August 14^th, 2010 marked the end of a TV show but of an era that I grew up with alongside The Muppet Show and The Cosby Show among others. After losing both the original hosts and gone through changes that were good and downright appalling, the long running film criticism show At The Movies was cancelled and it is now no more. The way Disney saw it, there was just no way to sustain this kind of format anymore, and it no longer fit into mainstream television the way it used to. In many ways, the show died out a long time before its final demise, but it has left me with so many memories that I can still cherish thanks to YouTube among other websites.

I had been watching this show ever since I was in elementary school, eagerly waiting to see which movies Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert would give thumbs up or thumbs down to. Now keep in mind, I got heavily into these shows because it was really the closest I could get to movies back then. It would be years before I finally got to go out to the local cinemas on a regular basis, and movies I was dying to watch I was forced to wait for until they came out on video (VHS to be exact). Back then, it took forever for films to be available to rent at your local video store (and this was in the day and age before Blockbuster Video). Of course, now with the window between theatrical release and DVD release getting shorter and shorter, I am beginning to wish it would take that long again.

My vast knowledge of movies past and present was thanks to shows like this one, and of all the ones on television, there was no touching the dynamic part time duo of Siskel & Ebert. These guys were among my childhood heroes, and I always imagined myself going to the movies with both of them. It took me a long time to eventually realize that getting these two in the same room together was nothing short of a miracle. You’d think they were the best of friends, but it turned out that they couldn’t stand each other for the longest time. They had even got into a fistfight one time over the needless revelation of the top secret plot twist from Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game (and that was an unforgivable offence). But it did eventually grow into a friendship to where if they didn’t agree with one another (and this was quite often the case), they had to acknowledge the validity of each other’s opinions at the end, and that’s even if it was done begrudgingly so.

The strong chemistry between these two Chicago newspaper critics was never something you could easily manufacture. You either had it or you don’t, and these two guys had it in spades. No one else could come close to what they accomplished, and this was made clear when they left one venue or channel for another. Both Gene and Roger had started out on a PBS show called Opening Soon To A Theater Near You which later became known as Sneak Previews. When they left it for national syndication, the lineup eventually settled on Jeffrey Lyons and Michael Medved. These two were chummy more than anything else, and each became quite irritating in their own little ways. Their growing concern at the increasing amount of violence was understandable, but they took it took it to a ridiculous level.

Now keep in mind; this was long before Medved became a crazed political zealot. I’m not knocking him for being conservative because that would really not be entirely fair. But it should be very clear by now than Michael is dealing with a world that doesn’t quite resemble the reality we all experience on a daily basis.

My discovery of Siskel & Ebert came when they were doing At The Movies for Tribune Entertainment. When they ended up leaving that incarnation for a more lucrative syndication deal with Disney, they were replaced by Bill Harris and the pathetic snob that was and still is Rex Reed. Even today, Rex Reed seems to revel more in his ability to eviscerate movies and the actors and directors involved in them to mere smithereens. The difference between how he saw movies to Siskel and Ebert was pretty extraordinary. While they would praise movies like River’s Edge, Rex would hate simply because he didn’t care for the way these kids acted. If Rex didn’t want to hang out with these guys (and those same people would probably have rather died than hang out with him), then the movie sucked. Wow, what an open mind this man has!

Anyway, it’s these few replacements that served to emphasize how rare you get a duo that works so well on television. Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were critics I respected very much. This is not to say that I agreed with them on everything they said. It still pains me that they gave thumbs down to movies like Better Off Dead, In The Mouth of Madness, The Man With One Red Shoe, or Roger Moore’s last film as James Bond which was A View To A Kill. I don’t care what anyone says by the way, the last one is one of my favorite Bond movies regardless of how annoying Tanya Roberts was in it!

These guys (Ebert especially) were my inspiration in writing movie reviews, and they both taught us all that the best thing a film critic can do is champion a movie that otherwise might not reach a big audience. So many smaller movies get very little notice in large part due to the lack of studio support, and both Siskel & Ebert worked to make sure that these movies got the boost they so desperately deserved. Movies like My Dinner with Andre and Hoop Dreams or even Do The Right Thing may not have gotten the attention they deserved were it not for the backing of these two esteemed film patrons. Their power among other movie critics was so incredibly influential that they even went out of their way to show Academy Awards which movies should win as opposed to the ones that will win. I’d like to think that their unmistakable influence made movies in general much better than they already were previously.

As I grew up, I continued to watch Siskel & Ebert bicker over movies they thought were great, and of which ones they thought were utter crap. The most memorable moments from the show were when they seriously disagreed with each other over certain movies. One of the big ones was David Lynch’s Blue Velvet which Siskel hailed as a masterpiece while Ebert found it incredibly offensive in the way Lynch treated the actors, especially Isabella Rossellini. But the mother of all their disagreements was probably over Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket which Siskel proclaimed as one of the greatest war movies ever made, but which Ebert felt paled in comparison to other war movies as well as Kubrick’s own works from the past. They complained throughout the entire show regarding it, even through their review of Benji The Hunted. I do have to say that Siskel’s charge over how Ebert could give thumbs up to that one and not Full Metal Jacket was unfair. I mean c’mon! Those were two completely movies that needed to be taken on their own terms. Comparing the two was beyond pointless!

Actually, that’s the other thing I truly liked about Siskel & Ebert; as the years went by, the two of them were able to review movies for what they were instead of what they thought they should have been about. There may have been a time when either of them compared any of the Friday the 13^th movies to Lawrence of Arabia, but that time was probably over as quickly as it started.

Many of my friends from school hated these two because the way they saw it, Siskel & Ebert hated all movies in general. That reasoning never made a lick of sense to me. I mean yes, they hated a lot of movies, but usually for a good reason. But if both of them hated movies every bit as much as people thought they did, why in hell would they spend so much time reviewing them? I can’t remember which show it was exactly when Gene Siskel said it, but he made it clear as to the kind of people he and Roger were:

“We don’t hate the movies! We love movies! We want them to be good!”

Besides, as you get older and have seen as many movies as these two had, your perceptions of them would be no different. Our tastes in the film will eventually evolve whether we like it or not. Evolution is a good thing though, and that’s regardless of what Kirk Cameron has to say about it.

Granted, peer pressure back in my severe period of adolescence almost made me burn up all the Roger Ebert review books I had purchased over the years. But I never did though probably because common sense had to kick in there at some point. My high school buddies may have called Siskel & Ebert the worst critics ever, but that was because they gave thumbs down to movies like Encino Man which itself annoyed me every bit as much. Let’s see what those same people feel about it now anyway! I saw Encino Man right after I watched Alien 3, and it did nothing to cheer up my mood.

When Gene Siskel passed away in 1999, the same year I graduated from college, a part of my childhood died along with him. In many ways, it was the beginning of the end for At The Movies, and I say that even though I applauded Roger Ebert for continuing the show and believed him fully when he said Gene would have wanted it that way. Still, no guest critic or replacement could ever match what Gene brought to the show or the chemistry he had with Roger.

Now I have no desire to knock Richard Roeper who eventually became the permanent co-host of At The Movies. It took a bit for him to grow on me, but he did deserve to be taken on his own terms. Calling him Gene Siskel’s replacement was completely unfair to him, and he brought his own rhythm to the show which eventually made him into a good sparring partner with Ebert.

Still, I think around the time he joined was when I started to lose some appreciation for the show and what it was meant to be about. They ended up reviewing at least five movies a show which ended up seriously cut down the time they had to talk about each one in more detail. It used to be where the critics could discuss a movie fully, but it had now gotten to where the conversations were reduced down to bullet points so they could fit in as many reviews as possible.

What really bugged me though was when they completely condensed the recap of the week’s movies. It used to be where they would give a final critical note before letting the movie pass into the place of history it had made for itself. Take this one for example:

“We both hated Jaws The Revenge and can’t believe this is the same movie Michael Caine stayed on location for instead of picking up his Oscar for Hannah and her Sisters. Two big thumbs down!”

Towards the end, it got to where they were saying that this one deserved thumbs down, that one thumbs up, they split on the other one, and they both liked this one and it opens in wide release the last week of October or something. Everything on the show had become way too fast paced, and it all started to go in one ear and straight out the other. No wonder the ratings decreased towards the end of the show’s run.

We all prayed for Ebert’s speedy recovery when he fell ill from cancer surgery, but time just kept going on and on and it soon became abundantly clear that he was never going to be coming back. It was fun to see what guest critics would end up coming on the show, and having guests like Kevin Smith come on was a big treat. But with Ebert gone, there was no way the show could continue like it had before.

This ended up causing Disney to make changes that almost completely destroyed the show, and I couldn’t blame Ebert or Roeper for walking out on the show when things changed too much. One of the changes resulted in bringing on Ben Lyons, the son of Sneak Previews critic Jeffrey Lyons, and it took no time for any of us to realize what an amazingly bad fit he was for a show like this. Can you think of another critic who would have declared I Am Legend to be one of the greatest movies ever made? How about one who was so excited to see Let The Right One In get an American remake? Moreover, who else could have called the trailer to Twilight one of the three movies to see this week? Does it take more than that to understand why the ratings for the show plummeted so quickly?

Even with the eventual replacement of Ben Lyons and his unlucky partner Ben Mankiewicz with two actual movie critics (A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips), the writing was pretty much on the wall for At The Movies. This show could only go on for so much longer before it was time to call it quits. Roger Ebert was correct in saying upon its cancellation in saying that the demise of the long running show had nothing to do with Ben Lyons or any of the other critics who came on to host. In this day and age with the internet, there is no longer any room for a show like it when you can find film criticism just about anywhere and everywhere you go.

Last I heard though, Roger Ebert is working on an internet based show of At The Movies with some of the same critics, and I would look forward to checking that out. At this point, the world wide web would probably be the best forum for this kind of show. So while the balcony may be closed, it will never be closed permanently (not for me anyway).

The ending of At The Movies is a shame, but not an entirely tragic one. It will eventually take shape again in another venue, and we are still left with many great moments that we can check out at the show’s official website as well as YouTube. For me, my favorite moments came from when Siskel & Ebert continued to sharply criticize the MPAA for not changing the X rating into something more appropriate like an A rating for adults only for movies that were not necessarily dominated by nudity. I still think my favorite review of theirs was when they justifiably eviscerated Jaws The Revenge for the horribly movie that it truly was. And while it may have broken my heart that they gave a highly unfavorable review to Another 48 Hours, I did have to come and see that they were right about it.

So thank you At The Movies for all the memories you left us, and for giving me the kind of appreciation for film that I may have had otherwise. The show may now be history, but its legacy will remain. I know that’s a clichéd way of putting it, so forgive me for not giving it a more thumbs up description. For those of you who hated the show, you may be entitled to your opinion, but you probably watched the show just as much as I did. Just accept it.

One other memory I have of the show was when I was getting off a plane at an airport and saw that Siskel & Ebert gave two thumbs up to Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford. I mentioned this to my mom as I was excited to see that they both liked it, but then she said:

“The important thing is that they agreed with each other on it.”

Point taken…

aka Sexo caníbal
aka Mandingo Manhunter (My personal favorite!)

Director: Jesus "Jess" Franco

Cast: Ursula Fellner, Al Cliver, Robert Foster, Burt Altman, Gisela Hahn, Victoria Adams

Severin Films / Color / NTSC R1 / Unrated / Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) / Dolby Digital Mono / English Dubbing / 89 mins

Extremely prolific filmmaker Jess Franco is the quintessential Euro-sleaze auteur. He has covered everything from zombies, slashers, the supernatural, S&M, straight erotica and so much more. His style is very strange, divisive and always controversial. Some would call him a hack. Some a visionary. And still some a perverted old man with a zoom lens fetish. I say that he is all of these things and I love him for all of them. Having seen a slew of his large library of films I can say that I have rarely been bored and almost always can take something away from the movie that leaves me wanting to see the next one. Thanks to Severin Films I can do just that with the jungle cannibal nude-fest, Devil Hunter! (READ MORE)

Tagline: "Every rose has its thorns."

Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein

Cast: Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Hale Appleman, Ashley Springer

Dimension Extreme / Color / NTSC R1 / Rated R / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) / Dolby Digital 5.1 / English / 94 mins

"Vagina dentata is Latin for toothed vagina. Various cultures have folk tales about women with toothed vaginas, frequently told as cautionary tales warning of the dangers of sex with strange women." - Wikipedia


Okay, before you start making jokes like "doesn't every pussy have teeth?", let me answer... yes. Vaj-ay-jays are scary, dark, dank orifices that sometimes give males pleasure when we accidentally fall into them correctly. They are enigmas wrapped in mysteries for most men (re: all men that are telling the truth). But with the dentata we aren't talking about men with matricidal detachments from all things non-penis. We are talking about literal chompers inside the female sexual anatomy. Imagine the sand pit monster from Return of the Jedi and you will get the idea. (READ MORE)

Director: Sandy Harbutt

Cast: Ken Shorter, Sandy Harbutt, Deryck Barnes, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward

Severin Films / Color / NTSC R0 / Unrated / 1.85:1 Widescreen / Dolby Digital Mono / Enlgish / 99 mins

I don't know much about biker flicks. Nor have I sought out any "bikersploitation" like Hell Ride, The Wild Angels, Hell's Belles, Cycle Savages, Hell's Angels 69, the classic Peter Fonda film Easy Rider and the original Marlon Brando classic, The Wild One. In theory they could be pretty nasty and fun; gang fights, cool choppers/bikes, biker chick tits and general greasy, unwashed, unshaven, badass fun. That theory is proven by the Severin release of the Australian production, Stone. Writer/Director/Actor Sandy Harbutt did a outstanding job on all counts. It's a simple story with an inside look at a "1%er" biker gang complete with all of the lawless trappings and a surprisingly super violent ending. (READ MORE)

aka Nuda per Satana

Director: Luigi Batzella

Cast: Rita Calderoni, Stelio Candelli, James Harris, Renato Lupi

Redemption USA / Color / NTSC R1 / Unrated / Widescreen (1.85:1) / Dolby Digital Stereo / Italian & English (Dubbed) / English Subtitles / 82 mins

Dr. Benson is on his way to a remote insane asylum to work when he sees a young lady, Susan, have a car accident and she is knocked unconscious. He walks to the nearest dark, spooky, Gothic castle to get her help. When he arrives, he is met by a mysterious, creepy man dressed in all black with a black and red cape (that's right, I said a "cape"). The man tells Benson to go inside where he is sure to find some help. All he finds when he enters is some weird goings-on, including meeting a woman that looks exactly like Susan except that she is dressed in old-fashioned clothes and thinks he is someone called "Peter". (READ MORE)

aka Säge des Todes, Die
aka Profonde tenebre
aka Colegialas violadas

Director: Jess Franco

Cast: Olivia Pascal, Christopher Brugger, Alexander Waechter

Severin Films / Color / Unrated / NTSC R0 / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) / Dolby Digital Mono / English Dubbed / 81 mins

Manuela and disfigured Miguel are an incestuous brother and sister who go to live with their Aunt Maria who owns and operates Europe's International Youth-Club Boarding School of Languages (or the "EIYCBSoL" as we lazy Americans like to call it) after Miguel is released from the asylum after 5 years for sexually assaulting and murdering a young girl. Luckily for him, the school is nothing but nubile, young hotties! Auntie Maria doesn't like Manuela very much and tells her that even when she dies, Manuela will never inherit her estate and Miguel will be the sole heir. (READ MORE)

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Vinnie Jones

Lionsgate Films / USA / Color / Rated R / Widescreen (2.35:1) / Dolby Digital / English / 98 min / Viewed via FearNet Video On-Demand

Clive Barker is one of, if not THE most imaginatively disturbing and creatively gruesome authors of our time. His stories of the grotesque transcend what our minds can fathom or would want to. He combines myth with modern day splatter, violence with pleasure, and the repulsive with the beautiful. "The Books of Blood" is a masterpiece of horror that is a prime example of the way his mind works. Volume 1 includes a story that, just by the name alone, conjures visions of sinew, blood and viscera. That story is "Midnight Meat Train". Director Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi, Versus) and screenplay writer Jeff Buhler are now charged with the unholy task of bringing this grisly horror to the big screen. (READ MORE)

Director: Adam Wingard

Cast: Bill Moseley, Tiffany Shepis, Jeff Dylan Graham, Tom Towles

Synapse Films / Color / Unrated / NTSC R1 / Widescreen 1.85:1 / Dolby Digital Stereo / 89 mins

A couple reluctantly go over to a "friend's" house for a party but soon want to leave their unpleasant host's hospitality. Before they can, their soiree is interrupted by a man in a suit and tie carrying a briefcase. No one seems to know who he is or how he got there but he isn't shy about letting them know what he wants. He tells them that all they have to do is tell him who they hate and he will leave them alone. The party goers begin to tell him who they hate and as they do, he inexplicably cuts himself with razor blades from his case. True to his word, when the last person tells him who he hates (the rest of the people in the room), he leaves. (READ MORE)

Director: Roman Nowicki

Cast: Eliza Borecka, Katarzyna Zelnik, Magda Szymborska, Andrej Jass

Teraz Films / Color / NTSC R0 / Unrated / Varying Aspect Ratios / Dolby Stereo / Language: Polish / Subtitles: English / 90 min.

"WARNING: EXTREME EROTIC HORROR!!" boasts the cover of this Polish sleaze-filled, zero budget, giallo/slasher curiosity. Someone like me (and most of my readers) who is always looking for something different, entertaining and challenging, how could I not pick this up right away? Well, mostly due to my unfamiliarity with it. I have been seeing it, as well as its subsequent sequels, on different genre DVD websites for a couple of years but never pulled the trigger until now. The cover looks as lurid and boundary pushing as anything I have ever seen. And after reading the synopsis, I just had to see it. (READ MORE)

aka Settima donna, La

Director: Franco Prosperi

Cast: Florinda Bolkan, Ray Lovelock, Flavio Andreini, Sherry Buchanan, Laura Trotter

Severin Films / Color / NTSC R1 / Unrated / 2.35:1 Widescreen / Dolby Surround & Mono / Language: English / 86 minutes

Following the success of Wes Craven's Last House on the Left, film makers jumped on the bandwagon and tried their hand at filming the sadistic and violent sexual abuse of women. Americans released the mean-spirited I Spit on Your Grave and those sleazy Italians got involved with classics like Night Train Murders and Thriller: A Cruel Picture (aka They Call Her One-Eye). While some enjoyed varying degrees of success, others were forgotten shortly after their release only to be resurrected 30 years later on Region 1 DVD by Severin Films. (READ MORE)

aka The Milkmaid

Director: Dan Wolman aka Floch Johnson

Cast: Christina Lindberg, Monica Ekman, Krister Ekman, Leif Naeslund

Impulse Pictures / Color / NTSC R1 / Rated R / Fullscreen (1.33:1) / ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo / 80 mins

If you are a fan of Christina Lindberg but only know her from Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974), you are missing out. She has made some 20-25 movies, most of which are softcore skin flicks like Anita (1973). Her angelic face complete with pouty, innocent expressions are mixed with a curvy, buxom womanly body that would make Russ Meyer's boner sweat. Who cares that her acting ability extends to being the same quiet, naive, troubled teen girl that gets taken advantage of in almost every role? She has the best tits in retro-skin history! (READ MORE)

aka Lik Wong
aka King of Strength

Director: Ngai Kai Lam

Cast: Siu-Wong Fan, Mei Sheng Fan, Ka-Kui Ho, Yukari Ôshima, Frankie Chin

Tokyo Shock / Color / Unrated / NTSC R1 / Widescreen 1.85:1 / ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo MANDARIN: Dolby Digital Stereo CANTONESE: Dolby Digital Stereo / Subtitles: English, Chinese / 90 mins

Sometime in the future the prison system has become privatized and is controlled and run by huge corporations. In one particular prison, the inmates are overseen by an all-powerful Warden who is helped by his Assistant Warden who, in turn, gives power to the "Gang of Four" to control the other prisoners by force. The gang consists of the most powerful inmates from the north, sound, east and west wings of the prison. They all have super Kung-fu powers; one has some pointy things on strings that he throws. Another is, well, just big and strong. One is all girly-like and lulls you into thinking he's a pansy. And the last one... hmmm... I don't remember, he died very quickly. (READ MORE)

aka Delirio caldo

Director: Renato Polselli

Cast: Mickey Hargitay, Rita Caldana, Raul Lovecchio, Carmen Young, Christa Barrymore

Blue Underground / Color / Unrated / NTSC R1 / Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) / ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono / ITALIAN: Dolby Digital Mono / Subtitles: English / 102 mins

Criminal psychologist, Dr. Herbert Lyutak is a violent sexual deviant who has been killing young women and is now under suspicion by the authorities. His gorgeous wife begins to also suspect something when she finds a bloody dress in his hiding spot in their home. Herbert is tortured by his "illness" so much so that it has rendered him impotent. But his wife loves him so much that she wants only for him to "love her" and do with her whatever he wants (including playing rough). But he will not let himself harm the woman he loves. In fact, he wants to divorce her to keep her safe but she will not allow it. She begs him to stay and act out his aggressions on her. (READ MORE)

NOTE: The Cinema Epoch website and DVD list the movie as 1967, but everywhere else says 1966. I will go with the distributor of the movie.

Director: Benjamin Andrews (incorrectly listed as Gilbert Wolmark on IMDB)

Cast: Michelle Angelo

Cinema Epoch / B&W / NTSC R1 / Widescreen (16x9) / English Dubbed / 67 minutes

Dani is an owner of a nightclub where all of the cool young kids hang out, but the club is in financial trouble. So she hires Mike to help her out with her cash flow problem. The two concoct a devious plan to extort money from some of their beautiful teenage girl patron's parents. First they must introduce selected girls to a world of sex and drugs, thus getting them hooked on the "kicks". Those kicks involve charging lecherous old men to act out their most perverse and sadistic fantasies with the girls and letting the young ladies keep the money. (READ MORE)

NOTE: This DVD cover is the Redemption UK Edition. Not the one I am reviewing. I just like it better.

Director: Alan Birkinshaw

Cast: Alison Elliott, Anthony Forrest, JoAnne Good, Tom Marshall, David Jackson, Jane Hayden

Redemption Films / NTSC R1 / Unrated / 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / Mono / 90 minutes

What would happen if the Brits took the backwoods raping and terrorizing of The Last House on the Left and a bit of the ol' ultra violence (and Droog outfits) from A Clockwork Orange but didn't stop there; what if they added a smidgen of sardonic, dry humor? That's what you get with Killer's Moon. But get this... all of that sleazy violence... it all happens to a group of innocent, barely pubescent high school choir girls. No shit! "Of course it's a dream! And stuffed full of jailbait!" <---- actual quote from the movie. (READ MORE)

aka Yi boh laai beng duk

Director: Herman Yau

Cast: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Yeung Ming Wan, Fui-On Shing, Wong Tsui-ling, Miu-Ying Chan

Discotek Media / Unrated / NTSC R1 / Color / 1.85:1 Widescreen (16x9) / Dolby 2.0 / English Subtitled / Language: Cantonese / 98 minutes

Kai (Wong) is in the midst of fucking his boss's wife when he is interrupted by said boss and promptly reprimanded... or humiliated, whatever... tomayto, tomahto. Anywho, this enrages Kai and he kills everyone in sight and if they have a vagina, he rapes them. 10 years later, he has escaped the Hong Kong authorities and is now living in Johannesburg, South Africa which, oddly, has a "China Town". He works for a restaurant owner and his cunty wife who take advantage of their knowledge of his "situation" by underpaying him and generally mistreating him. (READ MORE!)

Writer/Director: Frank Henenlotter

Cast: James Lorinz, Joanne Ritchie, Patty Mullen, J.J. Clark, Carissa Channing

Unearthed Films / Unrated / NTSC R1 / Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) / Language: English, Swedish / 85 minutes

Jeffery Franken and Elizabeth Shelley are madly (in his case "madly" is literal) in love but, of course, they have their problems. Her parents think he is weird (um, well, he IS a mad scientist) and that she eats too much. In a freak accident Liz is turned into flesh mulch as Jeffy's remote control lawnmower that he made for her dad goes haywire and mows (har har) her over. Anyone have a good rake? (READ MORE!)

aka Quel maledetto treno blindato
aka Counterfeit Commandos
aka Deadly Mission
aka G.I. Bro
aka Hell's Heroes

Director: Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma, The Heroin Busters, The New Barbarians, 1990: The Bronx Warriors)

Cast: Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Peter Hooten, Michael Pergolani, Jackie Basehart

Severin Films / 3 Disk Explosive Edition / Color / 1.85:1 (16x9) Widescreen / 89 mins / Not Rated / Reg 1 (NTSC)/ Dolby Digital Mono

A truck load of military criminals during WWII are being hauled off to their Court Marshall when the convoy is attacked by the Nazis. Most of the lot are killed but five escape and quickly make a tenuous pact to help get each other safely to the Swiss border. Along the way they have to fight their way through German roadblocks, dodge air attacks and basically blow shit up. During one of the shootouts with the Germans, the "Filthy Five", as I have dubbed them, team up (again tenuously) with a Nazi soldier who has deserted his troops. (READ MORE!)

aka Ratu ilmu hitam

Director: Liliek Sudjio

Cast: Suzzanna, W.D. Mochtar, Teddy Purba

DVD Specs:
Mondo Macabro / Indonesian / Unrated / NTSC R1 / 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen / English Language

DVD Extras:
Indonesian Light & Magic: Behind the scenes with FX guru El Badrun / Theatrical trailer / Extensive notes & text essays / Mondo Macabro preview trailer

During his wedding to the village leader's daughter, Kohar's wife-to-be starts to hallucinate that he is a corpse and that snakes are all around her. Kohar decides that this is the work of black magic and his ex, Murni, must be the culprit. He gathers a mob to hunt her down and kill her for practicing the dark art and for bringing demons to the village. They find her and throw her off of a cliff but unknown to them she is caught (in mid-air) by a witch doctor who is actually the one cursing the town. (READ MORE!)

aka Papaya dei Caraibi
aka Die of Pleasure

Director: Joe D'Amato

Cast: Melissa Chimenti (credited as "Melissa"), Sirpa Lane, Maurice Poli

Severin Films / Colour / Widescreen 1.85:1 (16x9) / 89 mins / Not Rated / R1(NTSC) / English Dolby Digital 2.0

A group of geologists are researching a remote tropical island in order to build an atomic reactor there. To make way for the reactor, they have to move the indigenous people from their homeland. This doesn't sit well with Papaya, the lovely and deadly leader of the people who tries to save her home by seducing the geologists one by one and murdering them. Vincent, one of the geologists, runs into his old friend Sara, a journalist, and the two settle in for some good old-fashioned doinking. Later, the two run into Papaya on their way to check out the building site and she invites them to a "siesta" called the "Round Rock Ritual" (or some such nonsense). Vin ends up falling for Papaya, Sara gets busy with Pap's friend and the rest of the village just gets naked and dances (I'll get to that a little later). (READ MORE!)