless part one of this week’s edition by clicking here.)

1) The Female Bunch

“They swore never again to let a man hurt them…”  See, the grindhouse has a lot more to teach us than many realize.  The Female Bunch was released in 1969 but it was actually filmed a year earlier at the Spahn Movie Ranch which was also the home of Charles Manson and his followers at the time.  It’s rumored that members of the Manson Family can be spotted in the film as extras.  It was directed by Al Adamson who, 30 years later, would be murdered and buried in cement.

2) Some Girls Do

Is it even necessary for me to state that this film came out in the 60s?  1969 to be exact.  Some girls do?  I certainly know I do.

3) Danger Girls

Yes, this one is from 1969 too.  It was directed by the one and only Rene Cardona, Jr.  For those keeping track, this one is about a “sinister organization of beautiful girls … driven by a lust for blood.”

4) Scorpions and MiniSkirts

This (as opposed to The Graduate or Bonnie and Clyde) was apparently the most surprising production of 1967.  It says so right in the trailer.  I just like the title, perhaps because I’m a Scorpio who likes to show off her legs.

5) The Miniskirt Mob

By 1968, scorpions were no longer in fashion but the miniskirt was still très chic.  “They ride hard…no matter what they’re mounted on!”

6) 7 Golden Women Against Two 007

This is from 1966 and I really don’t know what to say about it other than … well, 1966.  If any of you men out there want to know why the female of the species became deadlier than the male, the answer is to be found in this trailer here.  Call it self-defense.  That said, this trailer fascinates me because, seriously, what the Hell’s going on?  I fear I may never know as this film has apparently never been released on DVD.

A Bonus-Sized Collection Of Trailers, Part One

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since it’s the holiday season, I’m going to do a bonus-sized, two-part edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers this week.  So, assuming that I’m not upset by who wins the Amazing Race and that Julia Stiles survives tonight’s episode of Dexter, I’ll put together and post part two sometime later tonight.  And if I am upset, expect to see it sometime Monday.

Anyway, here’s the first part of our special, pre-holiday edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers.  Just a quick note, three of these films are apparently not available on DVD or even on VHS!  To be honest, I imagine their trailers are probably a lot more fun than the actual movie.

1) Wicked Wicked

What is Anomorphic Duovision?  Well, I did some research last night and I’ll explain it all after the trailer.

Duovision, it turns out, is a fancy way of saying, “Split screen.”  Like you remember in 24 whenever Keifer Sutherland would start purring in that sexy voice of his, “Dammit!  CHLOE!” and Chloe would go, “Get off my ass, Bauer!”  Well, more often than not, that was shown in Anomoprhic Duovision.  Brian DePalma also used it in Carrie when Sissy Spacek sets the prom on fire.  In other words, none of that would have been possible if not for Wicked Wicked.  Apparently, in Wicked Wicked, one half of the screen featured Tiffany Bolling singing and the detective guy investigating and the other half featured the killer doing his thing.

2) Dr. Minx

I give this trailer mad props for resisting the temptation to be all like, “And she makes house calls…”

3) Zaat

Believe it or not, this is not, as I originally assumed, a parody trailer.  I did actual research (yes, believe it or not, I do try to verify these things) and I discovered that this was a real movie from 1972 and apparently, it made a lot of money playing the drive-in circuit (a.k.a. the grindhouses of the South). 

4) Angel, Angel, Down We Go

From 1969 — His name is Bogart Peter Stuyvesant and he’s hot!

5) The Body Beneath

This little “shocker” from 1970 was directed by Andy Milligan, who was infamous for making movies that were so bad that they often ended up being effective despite themselves.

6) A Night to Dismember

I’ve never actually seen this film but I’ve certainly heard about it.  It has a reputation for being one of the worst horror films but I have to admit, I think the trailer has an oddly dream-like power.  A Night To Dismember was the last film to be directed by Doris Wishman, who — when she first started making early “nudie” flicks (the best known of which was the Nude on the Moon) in the 50s — was one of the first women to ever actually direct a theatrically released film.  After her husband died, Doris’s films changed from being rather innocent and campy stories about dorky guys trying to discreetly ogle nude women to being dark and puritanical tales of the sexually active being punished.  A Night To Dismember was her final film and its troubled production has become legendary.  I found it on DVD once and nearly bought it but, at the last minute, put it down and bought a copy of Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To instead.  The next week, when I went back to buy A Night To Dismember, I discovered that the store had been shut down and permanently closed the day after I made my last purchase.  That’s just freaking typical, isn’t it?

6 Trailers While You Wait

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, I’m currently still working on my review of Black Swan, which I saw this weekend and loved so much that I ended up having an asthma attack at the end of it.  But anyway, as we wait for me to discover articulation, why not check out 6 more of my favorite grindhouse and exploitation film trailers?

1) Deathdream (a.k.a. Dead of Night)

Now, this is an interesting debut film from the prolific Canadian director Bob Clark (the man who later gave the world both Black Christmas and A Christmas Story).  A young soldier is killed in Viet Nam and shows up back in his hometown one night later without a soul.  The allegory is pretty obvious but it’s still effectively done and crawls under your skin.  This film was also one of Tom Savini’s early films.  The soldier’s father is played by John Marley who later appeared in The Godfather with a horse’s head in his bed.

2) Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess

I’ve never seen this movie.  I just like the title.

3) The Black Cat

Director Lucio Fulci made this film around the same time he was making his more famous zombie films but it never got the same attention, despite starring David Warbeck.  I love the cat — he’s so cute and he reminds me of my own cat.  Plus, he’s quite effective at killing people.

4) School of the Holy Beast

Apparently, this is a nunsploitation film from Japan!  That nunsploitation was a very popular genre in Italy, Spain, and Ireland makes sense when you consider that those are three of the most Catholic countries on the planet.  But Japan?

5) The Blood Splattered Bride

The trailer for the 1971 Italian lesbian vampire film goes on for a bit too long but I think it has nice atmospheric feel to it (the same can be said of the film itself). 

6) The Dead Pit

Since we started with a zombie film, let’s end with one as well.  The Dead Pit is pretty silly but I enjoyed it and would happily star in a remake.  Plus, the trailer’s line about “the thickness of the door” just amuses me on so many levels.

6 More Trailers Exploit The 70s

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s time for another installment of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Exploitation and Grindhouse Trailers.  Today, all 6 of our trailers come from the 70s.  That’s actually kind of a coincidence but it’s as close to a theme as I could find so let’s go with it.

1) Superchick

Let’s start things off on a positive, empowering note with the trailer for Superchick.  This appears to be an only-in-the-70s type film.  For one thing, the narrator says “stewardess” instead of “flight attendant.”  What a pig.  (Just kidding…I think stewardess has kind of a nice retro sound to it, to be honest…)

2) Satan’s Cheerleaders

“Are you kidding?  I’m no maiden.  I’ve been a cheerleader for three years…”  Would I find this trailer as amusing if my older sister hadn’t been a cheerleader at the same time that I was going through my whole goth ballerina phase?  Probably.  I haven’t seen the actual film but, for whatever reason, I suspect it doesn’t quite live up to the trailer.

3) Countess Dracula

Ingrid Pitt, who died on the 23rd on the month, helped to bring Hammer films fully into the 20th Century with this film and the Vampire Lovers.  Here she plays the infamous Elisabeth Bathory.

4) Don’t Answer The Phone

This is not a trailer to watch if you’re in a paranoid state-of-mind.  This is a pretty bad movie but it does feature one of the best “psycho” performances of all time from the late character actor, Nicholas Worth. 

5) The House That Vanished

I have mixed feelings about including this one because it’s a TV spot as opposed to an actual theatrical trailer.  But I’m including it anyway because it is the epitome of everything I love about 70s exploitation.  The film is actually an English film that was entitled Scream and Die! which, in all honesty, sounds like a pretty good title to me.   However, by the time it was released in the States, Wes Craven’s Last House On The Left was making a lot of money and every horror film was retitled with a House-themed title.  Also, the “it’s only a movie…” chant is lifted directly from the advertising campaign for Last House On The Left.

6) Ruby

Finally, let’s end with Ruby.  This is yet another one where I haven’t seen the actual movie but from the trailer, it appears to be a proud part of the grindhouse tradition in that it not only rips off Carrie but The Exorcist as well.

BONUS TRAILER:

Yes, I’m including a bonus trailer!  Why?  Because I love you, that’s why.

This is for Michael Almereyda’s haunting and odd vampire film, Nadja.  Nadja was released in 1994 but it features Peter Fonda so it might as well be from the 70s.

And, since I have to end everything on an even number (it’s a long story), here’s another bonus trailer just so we end up with 8 trailers instead of 7.  This is another unconventional, New York vampire tale — Vampire’s Kiss.  This is also known as the movie where Nicolas Cage actually ate a live cockroach while being filmed.  (Personally, I think of it as being the precursor to Mary Harron’s American Psycho.)

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.