There's an incompletion located somewhere within you. A sacrosanct sector which hasn't gotten sufficient nutritional intake. It's not your fault that the past decades haven't been kind to your ability to take in exploitation cinema with a raucous audience full of the deviant that you hide inside. Exhumed Films has your ticket though, hosting an annual exploitation marathon dubbed eX-Fest, which boasts a smorgasbord of flavors. With eX-Fest II just six days away, I asked Jesse Nelson (member of Exhumed Films and co-proprietor of Diabolik DVD) a bunch of questions which I've wanted to know the answers to.
Q: How did you get involved with Exhumed Films in the first place?
We met the guys that run GRINDHOUSE RELEASING while at Fantasia in Montreal and decided that it would be fun to rent a few movies from them, find a local theatre and have a halloween double feature. We all threw in some money and resigned ourselves to the fact we might lose it, but at least we would have a good time watching the movies. To our surprise, people showed up and we decided to put the profits back into a collective pool and start planning more shows. Back then it was mostly word of mouth and handing out flyers - the internet was a very small portion of what it is now.
Q: Since you guys primarily run horror, where did eX-Fest come from?
After the success of the 24hr fest, we decided we needed another big show midway between the horror-thons, so we came up with a theme of 12 hours and movies we normally wouldn't show at the 24hr fest. Mainly we wanted to watch a bunch of sleazy, non-horror movies with an audience and we figured an "event" would bring people in and luckily it did.
Q: What's been you absolute favorite show that Exhumed has run?
Easily Bruce Campbell at the Harwan. He was in town for a Hercules/Xena convention and we managed to get ahold of him for a screening of Evil Dead 2 at Midnight. He not only introduced the movie, but did a Q&A and refused to leave until he signed something for everyone. I think we managed to wrap it up around 5am. PLUS, he gave us a low ball figure for the night and refused to take a penny more. Very classy, funny and all around the most pleasant celebrity experience despite the late night and that the AC had broken earlier that day.
Q: How about favorite film? (that Exhumed has screened)
I love so many of the films we show, its hard to pick one out. Its fun to show oddball things like PIECES and FAREWELL UNCLE TOM with a crowd, but I think that THE THING is the film that I never tire of watching with an audience.
Q: What's the film you'd most like to show but can not? (why not?) Collectively it was DAWN OF THE DEAD, but we finally worked out that rights issue last year. Aside from that there are some other things that we have never been able to track down for one reason or another such as HALLOWEEN 3 for example, but the thing I have wanted to show from the beginning is Fulci's CONQUEST which doesn't seem to exist on film any longer in any format.
Q: I've really enjoyed the smaller venue'd, 16mm shows at the Audubon auction house from this past year. Where did that idea come from? (and will there be more of them?)
The Auction house has a pretty tight weekend schedule, which is great for them, but not great for us trying to schedule shows. We will have more in the coming year for sure though. They actually contacted us and wanted us to have a pop up theatre in there. They already had the PA and the screen so all we had to do was provide the films and the projectors - which is the great thing about 16mm.
Q: Since 1997, you guys have been housed in a number of venues. Which do you feel was the coolest, which has the best vibe for exhumed and which do you miss the most?
The Harwan was my favorite... It was a total dump and provided the best vibe. You could smoke in the upstairs lounge!!! But the Hoyts in Pennsauken was the best for us business wise. They didn't care what we did, what we showed and how long we were there. It wasn't the best vibe, but it had the best projection, sound and those amazing seats! It would be great to have the 24hr fest there. To this day I don't think the manager told corporate what he was doing and put that money in his pocket for the rental - but that was fine by us.
Q: Who decided to end last year's eX-Fest with The Other Cinderella. (fucking spectacular, btw)
I wanted to end this year's with a full on hardcore movie, but the other guys were against it and I guess I was to some extent as well, but damn it would have been fun! Harry is the exploitation guru in the group and I don't even argue with the films he comes up with. If he wants to show it, I want to see it!
Q: What's the most rewarding part of Exhumed for you?
Aside from the movies, which do become a bit tedious from time to time (Evil Dead 2 again???) I really love meeting everyone and chatting about movies and hearing the responses - which aren't always positive. I feel like we have created a great horror community with Exhumed and DiabolikDVD in the Philadelphia area and I love being involved with that.
I'd like to thank Jesse for taking the time to answer my questions (and for always taking all my dollars at at the Diabolik DVD table each show!).
Check out my recap of last year's eX-Fest and then snag your tickets for this Sunday's event right here (precious few remain as of this writing). Then prepare yourself for twelve hours of mysterious mind blowing fare from all across the exploitation venue. If you waffle now, you'll be cursing yourself while you read my recap of the awesome flicks on display.
Please accept my heartfelt apologies over the lack of updates this past month. Life seems to conspire with other factors to prevent me from entertaining you or from even allowing me the simple extra time to watch many movies at all. I'll be returning to updating two to three times a week so stay tuned faithful readers.
To celebrate coming back with a vengeance, here are three fun "Revenge of the..." flicks:
The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls (1987)
Of course we're starting with a zombie film! I'm nucking futts about the genre of the living dead. What does this French dead girl production from the 80's offer you to pry your weary eyes from more modern fare? Honestly the setup is not what you're here for: tainted chemical gets into milk, girls drink milk and die, more of the chemical spills onto their graves causing them to rise...yadda yadda yadda. If that was all there was to feast on here, you'd be better off skipping this bottom dollar B-movie. Here's the kicker: The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls includes an undead lesbian love fest. If that isn't enough encouragement for this to end up in your netflix queue, it also includes dick decapitation!
These girls know to wait 20 minutes after eating before going in the pool.
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
This sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon sees the Gillman captured and taken for study at a local aquarium. There our titular creature has eyes only for a buxom betty oceanography student. If you've any of the gift of foresight at all then you can probably guess where the story goes from there. Originally shot and released in 3-D, this monster movie is also notable for being the first acting gig of Clint Eastwood (uncredited) as lab technician Jennings.
"You see, my mouse don't like people laughing."
Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976)
You might remember our intellectual symposium Five Things Not to do While Watching The Cheerleaders from November. Revenge of the Cheerleaders is the sequel to that delightful 70's teen sex comedy. In many ways, it isn't as good as it's progenitor but does contain all the things that makes this long gone subgenre great: nudity, wacky hijinks, teenage shenanigans, softcore loving, um nudity. What else does it have? Oh, just a little David Hasselhoff in the role of "Boner", a gentleman esquire.
A great classic poster!
Stay tuned for a deeper look at Revenge of the Cheerleaders in the next week or so here at The 'Cheese.
As I settled in to watch my new copy of 1973's 'The Cheerleaders', an excellent double disc release from Arrow, a few things became abundantly clear. Firstly, this silly teenage sex comedy toes the thin line between softcore and hardcore in it's depiction of how we all imagine real cheerleaders actually behave (still got my fingers crossed there) and secondly it's also from quite another place and time entirely. Likely made for the drive-in market ("daddy, what's a drive-in?"), this delightfully campy, low budget, raunchy comedy doesn't quite click like I can tell it should. Perhaps I shouldn't have watched it by myself; it does seem like the kind of flick which is best enjoyed with company. This, of course, led my brain to the following train of thought: What would someone walking in on me watching this by my lonesome think?
And there are plenty of activities which you could participate in that would amplify the potential embarrassment you may experience. I've cataloged a few for you; consider this both a warning as well as a dare.
Five Things you shouldn't be caught doing while watching The Cheerleaders
Don't Eat Hot Dogs - This should be pretty obvious. Wrapping your sweaty, mustachioed maw around a cylindrical meat stick whist watching softcore 70's sex comedies just might garner you some funny looks.
Don't Fish Around in your Pocket for Loose Change - because that really isn't watch you're doing. Besides, what the hell are you carrying hard currency for? That's so the 00's.
Don't Polish your Glass Rod Collection - Look, I know that they've been gathering dust but resist all impulses to stroke your glass shafts with impunity, Gandalf Greyhame.
Don't Pet your Pussy - As enjoyable and warming as it would be to have a puring pussy in your lap whist viewing The Cheerleaders, think about how startled that kitty will be when your littler horror fan is aroused by the on screen antics.
Don't Rub One Out - My god! Are you even paying attention to the plot?
Wow, let me just take a moment here before beginning. It's refreshing to not start an article with the "31 Days of Halloween" preface. You should understand that it isn't that I didn't enjoy writing that series, it's simply that it IS an endurance run. I capped off my month long celebration of all things Halloween by attending the annual Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horrorthon. This is the fifth incarnation of the 'Thon, of which I've attended all but one (I missed the 3rd year, in 2009). As a long time Exhumed Films goer, I look forward to this event all year long. (the first show I attended was the All Night Italian horrorfest at the now defunct Hoyt's on October 20th, 2000)
The truth is that the Exhumed crew always puts on an elaborate production, from the pre-show announcements and prizes, to wallet emptying horror merchandise enticement and general feel of hanging out with friends. It's a marvelous atmosphere to feel included in. I can't make every show, but I try my hardest- even when it might not features films which I necessarily love or am intimately familiar with- because it's not 100% about what you're seeing but also how you're seeing it and whom you're seeing it with.
Before I showcase the shock and awe blasted into my brain from this weekend's Horrorthon (and with which I am still working to congeal into something more linear), I'd like to discuss that last point in a little more detail. Normally, all Horrothon films are kept an absolute secret right up until the moment that they unspool on screen before hungry eyes. This year there was a break from tradition. Exhumed Films announced that the Philadelphia premier of the new, shot in Africa, zombie film The Dead would take place during their largest event of the year. During the preshow announcements, we were informed that the distributor of the film decided not to even strike ANY 35mm prints, deciding instead to go with digital distribution only. Understandably, this was met with some displeasure amongst the crowd, as to this point, Exhumed Films has only showcased film itself.
This bitter pill put some audience members in such a tizzy that fully half the audience opted to take a longer dinner break rather than sully their film print purism with the possible taint of digital projection. Guys, I get it, you disdain digital and are hardcore print-o-files. There wasn't a print-isn't a print-might never actually be a print of The Dead. You missed a really great zombie flick in the vein of early Romero with some great visuals and even better tension. Name the last zombie film with slow walkers that contained effective, slow building scares.
Now that we're through that, if you're still with me and haven't skipped right to the comments section to explain exactly why you thought dinner at Chili's was more important than a new independent zombie film's Philadelphia premier, let's take a look at exactly what we brave few had seared into our souls. It's important to note that this year's line up consisted only of films that Exhumed has never shown before (with one technical exception). This is a monumental achievement as leading up to this, they've showcased somewhere in the neighborhood of 260 films.
And I know young people today are the visual sort, so accompanying my thoughts on each film is the trailer for it. (mostly because I love trailers so much)
1. Psychomania aka The Death Wheelers - 1973
The psychedelic chic of this odd undead tale was a fantastic way to open the horrorthon's proceedings. With a strange and potent mix of biker road film, satanic pacts, zombies who are no worse for the wear and Bond'esk British styling, Psychomania put us into a hypnotic trance- opening our brain pans, offering space to what we were about to receive.
2. Rodan - 1956
Historically the horrorthon has featured a giant monster movie in the second slot. Nearly any film would face the Sisyphean task of rolling a boulder up the hill that is The Mighty Peking Man (showcased to the delight of all at last year's horrorthon). Rodan radiates 50's giant monster gratification thoughout and is replete with excellent miniature effects - the true star of the film. Slavish devotion was poured into these effects, with stand outs including the ground collapse (in the trailer below) sequence and the volcano sequence. This was an instant time portal to the Saturday afternoons of my youth, which is exactly the time which it played.
3. Frightmare aka The Horror Star - 1983 Frightmare takes the tropes of the Hammer horror subgenre and casts a delightful dance of darkness on it's bones. The resulting floor show is a cornucopia of campy entrapment designed to shake us loose from our comfort food of decades past and casts it in a newer menacing light.
4. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - 1986
Armed with plenty more snacks still at your disposal, you're cruising through Horrothon five without a care in the world. You're high on life, for truly the greatness of all creation can be extrapolated through the medium of film and many are unspooling before your very eyes. And then...yes and then a random, senseless act of remorseless violence is cast unflinchingly across the silver screen. It locks your attention and brings you back to full focus, crashing repeatedly into your sensibilities like a sledge hammer. Maybe you chuckle during the home invasion scene, but it's an unconscious defense mechanism rather than amusement. That's Henry. Here's his trailer.
5. The Dead - 2010
As an enormous zombie fan, I've done the genre six ways from Sunday by this point. Still, gems such as this one have the ability to surprise and delight. The amazing visuals of the wilds of African mid day juxtaposed with ever present encroaching zombie horde creates a deadly beauty. The gun kills can only be described as kinetic in nature, likely a way to cope with budgetary constraints but perhaps a design choice. The Dead is smartly written enough not to have to rely on characters making stupid mistakes to be over come, which is an amazing consideration given the field of zombie material out there. This independent film is rough around the edges but there is so much to like in the bubbling cauldron that even those with a limited interest in the rotting reanimated subgenre book a vacation to Africa.
6. Trick or Treat - 1986
How does one conceptualize this film, when it contains neither tricking nor treating? It's soul has no real basis in Samahin. Instead this is rock metal voyage helmed by copious amounts of denim and Aqua Net, dragging behind its chains and wielding it's devil horns as a warning to all at map's edge: there be entertainment here. Skewing anti-metal culture and metal culture simultaneously, Trick or Treat spins the plates effortlessly and was perfectly placed to kick the tempo back up after the viciousness of Henry and the stark hopelessness of The Dead.
7. Night Warning aka Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker - 1983
I'm just going to refer to this as Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker since that is by far the superior title. What could you want in a film that this does not have? Crazy lumber beheading car crash? Check. Insane incestuous aunt face licking action? Check. Homophobic cop who invents fictitious gay love triangles on to which he can vent his hatred? Check. Pickled head in a jar? Check. My interest piqued? Check.
8. Frankenhooker - 1990
What would be your course of action if an invention of yours (radio controlled lawn mower) mulched your chubby, pretzel hungry finance into a pile of chipped beef and a head? If the film in which you star is titled Frankenhooker the obvious progression is to feed New York hookers super crack causing them to explode into a rain of diseased limbs from which you constitute a new body for your beloved. Clearly. This fantastic freakshow shares it's sense of humor with the revered Dead Alive and has more tits than you can shake your prick at.
9. Dr.Black and Mr.Hyde aka Decision for Doom - 1976
Stan Winston's transformation effects for the yin-yang flip-flop from black doctor to white murderer are nothing short of astounding. It's astounding that they honestly thought that heavily coating a black man in talcum powder and inserting contacts in his eyes would magically make him appear Caucasian. This trip through blaxploitation land is about par for the course and a welcome part of the horrorthon.
10. Legend of the Wolf Woman aka Naked Werewolf Woman - 1976
Can several erotic flashback sequences bulging with buxom nudity carry a film? They can if the film you're thinking of is Legend of the Wolf Woman, whose lead actress is compelling to look at, which is paramount, since she'll do just about anything to strip down and take fun sized bites out of dudes, almost at random. It's a confusing ride, which never delivers with an actual werewolf, except in the past- where she comes equipped with hairy big toe sized nipples. At this stage in the game, anything to get the blood flowing again is welcome, even if it's bundled with the strings of chest hair attached.
11. Blood Diner - 1987 (released 1990)
This mad cap, silly story of two brothers dedicated to reincarnating the heinous goddess Sheetar with the guidance of their disembodied uncle, who's just a brain and eyes in viscous goop yet retains the power of speech, is oft overlooked for it's silly nature. Truly you would be wasting you time trying to rationalize the finer points of Blood Diner, just trap in and enjoy the blood feast.
12. The Burning - 1981
Did you know Jason Alexander once had a full head of luscious hair? It's true; he wasn't born bald and he played the cool guy. There's lots to love in this fantastic slasher and it was excellently placed to bring back the focus of those attendees who'd gone all sleepy eyed and weak necked. This is arguably Tom Savini's best work and Cropsey is still believably hideous to look upon. I always loved the twist on the well established "last girl" trope becoming "last boy".
13. Maximum Overdrive - 1986
Trust me when I tell you: Once you've been awake for 30 plus hours, you start to see things at the edge of your vision. Things which aren't quite there and on which you can't quite focus. Dodging and leaping from sight the instant you glance at them, you know they're there. Those bastards. If you didn't doze, you're reaching a critical point and pretty much no act of god is going to help you in your quest to remain in the land of the conscious. Nothing that is, but a heaping dose of Emilio Estevez. He's like entertainment crack for your sleep deprived brainstem. Sprinkle him on your spleen. Is Maximum Overdrive a good film? Who cares? It's a shit load of fun.
14. Meet the Feebles - 1989
Power to stay awake fading...Braindrive overload...[Rebooting]...defrag complete. Loading [film recognition software]...reading input "Wingnut films"...processing...
Wait, Wingnut. Isn't that Peter Jackson? Yeah it is. Is this Bad Taste? No, they showed that already. What about Dead/Alive? No, was shown as part of a double feature with Bad Taste. So what could thi...OH MY GOD IT'S MEET THE FEEBLES!
My apologies. I couldn't help but relay exactly what went through my head at roughly 10:30am as the last film of the marathon began to hit my retinas. The way my brain went about working with low cognitive power is a recollection I won't soon forget. What a great, upbeat way to conclude the festivities. If you call muppets on drugs, fucking like bunnies (and in some cases actually fucking bunnies), singing about sodomy and killing each other upbeat. This is a film I never believed I'd see on film. Thank you Exhumed Films.
A few observances:
-This seemed to be the most consistent line up of any Horrorthon- there were no super highs but conversely there were no staggering lows in the film selection either, rather they were all good/great throughout.
-The Cafe in the lobby of the IHouse continues to rule. Biz makes sandwiches that must be some modern day, watered down form of elvish magic, but with meat in them.
-Some of you seriously aren't taking your hygiene concerns seriously. I shouldn't catch a wiff of you strong enough to nearly take me from my feet just from walking by on a trip to the bathroom. Perhaps you're adjusted to the odoriferousness. We aren't, be kind to our noses.
-I'd love to see 7 Exhumed Films 'Greatest hits' and 7 films which have never been shown before. Though I shouldn't say anything since I've loved every line up so far. So I'll just say this: Give me more of whatever you want, EF. You haven't steered me wrong yet.
This past Saturday, I had the amazing pleasure of attending eX-Fest, twelve hours devoted to tasting the many flavors of the exploitation genre, thanks to the dudes at Exhumed Films. If you are from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and reading this, you've probably heard of them and likely have been to a show. For the uninitiated, Exhumed Films is a group dedicated to obtaining and screening (mostly) horror films to crowds that love them, that "get it" (mostly), and that keep coming back. They must be doing something right; they've been putting together successful shows since 1997. While they have in the past held mini marathons (I miss you Fulci-Fest) and in the present have gone crazy will full blown 24 hour marathons, these have always been predominantly horror based. eX-Fest aimed to be different, it aimed to explore as many non-horror subsets of the exploration genre in one sitting that any patron could absorb. Before I delve into detailing what unspooled before us that day, I'd like to throw a hearty "thank you" to the Exhumed crew in general and to Harry Guerro specifically for searching for prints of these films and putting this rare bill together. I can't unknown know what you showed me.
Now to the meat of the day. eX-Fest served us a buffet of seven dished, each from a different style. We were given our only clues before the projectors started running, as to what we were about to see. In order, they were: Spaghetti western (that was made in Spain instead of Italy), Italian revenge, "Travolta-sploitation", black-sploitation (by way of the Philippines), Hick-spoitation, Kung-Fu and sexploitation. Some entries where stronger than others, but all of them were damned entertaining. I would be remiss not to mention the excellent vintage trailers between some of the films. As a tribute, I've included some of the trailers for the main features.
Taco-Spaghetti Western - Cut-Throats Nine - 1972 AKA: Bronson's Revenge Fairly standard gruff fare here: a chain gang of gold mine workers being transported by a handful of army guards who are ambushed and killed, all save one. How he and his daughter, along with the convicts, escape the wintery mountains on foot is what makes up the bulk of this films. No real spoiler here: there's a metric shit ton of walking. When the convicts figure out that their binding chain is made of gold, well then things really get interesting. What should be of interest to genre fans is how the killings are handled. Each murder is close up, special effects gory beyond reason, with a knife wound to the gut including close ups of someone trying to hold guts in or bullets to the face forcing a jelly eyeball out. This is not your daddy's western where someone is shot, grabs their gut and simply falls over. While it has a lot going for it, there are some pacing issues and it runs slow in a few places. It was a good choice to lead with this though, as later in the lineup, it may have been to jarring and brought everything to a screeching halt. Cut Throats Nine was released on DVD but appears to be out of print currently. Check out the trailer below.
Italian Revenge Actioner - No Way Out - 1973 AKA: Tony Arzenta: Big Guns The talented Alain Delon stars as Tony Arzenta in this well done entry in the brutal revenge sub genre. He's an assassin for the Italian mafia who has had enough and wants out, in order to give his son a better life. While his boss is sympathetic, it's not as though one can just walk away. So a bomb is planted in Arzenta's car. Unfortunately, his wife and son decide to borrow the family car for a jaunt to Whole Foods and Kaboom! No more better life for little Arzenta Jr. (unless he meant for his son's better life to be as a side of beef). What does a jilted assassin do in just such a situation? Goes a vengeance laden rampage, of course. The scene is thus set for thrilling car chases, slick gunplay and even a wicked surprise knifing. Delon delivers cool guy action and quippy one liners with equal skill and this flick was certainly the best made of the eX-Fest films show. Here's another one that is sadly lacking a home video release. Check out the trailer:
Travolta-sploitation - The Face with Two Left Feet - 1979 AKA: The Lonely Destiny of John Travolto And here we have the mythical movie of the show, the film that, try as one might, you will never be able to clearly explain it to friends. They had to be there. It's an exploitation film only in the sense that it totally exploits the fact that John Travolta was totally popular in Saturday Night Fever. This is the joke around which the entire film revolves. For all ninety minutes. Seriously. Allow me to explain. The Face with Two Left Feet concerns the adventures of a cabal of teens who all work together at a hotel in Italy. After work, they head out to the discoteca, a club named John's Fever(yup), where the shy member of their group, Gianni, has a crush on Ilona, the hottie DJ. The group finds out that their Idol (Travolta) is going to be staying at the hotel and hatch a plan. You see, it just so happens that if given some massive manscaping and a wardrobe change, Gianni is a dead ringer for Travolta (for who. Ilona pines). So much so that I had to ask a friend if I missed his name in the credits and he was lampooning himself. This flick manages to mix equal parts Scooby-Doo, Ski Patrol and Saturday Night Fever into something that shouldn't be good but is so undeniably entertaining that it is a god damned crime that it isn't available to own. Its so rare, in fact, that there's barely any mention of it on the Internet. Here, friends, is proof that I am not insane. Watch this clip on YouTube, even though it's in Spanish, and cackle with glee.
Blackspoitation - Savage! - 1973 AKA: Black Valor Here it is folks, your chance to watch the plight of the African American as understood and told by film makers from the Philippines. While it is a Blackspoitation film, Savage! has less of the outrages tropes of the genre than a lot of it's contemporaries, which I suppose is because it isn't from an American film studio. I felt like this was the least entertaining of the eX-Fest films, but it's not fair to call it a bad film, it isn't. Savage! is a sufficient action piece with an interesting political message, but honestly, that isn't why you're watching. You want to see some jive turkey mother fuckers. And, fear not friends, you sure do. I do want to point out how awesomely righteous the poster is for this flick. Take a good look. James Iglehart as Savage never wears an outfit like that or wields either of those guns. Gotta love exploitation advertising.
Hick-sploitation - Redneck Miller -1977 Oh man Redneck Miller. This is part of a rare genre, seldom seen as far north and east as Philadelphia. It's the tale of a man and his wheels, which he prefers remain unmolested. Something which we can all sympathize with. Unfortunately, someone is seen boosting the heroin drop of local black mafia boss, Super Mack, while riding on Miller's custom motorcycle. On the surface, there might not seem to be a lot going on here, but let's dig a little deeper. You see, Miller is a local country station disc jockey who spends his days shagging the wives of all the local dudes, unfazed by pretty much anything, except having his wheels molested. Super Mack actually has insecurities when it comes to women, a vulnerability that, while hysterical given his outer behavior, is completely unheard of in cinema of the time. And it comes in a southern made hicksploitation film. Ponder that a second. Ok, enough deep shit, the following is actually uttered by Miller to one of his groupies after he drives off Super Mack (who'd threatened to rape her): "Two things baby: I can't out talk a bullet and you've got a lot of lovin' in you, I can only die once."
Kung-Fu - 5 Fingers of Death - 1972 AKA: Iron Palm Oh man was I ever excited when this started to unspool on the screen! I haven't seen 5 Fingers of Death since I was ten. It's one of my favorites for two reasons. The first is the basic premise of two feuding schools of fighters battling it out before a big tournament allows for so much embellishment, so much interesting side action. The second is that I really wanted to be the head butting guy when I was little (what can I say, it was during my head butting phase). The fighting choreography here is excellent and it's not hard to see why this is considered the first big international Kung-Fu film. The excitement builds through many levels and I found myself cheering out loud during several battles; I felt like a little kid again. Of the movies shown at eX-Fest, this was the most well known, easily. While some might begrudge the Exhumed Films crew for choosing it, I say that it's important to balance the schedule evenly and not simply fill it completely with unknowns. The entire film is available to watch on You Tube. For now, to sate your hunger, here is the trailer:
Sexsploitation - The Other Cinderella - 1977 I'd never seen this before but I was glad to end the day on a high note, with something exciting to help keep me up after a long day. Ah puns. Before you write is off as a depraved porno (which it sort of is), you should give me a chance to explain. The Other Cinderella is a soft core, skinemax style 70s porno, sure, but it's so much more. Consider it this way: it's a soft core porno musical comedy. Emphasis on musical comedy. It's like an early Mel Brooks comedy, with musical numbers and copious amounts of nudity. It is seriously a riotous good time. Especially good is Sy Richardson as the flaming thief turned fairy godmother who grants Cinderella (I shit you not), her very own snapping pussy, which the prince must fit, along with the glass slipper, to find his queen. The audience was rolling the whole time as the campy, raunchy jokes came continuously. (bu-dum-ching!)
On top of getting to watch these rare gems of exploitation with a mass of fellow fans, the day also included many awesome genre trailers, posters and t-shirts, prizes and beer! This was a day not to miss. Keep your eye on Exhumed Fims' website or Facebook page for more crazy events, include their next show Go Ape!, which will feature all 5 real Planet of the Apes films.
