HERE COMES THE CAVALRY

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.       

WOKE UP THIS MORNING

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 seek out Bass' original ending, which is astounding. 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.  

PSYCHEDELIC B.S

FAT MAN ON A MICROSCOPIC CROSS SECTION OF ASPARAGUS (2014)

LA HOMA KORPO

He won't get far without that skeleton.

SLOW OBLIVION

The Night Of The Hunted, d. Jean Rollin (1980)

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.

SENMITSU, YOUR BOOBS!

Delinquent Girl Boss: Useless 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.   

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.

LOOK INTO MY GIANT EYE

TWEET

ANYWHERE, BUT HERE

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.

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.  

PEARLIES IV

PEARLIES IV (2014)