Let’s start off 2012 with this trailer for a low budget, drive-in film called Tomcats. It’s also known as Deadbeat, They Deserved It, and a few hundred other titles. The trailer is memorable for its light-hearted narration but the film itself is pretty dark (and kinda stupid, to be honest). By the way, this trailer features more than a little nudity and is definitely not safe for work.
2) Smokey Bites The Dust (1981)
This trailer was apparently used to advertise this Roger Corman production in Denmark.
3) Terminal Island (1973)
This is a landmark of feminist exploitation cinema. (Scoff all you might but there is such a thing and if you don’t believe me, go and read the best thing I’ve ever written, Too Sordid To Ever Be Corrupted.) Much like Smokey Bites the Dust, this trailer is in English but comes with Danish subtitles. It’s also NSFW.
4) Terror of Machagodzilla (1975)
And now for something completely different…
5) Across 110th Street (1972)
Who doesn’t love this film’s title song?
And finally…
6) Enter The Dragon (1973)
Yes, Enter the Dragon is an exploitation film. Just because it’s now considered to be a classic and it’s shown in film school (the first time I saw it was in film class) doesn’t change the fact that this film is pure grindhouse exploitation.
Welcome to 2012! Let’s make it a good one, just in case the Mayans were correct.
I’ve never seen this film but I’ve read about it and the plot actually sounds like it has potential: a killer is determined to kill a different person in each time zone across America over the course of one long, New Year’s Eve night. I get the feeling the execution was probably lacking but seriously, time zones are weird.
2) Student Bodies (1981)
This little satire of the slasher genre shows up on cable occasionally. I’ve never managed to make it all the way through but I do appreciate the gag with the killer continually stepping on chewing gum.
3) Screwballs (1983)
With a name like Screwballs it has to be …. uhmm, good?
4) Spring Break (1983)
Obviously, there was a serious lack of attractive people in the 1980s.
5) Ski School (1991)
Oh wait. The kinda attractive people were at the ski school. Emphasis on kinda.
6) My Tutor (1982)
However, as always, the truly cool people, were learning how to speak French.
On Thursday night, my twitter timeline briefly exploded when it was reported that legendary filmmaker Roger Corman had just passed away. I immediately jumped over to Wikipedia and I saw that Roger Corman was officially listed as being newly deceased. Quickly, I jumped back over to twitter and I tweeted, “R.I.P. to one of the most important figures in American film history — the legendary Roger Corman.” I then sent out another tweet in which I pointed out that this meant that two of the men who has played senators in The Godfather, Part II — G.D. Spradlin and Roger Corman — had died this year and within months of each other.
Immediatly, one of my twitter friends tweeted back, “If only real Senators would die as quickly.”
“Agck!” I thought to myself, “how do I respond to that? If I get all offended or humorless, I might lose a follower. If I say yes, that’s a good point, I might end up getting put on some sort of super secret government list…”
Even as I worried about my future as a subversive, I was thinking to myself that the best way I could pay tribute to the late Roger Corman was to devote my next edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation trailers to his memory. Yes, I decided, the next edition would have be all Corman, a celebration of the man, his life, and his movies…
And then it turned out that Roger Corman wasn’t dead. Turns out that some idiot journalist named Jake Tapper tweeted that Corman was dead and that’s what set off a chain reaction of false assumptions and early tributes. However, Roger Corman is still alive but you know me. Once I get an idea in my head, I have to see it through. Letting things go is not one of my talents.
So, with that in mind, here are 6 trailers in tribute to Roger Corman, who is not dead.
1) The Trip (1967)
In 1967, Roger Corman directed this film in which Peter Fonda plays a tv director who drops acid and ends up having a really bad trip. The script was written by Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper plays a random guru guy. Bruce Dern is in it too. As far as drug movies go, The Trip is actually pretty good though it does indulge in some of the standard Renaissance Faire imagery that all movies seem to use whenever attempting to visualize an acid trip.
2) St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967)
I recently saw this movie, Roger Corman’s first “studio” film. I have to admit that I thought it was a little bit slow but it had some fun performances and Jack Nicholson gets a memorable cameo where he explains why he dips his bullets in garlic.
3) The Intruder (1962)
In 1962, Roger Corman and William Shatner teamed up to make this look at racism and the people who exploit it.
4) The Raven (1963)
This is one of Corman’s famous Poe films.
5) The Wild Angels (1966)
Peter Fonda again. In this seminal biker film, Fonda again costars with Bruce Dern. Fonda’s girlfriend is played by Nancy Sinatra who, by the way, is one of the few celebs on twitter who will not only follow back but who will also actually respond to her followers.
6) It Conquered The World (1956)
Finally, let’s end things off with some truly old school Corman — It Conquered the World! This was Corman’s 3rd film as a director and his first major success.
Here’s to you, Roger Corman! Thank you for the movies and congratulations on still being with us.
Hi, everyone! Sorry for the delay in getting out this latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers. What can I say? The holidays are a crazy, crazy time. If you promise to keep reading and watching then I promise to not be late again in the future. Deal? Deal.
And now, without further delay, here’s 6 more trailers!
1) Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out (1989)
This film was directed by Monte Hellman, who directed some of the best films of the 60s and 70s. So, in case you were wondering what you get for directing a work of art like Two-Lane Blacktop, well, here you go.
2) Black Christmas (1974)
Continuing the holiday theme, here is the trailer for the original Black Christmas. This film was directed by the late Bob Clark, who later went on to direct a totally different Christmas movie called A Christmas Story.
3) Madhouse (1974)
I love this trailer for the melodramatic opening. I love the way the old grindhouse and exploitation movies would literally dare filmgoers to stay away. That takes confidence!
4) The Freakmaker (1974)
With a title like The Freakmaker, it has to be good.
5) The Creatures The World Forgot (1971)
The World, I am sure, had its reasons for forgetting.
6) Prehistoric Women (1967)
This film is also known as Slave Girls and I’m sure there’s probably prints out there entitled Slave Women and Prehistoric Girls as well.
The girl with bronchitis would be me and, I have to admit, I nearly didn’t do a trailer post this week because I was feeling so bad. However, then I had to stay home from the Richardson, Texas Christmas Parade for the first time in like forever and I thought to myself, “Bronchitis took away my parade but it won’t take away my trailer post!” So, on that defiant note, here’s the latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers.
1) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker (1992)
Since it’s the Christmas season and I featured the trailer for Silent Night, Deadly Night last week, I wanted to include the trailer for Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 in this edition. Unfortunately, a YouTube search for Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 just led to me seeing a lot of video clips of this guy going, “Garbage Day!” However, I did finally find this trailer for Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker.
2) Moon 44 (1990)
Before Roland Emmerich made the worst film 2011, he made this film.
3) Strange Invaders (1983)
From the same people who brought you Strange Behavior.
4) Leviathan (1989)
Agck! Underwater horror.
5) Ghost in the Machine (1993)
I saw this on HBO when I was like 11 or 12. I’ve been scared of microwaves ever since.
6) From Hell It Came (1957)
Finally, here’s some old school tree-related horror with From Hell It Came.
Hi out there. As I sit here typing this, I am so freaking sick, it is not even funny! Seriously. I’m congested, I’m running a fever, and I’m taking way too many naps while everyone else in the world is having a lot of fun playing outside and going to the new Twilight film. However, despite feeling all bleh, nothing will stop me from sharing another edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers. NOTHING!
1) A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
One of the classic “old school” horror trailers. The bit with the stairs always freaks me out.
2) Alone in the Dark (1982)
Not to be confused with the later film from Uwe Boll.
3) Without Warning (1980)
Martin Landau was apparently busy in the early 80s.
4) Deadtime Stories (1986)
This film appears to be an alternative take on beloved bedtime stories and…wait. Bedtime. Deadtime. Hey, I just got that! Neat.
5) Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987)
Apparently, this film has next to nothing to do with the original Prom Night and you have to ask yourself: if there’s no elaborate disco dance-off, then what’s the point? Still, I own this one on DVD and I’ll be watching it soon if I don’t start to feel better.
6) Pet Sematary 2 (1992)
I remember that I saw this movie on TV one late night when I was like ten or eleven and oh my God, it scared the Hell out of me! I mean, literally everyone dies in it! Even kids! Trust me, that’s a really scary thing to see when you’re still just a kid yourself. But anyway, I rewatched it last year and was mostly bored.
Hello to everyone out there in the real world! Because of some family obligations, I’m having to do a bit of a rush job on this week’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers. As such, I fear my commentary is probably a lot less witty this time around. I apologize and promise to be a lot funnier next week. Until then, feel free to supply your own witty commentary to go along with the trailers.
To be honest, I’ve never seen this movie but Jeff says that this is one of his favorite films of all time and just from watching the trailer, I think I can guess why. As a sidenote, check out the split second appearance from Steve Buscemi, looking all young and kinda hot in his weasel-like why.
“Don’t…don’t…don’t…don’t…” Seriously, though, this movie looks so bad but I’ve read reviews from several people who insist that it’s just bad enough to secretly be good. Why is everyone always carrying those gigantic backpacks in these movies? How did people put them on their backs without tipping over? That’s just one reason why you’ll never catch me camping. The other, of course, is that I have no desire to wake up out in the middle of nowhere and discover a chupacabra staring back at me.
Finally, in conclusion, this is the 70th entry in my series of grindhouse film posts. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve done so many because I’ve enjoyed putting this 70th post together just as much as I enjoyed doing the first. I hope you’ve enjoy watching them as much as I enjoy putting them together. As much as I love trailers, I love getting your feedback regarding them even more. Thank you for continuing to read what I write and put up with me in general and, as always, stay supple! Je t’aime, mon ange.
I am so freaking depressed right now. Why? Because, as I sit here typing this, I am about to embark on my last weekend as a carefree, hedonistic young woman. That’s right. I’ve kinda sort got a birthday (bleh) on November 9th. Yes, I’m a Scorpio. Are you surprised? Anyway, getting older means getting boring and that really sucks and I’ll just leave it at that. Let’s see if a new edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Trailers can cheer me up.
From director Rene Cardona, Jr. comes “the most shocking episode in human survival!” This is why I hate to fly. Well, that and intrusive security measures… (True story: when me and my sisters went to Italy, all four of us were patted down and frisked by the grabby fascists at DFW and it was such a demeaning experience that I ended up crying during the entire subsequent flight.)
It’s thermo-dynamic horror from outer space! Sometimes, I wish I had been born in 1942 or ’43 so that I could have had the experience of seeing trailers like this every single day but then again, I’d also probably be really old right now. Plus, my name would probably be something like Vivien because I like to think that my mom would have named me Vivien Leigh.
I recently watched this one on DVD and I have to give this trailer an aging nod of approval because it actually makes the film look kinda sorta exciting. It’s actually one of the most boring movies I’ve ever seen.
Watching this trailer makes me wish I could turn into a cat and live forever.
Well, I’m sorry to say that the movies cannot stop the march of time, regardless of how much I wish they could. But at least they do make my time here just a little bit more bearable.
In the best grindhouse tradition, the first part of this trailer is made up of scenes from Last House On The Left. On another note, one of the benefits of living in north Texas is that we don’t have to deal with basements and all the icky little things that tend to live in basements.
The Hammer Mummy films never get as much respect as the old Hammer Dracula and Frankenstein films. This is mostly because the Mummy films tend to drag and the Mummy never quite had the charisma of a Christopher Lee or a Peter Cushing. Still, mummies are pretty freaky. I’d probably be more scared of them if I lived in an area with a larger concentration of archeological digs.
Through the Shattered Lens 