Killed Or Be Killed(1966)
A stranger enters the saloon. He wears a poncho and reminds me, presumably not accidentally, of Clint Eastwood in “Fistful of Dollars”. He goes past several dangerous gunmen, looks the barkeeper in the eye and then – asks if he’s…
The Secret Seven (1963)
This is another of those films which originally received a wide international release, but today remains mysteriously absent in any English language print or even any European language DVD release, so here I am reviewing it from a ropey DVD-R…
The Bubble (1966)
Director Arch Oboler (“The Twonky”) pioneered a new 3-D process called “Spacevision” which used polarized glasses to separate the right-and-left images for the audience. The 3-D effect works remarkable well, especially in a scene involving a serving tray which floats…
The Leather Boys (1964)
An engaging hybrid of British ‘kitchen sink’ drama and American biker film, this atmospheric feature was considered daring in 1964 as it touched upon homosexuality, however obliquely. It has a suitably somber appearance in B&W but, filmed in CinemaScope, there…
Twice-Told Tales (1963)
This is a compilation of three short films based on Nathaniel Hawthorne works–Heidegger’s Experiment, Rappaccini’s Daughter and The House of Seven Gables. All feature Vincent Price in a lead role. In Heidegger’s Experiment, Dr. Carl Heidegger (Sebastian Cabot), obsessed with…
Alive or Preferably Dead (1969)
This film is also known as Sundance and the Kid in the U.S. release. Starting as early as the 1970’s most Euro-Westerns started going downhill in quality and budget. So Italian producers started combining the usually dramatic Spaghetti Westerns with…
School of Fear (1969)
“School of Fear” aka “Seven Days of Grace” is a well-mounted murder mystery that misses no opportunity to provide a rich portrait that lays bare every aspect of a boarding school. It brings out the boys attending, their teachers, the…
Things Change…
There is not doubt that the business of motion picture exhibition is about to change,…again. I see it coming as audiences are starting to re-shape their perception of what is movie going and also frankly for what they are looking…
Operazione Goldman (1966)
Shot in Rome,usually known in the English speaking world as “Lightning Bolt”(so like “Thunderball”!),this movie is an especially tacky example of the Euro-Superspy genre of the 1960’s.Often these movies starred second string American actors to help US sales-and this has…
Ypotron – Final Countdown (1966)
Ypotron boasts a colorful sci-fi pop art pre-credit sequence. A sliding door opens to reveal our hero, dressed in a tuxedo, who puts on a pair of night vision glasses. He enters the room and while trying to figure out…
Eyeball (1975)
A group of American tourists is visiting Spain. A red-cloaked killer is with them (or following them). The killings are nasty and the victims always have one of their eye balls removed. Right in the beginning of the film there’s…
Race with the Devil (1975)
Wow, what a great little flick. Race With the Devil is a seventies road movie/satanic horror film about a group of holidaymakers who get more than they bargained for when they witness the brutal murder of a young girl by…
Confessions of a Psycho Cat (1968)
Just like “The Curious Dr. Humpp” and “Seeds of Sin”, “Confessions of a Psycho Cat” is a great exploitation film marred down by sexploitation inserts (added at the insistence of the producers to pad the feature out presumably). These inserts…
Requiem for a Vampire (1971)
Vierges et Vampires,or Requiem for a Vampire as it’s more commonly known to English speaking audiences, starts with a ‘high’ speed car chase through the French countryside which ends in the death of one guy & two young women dressed…
Don’t Answer the Phone! (1980)
This was obviously meant to be a standard late-70s total-waste-of-time movie, an excuse to show topless women squirming and thrashing while being strangled, but Nicholas Worth turns it into a must-see. Actors-in-training and stage-vocalists, especially, can learn from his vocal…
Turkey Shoot (1982)
Ozploitation. Exploitations colloquial cousin. During a period Ozploitation films where popular and Turkey Shoot is a notable success amongst some of the trash of the Australians attempts at exploitation films. It’s fairly controversial ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ approach has helped…
Sweet Sugar (1972)
If you’re a fan of 70’s era WIP films, this is clearly one of the best in the genre. Free-spirited, big-busted Sugar Bowman (Phyllis Davis) is framed for drug possession by one of her sleazy lovers and is then shipped…
Five Loose Women (1974)
No one will mistake “Fugitive Girls” (the most common title for this film) for great cinema. The ultra-low budget, editing errors and continuity blunders alone guarantee that. But taken for what it is – a 1974 exploitation quickie, a drive-in…
Schizoid (1980)
“Schizoid” is a so-so stalk ‘n’ slash 80s thriller with a cast of familiar faces but not much to really recommend it. As a mystery it doesn’t exactly work; despite the presence of red herrings, most people will figure out…
Trauma (1976)
Sleazy and sordid little British melodrama does have a following, and it’s easy to see why. It’s an erotically charged film with enough atmosphere, mood…not to mention lots of nudity and sex…to make it pleasing to watch if the potential…