Friday 27 February 2015
Thursday 26 February 2015
UNCHIVALROUS
PANIC BEATS, d. Paul Naschy (1983)
The past returning to kill the present is a recurrent Naschy film, and many of his films feature a resurrected spirit, often a Werewolf, but just as likely to be a Mummy, or a Witch or Dr, Jekyll or an evil, misogynistic Knight. This motif not only allows our star to play more than one character, but it also injects the narrative with an antidote to the cut corners and non-sequiturs of the script: this crazy shit is supernatural, anything can happen.
Monday 23 February 2015
ALIEN ANT INVASION
PHASE IV, d. Saul Bass (1974)
In an ideal world, all science fiction films would be directed by Saul Bass, but it's not an ideal world, is it? It's not even halfway there.
Anyway, we have 'Phase IV', one of the most beautiful films ever made.
If you'd like an insight into what life would be like if humans were under the heel of billions of super intelligent alien ants, then you need to take a look at Bass' original ending. It didn't make it into the final cut, as it would have blown peoples minds and ripped a hole in the space / time continuum.
Sunday 22 February 2015
Thursday 19 February 2015
Monday 16 February 2015
SLOW OBLIVION
Jean Rollin made beautiful films,
but they tend to be rather slooooooooow. Night of the Hunted is an atypical subject for him (there
are no vampires for a start) and has an urban dystopian feel, the sort of thing
that commentators now rush to call Ballardian but, in 1980, was probably
considered a David Cronenberg rip off. I like films that are set in the very
near future, especially old ones.
Saturday 14 February 2015
SENMITSU, YOUR BOOBS!
DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS: WORTHLESS TO CONFESS, d. Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (1971)
For all their death and torture, there's something joyous about Pinky Violence films. A total lack of restraint, perhaps, a riot of colour and action and super stylised psychedelic mayhem, like an MGM musical with added swords and drugs and blood and frenzied go go dancing.
Thursday 12 February 2015
DROIT DU SEIGNEUR: JAPANESE STYLE
BELLADONNA OF SADNESS d. Eiichi Yamamoto (1973)
A troubling, eerie story of ritual rape and witchcraft: part fairy tale, part acid trip. As suggested by Andrew Demetrius.
Tuesday 10 February 2015
Monday 9 February 2015
Saturday 7 February 2015
Wednesday 4 February 2015
DANGEROUS MOONLIGHT
THE MOONLIGHT MASK was Japan's first TV super hero. I particularly like his turban and the ladies shades. The show was cancelled in 1959 after a young boy, seeking to emulate his hero's fearless stunts, leapt to his death.
Monday 2 February 2015
INNER STEELE
BARBARA IN FURS d. Adonis Kyrou (1967)
Birkenhead born Barbara Steele had to go to Europe to become a star, a place where they knew how to treat raven haired witchy women with terrifying eyes and cheekbones you could grate parmesan on. In this short film for French TV she tries on a number of cruelly obtained coats and wields a series of riding crops, whips and cat o'nine tails. As this was the 60s, it was probably on prime time.
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