Via Mookie, who writes:

They got Bub!!!

Horror and monster masks of many famous (and gruesome) faces. Including Bub, official zombie of Rocket Jones (you'll have to scroll down a ways to find him).

Posted by: Ted at 05:01 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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"For dinner, let's try something I saw on TV."

Posted by: Ted at 06:50 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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Dracula (1931), Universal Studios.

• Bela Lugosi only appeared in one other film as Dracula, in 1948's Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.


• Although Lugosi played Dracula during a successful Broadway run and subsequent tours, he wasn't the first choice for the film role. He wasn't the second, third or fourth choice either.


• There were three versions of Dracula made at the same time. During the day the English version was filmed. At night a Spanish language version was filmed on the same sets with an entirely different cast and crew. And lastly, because at the time many theaters weren't wired for sound, a silent version of the film was simultaneously edited with dialogue boards.


• Not once during the film does Dracula display fangs.


• The word Nosferatu is widely considered to be Hungarian for "vampire" because Bram Stoker used the word after reading about it in a book on folklore and the occult. Problem is, no such word exists.


• The studio insisted that Dracula only attack women in the movie because they were worried about homoerotic overtones. Dracula's first movie victim is male, but you don't see it.


• The actor who plays Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston), had met Bram Stoker earlier in his career when he appeared in a stage production at the theater that Stoker managed.


• Actor Dwight Frye (Renfield) and Bela Lugosi had worked together before, on Broadway in a comedy production.

Posted by: Ted at 07:22 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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Sometimes you see a thing that you simply must have. For a year I made almost weekly visits to a music store in Grand Forks, North Dakota to sit and play "my" guitar while I saved the money to buy it (the one on the right).

That's kind of an extreme example, but recently I had a mini version of that emotion over a movie (surprise, surprise), and of course I'm going to tell you all about it.

Now this category isn't called "Cult Flicks" for nothing, and if you've visited before you already know that I love B-movies and old horror and things a little (or a lot) off of the beaten path. This film certainly falls into the last category. Before I tell you about it though, I'd like to take a moment to give a little background on a type of these crappy movies that I love so much.

Exploitation films are movies designed to appeal to those looking for things like nudity and/or gore. Back in the 30's and 40's, nudist camp "documentaries" filled the bill, as did "danger of drugs" movies. In the 50's Swedish "blue" movies found their niche. Some makers soon realized that actual product quality was optional as long as plenty of bare breasts or simulated gruesome violence was on display, so true exploitation flicks are always low budget and almost always feature rotten acting, directing, dialogue, etc. Go through the Rocket Jones Cult Flicks archives, and you'll find other reviews of just these types of films. Yes, I am a fan.

Within the exploitation umbrella, there are subgenres. Sexploitation movies focused on nudity and softcore porn - Russ Meyer was one leading director - and so-called Blaxploitation movies aimed at the African American audience (Abby, aka "the black Exorcist" is a fine example, although films like Shaft and Foxy Brown are much better known). There were gory cannibal movies and mondo "documentaries" that went for shock valuie by being about taboo subjects (like Toys Are Not For Children which explored psychotic incestual themes). Women in prison movies were popular, and included the sub-subgenre of Nazi women prison movies. I've got my eye on a couple of Hixsploitation collections, just to round out my library of crappy films. That wikipedia link above is a nice little introduction to the concept.

"Director Norifumi Suzuki doesn't have a clue about Christianity, but his delirious visual style is reminiscent of 60s Italian horror in its rich colors and hysterical zooming"
--Chicago Reader

So by now you've gathered that School of the Holy Beast is an exploitation film, and it's of a type I'd heard of but never seen before: nunsploitation. Actually, that was only one reason why I couldn't resist it, the other being that I never knew that any nunsploitation flicks were made anywhere but Europe. This unusual movie was made in Japan! Nunsploitation movies are generally set in a convent with plenty of nudity, sex, and frequent appearances by sleazy priests because apparently, unbeknownst to me, every nun is not a lesbian (kidding!). This type of movie is also critical of the Catholic Church and it's policies.

So what do we have here? The movie starts off with a girl named Maya having one helluva great day. She enjoys a hockey game, does some shopping, picks up a guy and later sleeps with him. When he finally asks her name (pillow talk!), she tells him that tomorrow she enters the abbey to become a nun.

Maya isn't particularly devout, instead she's on a private mission to discover how her mother died in that same convent eighteen years before. Along the way she manages to unravel a long-held secret and finds her answers. She also sneaks a couple of guys into the convent to gang rape the Mother Superior (who doesn't fight very hard once it's begun. I guess falling asleep to her private porn collection might have made her a bit receptive). There are scenes of drugs, self-flagellation, bondage, blasphemy; in other words, everything you'd expect from the Church (kidding!). In the end the bad guys all get what's coming to them, and you're left sitting there thinking "wow".

Unlike the typical trashy exploitation movie, this film is beautifully acted and full of spectacular imagery. One memorable scene involves Maya being punished by being whipped with bunches of long stem roses. The thorns draw blood of course, and before long each punishing stroke results in a cascade of slow motion rose petals in a halo around Maya. Uncomfortable to watch, but undeniably beautiful.

This movie far exceeded my expectations, and it's worth seeing. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Besides, how can you resist two topless nuns involved in a whip fight?

Posted by: Ted at 10:02 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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1 Ted, I'm always learning new things from you. Nunsploitation, who'd've thunk it?

Posted by: nic at March 26, 2006 06:45 PM (l+W8Z)

2 I refuse to leave a comment to this post. It would only humiliate both of us.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at March 28, 2006 01:59 AM (LVz3N)

3 Spork: huh?

Posted by: Ted at March 28, 2006 08:22 AM (blNMI)

4 Heh. I knew you'd say that. Okay, I'll leave a comment:

That chick getting whipped by the sado-nuns with thorny rose stems as the petals float wistfully to the floor? She's pretty.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at March 28, 2006 12:37 PM (BTbiR)

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Suncoast Video's parent company filed for bankruptcy, so the company buying the chain is closing many of the stores, including the one closest to me. The last time I stopped by, they were in the middle of a huge clearance sale. I hadn't planned on getting anything, but walked out with a few items at a terrific price.

One of those items was a five-pack of oldies grouped under the title "Vampire Collection, Volume 2". One big selling point for this batch was that each film was international: one from Canada, one from Italy/Spain, one from Germany/Spain, and a pair of USA/Philippine offerings. So let's take a look at each of them, shall we? (in the extended entry). more...

Posted by: Ted at 05:33 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Ever have a conversation and someone wonders which movie it was where what's-her-name gets decapitated/disemboweled/immolated? Or you wonder if a certain actress ever gets killed on the big screen? Yeah, me too. All the time.

Now you can find out at Cinemorgue. Indexed by actress name, he even includes nudity alerts (where she dies naked). These aren't just the big names either, he's got some very obscure performers here. Very cool, and the enterprising soul could come up with a few bar-bet winners too by golly.

And for the ladies, there is a separate index for actors and their on-screen demise. Just scroll down to the bottom of the Cinemorgue page for the link.

Posted by: Ted at 09:16 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Over at Q&O, I saw that an animal rights group is complaining that Oscar nominee Brokeback Mountain was "too rough on sheep".

Stunt doubles? Setup for the sequel? I'll never know.

Posted by: Ted at 08:23 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Nic, I found a review of Snakehead Terror.

Posted by: Ted at 06:10 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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If you enjoy B-films, then you probably know the name Roger Corman. Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably enjoyed some of his films. He's responsible for movies like Attack of the Giant Leeches, the Wasp Woman, Little Shop of Horrors, a terrific series of films based on Poe stories, Boxcar Bertha, Death Race 2000, Humanoids from the Deep, and over 350 more.

After last weekend's Mummy jag, I started watching a series of prehistoric women flicks. I'll post a review later of classics like Wild Women of Wongo and Mesa of Lost Women.

So last night I started watching a movie and things seemed *very* familiar. About halfway through I started laughing when I realized that I'd already seen much of the movie under a different title, but there were serious differences in the plotlines.

It was time to do a little research. VideoHound's Cult Flicks & Trash Pics gave up this gem:

Communism met a most ignominious humiliation at the hands of Yankee capitalist pig Roger Corman when the latter purchased the 1962 Soviet feature Planeta Burg (Planet of Storms), a serious-minded feature (with groundbreaking and costly special effects) about a collection of brave, bland cosmonauts exploring a hostile planet.

What Corman did was to use the acquired Russian film as the basis of two different movies. By adding english dialogue and extensive editing, the original film was rearranged into 1965's Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet. Scenes were added starring Basil Rathbone as an Earthbound professor and Faith Demergue as Marsha, the lady astronaut who stays in orbit as the mission doormat while the commander patronizes the hell out of her. The basic plot involves a rescue mission for two explorers and a robot on the surface of Venus. I've seen it mentioned in more than one place that the film credits were invented to disguise the fact that it was a Russian movie.

In 1968 Corman did it again, again re-editing and rearranging the original movie to create Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women. This time, Mamie Van Doren stars as the leader of a telepathic group of mermaid Venusians who can control volcanos and the weather. When the exploring astronauts kill their pteradactyl "god", the women get pissed and try to destroy the alien invaders.

About 70% of the two movies duplicate each other, and I was greatly amused when, in the second movie, it's explained that "Marsha" is the code-word that everyone uses to refer to Earth. Silly, but it saved money by letting them share more of the dialogue between the flicks.

Both movies suck, and I highly recommend them.

Posted by: Ted at 10:07 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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What would happen if a serial killer who preys on hitchhikers picks up a hitcher who slays any individual that stops to offer him a ride?

I'm looking forward to finding out next weekend during the latest episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror series.

Blue wrote up a nice preview, and then started to review each episode one by one. 'Cept he and I have both been insanely busy lately, so go enjoy what he's got there, and if you ask nicely in the comments he might do more.

Posted by: Ted at 08:26 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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Each year, twenty five films are selected to be included in the National Film Registry.

Here's what that means:

For each title named to the registry, the Library of Congress works to ensure that the film is preserved for all time, either through the Library's massive motion picture preservation program or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion picture studios and independent filmmakers. The Library of Congress contains the largest collections of film and television in the world, from the earliest surviving copyrighted motion picture to the latest feature releases.

Each year, films are nominated by the public and are carefully evaluated.

Here's a bit more about the criteria:

"The films we choose are not necessarily the 'best' American films ever made or the most famous, but they are films that continue to have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance," Billington said.

This year, the films include a Buster Keaton comedy, the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and "Toy Story". See the entire list here. There are some surprising titles there.

More from the article:

Half the movies made before 1950 and 80 percent to 90 percent of those produced before 1920 have disappeared, [Billington] said.

Among the more interesting additions was a 1906 documentary about the San Fransisco earthquake and fire. The disaster was one of the first ever documented on film.

While you're checking out the site, follow the link to the Moving Image Archives. I think I'll be spending many happy hours there.

Posted by: Ted at 05:32 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Wicked cool.

Thanks to Sheila for finding this one!

Posted by: Ted at 07:15 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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Even though this is tres cool. Behold the imagination that went into creating the zombies of Dawn of the Dead as knitted dolls. I love you, but I'm surprised they let you keep the pointy knitting needles.

Thanks to Pete for this one.

Posted by: Ted at 04:34 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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I work in Rosslyn, Virginia, right across the river from Washington, D.C. I work early hours, so when I first started I'd park in the garage and then walk all the way around the block to get to the front lobby of my building. When winter rolled in, someone showed me a couple of shortcuts through the connecting garages underneath the city block so that I could reach my destination without having to brave the elements.

I missed those walks though. Every morning, I'd walk along mostly deserted city streets, and each morning I'd pass the sign for the Spectrum Theater. For all that time, the Spectrum was presenting a one-man show, Defending the Caveman.

Stay with me, I do have a point and I'm getting there.

It's been almost a year since I'd noticed the sign at the Spectrum, and I was amazed when this past week I found myself in front of the theater (fire drill) and "Caveman" wasn't on the sign. I noted the contact information and on Friday evening I stayed late after work and caught a performance of Dracula.

The Spectrum is a small and intimate space, maybe 400 seats. It doubles as a conference center. The stage itself is small and I imagine that it presents significant challenges to the theatrical folks.

As for the play itself, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd done a little research on the Synetic Theater troup. They call themselves "non-traditional" and use a fusion of mediums to create their productions.

As the lights came up and illuminated the misty room (they had the fog machines going strongly enough fill the entire room - nice effect), a very stylized battle was acted out. Without a word being spoken, one heroic yet barbaric man fought alone, and we witnessed the birth of Dracula.

They closely followed the original story of Dracula, not the melodramatic "I vant to suck your blood" nonsense that I love, and that many people remember from the movies. Nor was it the over-romanticized Ann Rice mythos. Instead, you were drawn in and keenly felt the horror, the otherworldliness, the passion and sensuality of the story. Dracula is, at one level, a very erotic tale, and this performance captured that.

The one word that keeps coming to mind is "remarkable". The sets were minimal and for the most part, successful. As you would expect, flat blacks and crimson red were the dominant colors. Even the main characters were dressed in muted browns. The only exceptions were the two ingenues, who wore whites and creams. The soundtrack was wonderful, being an integral part of the story and effortlessly moving from background to foreground as needed. One memorable scene involved a character writhing and fighting off a cloud of swarming bats, with the existance of the bats wholly created via the music suggesting the fluttering of papery wings. Likewise, the lighting was masterful, especially where, in several scenes, one character would be barely illuminated at the back of the stage, as if you were seeing the thoughts of the foreground character. Choreography... I could go on and on.

I did think that the performance dragged a little about halfway through. Mostly, this may have been caused by the need to use more dialogue to make clear the storyline. I was completely enthralled up to that point, and after a brief time, the concluding scenes drew me into their world again.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I'm not sure that their style would lend itself equally well to all tales. I wouldn't want to see their version of, say, "It's A Wonderful Life", but I noticed in their program that they mentioned a production of "Jason and the Argonauts" that I would've loved to have seen.

I'm going to close with a quote from my favorite critic:

Fluid. Lyrical. Concupiscent.

A perfect description in three words.

Posted by: Ted at 11:48 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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I've updated the complete list of movie reviews and bios.

And, as always, you can just visit the Cult Flicks archives for all kinds of related posts. The link to all of the Rocket Jones archives are always on the right, available by category or farther down by month. I'm obsessively organized like that.

Posted by: Ted at 08:12 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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You gotta love this:

Hello, my name is Vic...

(crowd): Hi, Vic!

...and I'm a vampire.

Vic has a problem. He's a young vampire (as vampire ages go) who only wants a reasonably normal life. But every time he gets a girlfriend, when things get hot and heavy he's overcome with bloodlust and winds up killing her.

The only thing to do is to join a 12-step program: Vampires Anonymous.

The first part of the process involved taking a battery of tests to develop a complete psychological and physical profile. At the end, the vampire is presented with an animal especially matched to provide an alternative to feeding on human blood.

So Vic gets sent to a small town in North Carolina, known for it's sheep farms. You can imagine the fuss when sheep start disappearing, and of course there are complications with the small town badasses and women troubles.

Things really go to hell when a corporate slayer shows up in town.

There are mildly gory scenes and blood (it's a vampire movie, whaddaya expect?), and some nice minor plotlines and running gags appearing throughout the story. The VA meetings are a riot. A good description would be Doc Hollywood with fangs.

I like this movie. It's a nice blend of comedy and vampires.

Posted by: Ted at 04:50 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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1 Oh, it's a movie. I thought you were going to review some of the M.Y.T.H., Inc. books, which feature a vampire named Victor (no relation, BTW).

Posted by: Victor at September 30, 2005 08:06 AM (L3qPK)

2 That movie always gives me a chuckle, fun stuff!

Posted by: BLUE at October 03, 2005 10:14 AM (4Xncc)

3 I ordered it from Amazon.com, since my local video store usually only carries blockbusters...

Posted by: Susie at October 04, 2005 11:38 AM (a0oF7)

4 ...and I watched it last night. I liked the fact that it was almost gore-less, and that Michael Madsen was in it (be still my heart!). It was mildly amusing, but no Sean of the Dead (which had me laughing out loud). Maybe guys find sheep-shagging funnier than women do....

Posted by: Susie at October 06, 2005 11:07 AM (a0oF7)

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When the average person thinks about Japanese movies, they often think Godzilla (original title: Gojira). You might know that the horror movie The Ring (2002) is based on a 1998 Japanese film called Ringu, or that 1960's The Magnificent Seven was directly adapted from 1954's Shichinin no samurai (cowboys instead of samurai).

I recently had the opportunity to see two incredible films, neither of which involved creatures stomping Tokyo.

Onmyoji. Set in 18th century Japan, the main character is perhaps the greatest of the Onmyoji. Fortuneteller and astronomer, wizard and priest, these adepts were the guardians and monitors of the interface between the material and spiritual worlds. Beyond the swords and sorcery, this is an epic story of love, loyalty, friendship and the triumph of good over evil (although it's a very near thing). The movie is beautiful to look at, and the world it creates is alien to the western mind, yet the underlying rationale for everyone's actions are understandable in human terms. You'll have to pay attention, because the story has layers of meaning and several themes that weave in and out of the forefront of the tale. It's in Japanese with English subtitles, and if you don't mind that then I'd say that Onmyoji is a must see.

A while back, I saw a news item where opthamologists in India were petitioning the government to ban a certain horror movie. Apparently, donated organs are rare in India because the belief in reincarnation is widespread, and relatives wouldn't dream of sending their loved ones onto the next life minus parts. Especially acute is the shortage of corneas. The movie that the medical community wanted banned may have been this next one.

Jian Gui (literally: Seeing Ghosts, but released internationally as The Eye), was made by (I think) a Hong Kong filmmaker. This movie is one of those genuinely creepy films that scares you without grossing you out. In this one, a woman named Mun receives a cornea transplant which allows her to see. This turns out to be a mixed blessing, because she loses important parts of her life since she is now sighted, yet must relearn everything about the world around her - a world she only knows by touch. Again, because of the oriental slant on life (no pun intended), actions and situations are already vaguely strange, and the atmosphere and situations that come about build upon that unease to really amp up the chills. Mun begins to realize that some things she sees are invisible to others, and she's not sure if she's hallucinating or seeing ghosts that walk among us. Eventually, she comes to believe that she must discover the truth behind the donor of her corneas, and the visions become more disturbing as time goes by. The ending is just, wow.

So there you have it. One spiritual trip through feudal Japan, and one helluva chilling ride through east spooksville. You won't go wrong with either of these.

Posted by: Ted at 01:14 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Liz got into this show when it started reruns last season, and has been telling me how good it is. She bought the first season on DVD when it came out, and we've been watching an episode as time allows. It's keeping my attention, and reminds me a little bit of David Lynch's Twin Peaks, without the random weirdness. I've learned to pay attention to the details, because everything happens for a reason, and as you watch you'll flash back on previous episodes with an "ah ha!" moment.

If you haven't seen the show, the premise is that some sixty people survive an airline wreck and wind up on a seemingly deserted island. Their flight was way off course when they crashed, so the search and rescue are looking for them in the wrong place. There are a dozen or so main characters, and each episode tells one of their stories along with their continuing tale of survival. Of course there are no 'normal' background stories here, presumably the rest of the survivors are the ho-hum people, not to mention that they make the perfect pool of victims if someone needs to be killed off.

There's plenty of mystery and oddness going on, and a sweet touch of horror. Ultimately though, it's about the people. I hope they can keep up the quality, because so far I'm enjoying it.

Posted by: Ted at 05:14 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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1 and here I thought it was just another version of survivor.

Posted by: michele at September 21, 2005 10:29 AM (db7I/)

2 What I love about the show is how it blows away your preconcieved ideas about the main characters and their character. They seen pretty stereotypical on the island, but then you find out how they got there and it's like "Oh, oh wow". Especially the crazy dude with all the knives.

Posted by: Oorgo at September 21, 2005 11:43 AM (lM0qs)

3 I'll have to check it out. I like some Lynch weirdness and I, too, assumed this was like Survivor or something. I like your banner; but your site is always cool.

Posted by: dogette at September 21, 2005 02:47 PM (2bayr)

4 Thanks dogette.

If you can, start at the beginning. This is one of those shows that really needs the setup to be fully appreciated.

Posted by: Ted at September 21, 2005 06:00 PM (+OVgL)

5 I saw the season opener last night. Riveting. I got lost once. had to spend the night in the woods. Sucked bigtime. But if I was stranded for an extended period of time with a group of people that large, survival would be easy: stalk the slow and the stupid.

Posted by: shank at September 22, 2005 10:47 PM (jfEhX)

6 Christina and I just recently found the joy of watching a series on DVD. We had watched shows we were already fond of on DVD, but not ones we hadn't seen before. From what I'm hearing I think "Lost" might be right up my alley, I think I'm going to wait to see how well they resolve season two, if it is still getting good word of mouth, we'll pick 'em up on DVD. In short - Ted, you get to be our guinea pig! ;-)

Posted by: BLUE at September 23, 2005 02:04 PM (4Xncc)

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The Big Chill, performed by bunnies, condensed to 30 seconds. (warning: bunnies have a potty mouth and do what you'd expect bunnies to do)

Plenty more classics to check out here too!

Thanks to Pete for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 08:25 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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According to a study:

In a dramatic reversal of decades-old medical wisdom, the late Dr. Albert Rossum, director of the O'Bannon Institute For Postmortem Nutritional Studies, recommended an all-brain diet for zombies Tuesday.

The Onion has the full story.

Posted by: Ted at 04:30 PM | category: Cult Flicks
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