Faces of Death is a compilation of clips depicting death caused by various causes. There was a trend in exploitation cinema for documentaries that could get away with material that wouldn't be allowed otherwise. Hence, there were documentaries into, say, nudist camps as they could show full frontal nudity whilst meeting any criticism with cries …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 19- Faces of Death (1978)
Paul Martin is writing his second novel. He has shut himself away in a secluded cottage in the country to complete the task and a secretary is coming down to transcribe. But is she all she appears to be? Expose acts not just a film but also as a time capsule. It was made at …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 18- Expose (1976)
Another serious contender for the title of 'The Most Controversial Video Nasty' (the film shared that title with The Evil Dead). And whilst the film does have its shocking moments of lurid horror (yes, involving an electric drill), this is more a slow and meticulous study into alienation, the descent into madness and mental illness amidst …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 16- The Driller Killer (1979)
Marcos, a slaughterhouse worker, accidentally kills a taxi driver which sets into effect a domino effect of further murders. The original title of this Spanish film is La Semana Del Asesino which translates as Week of the Killer. The title The Cannibal Man is a bit misleading as there's no cannibalism herein (sorry to disappoint). …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 13- The Cannibal Man (1972)
Female SS officer and twisted doctor, SS Kratsch (what a great name for an evil character) has developed a genetically engineered half-man, half-maniac (think a cross between Ralphus from Bloodsucking Freaks and the real-life serial killer Fred West) who is fed a diet of 'mega-aphrodisiacs' which meets that his libido is through the roof and …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 5- The Beast In Heat (1977)
Spoiler alert This review reveals vital details about the plot or should that be, the device used for the film. A strange series of murders occurs around a bay. This is one of Mario Bava's best known films and also one of his most violent. I first learn of it whilst studying film at university. …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 4- Bay of Blood (1971)
A trio of murderous mobsters take refuge in a farmhouse that houses a young girl, Lisa and her wheelchair-bound grandfather. There must have been something in the water when Axe was made as I see a lot of similarities between it and Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. Both are gritty, low-budget to the …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 3- Axe (1974)
A leather-gloved serial killer is on the loose in Rome, but David Hemming's pianist and Daria Nicolodi's journalist are on the trail to try and find out who it is. Dario Argento's Deep Red is one of his best and features several signature elements that are now synonymous with his films- the innovative direction, the …
A young couple who are in search of a place to get it on, discover some old ruins. They see what appears to be a woman hanging there. On closer inspection, it is, in fact, a mannequin. Another couple go walking through some sand dunes. They see what appears to be a woman's body lying …
Hooray for Facebook. I was browsing pages devoted to cult cinema as I'm prone to do during my downtime, and I saw a post about the Giallo gem, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times and realised that I had never seen it. And lo and behold, it was on YouTube in both Italian and badly …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 28- The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
Meathook Cinema 