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!
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.
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?
Through the Shattered Lens 