In just three years Scream would be released, and you could no longer make a by the numbers slasher movie without being totally self-referential. In these waning years, Adam Rifkin, the guy that gave us the monumentally bizarre and unforgettable Dark Backward, delivered this campy take on the genre.
Jul 22, 2019
Psycho Cop Returns (1993)
In just three years Scream would be released, and you could no longer make a by the numbers slasher movie without being totally self-referential. In these waning years, Adam Rifkin, the guy that gave us the monumentally bizarre and unforgettable Dark Backward, delivered this campy take on the genre.
Jul 21, 2019
Bikini Summer II (1992)
As I mentioned in the Bikini Traffic School review, there was a tidal wave of bikini movies in the 1990s [Bikini Summer (1991), Bikini Squad (1993), Bikini Med School (1994), Bikini Drive In (1995), and Bikini Academy (1996)] and even more beach movies in the 1980s - Hardbodies (1984), Private Resort (1985), Spring Break (1983), etc.
Let's look at the sequel to Bikini Summer which delivered on all counts, thanks in large part to Melinda Armstrong who returns in this film. Also starring Jeff Conaway - holy shit this guy fell far from grace, and would you believe he's the writer and director! Also the notorious Jessica Hahn, and our favorite beach girl, Maureen Flaherty.
Bikini Traffic School (1998)
We all know there was a wave of beach movies in the 1960s, but did you know the 1990s had a similar flood of bikini films? We here at VZ1 aim to cover them all, rescuing them from the tides of time.
So far, we've covered: Bikini Summer (1991), Bikini Squad (1993), Bikini Med School (1994), Bikini Drive In (1995), and Bikini Academy (1996). You could also include the 1980s beach movies - The Beach Girls (1982) and Fraternity Vacation (1985).
But there are hundreds more to cover. The eighties beach movies: Hardbodies (1984), Private Resort (1985) and Spring Break (1983), to the nineties bikini flicks - Bikini Hoe-Down (1997) and Bikini Hotel (1997). With so much left to explore, let's not waste any more time. Let's check out Bikini Traffic School (1998)...
4 Cheerleaders of the Apocalypse (1997)
This shot on video flick takes place at a South Dakota vocational school - and seems like it was just put together by some teachers just for fun. There's no nudity, no budget, and no gore; and most of the actors aren't even listed on IMDb. So why watch this ultra-obscure film probably put together for a few hundred bucks?
First, there is a real sense of place here - as it's clearly filmed in a small remote town in South Dakota, it has a unique feel - like you're actually spending an hour in the town. Second, the director, Ted Roesgen, clearly was an ass man. He has these actresses constantly bending over and zooming on butts. An excellent drinking game would be to take a swig for every gratuitous ass shot.
Lastly, without getting too philosophical here, I'll just say that in a day where your megaplex is filled with Disney and Marvel, it's refreshing to just see creativity at work without a trillion dollars behind it.
Jul 20, 2019
Prison Girls (1972)
It just doesn't seem right to watch this on a laptop - it needs to be seen on the big screen sporting a pair of 3D glasses with red and green lenses. But, we'll take what we can get - and give this film, purporting to be the first rated X film in 3-D. (Keep in mind, films like Midnight Cowboy got X ratings back then - the label didn't necessarily mean you were watching a porno. Indeed, this film, while definitely sleazy, doesn't warrant an X rating.)
Another interesting aspect of this film is that features a lot of familiar actress from seventies sexploitation: Maria Arnold, Barbara Mills, Uschi Digard, Marsha Jordan, Jacqueline Giroux, Linda York, Candy Samples, and Annik Borel from Werewolf Woman (one of the greatest films ever made BTW). We just need Sandy Carey and Rene Bond and we'd have just about everyone.
White Slave (1985)
Original Title: Schiave bianche violenza in Amazzonia; supposedly based on a true story. It was even released as Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story. Another release had the title as Cannibal Holocaust 2, which doesn't fit this film at all, and was clearly just riding the gravy train of the original.
Jul 17, 2019
Jul 15, 2019
Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990)
If you haven't seen Silent Night, Deadly Night parts 1 through 3, no worries - this bears no resemblance to any of them. In fact, they drop the killer Santa shtick altogether. It's directed by Brian Yuzna, the producer of Re-Animator and From Beyond, a couple longtime faves. I don't know that I've seen anything he's directed before, so was interested to take a look.
Jul 14, 2019
Vice Academy Part 6 (1998)
Well, folks, we've made it. We started with the first Vice Academy (1989) and made it to part six. The series is actually a rather unique achievement in that every one is directed and written by one guy - Rick Sloane. So, it's been interesting to watch his progression across a decade of doing these films. It started with an ultra low budget film starring Linnea Quigley and Ginger Lynn, which more or less was just Police Academy on a threadbare shoestring budget.
Jul 13, 2019
Student Affairs (1987)
A Chuck Vincent film about the behind-the-scenes drama during filming of a 1950s Porky's type movie.
Jul 12, 2019
Voyeur (1985)
Our tour of Chuck Vincent continues. As mentioned, this guy was all over the place in the eighties, directing every B-movie genre imaginable. Some were hits, some... not so much. While some of his work could be pretty tame (such as Preppies and Young Nurses in Love), let's not forget Vincent started as a porno director. In Voyeur he goes back to his roots - doing a Hitchcock style movie, but for adults only.
Cleo/Leo (1989)
Say what you will about Chuck Vincent's films, the variety of output from the director during the eighties is pretty impressive. From sword and sandal fantasy (Warrior Queen) to action thrillers (Thrilled to Death) to screwball comedies (Preppies) to Women in Prison (Slammer Girls) to Airplane! style satire (Young Nurses in Love) to sex comedies (Hollywood Hot Tubs and Sex Appeal), the list goes on... this from a guy who did pornos in the seventies! Let's check out another flick during Vincent's golden age - a body swap movie called Cleo/Leo.
Thrilled to Death (1988)
Chuck Vincent has directed a wide variety of B-movies in the eighties including Hollywood Hot Tubs (1984), Preppies (1984), Sex Appeal (1986), Warrior Queen (1987), Young Nurses in Love (1989), Slammer Girls (1987). Prior to that, he directed a bunch of adult films
You would think that a former porno director would make his films extremely sleazy, but they're usually pretty tame, with just a few nude scenes (often courtesy adult film actresses he'd worked with back in the seventies, namely ). Preppies, for example, certainly has some hot scenes, but I don't recall any nudity whatsoever.
To be honest, I haven't really enjoyed any of Chuck Vincent's work thus far (besides Preppies, which was great). But with such an extensive resume in VZ1-type films, I figured we needed to give ol' Chuck another chance. So let's check out Thrilled to Death...
Jul 11, 2019
The Schoolteacher Goes to Boys High (1978)
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Bizarre Lust of a Sexual Deviant (2001)
There is an unexpectedly large number of films about psychopathic photographers - and my aim is to see them all, and bring them to VZ1.
So far, we've seen Dark Room (1989), Whirlpool (1970), Fatal Images (1989), Blood Harvest (1987), Click the Calendar Girl Killer (1990), The Photographer (1974), and my favorite Double Exposure (1983). I expect this film will be a quick review as there's not much to it, but I do want a 2000's flick to add to the list.
Jul 10, 2019
The Sex and Violence Family Hour (1983)
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Jul 6, 2019
Jul 5, 2019
The Beast That Killed Women (1965)
True confession: When I first joined Netflix - very close to when the company first started - this and The Case of the Bloody Iris were the first discs I received. Almost twenty years later, and I'm giving it another look and comparing it to a more contemporary version of the “monster versus nudist” story, Monster of the Nudist Colony (2013).
Monster of the Nudist Colony (2013)
We'll be looking at The Beast that Killed Women (1965) soon, another movie featuring monster vs. nudists. I'm pretty confident the 2013 version will be much worse, so I figured I'd start with this, rather than end on a low note. So, let's have a look:
Lover of the Monster (1974)
Klaus Kinski made a career out of behaving like a madman. No one could portray a brooding psychopath or raving lunatic with such flair.
In Lover of the Monster, Kinski keeps it subtle (if you can even comprehend) except when he turns into his Hyde persona, when goes full apeshit. This makes for a startling contrast, but also a rather boring movie - who wants to spend an hour seeing Kinski playing it subtle?
Danish Pastries (1973)
It's another Danish sex-romp. As per usual, it's a fairly big budget, thoughtfully conceived picture - yet they would often cross the line into hardcore. Like the others, it stars Ole Søltoft, and has an astrology theme. This was perhaps the first in the series, to be followed by - In the Sign of the Gemini (1975), In the Sign of the Lion (1976). Agent 69 in the Sign of Scorpio (1977) and Agent 69 Jensen in the Sign of Sagittarius (1978).
Jul 2, 2019
Jul 1, 2019
Hot Times (1974)
Hot Times is an erotic version of the Archie comics. It was actually renamed "Hard Times for Archie" and spiced up with additional sex scenes The version I found was a terrible copy of the original version but I still had to have a look. Indeed, how can we not have a look at this oddity from the seventies?
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