The Good Times Are Back: Let's Enjoy Them Again (1985)

(Original Title: Os Bons Tempos Voltaram: Vamos Gozar Outra Vez)  This a Brazilian film comprised of two unrelated stories: "Hot Saturday" and "April 1st", both set in the 1960s.

Horizontal Sin (1982)

(Original Title: Pecado Horizontal) A Brazilian sex comedy about three old friends who share funny stories of their sexual misadventures.

The Love Bug (1980)

(Original Title: O Inseto do Amor) A Brazilian sex comedy about an insect's bite which will kill you unless you have sex within two days.

Five Women for the Killer (1974)

A standard Italian giallo about a mystery killer who preys on pregnant women. 

Leave Me Four (1981)

(Original Title: Me Deixa de Quatro) A Brazilian comedy/drama which would definitely be considered wildly homophobic today.  A father finds out his son is gay and does everything he can to turn him back to heterosexuality. Starring two prolific and sexy stars of Brazilian pornochada - Helena Ramos and Rossana Ghessa.

Swap Meet at the Love Shack (1973)

Originally called Liebesmarkt but re-titled for UK and American consumption. This really falls under the Schulmädchen-Report style film where it's comprised of a series of vignettes which are linked to a central framing story.  (It doesn't quite have the faux-documentary basis, so maybe doesn't belong in that category.)  It stars three prolific German sexploitation actresses: Monica Marc, Britt Corvin and everyone's favorite, Ingrid Steeger.

When It Itches, Yodel (1974)

(Original Title: Wenn's juckt wird gejodelt) A German sex comedy about a couple of idiots who go in search of a ship captain's long lost illegitimate children.

Panic Beats (1983)

This film follows Horror from the Tomb (1973) which is one of my favorite horror flicks, and one of the few films to get a 10/10 on VZ1.  Ten years after the first film, Alaric De Marnais returns to wreak havoc upon mortals who venture to his ancestral estate.

Greetings from Lederhose 5 (1978)

(Original Title: Liebesgrüße aus der Lederhose, 5. Teil: Die Bruchpiloten vom Königssee) In this episode, the idyllic Bavarian tourist destination gets a flight school when a Nazi biplane is discovered in a barn.

The Burning Psychiatrists (1988)

(Original Title: Los Psiquiatras Ardientes) A Mexican comedy about two psychiatrists, one young one old, both horny.

I Was Raped (1976)

(Original Title: Yo fui violada) An insane film that should be on everyone's watch list who's interested in sleazy grindhouse oddities. This one comes from Mexico and features a hippie cult that just has to be seen.

Moments of Pleasure and Agony (1983)

(Original Title: Momentos de Prazer e Agonia) A Brazilian giallo about... well, it's about what all giallos are about: women are getting killed by a mysterious slasher.  The main differences between the traditional Italian giallo and the Brazilian giallo: more gore, less clothing.  Which is fine adjustment in my humble opinion.

The Dairy of Zacarias (1986)

Yet another Mexican sex comedy - a well that seemingly never will run dry. Although, this one is pretty damn near the bottom.

Graverobbers (1988)

Nora is a waitress who marries a director of a funeral home in a small town.  She soon realizes the citizens of Newbury aren't normal, and the funeral home is the source of some bizarre shit.

Two Nacos on the Planet of the Women (1991)

(Original Title: Dos nacos en el planeta de las mujeres) A Sci-Fi comedy from Mexico starring Alberto Rojas as an astronaut who lands on a planet full of women.  "Nacos" is a derogatory term for a trashy tourist. 

Un macho y sus puchachas (2001)

The font is Comic Sans, so you know it's got to be good.  We've covered a few other Alberto Rojas "Macho" films [Un macho en el reformatorio de señoritas (1989), Un macho en el salón de belleza (1987) and Un macho en la cárcel de mujeres (1986)] so may as well keep it going.  They're always insanely stupid, but also a lot of fun - great therapy for these crazy mixed-up times we live in.

This is a weird one, however.  It's actually a remake of a 1982 film of the same title (and most of the same cast).  So, while the "Macho" films usually feature a laundry list of familiar Mexican actresses getting naked; this one just has Diana Herrera for the "old guard" and far inferior.

National Adultery (1982)

Another bed-hopping comedy from Spain.  After Franco, it seems like every film was about adultery and hitherto forbidden topics.

What Now, Mr. Prosecutor? (1977)

(Original Title: ¿Y ahora qué, señor fiscal? ) A Spanish drama about a young couple - the girl from a rich respectable family, and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who's charged with murder.

Los Verduleros II (1987)

Another Solares comedy; this one featuring punk rock murderers, Police Academy style shenanigans, a mad bomber, and Alfonso Zayas constantly peeping on women whilst looking like a rabid sex maniac.  So, yeah, just another Solares comedy.

Clothes Off (1995)

(Original Title: Fuera Ropa) Rafael Inclán stars in this "thriller" which basically amounts to him being locked up naked with another naked person in a bank vault for an hour.

In a Motel, No One Sleeps (1989)

(Original Title: En un motel nadie duerme) This Mexican comedy seemed especially timely as it revolves around a group who are quarantined in a hotel due to the threat of a disease.

Rumbera, Caliente (1989)

These Mexican comedies had a weird tendency to mix morality with vulgarity - at least it seems weird compared to traditional American cinema.  So, you might have a touching wholesome story worthy of showing to a Sunday school class... but it contains tons of full frontal nudity.  It's fucking jarring.  This story involves a woman making money to help a group of orphans - and yes there's also gobs of nudity.

Sex Or No Sex (1974)

A Spanish comedy about a repressed nebish who meets an equally prudish lady; they get married and spend the next several years trying to figure out sex, making up for lost time.

Futbol de alcoba (1988)

This is a Rafael Inclán Mexican comedy jam about a female futbol team managed by a bunch of horny guys.  There's a modicum of plot buried here somewhere, but basically it's just an excuse to show off the ladies.

Sexy... Love and Fantasy (1977)

(Original Title: Sexy... amor y fantasía) The final film for director Juan Xiol who started in the forties.  This is a simple film from Spain about just a handful of characters in a small rural village where a prostitute comes to set up shop.

Vermin (1977)

(Original Title: Las alimañas) From Amando de Ossorio, the man who gave us the Blind Dead series, comes a very different type of film involving a suitcase of money.  There has to be a name for this type of movie, right?  There are so many films about this subject, from No Country for Old Men to Shallow Grave and on and on.

A Male in a Girl's Reformatory (1989)

(Original Title: Un macho en el reformatorio de señoritas) Our third Rojas Macho film. So far, we've covered Un macho en el salón de belleza (1987) and Un macho en la cárcel de mujeres (1986).

To Make It Last, Don't Hurry (1988)

(Original Title: Para que dure no se apure) A Mexican comedy about a sad sack office worker (Manuel 'Flaco' Ibáñez) who falls for one of his boss' conquests.

Los verduleros 3 (1992)

I can't help it, I'm a sucker for these Mexican flicks featuring Alfonso Zayas and Alberto Rojas.  They are so full of energy and exuberant sleaze.  I suspect it's because I'm so weary of the American jaded lazy irony in every comedy, or aren't-I-just-so-fucking-clever dirty humor, that it's refreshing, therapeutic even, to just see joyfully simple ribald comedy.

The Shadow of a Memory (1978)

(Original Title: La sombra de un recuerdo) A Spanish movie about a serial killer who is haunted by his cheating wife and so must kill every girl he's able to hook up with.

The Stallion (1989)

(Original Title: El garañón) Another Alberto Rojas sex comedy featuring all the usual Mexican babes that seemed to show up in every film from this era: Rebeca Silva, Maria Cardinal, Rosario Escobar, and Gioconda.

The Worker (1983)

(Original Title: El currante) Another Spanish comedy starring Andrés Pajares.

Belles, blondes et bronzées (1981)

A French "Bronzées" film, which means lots of silliness and very little clothing. 

The Book of Stone (1969)

(Original Title: El libro de piedra) A Gothic horror tale from Mexico.

The National Mummy (1981)

(Original Title: La momia nacional) A batshit crazy horror-comedy from Spain featuring mummies, vampires, vampire hookers, a werewolf, ax murder, and gratuitous nudity.  What more do need as an incentive to press play?

Eros Hotel (1980)

Features Vanessa Hidalgo who ended her 10-movie filmography with Black Candles (1982) so automatically deserves a look. Of course, this is really Violeta Cela's jam, where she delivers quite a performance as the boppy, energetic and oft-nude niece in this film about an aphrodisiac unleashed at a Turkish hotel.

Stela's Erotic Vacation (1978)

(Original Title: Las eróticas vacaciones de Stela) Azucena Hernández's first film; a Spanish erotic romp about a girl returning home from boarding school for the Christmas holidays, where she sets the household on fire with her hyperactive libido.

The Manosanta Is Loaded (1987)

(Original Title: El manosanta está cargado) The great Argentinian comedic actor Alberto Olmedo in one of his last films. A Manosanta is a healer (specifically using hands to heal). 

Commissioner G in the Case of the Cabaret (1975)

(Original Title: El comisario G. en el caso del cabaret) A Spanish crime/thriller about a Columbo-esque detective investigating a series of murders surrounding the Canaima cabaret.

The Other Side of the Mirror (1973)

Had no idea that the great Emma Cohen was in a Jesús Franco film; clearly a must-see.  The story involves a woman (Cohen) who is commanded by her dead sister to kill her lovers.

The Greenhouse (1983)

(Original Title: El invernadero) A socially awkward loner is lured in by a mysterious girl.  Once the trap is set, this movie goes completely off the rails.  Starring VZ1 favorite Berta Cabré. 

Mauricio, mon amour (1976)

A Spanish comedy about an oversexed guy who tries to get rehabilitated, but the rehabilitation goes too well.

The Perfect Lover (1976)

(Original Title: La amante perfecta) A Spanish film about a movie star who gets scammed by a suave con artist, and her career and life are ruined when she is framed for jewelry theft.

Tramp in the Rain (1968)

(Original Title: Vagabundo en la lluvia) A Mexican thriller about one night that begins with a decadent costume party.  A party goer retreats to an isolated home by the lake where she is plagued by a homeless man amid a torrential rainstorm.

The Vampires Night Orgy (1973)

A Spanish vampire movie that isn't nearly as lurid as its title... or at least not the version I was able to get my hands on.  As with most Euro horror from the seventies, there are a thousand different versions.

The New Marilyn (1976)

This is a Spanish take on the Marilyn story. I'm not sure why we had so many films around this time about girls who become sex stars only to crash and burn Marilyn Monroe style. Star 80 (1983) based on Dorothy Stratten; also see "Death of a Centerfold" (1981) TV, Marilyn the Untold Story (1980), etc. Dig a little deeper and you find a tone more movies like Unholy Rollers (1972) which followed the template.

Trauma (1978)

There's been endless talk about the origins of the slasher film; whether it's Black Christmas or a Mario Bava flick, it doesn't matter - it was definitely an American progression of the giallo, with other influences intermixed.  The giallos were always a bit too serious, while the slasher was pure entertainment.  Trauma, stands right at the nexus in 1978, the year of Halloween, with all manner of gialo tropes (black gloves, etc.) yet it plays out like a slasher - with a backstory, ten-little-indians style killing, and a lack of forced gravitas as the Italian giallos tried so hard to convey.  All that's missing is the "cool" boogeyman - instead, director León Klimovsky opts for a Norman Bates scenario.  Still, a fun look at the slasher-giallo crossroads.

Chely (1977)

A Spanish film about a bunch of hooligans (or more similarly, A Clockwork Orange style droogs) who enjoy "a little of the old ultra-violence".

Alone in the Dark (1978)

(Original Title: Solos en la madrugada) A recently separated guy who hosts a popular radio show deals with post-Franco life, amid major social and cultural changes in Spain.

Witch, More Than Witch! (1977)

(Original Title: ¡Bruja, más que bruja! ) A bizarre Spanish film directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez (also starring) about a woman who makes the mistake of marrying a rich man instead of her true lover.  They work with a witch to get rid of the man so that the lovers can be united.  Sounds pretty basic, right?  Well, they fucked it up all to hell by making this a musical... but not just any type of musical, like an opera (zarzuela).

Fernando Fernán Gómez said he wanted to make a film completely unlike anything in North America, and he certainly achieved it.  This is a cult film that can only be appreciated by the Spanish, pretty much the rest of the planet will be left out in the cold.  Everybody loves Emma Cohen, and she does show boobs and cleavage galore, but aside from that - a miserable experience.