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A time capsule. A strange documentary kind of film that could only have been made in the 1970's. A number of people are invited do tell the filmmakers what their ultimate sexual desire would be, after which they are given a chance to actually have these played out for real, with the help of porn star Robert Kerman (who is know by serious filmfanatics for his part in Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust), amongst others. It turns out that these (real) people have (really) weird fantasies ranging from being abaused by medics while being operated upon to something as predictable as a guy wishing do experience a threesome. What is so stunning about this documentary is that we learn that even in the wild years of free love people simply couldn't handle this freedom because the desires they have turn out do be as disappointing as they are weird. It turns out that only the guy with the least redicilous wishes (the threesome with two girls) actually enjoyed the experience. It seems that then and now people always want do make more of sex that there actually is. For this alone it is an interesting film to watch. We get to see the entire process, from people being selected in the street, them telling about their desires and the action out, all rounded out by their commentaries on the experiences. All of this with very straight faces and surprisingly little gratuitous nudity, giving the viewer the impression that a scientific research to all this was the goal, and not to get as much as cheap nude scenes as possible, which of course is nonsense but makes for extremely fun viewing. A time capsule like this would probably have been lost forever if it wasn't for a company named Troma. Recommended.
A rare gem in British independent filmmaking. This is a film that requires some patience, and for that reason may not be compatible with the regular Multiplex-movie-goer. But for those who watch movies for their content instead of only for fast moving ridiculousness, this is a very interesting one, because it is a little of a lot of things and a lot of never seen before. Apparently the producer/writer/director Jon Sorensen (responsible for the special effects of Alien, The Dark Crystal, Moonraker and Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, to name a few) had trouble finding funds to finance the film, because in Britain it was the first independent film with a science fiction theme in at least ten years. Producing it himself he eventually managed to go on with the project, and that is a very good thing, because he made certainly the first British independent film of any kind that is remotely like ALIEN BLOOD. The film evolves around a hunted mother and her child, which is the target of the incredibly unrelenting mostly masked persons, the leader of which mentions to be responsible for “this project”. A family having a dress-party for the millennium gets involved and without us learning the exact truth about the mother and the child, the film is keeping the viewer constantly involved with them, concerned for them. Without much plot this is a very poetic film, of which each and every frame could be framed and hanged on the wall for it’s sheer beauty. The atmosphere reminds a little of some of the best Jean Rollin pictures, especially Requiem For A Vampire, as it shares a very long beginning without any dialog, and a sneaked in vampire theme combined with some implied lesbianism plus the fact that people who come “from another world” speak French lead to believe that the director indeed wanted to include some nods to the French auteur filmmaker. With it’s visual poetry, stunningly thrilling atmosphere, wonderfully worked out story and questions that still remain after the closing titles have ended, this is a very special film. Some people complain about the acting in many films that are made with a comparatively small budget, but even the most cynical of those could complain here. The acting has to be done without a lot of lines, so facial expressions are very important, and the cast deliver a great performance. The DVD has an interesting monologue by Sorensen, in which he shares a good deal of information about the production of the film and beautiful shots of the location (just as beautiful) where Alien Blood was shot.
Still controversial! A superb film in the "mayhem in the backwoods" genre, but this time with a highly original plot and an intirely unexpected twist. The film manages to maintain its gruesome, unsettling atmosphere for the entire length and handles its controversial subject-matter in a sublime way. An absolute must-see. The dvd comes with an overload of extra's.
Dark, disturbing and disorienting. This film handles such heavy subjects as insanity, torture, abduction, corrupt police officers, white slavery, and much more and still manages to be entertaining. Much of this is due to the performance of Seamus O’Brien, who, as Sardu, delivers the sometimes surreal dialog completely straight faced. It is a shame this actor was killed by a burglar in his house early in his carreer, as I believe he could have been as great as Christopher Lee. The interaction with his assistant Ralphus (played by Luis De Jesus, who later found his way in the Star Wars universe as Ewok in Return of the Jedi) is very light-hearted, especially during some gruesome scenes of extreme horror. The music score also adds to a strange atmosphere by using very light themes during the heaviest scenes and rather disturbing sounds during rather comedic scenes but especially by not always using this technique, so that the viewer is constantly disoriented. The production value of the film is enhanced by director Joel M. Reed’s ingenious ways lighting, use of darkness and thus suggesting much more than there is without distracting from the story and the characters, but actually managing to add to the films atmosphere not in spite of, but because the limited budget. I very much doubt if the same wonderful result could be achieved, even today, over thirty years later, with a limitless budget and all the CGI effects in the world. The DVD includes, amongst many other things, a very revealing introduction by Lloyd Kaufman. Plus interviews with some of the actors and a highly informative audio-commentary by Eli Roth, director, writer and producer of such films as Cabin Fever and Hostel.
Brilliantly uncomfortable. An unwanted baby that is disposed of by placing it in a dumpster is a superb metaphor for the kind of world most kids are born into these days. As we follow the baby through various circumstances as it goes from hand to hand, we see more and more of this dumpster of a world we live in. This film is dark, depressing and uses a palette that beautifully illustrates it's story and message. It is made on a low budget, but Dumpster Baby is one of those movies that show that not only no unlimited amount of money is needed to make a great film, but that the lack of it actually adds to the gritty atmosphere it wants to capture (a message maestro Mario Bava already understood perfectly, often handing films in under budget, because not all of the cash was needed to make a fine product). No CGI-effects could ever recreate this kind of realism. I have read about the bad sound the film is supposed to have. OK, admitted, it is not quite 5-channel ultra-dolby mix that we get here, but as with the murky atmosophere that the cameras captured so magnificently, the sometimes hard to follow mumblings the people speak to each other add a fitting non-communicational loneliness to the lives of those we follow. Highly original, extremely hard-hitting and rather uncomfortable. In other words: a poetic masterpiece, a must-see and a must-have.
Scream...But so much better. This film start the inimitable Joe Spinell in a part that only he knows how to deliver. Aspiring filmmaker Vinnie (Spinell) is an obsessive fan of scream queen Jenna Bates (Bond-girl Caroline Muroe) and wants to make his own film, with her as a star. This doesn't quite work out, and he stalks all the way to theCannes film festival where things go from bad to even worse. This film from 1981 is made on a budget that wouldn't cover the first week's catering on some of the slick so-called Horror movies (i.e.: some teens running around screaming) but is so much better than most of them. The characters are a lot more believable than the stereotypes you see in the mainstream Hollywood so-called horrorflicks in Scream and the Bad Guy (with all his good intentions) is much scarier than the rediculous Freddie in his own much too famous filmseries. The atmosphere is extremely unsettling, which is enhanced by little things one could easily miss (like a theatre at Cannes advertising to show Cannibal Holocaust - a film you would hardly expect to play at today's Festival). One prophetic scene is saying a lot about the aforementioned Blockbuster Horror movies that Hollywood chunks out. During a press conference the star in the film Jenna Bates is asked if she is at the Cannes Festival to promote her new film. "Yes, and it is called 'Scream', is her answer. 'Now, that is bound to sell a lot of popcorn'. And this is fifteen years before Wes Craven released his rediculous kiddies-horror - just an example to show where many filmmakers get their inspiraton: from TROMA, of course. Highly recommended.
The Troma movie that everybody will like! Directed by and starring Jenna Fischer who most people will know from her role in the American version of The Office tv series. Her very natural acting abilities make it very easy to forget that the documentary LolliLove you are watching, is actually a skillfully scripted and directed film. Fischer wrote her directorial debut with Peter Alton and (uncredited) her real-life husband James Gunn (writer of the Scooby Doo films, Dawn of the Dead remake and Tromeo and Juliet and writer/director of Slither) . Gunn also plays her husband in the film as well, and as he has shown briefly in Tromeo & Juliet, his acting is of the same lifelike quality as Jenna’s. Lollilove is about those people who try to do the right thing by devoting themselves to a charity project for all the wrong reasons and without any genuine knowledge or understanding of the badly treated individuals in our society they try to help, and even worse so: without any interest in them apart from the opportunity to show off as a better person themselves. And the saddest thing is that they don’t even know or realize this themselves. A very dark comedy that is never too funny and sometimes gut-wrenchingly showing the mental poverty of those who are looked upon as being well off. With this film as her debut as a film director, it should only be common sense to be confident that Jenna Fischer has a rich career ahead of her. The feature film is done justice with a rich collection of extra’s on Troma’s dvd presentation that would make Criterion proud. A very informative and entertaining audio-commentary by Fisher and Gunn with Peter Alton and producer Stephen Blackeheart (100 million BCfriends, a very detailed behind the scenes documentary and a rich collection of deleted scenes and interviews with the Gunns, but also historic film introductions with James Gunn and Stephen Blackeheart from various Troma films, exclusive footage from the set of James Gunn’s Slither and much more. Also starring Linda Cardellini (E.R., Broke Back Mountain), Jason Segel (CSI), Joan M. Blair (Donnie Darko, E.R.), Lloyd Kaufman (Terror Firmer) and many more, this is a star studded film that would have been a huge hit if it wasn’t released by a blacklisted small independent film studio. Do yourself a favor and see this film. Buy it. Enjoy it. Highly recommended!
The DVD-audio-commentary for this film could be seen as a bonus to Lloyd Kaufman's brilliant movie-school in a box "Make your own damn movie", as it explains in detail how this very cheaply made film was conceived, without being boring for even a second. But, that is only the commentary track by director Gionata Zarantonello, who indeed made a masterpiece that shows many times it's budget. Through his innovative way of shooting, using his actors and making use of the extraordinary locations he created a beautiful dreamlike film that takes the viewer away to a horrifying world of violence and abuse that everybody who has had a less-than-ideal time in school will immediately recognize. This seems to be sounding a bit paradoxial, but in the terrors shown and old wounds being ripped open again the recognition of someone in far away Italy showing exactly all these things you were never able to explain satisfyingly to anyone in such beautiful images makes for one of the finest cinematic experiences I ever encountered!!
This movie is much more than it seems to the casual viewer. Don't be put off by the cheesy song during the opening titles. After this there are some shots of a spaceship that are highly reminiscent of the SFX used in the best Science Fiction ever (be it series or film): Blake's 7. Fans of that series know that expensive effects are not what a great viewing experience make, so for those of you who are only used to the boring Holywood films that only attract viewers because of the expensive FX, just sit through this scene for a very short while and you will be pleasantly surprised by what Outlaw Prophet has to offer. On first glance it doesn't show for the casual viewer, but look a little further and the film is a complicated amalgam of Science Fiction, a highly original view on religion and a very accurate attack on today's viewer-ratings-based television culture (if you can still call it that). And all of these elements are intertwined in a way that leaves you increasingly surprised as the film nears the end. The acting is very good, especially considdering the budget of the film - the little girl is brilliant! David Heavener wrote, produced and stars in this film, so we know that what we see is actually the vision of the creator and no executives have messed with the product to include any "popular themes" or rip-off scenes from movies that sold well recently, as is so often the case with the expensive garbage that we see in the multiplexes. Highly recommended!!
TWO VERSIONS ON ONE DISC: CHILLING AND HILARIOUS A very moody low budget horror film and with a sublime atmosphere. If you only like expensive special effects, this is not for you, but if you care much more for a chilling story, an atmosphere of decay and beautiful shot scenes than PARTS OF THE FAMILY is definitely worth checking out. Apart from that you also get another version of the same story on this DVD, made by the Troma Team, headed by Lloyd Kaufman. This is a much more paced an humorous look on the same proceedings, that shed an entirely different light on the entire story, and on it's production. The original film is a very good one for those who love horror films for the right reasons, the Tromatic version is wonderful for those who love their horror with some intelligent humor (and I am not talking about the lame attemtps at humor in the popular Hollywood thrillers). As a lesson in filmmaking this second version could also serve as an appendix do Lloyd Kaufmans highly educational DVD box MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE. And the extra's on the disc are, as usual with Troma releases, worth the price alone. Available in two covers: clean and Tromatic.
Minimalism to the brilliant limit!!! There are a lot of low-budget horror movies that try to follow the strange and unwritten rules of cinema that state that some linear storytelling should be what a film evolves around. Most of the entries to the genre, especially when zombies are involved, also try to throw in a fair share of social comments by use of metaphors. Only very few directors are talented enough to actually make that work, and not everybody can be as genial as Lloyd Kaufman of George A. Romero. And here we come to what makes POT ZOMBIES such a unique and highly entertaining new film: it doesn’t do all that. It doesn’t follow all those rules. It doesn’t follow any rule. It has no plot, not much of a story, no metaphors whatsoever. It follows a loosely connected chain of people who smoke radioactively contaminated weed untill they turn into flesheating zombies because of it and then make their first victim. And director Justin Powers does this so magnificently well that the entire 90 minutes of the film feel like a roller coaster ride of fantastically gory scenes that only leave the viewer hungry for more. A beautiful female smoker-turned-zombie is a huge teaser as we never see her actually get into flesh eating action, so all I wanted after the film had ended was a sequel. The good news is that it is already in production! Better still: it will have Nicola Fiore in it! I can’t wait! This first entry in Troma’s MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE: YOUNG FILMMAKERS SERIES is a winner, and everyone who loves good movies that are made for the right reasons will definitely want to see this series go on for a very long time.
One word: brilliant!! Made over a period of no less than ten years under terrible circumstances and loaded with bad luck, this is one of the best horror films of the past decades. It has the intelligence of other recently made low-budget films and the atmosphere of the beautiful works we saw in the late seventies and early eighties. Due to a lot of rip-offs and other unforeseen bad luck (wonderfully explained in the extra's on the DVD) the only surviving print was the workprint, which wasn't in the best of shape, but weirdly enough the scratches and sometimes slightly incorrect colors only add to the atmosphere of this wonderful, shocking and entertaining piece of art. We can only thank Troma for deciding to give this masterpiece a release in spite of the technical imperfections rather that not releasing it at all. For anyone with an interest in the wonderful horror of decades ago and the sinister and disturbing look of serious terror this is one film not to miss!
A different kind of movie. A very early Oliver Stone (associate-)produced film, and one of the first films in the impressive career of Lloyd Kaufman (co-founder and president of the world's only real independent filmstudio Troma, creator of the Toxic Avenger and, at the prestigious Amsterdam Fantastic Filmfestival, lifetime-achievement awarded filmmaker for over 30 years). Having raised the money for this film on his own, Lloyd wrote this script together with Theodore Gershuni in 1970 and in hindsight regrets having listened to advice to have Gershuni else direct the film instead of doing it himself. But back then he was still inexperienced in the business and it is probably because of decisions like these that he takes no nonsense from anyone anymore. Indeed it would have been interesting to see Lloyd's version of his own script - as one of the world's most original, daring, experimental and non-compromising directors he probably would have given it even more edge than it already has. But as it is we have the Gershuni-directed film. And weather it is due to the strong script, or the fact that he too is indeed quite a director of his own, SUGAR COOKIES is a very intelligent, highly suspenseful and well-crafted motion picture that deserves a lot more attention than it receives. The shoestring budget the small studio (this was even before Kaufman and his friend and partner for over 30 years now, Michael Herz, formed Troma) had to work with is so well handled that the film looks a lot more expensive, indeed does not have a "low budget" look at all. The story revolves around lesbian Camilla Stone (played by enigmatic Mary Woronow) and her lover who winds up dead through circomstances I won't reveal not to spoil a delightful story. This leads to a succession of plot-twists, mind games and personality reform that is loosely inspired by Hitchcock's Vertigo and at least as inventive. The atmosphere is a lot grimmer, though, and some comparisons to Nicholas Roeg's and Donald Cammell's PERFORMANCE come to mind. In this mix is a very original and inventive erotic laden thriller that keeps it quite unclear as to how it is all going to end, which, along with a splendidly interwoven sub-plot with a nod to Kaufman's earlier and unfortunately unavailable BIG GUSS WHAT'S THE FUSS, makes for a very exciting one-and-a-half-hour. Certainly one of the best films in Troma's library, and yet again one of those films that defy the curious fantasy that their catalog is one of bad taste. The DVD includes some recent interviews Kaufman conducts with Woronov and the other leading lady Lynn Lowry, thus giving some interesting insight in what went on during the making of this cult-favorite and a few hints of what would be different had Lloyd directed it himself. Highly recommended.
German cinema at its very best! This german film, released here with it's original sundtrack and english subtitles, is totally unique in it's subject matter and in its form. Roughly it is about a young couple who decide to offer their services on a website to film other people's suicide. There is a lot more to it, but there are some very interesting and unexpected plot twists that would be a shame to give away - you just have to see this for yourself. It is entirely shot on Digital Video - but BEWARE all those people who have some strange grudge against this medium, let me tell you: this is the only way this film could have been made. This is one of those films where the choice of that medium is essential, enhances the horrifying nature of the film and, indeed, is no less than a character in the story. Funny thing is that, partly because of the use of video instead of filmstock, this film looks as though it was a lot easier to make than in reality is the case. There is no use of the obvious and much-too-often used digital effects that we are bored with in the multiplex theatres, everything looks as though it is plainly shot with a small handheld camera. But the suicides that are shown are so shockingly realistic and indeed much better looking than rapidly outdated digital effects in any 100 million dollar movie that it is hard to believe that the makers of this "small" film have achieved this level of 100% realism. This is enhanced by the true-to-life acting of absolutely everybody in this film. It is dark and very unsettling, but essential to everyone interested in intelligent horrorfilms, german cinema from the likes of Jorg Buttgereit or Michael Haneke and for everyone who wants just that little bit more from a movie-experience than just laid-back entertainment. Suicide is one of those films that everybody who ever keeps claiming that TROMA only releases trashfilms should see. This is yet another example of the knowledgeability of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Hertz when it comes to choosing new films to pick up and release under their banner. I can't imagine for the life of me how this peculiar little fantasy ever originated, but let's set things straight here: their catalog is packed with brilliant gems and unique works of art. And SUICIDE is one of those.
This film deserves more attention than it gets. A breathtaking allegory of the world we live in, Viral Assassins, set in an undefined near future, shows the government's solution to the problem of a new terminal desease - they simply make carrying the desease a capital crime. Most of the film is taken up by a terrifying secret conversation that takes place between three people in one room; skinscrawlingly uneasy secrecy and mistrust, on top of the claustrophobic nature of the setting, make this a film that, in spite of it's modest budget, easily surpasses the tension and watchability of any major multimilliondollar Hollywood movie with a critical edge (in itself a rare commodity). In Viral Assassis you get nothing of the predictable plots that we know from visiting the multiplexes, in this highly original and unique film we are constantly on the edge of our seat untill the unexpected climax. Highest possible recommendation..
A different kind of zombies. Director Chris Watson takes on a completely new view at the zombie-lore. Here they are no people risen from the grave to feast on their relatives and other passers-by, but instead a competing bread of humans, designed by satan in order to fight God's own creation of people. Somewhat like traditional vampires, the zombies are a seperate species, capable to change their looks into their own, or into a more humanoid version so as not to be noticed. They do eat people, though, and with this mix of traditions brought together into one new version of zombies we have a very interesting tale that is at times suspenseful and at times hilariously funny. Especially the exchanges between the Lord Zombie (William Smith) and his humble
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