Buried Treasure (1924) - The Type of Cartoon Disney Would NEVER Make

I'm currently working on an essay all about Picha's superb cult classic Shame of the Jungle (1975) and have come across a whole host of 1970s dirty animation. Cartoons that blur the lines between pornography and comedy. But here's possibly one of the first to start it. Not much is known about this film, except that it was probably made around 1924/25 by a couple of cartoon studios at the time, out of hours - most likely the Fleisher studio. Thought to have been made for stag parties this is quite possibly one of the strangest and freakiest animations you will ever see!


WARNING: NSFW - THIS IS FULL OF SEX!

The Revenge Of Doctor X (1970)

Here's a very strange and odd little exploitation film. Complete with laugh-out-loud scenes (unintentional of course), a silly monster costume, obvious rip-offs and more guilty of more mistakes than a married couple of sex-obsessed catholics. This is one hell of a (rather bad) ride for all fans of cheesy b-movies, exploitation drive-in cinema or so-bad-it's-good films.

What the Hell is it About?
According to the DVD case:

A NASA scientist is ordered to take a vacation due to showing signs of stress while working on his latest missile project. Traveling to Japan, the scientist decides to indulge in his botany hobby and begins experimenting on a Venus Flytrap he brought along on his trip. Using radical techniques and falling into madness, the scientist eventually creates a plant creature that feeds on flesh and blood, which then sets off to find food in the form of the people of a nearby community.

Was it any good?

With a title like The Revenge Of Doctor X you can pretty much guess what your getting yourself into. But it deliver so much more...or less (depending on your taste in film). The film starts of with the credits...naturally. Only problem is, well, there the credits to the wrong film! Hello! What is this? An unseen Monty Python film?! According to the credits, this film was directed by exploitation 'legend' Eddie Romero, probably most famous for his Blood Trilogy (Brides Of Blood, Mad Doctor Of Blood Island (both 1968) and Beast Of Blood) as well as Women In Chains (1973) and The Beast Of The Yellow Night (1971; a film that almost made the DPP list).  But unfortunately, Doctor X was instead directed by the nobody Norman Thomson who has only this film to his name. In fact, the majority of this film's cast have a career which spans only one film; this one! With the exception of Doctor X (actually Dr. Bragan) himself played by James Craig who also starred in Bigfoot (1970) alongside the late great John Carradine and The Tormentors (1971); a Nazi Vs. Jesus Christ film! Besides Craig the next biggest name is possibly James Yagi who plays exactly the same character  in the Cult Classic, King Kong VS. Godzilla (1962). So, obviously this film isn't going to win any awards for its acting. And that adds to the film's enjoyability. Complete with over-the-top acting especially from Craig, who's main character seems to have serious hormonal problems - one minute everything's fine, the next he's SHOUTING HIS FACE OFF! But if any award was given (for best worst acting) it has to be to one of the side characters. A hunchback.

Yes. A hunchback.

A Zombie Western...With PUPPETS!

It's a puppet!

I've always wanted to see a zombie puppet film. Sure there's been animated zombie films such as Dead Space, the CGI Resident Evil film and the made-by-one-man City Of Rott, but there's been nothing (to my knowledge) of a gory and funny zombie film with Henson-esque puppets, similar to Meet The Feebles. Until now! It Came From The West, released a few months ago,is just that (short) film,  crammed with blood, guts, and stuffing and about as tongue in cheek as it is hand up back. Now you can check the full film out online! Just head over to this link to watch it all. Here's hoping the director, Tor Fruergaard, makes a feature length version of this!

But that's not all! I've recently come across this little fake zombie trailer done in the style of a Grindhouse/Exploitation trailer. It's great fun!

Inferno Of The Dead - A Zombie Comedy Short

Here's a great little film for all you zombie fans out there.At just shy of 10 minutes, Inferno Of The Dead is one hell of a fun little film. Clearly inspired by Italian zombie sleaze, most notably The Zombie Dead (Andrea Bianchi, 1981) this short is not only highly innovative and unique but so damn funny! Check it out!

Teeth (2007)

When I first heard of Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2007), a film about a man-eating vagina, I was instantly sold. With a premise that could have resulted in a early-Cronenberg-esque film or a fun cheesy b-movie I had high expectations. Unfortunately, except for a couple of scenes, I couldn't have been more disappointed.


What The Hell Is It About?
Two words; Vagina Dentata. No it's not some sort of exotic salsa but something with a bit more bite. Dawn (Jess Weixler), a celebrate young woman with a slight teething problem realises that her womanly region is becoming, how shall I put it...hungry for cock.



What Is Any Good?
In my opinion, no.  With such a great and rather innovative idea for a modern horror film, I feel as though this film could have been something special and maybe even legendary among the genre, but in actuality it turned out to be rather slow and cliched. The characters are about as stereotypical as the Mr. Men books with Dawn a typical goodie-two-shoes turned slut as she develops into womanhood, and Brad (John Hensley) her 'brother' who is nothing more than a cardboard cut out of a porn-loving, drug-smoking, horror-watching, metalhead. But if you consider the rather bad acting then perhaps this was the whole point. The film is, after all, very tongue in cheek.  One of the best scenes in the entire film, the doctor's (Josh Pais) scene  is played completely for laughs

The gore was very infrequent but when it did finally happen the audience is rewarded with  leg-crossing, stomach turning scenes. The special effects/make up during these moments are excellent, as seen in the picture. However, there just wasn't enough knob-biting for my liking (so to speak) to make this film anything but a curiosity or at best a mediocre film.

Reading up on this film however it seems that a lot of people (male and female) were offended by the representation of men and indeed women. Though whilst it is certainly easy to argue that all the male characters are shown to be sex-mad and violent and analysing this film from a feminist angle would be interesting, I personally don't really care about gender representations so much as to stop my enjoyment of a film. Oh no, the biggest problem for me was the lack of violence and the frustrating stupidity and hypocrisy in the plot - most notably sleeping with Ryan.

But I seem to be in minority here as it's gained quite a big fan base. So, if you're looking for a tongue-in-cheek (though not particularly LOL) but not too much gore, then give this one a go. If not, I'd say skip it and watch Cronenberg's Shivers or Rabid instead for some true body-horror goodness.

I'd give it a 1.5/5

Dead Rising 2 'Outbreak' Edition

Maybe to make up for the fact that this game has been put back a few months, Capcom revealed today that a new special edition of this will be available to purchase for the PS3 and XBOX 360. The set includes the new game (obviously), a 12" zombie figure complete with accessories such as a Lego mask, and free downloadable content!

WIN The Beast In Space!

This week over at the Cult Labs forum I'm giving away the incredibly sleazy and incredibly cheesy sci-fi sexploitation film, The Beast in Space! Head on over the forum to be in a chance with winning.

“ [IT] WILL IMPALE YOUR BRAIN WITH ITS SLEAZY DEMENTIA.” – DVD VERDICT

 Science fiction was never so wild and depraved as it is in The Beast In Space, a sex mad intergalactic saga starring Sirpa Lane (Love Goddess Of The Cannibals) who’d already shocked the world when she starred in Walerian Borowczyk’s notorious art-house porno classic, ‘The Beast’. She now returns in this mind-blowing, completely unofficial, outer space set “sequel” as a woman forced to submit to the carnal lusts of an horrific space monster in a movie that gives trash cinema lovers exactly what they want in a riot of space disco insanity, sci-fi oddness and twisted eroticism.



Mind scrambling aliens, eye scorching special effects and the co-star presence of porn diva Marina Hedman (Satan’s Baby Doll) combine to make The Beast In Space one of the strangest trips you’ll ever take.



This exclusive Shameless Rebuild presentation of The Beast In Space features the bonus attraction of extra footage, added by the film’s producers and previously only available in a hardcore, XXX porn version release.

The Beast In Space (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Shameless Screen Entertainment on 26th July 2010. Special Features include: Shameless Rebuild with extra footage, previously only available in XXX version; alternate scenes comparisons; reversible sleeve featuring original artwork;  optional English subtitles; theatrical trailer; Shameless trailers.

Attack of the Mutant Animals!

No it's not a 1950s communist-fearing sci-fi film, I'm talking about the sudden abundance of freakishly mutated animals. Added today (here's a link)to the quickly increasing list of mutant pests was this five legged frog which a dog walker spotted. Along with the two headed cow and the 12 fingered/toed child are we seeing a rise in mutants? Could this be the start of a mutant animal outbreak? Hopefully.

This strange occurrence is nothing new however and freaky animals have been recorded before records began (yes, that makes no sense.) So, ladies and gentlemen, here is a list of the best and most famous freaky mutated animals. I present to you the Circus of the Freaky Mutated Creatures...

Oh and NONE of these are photo-shopped in any way. They're the real deal.


1) The Winged Cat - and not just one odd feline either. There's been well over 20 off these creatures. Very strange. How the hell does this happen! Must be something to do with the genes. Unless of course they're parents were naughty pussies.Check out the Wikipedia page for a whole list of them!

2) The Featherless Chicken - Not all mutations are natural or the product of a freak accident. Some are purposefully altered such as the Featherless Chicken which was breed not to just look ugly, but to make it easier to prepare for eating.
Think about it - how macabre could you get.

3) Two Headed Turtle- Born in a Pennsylvanian Aquarium, this little turtle was born with two heads at either end of it's shell, yet only had one pair of back feet and one tail. Teenage Mutant Ninja Conjoined Twin Turtles!

4) Two Faced Star - No, I'm not talking about celebrities! This is a genuine cow with two faces on one head.  Born in Virginia  has THREE sets of teeth and two tongues. Most freaky of all though is that the cow has only one eye socket in the middle of it's head...with two eyes in!

Old Horror Radio Shows.

If, like me, you absolutely adore horror stories then you may very well enjoy this site. It's an online library full of Free downloadable (100% legal) old radio plays. With many horror icons such as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi and even Abbott and Costello voicing many of the stories, these are great to listen to at the dead of night. So check out the site, download as many free horror radio plays as you wish and prepare to be spooked!


The Monster Club

Weekly Comp - Samurai Zombie - 04/07/2010

Besides running this blog, I also run the competitions on the Cult Labs forums. For those who haven't visited this site, I cannot recommend it high enough if you're a fan of film, especially cult/horror/exploitation. Full of great, knowledgable and very friendly members this is the one forum you'd ever need to join.

This week's competition prize is...

“GOOD NASTY FUN WITH GREAT ACTION SEQUENCES, ACTUAL PLOT TWISTS AND SMART, LIGHT-FINGERED CARTOON VIOLENCE.” – BOXOFFICE.COM



From screenwriter Ryuhei Kitamura (director of ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ and writer-director of ‘Versus’) and director Tak Sakaguchi (the star of ‘Versus’ and fight choreographer for ‘Tokyo Gore Police’ and ‘Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl’) comes Samurai Zombie, a splatter-filled, genre blending, horror-comedy that delivers precisely what its title promises.

A vacationing family’s drive through the tranquil woods surrounding Eight Spears Village takes an unfortunate turn when their car hits a gun-toting man standing in the middle of the road. Suddenly, a young man and woman emerge from the woods and, after shooting the accident victim, proceed to car-jack the family taking them hostage in the process. The situation immediately goes from bad to worse when the car suffers a blowout and dad is sent off in search of a spare tyre or an alternative means of transport while his wife and two kids remain in the hands to the two apparent psychopaths.

Unfortunately, any sign of deliverance for dad, his family or their captors is a long way off. Before he can find help, a mysterious encounter with a rather large blade leaves the head of the family headless, precipitating a bloody rainfall and the resurrection of a long-dead samurai warrior with a mean streak and a score to settle. Meanwhile, back at the car, a derelict old hag appears before the stranded group with a dire but frighteningly convincing warning: “You’re all going to die!” Confirmation of this stark proclamation soon comes in the form of the undead warrior looking to add to his newly-begun collection of severed heads.

A highly recommended addition to the recent wave of Japanese extreme splatter movies, Samurai Zombie sees director Sakaguchi and writer Kitamura playing for laughs and shocks in equal measure with a joyously demented zombie flick that includes scenes of explosive geyser-spouting decapitations, hilariously graphic dismemberment, wince-inducing oral castration and the introduction of a pair of bumbling cops with an amusing case of serious gun envy. Size, it appears, is everything.

Samurai Zombie (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by MVM on 19th July 2010.


So head on over to the Cult Labs forums to be in with a chance of winning!