tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59651108249845705542024-02-08T12:25:20.894-08:00horrormanblogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-78688019729897363872008-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:05:35.082-08:00New MySpace Profile -Hey everyone.<br />One final post. If any of you want to keep in touch on MySpace, I decided to start a personal profile at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mymisanthropicfascination">http://www.myspace.com/mymisanthropicfascination</a>.<div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-3785940973006751597?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=TTjUG-syihY:WpsT44mqmuY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-76470698828417049712008-11-29T22:16:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:05:35.073-08:00Horrorman Is Closing The Crypt -<span style="font-size:180%">S</span>ome of you may have noticed that I cut the life-line to <em>Sexy Bloody Horror</em>. It has disappeared into that unknowable...unreachable place where all "dead" sites go to dwell. The reason? Not enough hours in the day. I'm sorry to say that after much reflection over the Holidays, I've decided to snip the umbilical to <em>horrorman Blogs </em>as well. On top of my other projects, I recently had another opportunity drop into my lap. All of these take up a considerable amount of time, as does running a "quality" horror film blog site. Back in the late '80's when I kicked off the horror web site <em>The Horror Chamber</em>, there were only a handful of us out there. Twenty years later, it's an entirely different story. There are literally hundreds (thousands, probably) of sites and blogs out there dealing with our much beloved genre. Fans today are far...far more informed and knowledgeable than they were back then. I've chatted with many of you, many of you who have excellent blogs and sites of your own that I visit every chance I get. There are even a handful of you whom I'd consider friends now (sure...we may have never met face to face, but you know what? That doesn't matter.) For those of you who care, I plan on leaving horrorman Blogs up for a good while for the Archives. And if you are a new visitor to this blog, please check out my "Links & Friends" list on the sidebar. These guys and gals <strong><em>know</em></strong> their horror, and over the past year, I've found that more often than not, we pretty much share the same taste and opinions in films. And if you, kind visitor, are one of those <em>listed</em>... I'll certainly continue dropping in on your sites, leaving comments, etc. I've really enjoyed and appreciated all of your kind comments.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />horrorman<div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-8740504019573118819?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=88VwXL4pkr4:ykRiZZow0Tw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-12703643034797965452008-11-22T22:03:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:05:35.063-08:00Venus In Furs (1969)(aka: <em>Paroxismus/Black Angel/Puo Una Morta Rivivere Per Amore?</em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjJMAHtUWI/AAAAAAAABKM/xxwFBXnPs5o/s1600-h/venusinfurs-01.JPG"><img style="width:200px;height:287px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjJMAHtUWI/AAAAAAAABKM/xxwFBXnPs5o/s400/venusinfurs-01.JPG" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%">J</span>ess Franco's 1969 film <em>Venus In Furs</em> is considered by many (including myself, who'd place it in his top "5") to be one of the prolific director's best. Two years after Jazz trumpeter Jimmy Logan witnesses three demented members of the upper class-elite whip, rape and mutilate a beautiful young socialite in an Istanbul back alleyway, he discovers the body of a woman washed up on the shores of the Black Sea. The woman seems strangely familiar to him, and when he sees her again, very much alive...he becomes sexually obsessed with her, unaware that the mysterious beauty has returned from the grave on a deadly mission of revenge.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjJMPtneXI/AAAAAAAABKE/WDHtAPhklhA/s1600-h/venusinfurs-02.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjJMPtneXI/AAAAAAAABKE/WDHtAPhklhA/s400/venusinfurs-02.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Originally entitled <em>Black Angel</em>, Franco got the general idea for the story following a conversation with Jazz musician Chet Baker, who told Franco that whenever he performed a solo piece it was as if he lost all sense of reality and time, reliving all his passions and desires, whether real or imaginary..."like a drowning man who sees his whole life flash before his eyes". Franco intended on having a black trumpeter player who falls in love with a mysterious beautiful white girl; however, was forced to change the story when producers said that American audiences weren't "ready" to see a black man and a white woman in bed. Ironic that there was no problem having a white man in bed with a black woman. I guess in the last thirty-nine years, America has come a long-way-baby... Again getting his inspiration from Baker, Franco rewrote the script, having a white musician with a black girlfriend (evidently, Chet had several black mistresses throughout his career). Typical of Franco's other films produced by Harry Alan Towers, <em>Venus In Furs</em> had its share of problems due to having too many producers (the film was actually a co-production between 60 and 65 countries!) When he was asked to change the script yet again, following Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 novella <em>Venus In Furs</em>, Franco refused. He did, however, give in a little by changing the films title and by having Harry Alan Tower's wife Maria Rohm's character wear a fur coat throughout much of the film. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIw0TY7yI/AAAAAAAABJ8/9WP8juBukYU/s1600-h/venusinfurs-03.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIw0TY7yI/AAAAAAAABJ8/9WP8juBukYU/s400/venusinfurs-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Along with Ms. Rohm (<em>99 Women, Bloody Judge</em>), who is incredibly sexy and convincing as the ghostly Wanda Reed, 50's teen heartthrob James Darren (TV's <em>T.J. Hooker</em> and <em>The Guns Of Navarone</em>) was thrust upon Franco as the lead. Though Franco was dubious at first, after talking with Darren, he learned that the handsome actor was also an accomplished musician (he had several hits in the mid-60's, including "Goodbye Cruel World" ) and had been an acquaintance of Chet Baker. In the film, Darren plays all of his own trumpet solos and was very impressive as the much beguiled Jimmy Logan. African/American singer/actress Barbara McNair (<em>They Call Me Mister Tibbs!</em>) plays the part of Rita, Jimmy's girlfriend. Though being "faithful" wasn't obviously in their relationship agreement, she understandably gets jealous when she finds out that Jimmy is diddling this mysterious and sexy young blonde that keeps showing up out of nowhere. When she sees that he has become obsessed with the girl, Rita tries to help to no avail. There's just no helping some guys. McNair, whose character is a lounge singer, performs a couple of songs in the film and handles the role quite well. The singer/actress was once voted one of the world's most beautiful women. Klaus Kinski (<em>Nosferatu, Crawlspace</em>), one of my all-time favorite actors, has a small yet powerful role as the Turkish millionaire playboy Ahmed Kortobawi, who was the ring-leader of the trio who brutalized Wanda Reed. Kinski is only on the screen a few minutes at the beginning of the film and a few minutes towards the end, and has limited (and unfortunately dubbed) lines, but still serves up a troubling and creepy performance. But what else is new. Kinski was fantastic...even when he didn't say anything. Despite his reputation as being difficult, Franco said of Kinski, after seven films together, "I never had a single problem with him."<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIwjliSDI/AAAAAAAABJ0/jVd0xpJ0Dro/s1600-h/venusinfurs-04.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIwjliSDI/AAAAAAAABJ0/jVd0xpJ0Dro/s400/venusinfurs-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />As much as I like <em>Venus In Furs</em>, the movie isn't without its faults. I've never been a fan of Franco's trademark shifting in-and-out of focus technique. Nor the surrealistic slow-motion, dreamy sequences. Even Jess himself, during Blue Underground's DVD Extras interview, states that although he signed off on it, he was unhappy with the editing and that it was too surreal for his taste. If you're stricken with ADD, there might be a few scenes that seem to drag on for too long...some of the lounge scenes for instance. Still, I really enjoyed cinematographer Angelo Lotti's (<em>Seven Blood-Stained Orchids </em>) trippy psychedelic imagery and all the "hip swinging 60's" dialogue. At the beginning of the film, when Jimmy witnesses the violence in the alleyway, he thinks it's all some kind of perverse consensual game and says (in a voice-over), "Man, it was a wild scene. But if they wanted to go that route, it was their bag..." What else can you expect from a film released one day after "Woodstock"? I also liked South African born blues/pop musician Manfred Mann's soundtrack. I thought it worked really well.<br />Others in the cast include Dennis Price (<em>Vampyros Lesbos</em>), whom Franco said was a good actor "even if he was drunk"; Margaret Lee (<em>Slaughter Hotel</em>) as Olga, the lesbian fashion photographer; Franco regular Paul Muller (<em>Nightmares Come At Night, Nightmare Castle</em>); and Adolfo Lastretti (<em>Spasmo</em>) as Inspector Kaplan. Look for Franco playing the trombone and piano as a member of Jimmy's band.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIwqRfCxI/AAAAAAAABJs/s7BmqDtQV5w/s1600-h/venusinfurs-05.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SSjIwqRfCxI/AAAAAAAABJs/s7BmqDtQV5w/s400/venusinfurs-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />If you're a fan of Jess Franco, you'll undoubtedly love <em>Venus In Furs</em>. As I've said, it is one of his best. Even the critics liked it. If you're not a fan... Give it a chance anyway. You might be surprised. And if you're new to the films of Franco, this is a great film to start off with. It's a well made, well directed, well acted erotic ghost story that you won't forget the day after you watch it. "Venus In Furs Will Be Smiiii-ling."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B000795JMS"><em>Venus In Furs</em></a>?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/horror" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Jess+Franco" rel="tag">Jess Franco</a> </p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-2097110025663335494?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=q5CNexjyrNs:AhX0J_aXrc0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-66365643413253390472008-11-13T17:37:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:05:35.048-08:00Liane, Jungle Goddess (1956)(aka: <em>Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald</em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFg5ZzgI/AAAAAAAABE4/NYw6qr-Xt1c/s1600-h/liane1.JPG"><img style="width:200px;height:287px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFg5ZzgI/AAAAAAAABE4/NYw6qr-Xt1c/s400/liane1.JPG" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%">A</span> good two decades before <em>Sheena-Queen Of The Jungle, White Cannibal Queen, Diamonds Of Kilimandjaro</em>, and <em>Golden Temple Amazons</em>, Austrian born director Eduard von Borsody (<em>Corinna Darling</em>) gave us <em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em>. By now, the female Tarzan story is familiar to most. When an expedition discovers young blonde Liane living in the African jungle and idolized by the native tribes, they capture and return her to Hamburg where she is welcomed by her wealthy grandfather, ship tycoon Von Amelongen. His nephew Viktor Schoening, present head of the firm and prospective heir, tries everything in his power to stop his uncle from acknowledging her, including perjury, destruction of evidence, and eventually resorting to murder.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFi9IHeI/AAAAAAAABEw/XW50YsEwDQQ/s1600-h/liane2.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:304px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFi9IHeI/AAAAAAAABEw/XW50YsEwDQQ/s400/liane2.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />When first released in the U.S. in the mid-50's, <em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em> was strictly considered "adults-only". A <em>New York Times</em> critic even declared it "virtual pornography". This is non-sense however, as most of the sparse nudity consists of topless <em>National Geographic</em> style footage of native women performing a ceremonial dance (six short years later, Jayne Mansfield would bare a heck-of-a-lot more in King Donovan's <em>Promises! Promises!</em>). The female star of <em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em> was 16-year-old Marion Michael who was selected for the role of Liane out of 12,000 other prospective actresses. Michael <em>did</em> provide many pocked-faced adolescent 50's males a few quick glimpses of her breasts during the first half of the film, which stirred up more than a little controversy in those days. Not only due to the fact that she was only 16 at the time, but because she was only the second German actress to ever appear nude in a film (Hildegard Knef was the first to do so in the 1950 film <em>The Sinner</em>). By today's standards, <em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em> is a very tame, yet entertaining, movie. It could easily squeak by with a PG rating. Though the film was a success at the box office, none of Ms. Michael's other dozen films, including <em>Jungle Girl and the Slaver</em>, a sequel of sorts of this movie, were unfortunately.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFVL7uuI/AAAAAAAABEo/6Msw9TpgirY/s1600-h/liane3.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:304px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRytFVL7uuI/AAAAAAAABEo/6Msw9TpgirY/s400/liane3.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Like most 50's genre films, there are portions of <em>Liane</em> that are silly. Like when our handsome hero Thoren (Hardy Krüger -<em> The Flight of the Phoenix, What The Peeper Saw</em>) is fighting with the African natives and winds up with an arrow stuck in his hat. But all-in-all I really enjoyed this movie. It's nostalgic and entertaining. Shot on location in Africa (no cheap studio jungle sets here), I thought the photography was impressive, with lots of jungle and authentic native scenes and plenty of wild animals. Unfortunately, the master print used for the DVD transfer wasn't in great shape, and there is quite a bit of color fading and scratches throughout. Surprisingly, the acting was decent as well. Marion Michael may have come off a bit campy at times, especially when she attempts to communicate with her captor and new-found friend Thoren. But then, she spends most of the film either topless (albeit, covered with fake long blonde locks) or wearing short and sheer night gowns and bikinis, so who cares. There is an interesting little sub-plot in the movie. A love triangle (or...rectangle) between Thoren, Liana, the gorgeous Dr. Jacqueline Goddard (Irène Galter -<em>Rome 11:00 </em>), and monkey-trader Tibor Teleky (Peter Mosbacher -<em>Diabolically Yours</em>). Thoren, who serves as Liane's paternal-like protector, is such a dimwit that he's unaware that both Jacqueline and Liane are in love with him. Meanwhile poor Tibor, after time and again trying to shield Jacqueline from Thoren's aloofness, eventually makes his feelings known to the lovely doctor.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRyuYMqhhqI/AAAAAAAABFA/z36OiP8Qz6Y/s1600-h/liane4.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:304px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRyuYMqhhqI/AAAAAAAABFA/z36OiP8Qz6Y/s400/liane4.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Others in the cast include Rudolf Forster (<em>Return Of Dr. Mabuse</em>) as Theo Amelongen, Liane's grandfather; Rolf von Nauckhoff (<em>Island of the Doomed</em>) as Professor Danner; and the one and only Reggie Nalder (<em>Mark Of The Devil, Bird With The Crystal Plumage, Salem's Lot</em>) as the scheming and greedy Viktor. If you are a fan of female Greystoke movies or campy 50's jungle/action movies, I'd recommend <em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em>. True, you won't get the endless shots of topless girls like in Franco's <em>White Cannibal Queen</em> or <em>Diamonds Of Kilimandjaro</em>, but apart from that, this is actually a better movie. I really like the story and Eduard von Borsody's direction. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, too.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRyuYeWNMpI/AAAAAAAABFI/8eXQHyUm008/s1600-h/liane5.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:304px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SRyuYeWNMpI/AAAAAAAABFI/8eXQHyUm008/s400/liane5.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B0000D1FG8"><em>Liane, Jungle Goddess</em></a> ?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Jungle+Adventure" rel="tag">Jungle Adventure</a></p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-903741066664886566?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=2XsfG59pbv4:v2DLJSJYzfw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-29154375204575653472008-11-02T14:15:00.000-08:002011-01-07T06:05:35.035-08:00Golden Temple Amazons (1986)(aka: <em>Les Amazones Du Temple D'Or/Amazons in the Temple of Gold</em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ389PiFNFI/AAAAAAAABCg/Xrb90s1yKfs/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-01.jpg"><img style="width:200px;height:287px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ389PiFNFI/AAAAAAAABCg/Xrb90s1yKfs/s400/goldentempleamazons-01.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%">S</span>ixteen years after the vicious slaughter of her parents at the hands of an Amazonian tribe, the young jungle girl Liana sets out to avenge their deaths. After joining forces with an archaeological expedition searching for the tribe's secret golden temple, the group discover that the Amazons, led by the sinister and sadistic duo of Uruck and Rena, will protect the temple from intruders at all costs. First things first. As most genre fans know, <em>Golden Temple Amazons</em> isn't actually a Jess Franco film. According to most sources, Franco merely did some of the second-unit work and possibly supplied additional footage from an earlier film of his as padding. The director for the film was Alain Payet (<em>HellTrain</em>, directed many porn films under the name John Love). Produced by France's Marius and Daniel Lesseur from Eurocine, the film is yet another female Tarzan/<em>Liane, The Jungle Goddess</em> rip-off. Again, it seems I'm all alone on this one. But, dang it, I <em>love</em> jungle girl movies. I've yet to talk to a single soul who really enjoyed this movie. To be fair... It is pretty bad.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ389I1ISRI/AAAAAAAABCY/N0_AzHkbeSU/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-02.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ389I1ISRI/AAAAAAAABCY/N0_AzHkbeSU/s400/goldentempleamazons-02.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Though set in the Amazonian jungle, the movie was actually shot at an animal park in southern Spain (the same location used for <em>Diamonds Of Kilimandjaro </em>). After young Liana's gold-thieving parents get arrowed down by the Amazons, she grows up in the jungle, raised by area tribesmen and all the cuddly little jungle critters. The film starts out with the adult Liana (Analía Ivars -<em>Vampire Blues, Tender Flesh</em>) running and swinging through the jungle (topless, of course) searching for her chimp pal Rocky. She rides an elephant for a while, and is eventually summoned back to the abandoned mission where her drunkard father and mother were slain by another missionary priest (Olivier Mathot -<em>Diamonds Of Kilimandjaro</em>) who had been a friend of the family's years ago. The priest sits down with Liana (not in the least bit put-off by her nakedness) and reads her her father's diary. When Liana learns that the Amazons were responsible for shooting down her father and mother, she sets out to avenge them and promptly teams up with an oddball tribal witch-doctor named Koukou (Stanley Kapoul -<em>Maniac Killer</em>), who looks and acts a lot like Tor Johnson of Ed Wood fame. Not long after, Liana and her new sidekick meet up with an archaeologist, his wife, and a partner who have heard about the legendary Golden Temple in the mysterious Blue Mountains. Liana agrees to guide them, and the five head off. Before they can find the Amazons and their Temple however, the Amazons find and capture them when each come in range of a mysterious mist-like gas issuing from the entrance of a cave, rendering them unconscious. Uruck (William Berger -<em>Love Letters From A Portuguese Nun, Five Dolls For An August Moon</em>), the "Lord" of the Amazons, orders Rena (Eva León -<em>Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll </em>) his right-hand, eye-patch wearing Amazon bi-atch, to imprison and torture everyone but Liana, whom he has taken a fancy with and intends on using for "breeding" (I guess when you're the only guy in a tribe full of Amazons for all those years, after a while it gets kind of "iffy" as far as inbreeding with one of your daughters). It falls in the hands of Liana and her pet chimp Rocky to save the trio of incompetent men and one woman serving as her traveling companions.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3881ZeRHI/AAAAAAAABCQ/b6WdjwyNAxI/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-03.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3881ZeRHI/AAAAAAAABCQ/b6WdjwyNAxI/s400/goldentempleamazons-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />I've read and heard a lot of fans criticize this movie for it's laughable voice-dubbing, silly script and dialogue, cheap hoaky sets, and poor continuity. True, we have savage Amazon jungle chicks wearing make-up and sporting perms or long blond wigs riding horses decked out with metal bits and decorated Western-style harnesses. And a young Tarzan girl supposedly raised by tribesmen and jungle animals who speaks English as well as any Grammar teacher. Not to mention a dumpy and grizzled old man ruling over all those beautiful nubile topless Amazons babes (who ever heard of a <em>man</em> ruling over a tribe of Amazon warriors, anyway?). And where did he come up with all the fancy modern furniture and polished marble inlay floors adorning his abode? Still, these are inconsistencies and Faux Pas I can overlook and live with. This is "entertainment" we're talking about here, after all, not a historical documentary. A little creative license and inexactitude should be expected.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5riJtaI/AAAAAAAABC4/iy12cmBFJHs/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-04.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5riJtaI/AAAAAAAABC4/iy12cmBFJHs/s400/goldentempleamazons-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Being of shallow mind, there are things that irritated me more than those mentioned above: the incessant babblings of Koukou, "Kuckoo kill evil, Kuckoo kill evil!", and some of the casting choices. Not to be mean, but a few of the Amazons were pretty skanky looking. Again, to be fair, because several of the "actresses" would be required to ride horses, many were picked out of a local riding school, which might explain why some of the Amazons were topless and others wore black slingshot bikini tops. And though she is no Sabrina Siani or Katja Bienert, Analía Ivars is cute enough, despite the curly '80's hairdo, and is fun to watch jogging and swinging around the jungle with nothing on but a few flapping fox tails and a leopard skin loin cloth. Alicia Príncipe (<em>Night Of 1,000 Sexes, The Sexual Story of O</em>) plays the part of Bella, the archeologist's wife, and has a nice scene where she goes for a skinny-dip, gets chased out of the water by a hippo, then decides to go exploring a cave (Note I said nothing about "after" putting her clothes back on). Eye patch wearing Eva León was pretty easy-on-the-eyes back in the early '70's when she was still in her early twenties, but here she is just shy of forty (and looks older), though I seriously doubt her breasts were that old.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5gWiKhI/AAAAAAAABCw/jp_En7gcZZ8/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-05.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5gWiKhI/AAAAAAAABCw/jp_En7gcZZ8/s400/goldentempleamazons-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Those of you hoping for some cannibalism and gore will be sorely disappointed. The only "real" violence (there are a couple of fight sequences, but they are so staged and hoaky they are hilarious) we see is when Liana's parents get speared and when one of the Amazonian guards locks onto the archeologist's manbits with a huge set of prongs and gives them a twist or two. Ouch! The Spanish park where <em>Golden Temple Amazons</em> was shot looks beautiful, with towering waterfalls, lush dense foliage, rocky cliffs, distant mountains and loads of cuddly exotic animals...elephants, hippopotamus, giraffes, tigers and chimpanzees...which Payet takes every opportunity to film. It is, by most accounts, a pretty tame film. In Shriek Show's DVD extras interview, Daniel Lesseur even claims that by today's standards, <em>Golden Temple Amazons</em> could pass as a family film. Uh... Perhaps in Europe, where folks aren't so uptight about naked boobies.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5l7QFNI/AAAAAAAABCo/NmseHZOeF_A/s1600-h/goldentempleamazons-06.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:225px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQ3-5l7QFNI/AAAAAAAABCo/NmseHZOeF_A/s400/goldentempleamazons-06.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Other notables in the cast include: Antonio Mayans (<em>Sadomania, Zombie Lake</em>), Françoise Blanchard (<em> Living Dead Girl</em>), Emilio Linder (<em>Monster Dog</em>), and Jean-René Gossart (<em>Killing Car</em>). Lina Romay and Alice Arno are sometimes credited for cameo appearances, but as far as I know, this is a mistake. If you've never seen <em>Golden Temple Amazons</em>, I wouldn't let reviewers and critics out there sway you from giving it a looksy. If you are like me, you can overlook the faults and sloppiness of the filmmakers as well as the low budget and still enjoy. Think of it this way... If nothing else, you'll get to see a bunch of girls riding horses bareback.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B00068NWJM"><em>Golden Temple Amazons</em></a>?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Jess+Franco" rel="tag">Jess Franco</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Amazons" rel="tag">Amazons</a> </p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-7368454352342130250?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=3xwFbxRwIso:pp0XIVEynhs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-48298447358453676202008-10-29T14:18:00.000-07:002011-01-07T06:05:35.025-08:00A Summer in St. Tropez (1983)(aka: <em>Un été à Saint-Tropez/Sommer in St. Tropez, Ein </em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQipoQRsb2I/AAAAAAAABAQ/t3ma0fiaMoA/s1600-h/summersttropez-01.jpg"><img style="width:200px;height:287px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQipoQRsb2I/AAAAAAAABAQ/t3ma0fiaMoA/s400/summersttropez-01.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:normal;line-height:80%;font-size:56;color:#cccccc">I</span> suppose David Hamilton's <em>A Summer In St. Tropez</em> is a strange film to run across here at <a href="http://horrormanblog.blogspot.com/">horrorman Blogs</a>. It is certainly not horror. And technically, it's not exploitation. In fact, it's quite the opposite, despite the abundance of nudity. Hamilton, in all his photographic genius manages to capture the innocence, grace and beauty of seven young girls who reside together in a remote country house in the South of France. The girls pass the hours unselfconciously with one another in their idyllic life of innocence, whether running along sunset tinged beaches, riding bicycles or horses up quiet and shady country roads, picking flowers in a meadows, ballet dancing, washing their hair outdoors, even sleeping. So why am I posting about <em>A Summer In St. Tropez</em>? Because I loved it.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQipo40diPI/AAAAAAAABAY/NDLTM321ggA/s1600-h/summersttropez-02.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:305px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQipo40diPI/AAAAAAAABAY/NDLTM321ggA/s400/summersttropez-02.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Be warned, though, Hamilton's film is art...unapologetic art. The director utilizes the actresses and the French countryside to keep the screen alive with beautiful imagery throughout, and disregards dialogue completely, though the characters <em>do</em> occasionally laugh and giggle. Unless you appreciate the art of photography (I was actually a part-time professional photographer back in the early 90's...big woop, huh?), I could see some growing bored with this film. There is no plot to speak of. Just sixty-minutes (yep, it is a pretty short film) of the seven lovely lasses going about their daily routines. Lucky for us, they are nude much of the time. Hamilton shot the film around his own house in Saint Tropez, which is 800 years old. Seeing this film makes you want to go to the South of France. The area is truly spectacular. Another factor which may put some off is Hamilton's trademark use of soft-focus photography and diffusion filters. I've heard many people remark that the quality of the DVD transfer is of poor quality; however, if you've ever seen any of Hamilton's photography books, you'll know that this is simply his style. Speaking of his books, stills from <em>A Summer In St. Tropez</em> can be seen in his 2005 book <em>La Danse</em>. Also, there are a handful of shots in the film that were taken from his books <em>Sisters</em> and <em>Dreams of a Young Girl</em>.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQippAkwm0I/AAAAAAAABAg/AwQF8yfVom4/s1600-h/summersttropez-03.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:305px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQippAkwm0I/AAAAAAAABAg/AwQF8yfVom4/s400/summersttropez-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Many of Hamilton's books depicts young teen girls nude, and unfortunately, he has been the subject of controversy and even child pornography allegations, mostly from the U.S. and Great Britain. This is a shame, because much like American photographer Sally Mann, whose early books contained nude pictures of her own adolescent children, Hamilton is one of the most talented photographers the world has ever known. Not to mention one of the most successful (his books have sold millions). Because of differing attitudes regarding age and nudity in France and much of the rest of the world, Hamilton has not received this negative attention in his adopted home. “A distinction must be made between eroticism and pornography," the 73 year-old Hamilton said. "The media have blurred the disparity to an unforgivable degree. For those intelligent enough to recognize the difference, erotica will continue to hold a unique fascination. Social evils should not be confused with the pursuit of true beauty.”<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQir4Ts4x-I/AAAAAAAABAo/yAqp3C6sMLU/s1600-h/summersttropez-04.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:305px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQir4Ts4x-I/AAAAAAAABAo/yAqp3C6sMLU/s400/summersttropez-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />I find it disturbing that some use Hamilton's photographs and films to fuel the "is it art or pornography?" debate. True, most of the model/actresses in <em>St. Tropez</em> are a few years older than many of those in his books and other films (17-18), but to think that someone could look upon his work and call it "pornography" or "obscene", regardless of age, astounds and alarms me. What does it say about the society we live in when a picture of a young girl innocently washing her hair in a garden tub is viewed as pornography? I'm not naive. I know that this is not the mere unfounded rantings of right-wing religious fanatics. Unfortunately, there are some sick, disgusting people in this world who get their rocks off by looking at photographs and films of little girls. Child pornography is a distressful shortcoming of the Internet age, a crime for which I think perpetrators should be punished harshly and severely. However, in the U.S. and other areas of the world, this could turn into something akin to the Salem Witch Trials. When Sally Mann's black-and-white photographs of her eleven year-old daughter climbing a tree without a shirt is looked upon as pornography... Well, it seems to me that those doing the accusing aren't that far removed from the perverted sicko masturbating in front of his computer screen.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQir4UN7tSI/AAAAAAAABAw/Uq24BJVkzsU/s1600-h/summersttropez-05.jpg"><img style="width:400px;height:305px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SQir4UN7tSI/AAAAAAAABAw/Uq24BJVkzsU/s400/summersttropez-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />From what I've seen from David Hamilton (<em>Bilitis, Laura: Shadows of a Summer</em> with Maud Adams, <em>Tender Cousins, Premiers désirs</em>), his films and books are beautiful and awe inspiring. After watching several of Catherine Breillat's grim films which explore female sexuality in a perverse stark and cold style, Hamilton offers a refreshing "flip side" to that, giving us a glimpse into the true beauty and pure innocence of seven lovely young women. This film isn't for everyone. As I've said, their is no dialogue and basically no plot. Just a master photographer doing what he does best.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B00019GI42"><em>A Summer In St. Tropez</em></a>?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/David+Hamilton" rel="tag">David Hamilton</a></p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-7436462908542652810?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=wbeSx0_NvbA:2bVyOlYhXC0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-62068798257991969522008-10-17T15:27:00.000-07:002011-01-07T06:05:35.008-08:00Anatomy Of Hell (2004)(aka: <em>Anatomie de l'enfer/Pornocratie</em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRKWbyDI/AAAAAAAAA2M/C58XgpvkAqQ/s1600-h/anatomyofhell-01.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRKWbyDI/AAAAAAAAA2M/C58XgpvkAqQ/s400/anatomyofhell-01.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:normal;line-height:80%;font-size:56;color:#cccccc">I</span> could lie and claim that I understood everything controversial French director Catherine Breillat intended to relay in her bizarre 2004 film <em>Anatomy Of Hell</em> the first time I watched it. But I won't. To a lot of viewers it may seem like just another twisted and pretentious "art-house" quasi-porn flick; which, in a way, I suppose it is. However, after watching this film twice, and watching the lengthy interview with the director on Tartan's DVD extras and reading a number of other interviews, I have a new appreciation, not only for this film, but for Catherine Breillat in general. She is an extremely intelligent lady. Saying this, I'll add that I've literally seen thousands of horror films and none surpass <em>Anatomy Of Hell</em> as far as being weird, disturbing or perverse. Breillat explores female sexuality and men's darkest fears about women's sexual power in this startling explicit and clinical film. The story centers on a woman (former model Amira Casar-<em>The Last Mistress</em> with Asia Argento) who pays a gay man (porn star Rocco Siffredi-<em>Romance</em>, Joe D'Amato's <em>Tarzan-X: Shame of Jane</em>) to accompany her home and watch her most private activities for four nights. To "watch her when she is unwatchable". He accepts her solicitation and is initially repulsed by the obscenity of the female body (???). Eventually, however, the two develop an intimate relationship, which threatens the man's identity.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRHH129I/AAAAAAAAA2U/MW0366ouy9M/s1600-h/anatomyofhell-02.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRHH129I/AAAAAAAAA2U/MW0366ouy9M/s400/anatomyofhell-02.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Though I'd heard of her of course, I've only just recently delved into the film's of Breillat. The first one, 1999's <em>Romance</em>, was impressive and thought provoking in a cold, clinical sort of way. I keep using the word "clinical", but really that is the best way to describe her films. As I mentioned in an earlier post on <em>Romance</em> here at <a href="http://horrormanblog.blogspot.com/">horrorman Blogs</a>, Breillat's films are usually grim and humorless and explore female sexuality in a stark and unflinching style, including scenes which border on the hardcore. I've heard it said that with her detached analytical approach, Breillat "takes the fun out of sex", which is true enough. With <em>Anatomy Of Hell</em>, the director brings to the forefront how men, perhaps unconsciously or very consciously, fear women and are perhaps even repulsed by them. Early on in the movie, when Casar's character slits her wrist in the bathroom of a gay nightclub, Rocco Siffredi's character rushes in to rescue her, "Why did you do that?" he inquires. "Because I'm a woman," Casar says. The Man, being gay, isn't that crazy about women either. Later on, back at The Woman's seaside chateau, he stands over her as she lies nude on her bed and proclaims, “I bless the day I was born immune to you and all of your kind. The elastic resistance of a boy's anus doesn't lie about the tightness of his lower intestine. The lie about the softness of women is hateful…the malevolent triviality that turns them into a trap.” Even as a little girl, The Woman was viewed as an oddity by her young male playmates, who, after growing tired of pushing her and asserting their male dominance, coerce her into playing "doctor". Of course, when she lays in the bushes and removes her panties, the three boys giggle and point and prod her vagina with the stems of their eyeglasses.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRGFdIDI/AAAAAAAAA2c/uco-XhrvxVc/s1600-h/anatomyofhell-03.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjoRGFdIDI/AAAAAAAAA2c/uco-XhrvxVc/s400/anatomyofhell-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />"Essentially, she's paying him to watch her where she can't be watched," Breillat said in a 2004 interview with <a href="http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/05/34/breillat_interview.html">Kevin Murphy</a>. "It's like the theory of Pythagoras, which postulates that you can't watch what is not watchable. We are constantly watching ourselves and aware of the fact that society is always watching us, but the difficulty lies in the attempt to see ourselves in a different way than we are envisaged by society. If you can't love yourself, you can't love anybody else. This woman is paying this man to be the first guy on the earth to look at her. They recreate the first night and the first woman, like Adam and Eve." Again, at first The Man is repulsed by The Woman. At one point, even outlining her naughty bits with lipstick to further highlight their obscenity. In another scene, he takes a rake from the garden and inserts it into her vagina while she is sleeping (obviously, she is a very sound sleeper). On the third and fourth nights, however, he gradually becomes enthralled by The Woman's biology when she starts her menstrual cycle. Roger Ebert said in his review of the film, "There are scenes here where Breillat deliberately disgusts us, not because we are disgusted by the natural life functions of women, as she implies, but simply because The Woman does things that would make any reasonable Man, or Woman, for that matter, throw up." Uh... Like what, Roger? Squeeze a stone dildo out her vagina? Drink menstrual tea? (Okay, granted, that <em>was</em> kind of messed up). To me, the most disgusting thing about the film was that Breillat intentionally found the hairiest women she could find for Amira Casar's body double (the movie makes a disclaimer at the beginning, saying that a body double was used for Casar's "most intimate scenes" and that this should be viewed as an extension of her character). I mean, haven't the French ever heard of Lady Schick?<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjnzcoOI0I/AAAAAAAAA2E/mgh405iLMNo/s1600-h/anatomyofhell-04.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjnzcoOI0I/AAAAAAAAA2E/mgh405iLMNo/s400/anatomyofhell-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Based on Breillat's novel <em>Pornocratie</em>, <em>Anatomy Of Hell</em> waste little time before offering up its often shocking images. Homophobes beware, the very first scene is of two gay men in an alleyway, one zealously giving the other a blowjob. Except for the hairy underarms, Amira Casar is lovely, and spends 99.9 % of the film nude. If you're curious as to "just how hardcore" some of the scenes are, there are at least two close-up scenes where Rocco inserts his fingers into The Woman's vagina (again, that of a body double). The second time, The Woman has just started her period and Rocco's fingers come out wet with blood. For a gay man who was supposedly sickened by the biology of a woman just two days earlier, he does a surprising thing and licks the blood off. The scene where The Man outlines The Woman's naughty bits with lipstick is as about as up-close and in your face as it can get. There is a scene where Rocco's character is lying with his head between The Woman's legs and she pushes out a huge stone dildo she'd been "hiding" (again...all that hair! Jeez!). And though Breillat claims that she found it impossible to find a single actress that would actually have intercourse with Siffredi, there is one "penetration" shot, albeit a very bloody one (quick! someone give that girl a transfusion). Rocco, being the studly porn star he is, had no qualms about showing off his manly attributes a time or two. Still, if you're merely looking for smut and good wholesome titillation, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. Breillat's films are not about pleasure or arousal.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjnzW52ZFI/AAAAAAAAA18/olKXzxHgnC4/s1600-h/anatomyofhell-05.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SPjnzW52ZFI/AAAAAAAAA18/olKXzxHgnC4/s400/anatomyofhell-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />I was surprised by the acting in <em>Anatomy Of Hell</em>. Not from Casar, who is a talented and excellent award winning actress, but from Rocco Siffredi. I guess European porn stars are better actors than those here in the U.S. (though, that's not saying much). I'd only seen Siffredi in Breillat's film <em>Romance</em>, in which he had a small, minor role. His part in this film is much meatier (no pun intended), and he actually displays a wide range of emotions. In short, I can understand the critics who bash this movie. It is quite pretentious. I think Breillat went out of her way to shock, offend and disgust. The dialogue was unrealistic and ostentatious, and believe it or not, for once, I agree with Mr. Ebert: as a man, I'm not disgusted by the natural biological functions of women (even the excessively hairy ones), though I have met a few of whom I'm afraid. But, damn it, I just can't help but liking Breillat's films. Shock away.<br /><br /><strong>UPDATE 10-18-08</strong> - Just watched Breillat's debut film <em>A Real Young Girl</em> and didn't really like it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B000FZEQCS"><em>Anatomy Of Hell</em></a>?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/art-house" rel="tag">Art House</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Catherine+Breillat" rel="tag">Catherine Breillat</a> </p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-3880379385431008741?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=xaBFJyRq_ro:7ci_GeJleJ8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-48559914690522038912008-10-08T21:13:00.000-07:002011-01-07T06:05:34.990-08:00Wicked Lake (2008)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRTOZfBI/AAAAAAAAAzU/fJnFJa9KdII/s1600-h/wickedlake-01.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRTOZfBI/AAAAAAAAAzU/fJnFJa9KdII/s400/wickedlake-01.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia,;color:#cccccc;font-size:56px;font-weight:normal;line-height:80%;letter-spacing:-6px">J</span>ack of all-trades Zack Passero (<em>The Big Weird Normal </em>) is the greatest director in the world! Why more filmmakers don't start their movies off with a hot naked girl posing in front of an art class and end it with <em>four</em> hot naked girls splashing in a lake while the credits roll is a mystery to me. Written by Adam Rockoff (author of <em>Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film</em>), and Chris Sivertson (Jack Ketchum's <em>The Lost</em>), <em>Wicked Lake</em> is about four beautiful co-eds who embark on a road trip to a lakeside mountain cabin for a relaxing weekend. Unbeknownst to them, two clans of deranged male misfits have their eyes on them. The girls appear to be easy prey for the predatory perverts, at least until the fateful stroke of midnight when all hell literally breaks loose. I hate to read <span style="color:#ff0000">spoilers</span> in a review, but I would imagine most horror fans (at least those visiting this site) have either already heard or read what happens with the girls [stop reading and skip to the next paragraph if you haven't]. At the stroke of midnight the quartet of lovelies turn into teeth-gnashing, skull-chomping, blood-sucking vampire/witches and quickly turn the tables on the male intruders. And boy, do they ever.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRWHSUoI/AAAAAAAAAzc/cKozOYPWqqA/s1600-h/wickedlake-02a.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRWHSUoI/AAAAAAAAAzc/cKozOYPWqqA/s400/wickedlake-02a.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Wicked Lake is Fever Dreams third U.S. production following <em>Flesh For The Beast</em> and <em>Shadow: Dead Riot</em>. As I mentioned, Passero starts the film out with Ilene (Robin Sydney-<em>Big Bad Wolf, Dead Man's Hand </em>) posing nude in front of an art-class. Caleb, one of the wanna-be artist (Marc Senter-<em>Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever</em>) walks Ilene home after class and, after giving her a child-like drawing of a unicorn jumping over a rainbow, ask to feel one of her breast. Though Ilene plops one out, one of her gal pals steps out onto the porch and scares the quirky and shy fellow off. When Caleb returns home, we find that he isn't the only oddball in the family. His two abusive older brothers (Will Keenan -<em>Tromeo and Juliet</em>, and Justin Stone-<em>Mad Cowgirl</em>), along with their wheelchair bound uncle Sir Jim (Frank Birney -TV's <em>The Practice </em>), are there to greet him. When the fam starts to give him a hard time for coming home late, Caleb promptly tells them about the four girls. Being the horn-dog family that they are, the four take out to follow the ladies to their rented cabin by the lake. The girls, however, before reaching their quite mountain retreat, stop at a gas station for refreshments and tampons (they really do). In the process of doing their shopping, they manage to both provoke and arouse (one idiot even sits on a stool and masturbates the entire time the girls are there) three backwoods hicks. So now, they not only have Caleb and his nutbag family following them, but three libidinous hillbillies as well. Once they reach the cabin, the girls sunbathe and go for a swim in the lake (nude, of course. <em>Can</em> girls really get breast cancer from laying in the sun topless?), and in general, have a gay ole' time. That is until nightfall, when Caleb and his family show up. After Helen (Eryn Joslyn -<em>The Grey</em>) let's them in, Caleb's brothers, Palmer and Fred, immediately begin to abuse and humiliate the girls. When nervous Caleb grows too excited and pukes all over the floor, Palmer forces Jill (Eve Mauro-<em>The Devil's Dungeon, Land Of The Lost</em>) to strip off her shirt and use it to clean up the mess. Later, he makes Mary (newcomer Carlee Baker) spread her legs and bend over while Fred cuts off her shorts with a straight razor and spanks her with a belt. After which they attempt to make her suck on Sir Jim's "nub". For the ladies, however, all the humiliation ends at the stroke of midnight.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRlRnVfI/AAAAAAAAAzk/W2us6Gp3kN8/s1600-h/wickedlake-02b.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1bRlRnVfI/AAAAAAAAAzk/W2us6Gp3kN8/s400/wickedlake-02b.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Once the mayhem ensues, SFX make-up artist Melanie Tooker (who worked on <em>From Dusk Till Dawn, Army Of Darkness</em> and Clive Barker's <em>Lord of Illusions</em>) takes care of all the blood and gore and does very well, considering the film's budget. There are several well-executed FX scenes that should please gore-hounds: a severed head exploding in a microwave, numerous spouting jugulars, a scene where a guy gets his brains sucked out through a straw, a tree branch rammed up through a girl's jaw, a bullet to the groin, a shot-gun blast to another guy's head... Not to mention poor Jacob hanging impaled to the front door throughout half of the movie. Still, it's obvious Passero's main focus was not on blood and guts, but rather T&A. In a recent interview, he said, "We could've cast a bunch of bimbos that didn't mind getting naked, and it could've been pretty terrible, I think." Instead, he sought out four young actresses (three of whom were relatively unknown at the time) who not only didn't seem to mind getting naked, but were impressive actresses to boot. Kudos to Dino Ladki for casting these four very gorgeous ladies. All of them are remarkably sexy (even if the film hadn't been half as good, it would've still been worth watching just to see them). Eve Mauro is amazing.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKHMey5I/AAAAAAAAAzs/D2o42HvDBXg/s1600-h/wickedlake-03.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKHMey5I/AAAAAAAAAzs/D2o42HvDBXg/s400/wickedlake-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />I haven't mentioned that while things are taking place at the cabin, two police detectives are also tracking the girls after discovering a little surprise in their basement back home. Michael Esparza (<em>I Know Who Killed Me</em>) plays Ray, a young rookie cop who has teamed up with his late father's ex-partner, Jake, a burnt-out, cynical, coke-sniffing veteran played by Tim Thomerson (<em>Trancers </em>). I suppose their roles were necessary considering the ending, but I felt that their scenes interrupted the flow of the main plot. Still, it was fun seeing Thomerson playing the stereotypical cop. There are also a couple of cameo appearances worth mentioning: Angela Bettis (Lucky McKee's MOH episode <em>Sick Girl</em>) plays the part of a mother waiting for her little daughter outside a gas station bathroom (I laughed so hard when Carlee Baker's character flipped-off the little girl as they were walking away). Also, Al Jourgensen from Ministry not only provides the film's score, but appears briefly as a perverted art professor. I've been a big fan of Ministry since "The Land Of Rape And Honey", and was impressed with Jourgensen's cover songs used on the soundtrack. The introduction he gives at the beginning of the DVD is pretty amusing as well.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKDvfznI/AAAAAAAAAz0/bBhDdjSXifk/s1600-h/wickedlake-04.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKDvfznI/AAAAAAAAAz0/bBhDdjSXifk/s400/wickedlake-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />I may have been exaggerating a tad-bit (well, a lot) when I said Passero was the greatest director in the world. All the beautiful ladies just had me excited. <em>Wicked Lake</em> isn't without its faults, but what film isn't. Though I would have liked to have seen a few more SFX scenes (not just bodies and mouths smeared with blood), for a low-budget horror/dark-comedy, I was pleasantly surprised. And I'm <em>always</em> in favor of films that forgo CGI. It was definitely worth the $20, for I'm sure I'll be watching it again and again. If you are a female, my girlfriend and her friend was over watching this film with me, and surprisingly, they both liked it too. But then...my girlfriend is kind of a sicko-perv.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKYYQNGI/AAAAAAAAAz8/8aBzMVhL8xY/s1600-h/wickedlake-05.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SO1dKYYQNGI/AAAAAAAAAz8/8aBzMVhL8xY/s400/wickedlake-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B001D264Z4"><em>Wicked Lake</em></a>?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/horror" rel="tag">Horror</a></p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-8516896657274895689?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=SGOgnvGuuuY:adksbZK6VFY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-63382523853372271412008-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:002011-01-07T06:05:34.979-08:00The Devil's Plaything (1973)(aka: <em>Fluch der Schwarzen Schwestern, Der/Vampire Ecstasy/Veil of Blood/Schloss der schwarzen Hexen, Das/The Curse of the Black Sisters </em>)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwphAl8II/AAAAAAAAAxk/O1OrVPP0Hz0/s1600-h/devilsplaything-01.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwphAl8II/AAAAAAAAAxk/O1OrVPP0Hz0/s400/devilsplaything-01.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia,;color:#cccccc;font-size:56px;font-weight:normal;line-height:80%;letter-spacing:-6px">N</span>estled in the mountains of present day Germany, a grim and secluded castle stands - the haunted legacy of the beautiful medieval vampire Baroness Daniella Varga. Executed centuries earlier because of her ravenous lust for female blood, the Baroness uttered a curse that she would return one day to satisfy her unnatural lust. When four unwary women convene on the castle, they are unaware that the dark and mysterious housekeeper is a satanic high priestess presiding over a coven of delectable minions who perform wild orgiastic rituals and sensual lesbian acts each night to keep the Baroness' profane spirit alive. The women are drawn deeper and deeper into the erotic nightmare, succumbing to torrid and evil fantasies of the flesh, as Daniella and her servants attempt to use one of the house guests as a vessel for the baroness's return so that she might continue her evil reign of terror.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwpjBkXyI/AAAAAAAAAxs/UCGbrtXUzeQ/s1600-h/devilsplaything-02.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwpjBkXyI/AAAAAAAAAxs/UCGbrtXUzeQ/s400/devilsplaything-02.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />American sexploitation giant Joseph W. Sarno (<em>Confessions of a Young American Housewife, Inga</em>) and producer Chris Nebe teamed up in the mid-'70's to make a trio of exploitation films. The first of these was the softcore vampire nudie <em>The Devil's Plaything</em> in Nebe's native country of Germany. I find it a bit difficult to write about this film, because Sarno was so erratic. There were numerous scenes that were obviously inspired by Hammer's erotic "Karnstein" vampire films (<em>The Vampire Lovers, Lust For A Vampire, Twins Of Evil</em>) as well as <em>Countess Dracula</em>, and despite the opinion of many reviewers who say that Sarno was incapable of creating and capturing that "Gothic" atmosphere, I'd have to disagree. No, it's certainly not Hammer (<em>nobody</em> could make films like Hammer), but there were plenty of scenes which I thought were moody and atmospheric. Most of the exterior scenes outside the castle were spectacular (the castle, a 12th-century Munich bastion, was supposedly owned by producer Chris Nebe's uncle), and many others, including the one where Marie Forsa's character creeps nude through the shadows into the room of another guest to hover over his bed, is proof that cinematographer Steve Silverman (<em>Passion in Hot Hollows</em>) was more than capable. On the flip side, there were almost as many scenes that seemed rushed and sloppily composed. Another factor which I found a bit irritating and off-putting was the character's heavy German accents. Sarno shot the movie with English dialogue instead of German or Swedish so as to make it more presentable to U.S. and other English speaking markets. In doing so, in many of the scenes you have to pay close attention to understand and follow what the characters are saying, and even then, it is touch and go. However, I thought the heavy accents lent some air of authenticity to the film, whereas shoddy English dubbing would have only cheapened it. So...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwp4qvpPI/AAAAAAAAAx0/CodPFl7aMJY/s1600-h/devilsplaything-03.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpwp4qvpPI/AAAAAAAAAx0/CodPFl7aMJY/s400/devilsplaything-03.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Sarno's story is entertaining enough, and the director waste little time in getting things rolling having four young woman and a man arriving at the misty and ominous Castle Varga within the first few minutes. Two of the ladies, Helga and Monika, have been summoned to the castle for the reading of an inheritance, which gives them rightful ownership of the abode provided they reside there for an entire year (Helga has also brought along her best friend). The other two, a female anthropologist who specializes in the occult and ancient folk-lore and her brother, show up after their car breaks down near the castle. The five are greeted by the dark and mysterious "housekeeper" Wanda, who promptly shows them to their rooms. That night, the five guest hear peculiar chanting coming from the bowels of the castle and, on the ensuing nights, each falls victim to torrid sexual fantasies brought on by Wanda and a coven of nude disciples bent on bringing the 400 year-old Baroness Daniella Varga back to life. It seems that Wanda (Hungarian actress Nadia Henkowa - <em>Butterflies</em>) has the power to hypnotize and cast spells that "set your nipples on fire." If you've ever seen a Sarno film, you might have a pretty good idea of what the director is going to present. Wanda and her coven engage in nightly orgiastic rituals below in the castle's dungeon, gyrating nude in front of flaming cauldrons, masturbating with penis shaped candles, and having sex with the two sole male members of the group (lucky bastards). Sarno also introduces us to Swedish sexpot Marie Forså (<em>Justine And Juliette</em>), who was only 17 at the time and plays the part of Helga. Forså isn't the most attractive actress in the world, but there were a couple of scenes, one where she fellates a candle and a couple where she moans and writhes while rubbing her crotch and moaning, "Oh please...make it stop. Make this throbbing stop," that might have some squirming on their couches. German actress Ulrike Butz (she appeared in a number of Walter Boos' early 70's sex comedies, like <em>The Swinging Co-eds</em>) plays Monika. Butz's character is a relatively minor one up until the last third of the film, after which "Monika" suddenly becomes a rather important facet of the story. Dr. Julia Malenkow (Anke Syring-<em>Girl Meets Girl</em>) and her brother Peter (Nico Wolferstetter-<em>Love In 3-D</em>), are the siblings whose car breaks down near the castle. Julia, an anthropologist, is the only one intelligent enough it seems to suspect something odd is going on within the castle. Dr. Julia, who also has an "unnatural" relationship with her brother, tries to warn him and gives him a crucifix made of garlic. So what does Pete do? Gives it to the little tart Helga for whom he has the hots. Others in the cast include Flavia Keyt (she appeared uncredited as a prostitute in <em>The French Sex Murders</em>), Alon D'Armand (<em>The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse </em>), Claudia Fielers (<em>Caged Women</em>), Natasha Michnowa (<em>Bittersweet Love</em>), and Christa Jaeger (<em>Girl Meets Girl</em>).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpyuw6eqLI/AAAAAAAAAx8/I0XuzTJsRFQ/s1600-h/devilsplaything-04.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpyuw6eqLI/AAAAAAAAAx8/I0XuzTJsRFQ/s400/devilsplaything-04.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Surprisingly, I really liked <em>The Devil's Plaything</em>. A lot of things could have been better--Sarno's choppy editing, the often incomprehensible dialogue, the fact that most of the actresses were unattractive and hard-looking (yes, I know, I'm shallow)--but overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I've loved female vampire movies from the very first moment I saw Hammer's <em>Brides Of Dracula</em> when I was eight or nine years old. Unfortunately, <em>The Devil's Plaything</em> doesn't come close to comparing to those classics of Hammer. Sarno was certainly no Terence Fisher and Nebe was no Anthony Hinds, but considering Sarno's specialty was cheapy-nudie flicks...I thought the film turned out okay. As much as I like nudity in films, I think that if Sarno would have focused more on the vampire elements and catching that moody, Gothic feel he would have produced a far more substantial and enjoyable movie. I would have liked to have seen more sexy vampires roaming the shadowy foyers in flowing sheer negligee or gallivanting across the countryside or through the misty woodlands, and fewer repetitive scenes of the coven swaying behind a burning cauldron. And if your going to make a film about female vampires, give them fangs for godsakes, and show us a lot more neck-biting and blood.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpyu4lytII/AAAAAAAAAyE/yqbeC51SPlI/s1600-h/devilsplaything-05.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOpyu4lytII/AAAAAAAAAyE/yqbeC51SPlI/s400/devilsplaything-05.jpg" border="0"></a><br /><br />Retro Shock-O-Rama Cinema offers this film in two different versions. <em>The Devil’s Plaything</em> is the R-rated cut of the film, which Sarno shot as <em>Veil of Blood</em>. The DVD comes with a coupon you can send in to get the "unrated" version (titled <em>Vampire Ecstasy</em>) for the cost of S&H. My coupon is still<br />tucked away inside the sleeve.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/dvd.jpg"><br />Ready to buy <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/horroblogs-20/detail/B000AM6P20"><em>The Devil's Plaything</em></a> ?<br /><br /><br /><p><img alt="Technorati" src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/horror" rel="tag">Horror</a>,<a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Joseph+Sarno" rel="tag">Joseph Sarno</a> </p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-4003285887782814855?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=FDwx-e-gBAE:rMTRsxTkcwQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965110824984570554.post-8424145008117073402008-10-03T13:36:00.000-07:002011-01-07T06:05:34.969-08:00Early One-Sheet For Argento's Giallo -<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZY_fCoBeI/AAAAAAAAAwU/PQ8kyibISM4/s1600-h/gialloposter.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZY_fCoBeI/AAAAAAAAAwU/PQ8kyibISM4/s400/gialloposter.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br /><br />The guys over at <a href="http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com">Shock Till You Drop</a> had this early refined one-sheet for Dario Argento's upcoming thriller <em>Giallo</em> posted this morning, though Argento has said that the title will likely change.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZj3dtpeoI/AAAAAAAAAwc/lQHZYiTO_tg/s1600-h/giallo1.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZj3dtpeoI/AAAAAAAAAwc/lQHZYiTO_tg/s400/giallo1.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br /><br />The story concerns an American model, Celine (Elsa Pataky-<em>Beyond Re-Animator</em>), who is kidnapped off the streets by a killer known as "Yellow" during fashion week in Milan and put through a series of terrifying, humiliating and painful ordeals. Her sister Linda (Emmanuelle Seigner-Roman Polanski's <em>Bitter Moon</em>) desperately recruits Inspector Enzo Avolfi (Adrien Brody-<em>King Kong, The Village</em>) to find Celine before she suffers the same awful fate as the other beautiful victims...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZj3vaXayI/AAAAAAAAAwk/PAjFIIxAfC0/s1600-h/giallo3.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qFCw1hI0-9k/SOZj3vaXayI/AAAAAAAAAwk/PAjFIIxAfC0/s400/giallo3.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br /><br />The principal photography for <em>Giallo</em> was completed this past June, and the film is due out in theaters sometime next year.<br /><br /><br /><p><img src="http://www.cswnet.com/~mnorwood/technorati.gif" alt="Technorati"> Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/horror" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Dario+Argento" rel="tag">Dario Argento</a> </p><div><img width="1" height="1" src="http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7694749457244371976-3597338914804747067?l=horrormanblog.blogspot.com"></div><div><br/><a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?i=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?a=UIeS0i0CAso:ct--t429cAY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/HorrormansBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></a><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0