Silent Madness (1984)

A 3-D slasher filmed in New Jersey; a dangerous mental patient has been set free, and it's up to his doctor to find him.  Sound familiar?  Well, that's where the similarities to Halloween end, and a rather different scenario unfolds as the killer makes his way to a sorority.

Pledge Night (1990)

A pledge is killed during "Hell Week" of 1969.  Now Sid's back - and he's going to make the greeks pay.

Open House (1987)

A Jag Mundhra horror flick starring Adrienne Barbeau (who says she was only in it to pay for her son's college tuition). Every time a realtor holds an open house, the realtor gets offed by a slasher.

Improper Conduct (1994)

It's basically a Lifetime Channel movie about sexual harassment, but with boobs. Starring Raquel Welch's daughter and Lee Anne Beaman, directed by Jag Mundhra.

Tropical Heat (1993)

Director Jag Mundhra gets to place this erotic thriller in his native country.  Lots of sex and action follow as a widow is investigated for insurance fraud.  Starring Maryam d'Abo and Mundhra regular, Lee Anne Beaman.

Shades of Gray (1997)

No, this is not a cheap attempt to cash in on the 50 Shades success; this was the original title released in 1997, long before the Twilight fan fiction was published.  This is a Jag Mundhra joint starring the gorgeous Kehli O'Byrne  as a police sketch artist who tries to run from her past, but it catches up with her.

Legal Tender (1991)

Younger fans of retro/genre cinema often wish they could have been an adult in the seventies, and visited 42nd Street and other grindhouse locations in their prime.  GenX didn't have that, but we did have Cinemax and video stores.  I'll save the video store nostalgia for another day, but will mention that late-nigh-cable often gets overlooked as a very important point in the history of exploitation cinema.

Tainted Love (1996)

Erotic Thrillers from the 1990s haven't aged as well as other genres such as horror.  That's mainly because they don't have much to offer other than simulated sex scenes pasted together amid a threadbare plot template.  But every once and a while, there's a good one - and it's like finding buried treasure.  I'd say this one fits that bill.

Masseuse 3 (1998)

We've covered Masseuse parts 1 and 2, so we may as well round out the trilogy.

Masseuse (1996)

Tagline: "Have you ever been rubbed the right way"; a Fred Olen Ray picture featuring Gail Thackray, Griffin Drew and Monique Parent.

Masseuse 2 (1997)

The Hall sisters, Gabriella and Landon, star in this Fred Olen Ray thriller, full of cheese and gratuitous nudity.

The Escort III (1999)

An erotic thriller from Jim Wynorski featuring a who's who of nineties softcore including Tane McClure, Julie Strain, Griffin Drew, Jennifer Burton, et al. Of course, the all-star cast has a lot to do with the fact that Wynorski pasted in scenes from other movies - but that's neither here nor there. Also starring everyone's favorite cranky geezer, Ross "Sidehacker" Hagen.

Deviant Obsession (2002)

Don't be fooled by the video cover - this is probably stolen and copy-pasted (even the names are fake).  It has no relation to this run-of-the-mill erotic thriller (which is neither erotic nor thrilling).

Powerplay (1999)

The video cover gives the impression this will be just another Shannon Tweed erotic thriller.  In fact, it's more of a violent money-chase adventure, where Tweed barely figures into the story.  It may not be great, but it definitely goes places you don't expect.

Night Eyes II (1991)

We've covered Night Eyes 3 (1994) and it wasn't particularly good; but let's work our way backward and see if part two is any better.  It also stars Shannon Tweed, so how bad can it be?

Indecent Behavior III (1995)

Shannon Tweed is back as a sex therapist, and there is a serial killer on the loose.  It's your standard erotic thriller sequel, so set expectations accordingly.

Indecent Behavior II (1994)

Yeah, I know.  With ten straight Shannon Whirry movies, it seems like we've turned into an Erotic Thriller site.  I'm like Bruce Dickinson with cowbells, I've got to have more. We'll check out some movies from the other Shannon from the 1990s (Tweed), and then I promise we'll move on.

Exit (1996)

Well, this is the last Whirry movie in our Whirry-thon, which consists of ten films, all in the 1990s.  Shortly after this film, she moved on to mainstream television, and then more-or-less quit the biz.

I have to say I'm impressed with Whirry's film body of work (no pun intended) in the modern erotica genre, which adds up to ten films - and quite a fun variety of roles. In Mirror Images II she played a pair of good and evil twins, in Fatal Pursuit a clueless British prude, in Lady in Waiting a film noir dangerous dame, in Body of Influence a split personality, in Private Obsession a tortured celebrity, in Dangerous Prey a badass action hero... what a shame she moved on to small roles on Seinfeld, ER, Nash Bridges, Malcolm in the Middle, etc. cutting short a very interesting career in the modern erotica genre.  So, let's enjoy this last of the Whirry flicks on VZ1...

Animal Instincts II (1994)

Our ninth movie in the Whirry-thon - a sequel to her 1992 breakthrough film.  There was a third Animal Instincts film, which we've covered, but Whirry had moved on to mainstream TV by then and wasn't in that film.  This is another erotic thriller centering around voyeurism. It's directed by Gregory Dark, so hopes aren't high that it'll be any good, but lets have a look anyway...

Animal Instincts (1992)

Whirry-thon continues with our eighth entry into the Shannon Whirry catalog - from the start of the 1990s, her decade.  In the late 90s, she'd go on to a number of appearances on popular TV shows, and then retire in Arizona.  For more on Whirry, check out the spotlight in the Mirror Images 2 review.  With Animal Instincts, she really broke into the erotic thriller scene.

Lady in Waiting (1994)

Our seventh straight Whirry movie in our Whirry-thon.  It's an erotic thriller about high class prostitutes who keep getting killed.  Who's the suspect - is it the douchebag lawyer, the detective with a hooker addiction, or maybe William Devane who'd also like you to invest in gold.

Fatal Pursuit (1995)

Whirry-thon continues with an action flick directed by Eric Louzil, who also brought us Nuke 'em High 2 and 3.  Also making appearances: Charles Napier and Malcolm McDowell.  Shannon Whirry tries a British accent in this one.  Let's have a look.

Playback (1996)

Whirry-thon continues with this this erotica oddity starring Tawny Kitaen, Harry Dean Stanton, George Hamilton, and, of course, Shannon Whirry.

Body of Influence (1993)

Our Whirry-thon continues with Body of Influence, where Whirry plays a gal with split personalities.  It's another collaboration between Whirry and director Gregory Dark.

Mirror Images II (1993)

Continuing our Whirry marathon, this is your typical "evil twin" story, and a sequel no less - but this film is often considered Shannon Whirry's best work.  So, let's have a look...

Private Obsession (1995)

Lee Frost, exploitation master of the sixties and seventies (Black Gestapo, Dixie Dynamite, Chain Gang Women, The Defilers, House on Bare Mountain) comes out of retirement to direct this, his final film, a Shannon Whirry erotic thriller.  Now this I have to see.

Dangerous Prey (1995)

"Dangerous looks... dangerous moves... dangerous attitude... Dangerous Prey".  Shannon Whirry is an unstoppable assassin who gets naked.  That's pretty much all you need to know.

Warrior Queen (1987)

I remember back in the video store days, being enticed by the lurid Boris Vallejo VHS cover for this film - as well as the Deathstalker and other Sword & Sandal films.

Naked Instinct (1993)

This is really nothing more than a bunch of sex scenes, but it stars Michelle Bauer, and anything with this Scream Queen has to be seen. It's also directed by David DeCoteau whose filmography reads like a VZ1 hall o' fame... this is the guy that gave us Killer Eye, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Creepozoids,Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000,  Nightmare Sisters, Dreamaniac, a few Puppet Master films and Murder Weapon.  Admittedly, I haven't seen anything he's done in the past ten plus years, but in the eighties and nineties he was on fire. Which makes this film from 1993 seem particularly odd and out of place....

Stripper Wives (1999)

I suspect Brande Roderick gets the focus on the video cover because of her big leap onto Baywatch (more so than her Playboy fame).  Also on stage are Sage Kirkpatrick and Amber Newman..

Voyeur (1999)

Looks like your typical erotic thriller, but anything with Lorissa McComas and Sage Kirkpatrick is usually worth a look.

Playboy: Private Party Jokes (1988)

This was originally a Playboy Channel series which only lasted a few episodes; then, was released on video and laserdisc. It's very similar to Jokes My Folks Never Told Me (1978), which means it's just a bunch of ribald jokes with naked women.

It features a number of Playboy Playmates including Pamela Jean Bryant (April 1978), Ava Fabian (August 1986), Carol Ficatier (December 1985), Sondra Greenberg (June 1987), Susie Owens (March 1988) and Teri Weigel (April 1986), plus a couple actresses Roxane Kernohan (Critters II) and Lisa London (H.O.T.S.).

Étreintes à la Prison de Femmes (1989)

AKA Lil' Women 9: Go To Jail and Wet Pets in Prison; a French Women In Prison (WIP) film starring Marie Noelly.  While all WIP films are by necessity sleazy and offensive, this one tops them all in that it crosses the line into pornography.  It still contains most of the genre tropes we’re accustomed to (the communal shower scene, the prison yard cat fight, the degrading medical exams, etc.) but focuses more on the sex.   I think it will be interesting to look at an example from the WIP genre that actually goes all the way – sort of a logical conclusion to a genre already steeped in sleaze.

Death Magic (1992)

A confederate soldier returns to enact his revenge upon the descendants of those who wronged him.  A group of occultists try to stop his reign of terror.

When Death Calls (2012)

By Jim Haggerty, the man who gave us the horror anthology, Grave Danger (2009). Here is another horror anthology with a wraparound story involving a radio host requesting stories.  We just saw this same device with Scarewaves (2014); let's see how this compares. 

Situación límite (1982)

A hotel where politicians go to get their rocks off with prostitute comes under attack by a gang.  An incredibly raw and sleazy action film from Spain.

Blood Sisters (1987)

Exploitation film veteran Roberta Findlay tries her hand at a slasher.  Sorority sisters must stay at a haunted house as part of initiation hazing.  Trouble ensues.

The Animal (1968)

This is an interesting one because it was thought lost forever.  Then, Something Weird Video uncovered a print in Denmark.  The sparse dialog and Danish subtitles somehow make this B&W roughie seem like a foreign art house film.  It's another Lee Frost, Bob Cresse collaboration, so you know it's going to be a strange trip....

Come Under My Spell (1981)

A foreign exchange student can't get laid, until he learns the power of hypnotism - then he gets all the girls he wants.  Yeah, it's more than a little rapey, but it's an adult film from the seventies - not exactly known for being tasteful and sensitive.  

Scarewaves (2014)

After V/H/S there were a ton of anthology horror movies.  I'm a fan of the seventies Amicus flicks, and I welcome a return of the genre.  Let's give it a try...

The Dwelling (1993)

Starring Burt "Boy Wonder" Ward and Michelle Bauer, featuring, among other oddities, a demonic tennis racket assault.

Poor Cecily (1974)

Featuring lots of powdered wigs and nudity, from Lee Frost, the man who gave us House on Bare Mountain, Love Camp 7  and Miss Leslie's Dolls.

Appassionata (1974)

A couple of school girls have really effed up ideas about sex, which rocks the world of a mild mannered dentist.  A rather twisted and offensive drama from Italy starring Ornella Muti, Princess Aura from Flash Gordon (1980).

Caged Women (1980)

A Women In Prison flick from Switzerland, featuring Brigitte Lahaie, directed by Erwin C. Dietrich

The Girls Next Door (1978)

Everybody knows James Hong from his roles in Blade Runner and Big Trouble in Little China, The Golden Child, Revenge of the Nerds II, etc.; the guy's been in everything.  Well, in 1978 he decided to try his hand at directing a teen sex comedy of all things.  He didn't direct again for eleven years.

Sexus (1965)

Original Title:  L'enfer dans la peau; French film about a rich heiress who's abducted.  Featuring a jazz score by Chet Baker.  Director José Bénazéraf would go on to direct tons of sleaze over the next couple decades, but, here, he's especially artful, deliberate and creative.   Much more so than with Joe Caligula and his later work.

The Wicked Die Slow (1968)

A grim Spaghetti Western wannabe filmed in, of all places, New Jersey.

The Ganja Express (1978)

The Ganja Express is what movies would have been like if it were not for the home video revolution and the "moral majority".  Adult films were on a trajectory to becoming mainstream (chronicled in Boogie Nights); and so you started to see films with decent budget, scripts, and acting also contain adult content.  The Ganja Express is a legitimate action/drama about drug smuggling, which also contains some graphic nudity and sex.  Let's have a look at what "could have been"...

The Sadist with Red Teeth (1971)

Original Title: Le sadique aux dents rouges (1971); a guy thinks he's a vampire.  As you might imagine, that tends to impact your relationships.  The cover art is misleading as this is by no means a true vampire/horror movie, but rather something like Nicholas Cage's Vampire's Kiss (1988).

Passion Lane (2001)

A swingin' couple invites three couples to their murder mystery sex party.  Featuring Monique Parent and Amy Lindsay.