CALIBRO 35

Hello folks, I'm an Italian guy.
I've been invited here by the magnificent Mr Alex B. (who I wish to thank) for some kind of "guest review". I couldn't decide for which movie I'd be talking about, so I'll let you know an awesome Italian band that I recently discovered:

  

Yeah I know what you're probably thinkin' about: "Where the hell did I hear this before?". What? You aren't? Go immediately watch "Milano Calibro 9" you cunts!

So, yes, that's a song that can be heard in Fernando Di Leo's masterpiece "Milano Calibro 9", during the Barbara Bouchet's lap dance scene. This awesome band plays a kind of music deeply influenced by 70's Italian genre movies soundtracks (especially poliziotteschi), unless it's not really about covers (like the one above).I hope you'll go immediately listen to their albums, I'll post the first one here below. Now I've gotta go, too much listening of Calibro 35 is gonna make me grow Maurizio Merli's moustache and I have to go stopping the crime with a lot of punches and bad words. See ya soon folks.

THE SHAMBOLIX PRESENTS UNIVERUUMMM (2013) - all you need to know about religion, happiness, and the meaning of life blah bah blah

From the inexhaustible, if slightly demented, mind of Thomas Lee Rutter of Carnie Films comes this exercise in trippy imagery and exultant celebration of universal absurdity. Partake in the holy mysteries of the Church of Sky Nigel!

BOYS BEHIND BARS (2013)

A bowl of human excrement functions as 'Chekhov's gun' in this latest
production from the ever-prolific Jason Impey. The film is made up of a
couple of dozen of very long takes all filmed in the same location: a
prison cell.

The three main unities of classic drama(time,place,action)
are observed, thus further reinforcing the theatrical connotations.
Wade Radford, who was excellent in Impey's Jake a.k.a Sex, Lies and
Depravity here plays a thoroughly vile character. In fact, none of the
four protagonists can be considered likable. Once stuck in the cell
with these disturbed, not particularly articulate yet foul-mouthed
inmates, one begins to wonder what's worth saving and caring for in
this rotten world. The film is decidedly minimalist, claustrophobic and heartless.
Thankfully, the physical brutality for which Impey's work is renowned
is limited here,the inmates for the most part being content with
abusing each other verbally. There are some scatological niceties bound
to offend pretty much everyone, though. The performances are adequate
for what must have been a challenging shoot on a shoestring budget, but
a more fleshed-out script would have allowed the actors to shine
through more. 

Great to see Jason Impey take a more character-based
approach in his recent collaborations with Wade Radford. While not as
accomplished as Jake a.k.a Sex, Lies and Depravity, Boys Behind Bars
shows just how long a way Impey has come as storyteller since his early
days churning out no-budget slasher fare. Boys Behind Bars is not
without merit and is clearly a work of an intelligent filmmaker seeking
to challenge himself and evolve in the process.

TRASH FILM ADDICT TOP 100

A hundred films very dear to my heart - in no particular order.

1)FOX AND HIS FRIENDS
2)DOWNTOWN
3)O FANTASMA
4)SOMBRE
5)CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD
6)GET CARTER (1971)
7)A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
8)MAD FOXES
9)LE VIOL DU VAMPIRE
10)FRENCH SEX MURDERS

11)THE TUNNEL UNDER THE WORLD - IL TUNNEL SOTTO IL MONDO (1969)
12)SPASMO
13)NINJA TERMINATOR
14)GOD TOLD ME TO
15)ALPHAVILLE
16)DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER
17)DELIRIUM - DELIRIO CALDO
18)L'ALPAGUEUR
19)LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH
20)AGUIRRE, DER ZORN GOTTES

21)HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON
22)PHANTASM
23)MEAN GUNS
24)INFERNO (1980)
25)DEAD MOUNTAINEER HOTEL (1979)
26)STALKER (1979)
27)BUIO OMEGA (1979)
28)PROJECT: SHADOWCHASER (1992)
29)ZOMBIE LAKE
30)MACABRO (1980)

31)REPLICANT (2001)
32)HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD/VIRUS (1980)
33)TENEBRAE(1982)
34)EXORCISM(1974)
35)EATEN ALIVE!
36)THE OTHER HELL
37)NIGHT TIDE (1963)
38)PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES(1965)
39)CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE(1980)

40)ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS
41)MR. SCARFACE/I PADRONI DELLA CITTA (1976)
42)BLUE RITA/DAS FRAUENHAUS
43)MARTIN (1976)
44)PORNO HOLOCAUST
45)EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD
46)WISHMASTER 2
47)TICKER (2001)
48)PIECES/ MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE
49)SESSO NERO
50)WATCH ME WHEN I KILL

51)THE TENANT
52)MANHATTAN BABY
53)QUERELLE
54)DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE
55)ICHI THE KILLER
56)IL SAPROFITA
57)ICHI THE KILLER
58)IL GRANDE SILENZIO
59)THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE
60)NUDA PER SATANA

61)THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE
62)DAY OF THE DEAD
63)FROM BEYOND
64)NIGHT OF THE HUNTED
65)THE EVIL DEAD
66)IL CONFORMISTA
67)LIFESPAN
68) CHRISTIANE F. (1981)
69) PSYCHIC KILLER

70)TAXI DRIVER
71)JACK THE RIPPER (1976)
72)ANTROPOPHAGOUS
73)FANTOMAS (1964)
74)STAGEFRIGHT(1987)
75)CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD
76)TOPAZ(1969)
77)HALLOWEEN 2(1981)
78)ZEDER(1983)
79)THE BLACK CAT(1981)

80)ISLAND OF DEATH
81)GIALLO A VENEZIA
82)PATRICK VIVE ANCORA
83)CROCODILE(2000)
84)ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST
85)BLOODY PSYCHO
86) ENDGAME
87) EYEBALL
88) CYBORG
89) A DOPPIA FACCIA/ LIZ ET HELEN

90) MASSACRE (1989)
91)ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN
92)SHOCK WAVES
93)DAGON
94)DEVIL HUNTER
95)BLOODY PSYCHO
96)POINT BLANK
97)DEMONIA
98)LUST FOR FRANKENSTEIN
99)UN FLIC
100)ZOMBIE'90

SANGRE EN MIS ZAPATOS (1983)

Sangre en mis Zapatos (Blood on my shoes) is a crime/spy adventure along the lines of such earlier works as Kiss me Killer and Opalo de Fuego. While not the most widely available Franco titles, those are some of the more accomplished  and accessible films of the director's post - 1971 period.
The busy, pulpy plot of Sangre en mis Zapatos involves various agents spying on and double-crossing one another trying to locate a valuable formula encrypted in the music code (a hell of a McGuffin, Jess!).

Lina Romay - the great Lina - gets to show off her comedy chops playing a totally  silly but ultimately sympathetic character, very different from the tough survivor she'd played in Franco's excellent Furia en el Tropico.

Antonio Mayans with his greying beard and shades plays an undercover CIA agent.
He's rugged, charismatic and never bland. His best roles for Franco seem to have been in these 80's Spanish productions. Mayans is less effective in Eurocine films Oasis of the Zombies and Cannibals.

Lina and Antonio have great chemistry in this comic spy film.

Howard Vernon who must have worked on the production for the whole of one filming day
absolutely steals the show as Von Klaus, another addition to the gallery of ageing mad scientists portrayedtly so ap by the Swiss thespian. Vernon briefly appears at the very start of the picture, then vanishes only to reappear in the stylish finale set in the ruined Church (a terrific location!).
There are at least two scene in Sangre en mis Zapatos which seem to have been lifted - and adapted - from Hitchcock's classic North by Northwest.

Sangre en mis Zapatos was a pleasant surprise - a Jess film without any sex scenes or stock footage.
Very carefully executed, with many plot twists, and fast pacing (for a Franco film).
There were many nice tracking shots, atmospheric locations and some of the music was lifted from Oasis of the Zombies! The scenes of different characters exploring desolate locations are simply superb. There's also a fight on top of a Ferris wheel and some other inexpensive but amusing stabs at 'big' action.

Highly recommended if you enjoy the less experimental and not so sexually explicit works in the Jess Franco canon.

TIO JESS (2013)

During the summer of 2012 filmmakers Victor Matellano and Hugo Stuven Casasnovas 
shot some footage of Jess Franco on set of his latest film, AL PEREIRA VS. THE ALLIGATOR LADIES. 
The result was TIO JESS, a 13-minute documentary film which is slated to play at a number of festivals this year.

TIO JESS is a type of a sentimental documentary which trades more in emotions than in facts.
Yes, it's hard not to feel sad seeing that a man who famously used to zip around the Continent making five films a year is now barely capable of lighting a fag.
Impossible not to feel some sort of admiration for the semi-disabled cinéaste battling against all odds to direct a no-budget movie which only a few hundred fans will eventually  see and just a select few will truly appreciate.
While providing some interesting glimpses of the man in action, TIO JESS doesn't offer any particular insight into who Jess is or what drives him.
It's 13 minutes of footage, a report which through the use of some on-screen titles sort of starts to resemble a narrative.
TIO JESS doesn't contain any interviews with either Jess or the cast/crew.
The man himelf is interview-proof, anyhow,infamous for coming up with provocative statements, wild exaggerations and outright lies in response to any straight questions.
There aren't any ground-breaking revelations for the Franco scholars and enthusiasts in this short film.
What the viewers do get is some well-shot footage of Jess on set.
No matter that it's all a bit disjointed - it's just nice watching Jess.
Watching him smoke, talk to his producer on the phone and direct his old collaborator Antonio Mayans.
It's more of a sketch introducing JF to the general public.
That's about it, really.

ALLENA (2013)

The creative team of Markus Widegren and Fred Anderson that gave us Kraftwerk 3714, perhaps the best independent sci-fi film I've ever seen, is back with this chilling tale of murder and existential gloom.

If you appreciate a well-written story and minimalist approach to filmmaking, give Allena a watch by clicking HERE.

BITTERSWEET (2008)

Five years ago I was in trouble.
Unhappy with my job, with the choices I'd made.
A sense of stagnation and total hopelessness was crippling my will and I couldn't see a way out.
Life seemed to be coming to a very lame and predictable end, so I'd decided to screw everything and try and finally make my film.
Make an arty film, the sort of stuff I've always enjoyed watching.A film that would say it all.
First of all I needed a literate script.
I had a plot in mind but needed some expert help with dialogues.
A chance meeting with a poet and playwright James Vollmar set things in motion.
Together we started writing the script for what was to become Bittersweet.
The film took over a year to shoot and then spent ages as a mere stack of DV tapes waiting to get assembled in the editing.
Somewhere along the lines I'd ditched my monotonous office job to be able to concentrate on the production into which I'd invested all of my savings (which amounted to roughly $ 2000).
2009 saw Bittersweet completed and me broke (at least not in debt!).
The film's languished unreleased ever since, bar a single public screening at the Filmaddict even set up by my good friend Thomas Lee Rutter.
I have recently ripped a DVD of Bittersweet and put it on YouTube for it's 5th anniversary.
Enjoy!

new documentary about Eurociné by Christophe Bier

Below is a trailer for the new documentary featuring clips from such classics as Jess Franco's Exorcism, J.P. Laser's Zombie Lake, Andrea Bianchi's Maniac Killer and Crimson with Paul Naschy.

FURIA EN EL TROPICO (1986)

There are some Jess Franco films that work for me from the very first frame.
FURIA EN EL TROPICO is one.
Somehow I feel drawn in the second the credits set to the droning synthesizer music (also heard in SADOMANIA) come up.
The simple but powerful story once again revolves around a women's prison in some Latin American dictatorship. Jess already explored this basic plot in such films as 99 WOMEN, BARBED WIRE DOLLS, WOMEN FROM CELL BLOCK 9 and SADOMANIA. 

This prison scene is very similar in terms of framing to the one in BARBED WIRE DOLLS.

Lina Romay is very good, she gives one her better performances here. 
She's given something to work with, for once. 

Her character is strong and resourceful. She does what she has to do to survive but also tries to shield fellow inmates from the warden's anger, letting herself be abused by the wardens and taking all the pain stoically - and we're with her all the way when at long last she gets the chance to pay her tormentors back.

Lina and frequent screen partner Antonio Mayans portray an unlikely pair of lovers very convincingly and have good screen chemistry.

Ricardo Palacios ( Claudio Fragasso's MONSTER DOG with Alice Cooper) is excellent as the seedy Colonel who never takes his shades off, not even during sex.

Having seen a few Franco WIP films before, I expected a downbeat ending but FURIA EN EL TROPICO, while grim and humourless from most of the running time, ends on a note of hope.

The script seems tighter than usual for Jess, cinematography is very competent with some fantastic natural light captured. There isn't much in the way of trippy imagery, the film is shot in a fairly realistic manner.

This is good low-budget filmmaking.