Cult and Exploitation Trash.

[Valeyard]

Haven't seen it, but it looks like fun. Actually that's a good question: any noteworthy or otherwise movies worth mentioning that fall under the cult banner in recent years you enjoy? I fully admit to being out of touch, myself.

NoCalMike, unrelated, but I'm 99% sure we've either met or have mutual friends.

 

[NoCalMike]

Haven't seen it, but it looks like fun. Actually that's a good question: any noteworthy or otherwise movies worth mentioning that fall under the cult banner in recent years you enjoy? I fully admit to being out of touch, myself.

NoCalMike, unrelated, but I'm 99% sure we've either met or have mutual friends.

It's quite possible. You can send me a PM of who you think might be our mutual friends if you want and we can figure it out.

 

[Valeyard]

I actually will when I remember. I have no idea what you look like, but I just get the sense the Trash Film Orgy folk might've been involved. Do they still do TFO?

Back on track, Larry Clark came up when I was in chat the other day. I don't understand how people thought he made real movies. Kids, Ken Park, and Bully are some top-tier exploitation, I think. Bully is even one I find unintentionally hilarious, but that says more about me, probably. Lotta praise for that guy, though. Also, as mentioned in chat, how he's not been named as a sexual predator is a little surprising, because dude.

 

[Valeyard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEqPw_7IyiM

This is fucking tremendous. I very much enjoyed it and it deserves much, much, much more of a following.

 

[Epic Springs]

I remember first seeing Bully as a teen. I thought it was the most disturbing thing ever but I hadn't watched many shamelessly crude flicks up until that point. I don't think I've ever watched Kids in full but definitely remember seeing Wassup Rockers as it came out around the same time as Lords of Dogtown. I don't really have any strong opinions on it.

 

[Valeyard]

Bully just had so much unintentionally funny stuff for me. It had some fucked up stuff as well, but it all got really undone for me. Why is every scene of Rachel Miner alone a comical nude scene? Why did there have to be a weird lingering shot of Bijou Philips' crotch in denim cutoffs at one point? Michael Pitt (I think. One of the guys from the US Funny Games) has his big violent outburst in an arcade, with a shot to make sure you notice he was playing Mortal Kombat. Just weird stuff I found entirely too amusing, said as someone who probably is an asshole.

Kids, for many reasons, is a total exploitation movie. Had there been ANY consequences for the worst people's actions, it wouldn't be as bad, but that didn't happen. That's kind of an unforgivable sin and ruins it. Telly is also Sociopath McLovin, but that's the one "upside."

 

[Valeyard]

Radically shifting gears, but Shatner has made me want to learn Esperanto. Just enough to get by.

 

[Epic Springs]

Has David Cronenberg's "Crash" been mentioned? Another WTF movie for me when I first saw it as a kid.

 

[Super Leather]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urdeYRJu_js

Mandingo is one of the trashiest piece of shit movies I've ever seen. Naturally, I own it on both VHS and DVD. I even found the book and it's twice as bad. Cast includes Ken Norton, Perry King from Class of 1984, Susan George from Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Paul Benedict from The Jeffersons, and poor James Mason having to fake his way through a Southern accent. Produced by none other than Dino De Laurentiis.

I came up with a Mandingo drinking game: take a shot of whiskey every time someone drops an N-bomb or shotgun a beer every time a character uses bad grammar. I wouldn't advise anyone to actually try this because it would probably kill you. I made a trio of SHARP skinheads watch Mandingo once; it actually gave one of them nightmares and I've made fun of him for it ever since.

 

[Valeyard]

Good call. De Laurentiis also put out at least two of the Death Wish movies as well, so he knew what he was going for. But I don't think I've ever seen Mandingo in full. I think it was on TCM Underground, like so many of these are. I don't know if I could make it through that, honestly. James Mason looks miserable. Thank god Yellowbeard was in his future (which is a cult film unto itself.)

Crash made a friend of mine go full radio silent for a week and a half because they were getting nightmares.

And just because I think this nails it, Herschell Gordon Lewis' definition of an exploitation movie:

 

[Valeyard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRZURd5hO_s

Public domain movies get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Valeyard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lQK5eAmIdQ

Lemme bring worlds together and make TSM grate again. This is way, way better than it looks, and both Sheen and Estevez are good (Sheen's really good, better than the movie deserves). Story of the famous Mitchell Brothers, from the SF Bay Area and working in the Tenderloin. Behind the Green Door became one of the most iconic pornographic films of the time. I'm very surprised at the lack of true cult fanfare for this movie, to be honest. Everyone was memeing the HIV right out of Sheen's tiger blood for moooooonths and never mentioned this. Seems like it'd be perfect for those people at the time. Even with both the Mitchells --and Marilyn Chambers-- dead, I'd have thought more curiosity would pop up. But eh, not to be. Worth a watch when it shows up, but not much beyond that.

 

[Super Leather]

I have an ex who used to work at the O'Farrell Theater in the '80s. She said Jim and Artie Mitchell were two of the best bosses she ever worked for on any job, let alone strip clubs.

 

[Valeyard]

Michael Berryman lives very close to my older sisters and is apparently doing work to help out after the fires in Northern California. I'm trying to get on this. I'll fly home just to hang with that dude.

 

[Valeyard]

https://youtu.be/8By-fCGpiFM

I'm interested.

 

[Valeyard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjQP_eaFVuU

This is the worst movie I think I've ever seen. Poor, poor Lon Chaney Jr. Fuck.

 

[Super Leather]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boKe4FSYhJM

I own Hardcore on VHS, but found an out-of-print DVD yesterday. Not sure where I put Hardcore on my list of best '70s films, but it is up there with Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Death Wish, Joe, Marathon Man, and all the gritty classics of the decade one could name.

 

[Gary]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boKe4FSYhJM

I own Hardcore on VHS, but found an out-of-print DVD yesterday. Not sure where I put Hardcore on my list of best '70s films, but it is up there with Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Death Wish, Joe, Marathon Man, and all the gritty classics of the decade one could name.

We were robbed of a "Big Dick Blaque" spin off.

I own the Twilight Time Blu, but I'm hoping someone gives this a special edition release down the line.

 

[Super Leather]

Wow, I didn't know they'd re-released Hardcore on Blu-Ray, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. How does the transfer look?

 

[Valeyard]

To my shame I've never seen Hardcore, but not for lack of trying. It always sounded like a legitimately interesting movie and I could never find it.

I wish my money coincided with all these releases.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KroNWLcPqKk

I'm probably going to watch this later, if I can't sleep. It is the exact opposite of 2019. Trailer does have a chicken getting its head cut off, so just a disclaimer.

 

[Super Leather]

To my shame I've never seen Hardcore, but not for lack of trying. It always sounded like a legitimately interesting movie and I could never find it.

Finding the VHS for cheap is still one of my best video scores. I'd wanted to see it for a long time and wasn't disappointed at all; if anything, Hardcore actually exceeded my expectations. Forgot that Paul Schrader was involved until his name flashed onscreen and then realized I was in for something really good and dark. Hardcore and Cruising would be one helluva dirty double feature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_eAu0_2xg

I also found a 2-disc edition of The Wanderers that has a "preview cut" adding about six minutes of extra footage. Although it doesn't add much, it's still cool to see. I've had the VHS for over 20 years and went for a DVD upgrade. One of my favorites; I like how it is shot in a way that is almost dreamlike.

 

[Gary]

Wow, I didn't know they'd re-released Hardcore on Blu-Ray, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. How does the transfer look?

It looks pretty impressive all things considered, though I wish it had newer special features and whatnot. You can get it here

 

[Valeyard]

What's the best way to describe giallo to someone?

 

[Laz]

Stylish murder mysteries, usually with a strong supernatural presence.

 

[Brocklock]

That's about it. Lots of red herrings, extravagant murder sequences, and cops as well. Most of them I've seen have a bit of a slow pace but are still engaging.

 

[Super Leather]

Don't forget that the killer always wears black leather gloves.

 

[Valeyard]

Mondo Cane, Mondo Cane 2, and Faces Of Death are all on Amazon Prime at the moment.

 

[Super Leather]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTS8i31SBhw

I saw this yesterday and it is as ridiculous as you would expect. Ernest Borgnine's performance keeps this watchable; it would be quite dull without his presence. Cast includes Eddie Albert from Green Acres, Tom Skerritt, Ida Lupino, and fucking William Shatner being a douchebag. Didn't notice John Travolta in his film debut. Anton LaVey was the technical advisor and has a small role too. I'm probably totally wrong here, but I feel like Lucio Fulci probably saw this and liked the gut-churning special effects enough to have similar goings-on in The Beyond.

Found the full movie on YouTube, making me think my friend got ripped off buying it on Blu-Ray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZL0x-lmZ_8

 

[Gary]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTS8i31SBhw

I saw this yesterday and it is as ridiculous as you would expect. Ernest Borgnine's performance keeps this watchable; it would be quite dull without his presence. Cast includes Eddie Albert from Green Acres, Tom Skerritt, Ida Lupino, and fucking William Shatner being a douchebag. Didn't notice John Travolta in his film debut. Anton LaVey was the technical advisor and has a small role too. I'm probably totally wrong here, but I feel like Lucio Fulci probably saw this and liked the gut-churning special effects enough to have similar goings-on in The Beyond.

Found the full movie on YouTube, making me think my friend got ripped off buying it on Blu-Ray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZL0x-lmZ_8

Shatner's wicker cowboy hat is one for the ages. If you want some prime Shatner starring exploitation (Shatsploitation?) then you should see "Impulse." It's a movie where he plays a serial killer who targets women, wears awful 70's fashion and delivers one of the most over the top performances of his career.

 

[Valeyard]

Impulse is awesome.

I love Incubus the most, though. That's an ultimate timepiece. I guess Shatner hates being asked about it or speaking Esperanto, and it makes me like it more.