The Consensus (1980)

A Spanish sex comedy that throws in a lot of political/cultural commentary.  Things were changing in Spain; the sexual revolution that had tsunami'd through most of Western Europe and North America, was coming for Franco's ceded ground.  It's the typical conservatives versus the liberated generation; just think Harper Valley PTA, but with lots of nudity.

What A Mess They Got Me Into! (1980)

Original Title:  ¡En qué lío me han metido! (1980); a sex comedy by Enrique Guevara, featuring the always amazing Berta Cabré.  It's basically an episode of Three's Company, but with nudity.

Bloody Sect (1982)

What was it with Spain in the late seventies, early eighties?  They put out some horror and exploitation films that were off-the-charts evil and depraved during this period:  Black Candles (1982), Satan's Blood (1978), Mad Foxes (1981)... the list goes on.  This one is by Director Ignacio F. Iquino who'd been doing movies for decades, then whatever was in the Spanish water during this time infected him as well, and he made Los Violadores del Amanecer (1978) and this film which is just as satanic and batshit insane as any of them.

Sex and the Single Vampire (1970)

An X-rated Dracula movie starring Sandy Dempsey and Kathy Hilton, with John Holmes as the vamp.  It's not technically a porno, but still a pretty graphic softcore horror flick.

Summer Camp (1979)

A Chuck Vincent summer camp movie, featuring panty raids, food fights, disco and Linnea Quigley.

The Boob Tube (1975)

In the seventies they were looking for all kinds of creative ways to make things dirty. Thus you have adult versions of fairy tales, adult superheroes (Ms. Magnificent), adult cartoons (Fritz the Cat), adult martial arts (Vixens of Kung Fu), and even adult puppet movies (Let My Puppets Come).  This one is a parody of soap operas; it's not a porno, but it has lots o' boobs.  Featuring Colleen Brennan, Lyllah Torena and the ubiquitous John Alerderman.

Love Me Like I Do (1970)

A drama featuring an interesting cast: Diane Thorne, pre-Ilsa She-Wolf of the SS, and Maria De Aragon, the hottie who played Greedo in Star Wars. Also featuring the studly Peter Carpenter who also appeared with Aragon in the wonderful Blood Mania, and would tragically (and mysteriously) die the following year.

The New York Ripper (1982)

Lucio Fulci, who'd been making films for decades, hit his stride in the late seventies, early eighties, delivering a series of dark and horrific classics including The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, The House by the Cemetery, Zombie, The Psychic and this film: "New York City: It's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to die there!"

 

Who Killed Cock Robin? (1970)

"An overtly penetrating film dripping with Fruedian reality....The deepest Fruedian penetration the screen will ever show!"  From Don Jones, the director of the odd and disturbing Schoolgirls in Chains (1973), The Love Butcher (1975) and The Forest (1982).  Featuring early seventies sexploitation regulars Neola Graef and Maria Arnold.

Showgirls (1995)

With a $40 million dollar budget, it doesn't seem like the type of film to cover on VZ1.  However, it's every bit as sleazy and exploitative as any grindhouse movie from the seventies.  I clearly remember the puritanical voices of derision from critics upon its release, and the film tanked due to the relentless bashing from the media.  But well-done sexploitation eventually finds its audience, and the film more than doubled it's budget with video sales.  And the passage of time has been kind to this film.  Critics and audiences able to ignore the puritanical hate it received from both Bible-thumpers and Church-Lady Feminists, can now view it on its own terms.  Subsequently, it's received a revival and even a cult fan base.  So, I think it's worthy to add this to the VZ1 archive; let's have a quick look.

Treasured Island (1993)

And here I thought nudist films went extinct in the 1960s.  Back then, exploitation filmmakers found a loophole in the American legal code, which allowed them to show nudity if it was in the context of nudism and was a "documentary" (air quotes).  Once the censors fell asleep at the wheel by the end of the decade, there wasn't much point in the nudist films, as you no longer needed this flimsy get-out-of-jail-free card.  Yet here we are in 1993, and the nudist film is alive and well.  Okay, maybe not "well", but still kicking.

Shut Up and Deal (1969)

From the director of Alice in Acidland (1969) featuring Bambi Allen and Karen Thomas who had both appeared together in Sisters in Leather this same year.  It's a tale about a stag party that doesn't end well.

I'm No Virgin (1971)

Starring two of the best sexploitation stars of the early seventies: Rene Bond and Sandy Carey.  How can we pass this up?

Ladies' Doctor (1977)

A Joe D'Amato sex comedy starring Renzo Montagnani as a hapless gynecologist who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to run a posh clinic. The film amounts to not much more than a parade of women getting undressed for their exam... but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil (1993)

In this episode of the Witchcraft series, a servant of Satan who looks like Ronnie James Dio gathers souls.  The tagline is "This time the devil wants more than just your soul"... which isn't quite accurate, because that's pretty much all Satan wants. 

The Notorious Cleopatra (1970)

Another period-piece sexploitation film from Peter Perry Jr., the director of the great sexploitation epic, The Joys Of Jezebel from this same year.

Barbarian Queen (1985)

A Roger Corman Sword & Sandal starring Lana Clarkson. "No man can touch her naked steel."

The Healers (1972)

A doctor and his nurse offer "orgasmic free-flow" sex therapy to a variety of patients: an opera singer, a mute, a compulsive crier, and others. It's an adult film from Eduardo Cemano who was previously a Paramount Pictures animator for Popeye and Casper. He then produced the animation for various commercials including Cocoa Puffs and Trix. He also did the intro to "The Great Space Coaster." So, yeah, a little weird that the Trix rabbit animator is doing an adult film, but I'm down with it.

And When She Was Bad... (1973)

"When She Was Good She Was the Greatest... and When She Was Bad... She Was Murder!"  A Gary Graver film with the same plot as Angel Eyes (1993) twenty years later. 

Hungry Hypnotist (1971)

We've seen the hypnotist shtick in a couple x-rated films already - She Did What He Wanted from this same year, and Come Under My Spell from ten years later.  Let's see how this one stacks up.

Trhauma (1980)

A few noteworthy items.  The odd spelling of the title is supposedly unintentional - it's a misspelling!  Also, the killer is paid in Legos!  This film would have been more in line with Giallos had it been released a year or so earlier.  But with the success of Halloween, it shifts gears and tries to follow the conventions of the slasher genre instead.

Candid Candid Camera Volume 6 (1987)

This will probably be the last of the Candid Candid Camera series we look at.  Let's face it, if you've seen one, you've seen them all.  My complaint has always been that this would have been great as a Playboy Channel series, but as stand-alone movies, they're pretty weak. It's crazy that about only one was made per year.  Perhaps, Alan Funt was just enjoying his retirement from his long running family friendly TV show. Anyway, this one has Michelle Bauer and Becky LeBeau in the credits, so it's at least worth a quick look.

The Screentest Girls (1969)

Another Zoltan Spencer jam, so you know you're in for lots of sex and weirdness.  There were three directors in the late sixties and early seventies who made very similar films - all odd low budget exploitation with the same crop of actresses, and very similar aesthetics (or lack thereof): H.G. Lewis, Bethel Buckalew and Zoltan.

Blonde Velvet (1976)

An X-rated film with high production values (for a porno) starring Jennifer Welles as the ringleader of an international blackmailing network.

Over 18... and Ready! (1969)

A secretary wants to make it big in Hollywood, but as a wise man named Axl once said - "You're in the jungle baby... you're gonna diiiiieeeee".

Bikini Bistro (1995)

Almost all of these bikini movies have the same plot: a business is saved from bankruptcy by girls in bikinis.  Examples: a floundering airline (Bikini Airways), a failing country club (Golfballs!), a drive-in theater (Bikini Drive-In)... you get the picture.  This time it's a vegetarian restaurant.

My Deep Hunger (1973)

"Penetrates the depths of an insatiable sexual appetite" - a woman is horrifically raped in her own home, but that's just the start of her troubles.  Her husband is cheating on her, and she seems to be going more-than-slightly insane.

The Last Step Down (1970)

Three girls get wrapped up in a satanic dildo cult. Starring three prolific actresses from early seventies sexploitation: Uschi Digard, Neola Graef, and Terri Johnson. 

Dr. Fummel and his Playmates (1970)

(Original Title: Dr. Fummel und seine Gespielinnen) A naive gent from the Bavarian countryside goes to the city to cure his stiff back.  Along the way he inadvertently gets mixed up with prostitutes and orgies.

Natasha (2007)

Let's see what Jag Mundhra was up to in the 2000s.  He directed so many varied and interesting flicks in the 90s, You just never know what you're going to get with a Mundhra flick, so I thought it was worth a look.

Tanya (1976)

Loosely based on the Patricia Hearst story. The lead character, Charlotte Kane, is an heiress of a newspaper mogul who's kidnapped by five pseudo-relovutionaries. Charlotte is quickly converted to their cause, becomes a nymphomaniac and changes her name to Tanya.

Dead Eye Dick (1970)

Not much more than a bunch of humping - but it stars some of the best of the best from the pre-hardcore days, including Uschi Digard, Kathy Hilton and Neola Graef.

Lucifer's Women (1974)

For years, we thought this movie was lost forever.  Al Adamson had chopped it up and made Doctor Dracula from it - possibly the most boring film ever to bear the name "Dracula" in its title.  Finally, we get to see the original film, which had Anton LeVey as a consultant.

Nude for Satan (1974)

Nuda per Satana (1974) AKA Nude for Satan; an Italian Gothic horror that tells the tale of a man who stops at a remote castle hoping to get medical help for an injured woman, only to find the inhabitants mirror the darker sides of the woman and himself.  This film was reviewed on VZ1 back in 2017, but upon re-watching, I think it deserves a second look.

Come Deadly (1973)

A detective goes undercover to catch whoever has been raping and strangling female members of an acting troupe.  A very early example of an adult film "slasher".

Phoenix the Warrior (1988)

Most people remember this from USA Up All Night, where it was routinely played.  It was a perfect fit, as it was sexy and trashy, without much nudity having to be edited out.

Slaughter High (1986)

It's the story of a bullied nerd who takes revenge.  But it's not Revenge of the Nerds, it's a slasher film made in England (but attempting to appear American) starring Caroline Munro.

Dark Dreams (1971)

A young couple find themselves stranded at a remote mansion where they come under satantic powers.  If you want to see how this is done to perfection, watch the supremely evil Satan's Blood (1978).   While this has a lot of similarities to that Spanish satanic masterpiece, it doesn't come close - but it does offer an adult film take on the idea.  Let's have a look.