Romero goes existential: SEASON OF THE WITCH

Too complex to grasp on one viewing and hardly engaging enough to warrant a second one,
SEASON OF THE WITCH is more for the art-house crowd then for fans of 'dead' series.

Plot in one sentence: Mid-life crisis inspires a bored suburban housewife to take up witchcraft - with mildly disastrous consequences.

Some visually inventive interludes (car wash scene, for one) aside, SEASON OF THE WITCH is a purely dialogue-driven film.
While Romero films the majority of scenes in an artless, nearly pedestrian manner, his obvious screen-writing talent gets a good few opportunities to shine here . Unknown actors give terrific, believable performances - a thing often lacking from the visually more refined European genre films of the period (due to actors often having to speak their lines phonetically in a language they do not understand).

Romero, whose action-filled zombie films are admired by the young generation, has with SEASON OF THE WITCH made a film about adults, one which foregrounded the more mundane aspects of existence. It's an experience that's bound to appear dry and humdrum to those who haven't yet felt the fear of ageing and frustration which permeates everyday people's lives.

Apparently, when planning his feature début, Romero wanted making a pure art-house film, but ultimately reconsidered in favour of something more commercially appealing, resulting in the immortal NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Well, with SEASON OF THE WITCH he may have finally made his art-house film - a psychological picture without any gore and little in the way of crowd-pleasing entertainment.

Much as I like SEASON OF THE WITCH, it has to be admitted that, at just ninety minutes, the film feels a lot longer - and not in an enjoyable way.

Sitting through SEASON OF THE WITCH is about as exciting as spending an evening with a bunch of provincial housewives. Yet, from time to time, in the right mood, watching this early Romero may be a pleasant enough experience.

glorious macho bullshit: THE EXPENDABLES

Everything will be like back in the day - from male bonding and one-liners to over-the-top action to the baddies trying to escape via helicopter in the end.

I don't remember seeing such massive shoot-outs at the cinema before,
at least not since Stallone's ridiculously action-packed RAMBO, which felt still a little less epic than THE EXPENDABLES.
Big cheers to Sly for bringing Gary Daniels, Eric Roberts and, of course, Dolph to the big screen again.

Thanks to Stallone anyone can buy a ticket and enjoy seeing:

-Stallone and Schwarzenegger in the same frame.

-Dolph Lundgen giving Gary Daniels a bitch-slap and trying to impale Jet Li on a metal spike.

-Lots of gratuitous violence and stuff blowing up.

Yes, THE EXPENDABLES is an unapologetic dumb movie without an ounce of meaning.
Script is typical straight-to-video fare, but oh my god - the cast, the budget, the panache of it all!
The very fact that this sort of thing is back at the cinemas after years is
e x t r a o r d i n a r y.



THE EXPENDABLES was produced by NU image, a company that for years has been putting out low-budget action and sci-fi mixtures: SHADOWCHASER series, OCTOPUS 1-2, SPIDERS 1-2, Tobe Hooper's CROCODILE (and it's sequel) to name a few.
They've produced a stock footage masterpiece that is TICKER (by Albert Pyun) which used footage from SWEEPERS with Dolph Lundgren, PROJECT: SHADOWCHASER 2 and OCTOPUS, among others.



Seeing them raise their profile dramatically in recent years was a shock.
First they did some very decent Van Damme straight-to-DVD films like THE REPLICANT.
And now they have the biggest blooming stars and have gone massive!

They obviously tried to make the finale epic and sure have succeeded.
Buildings collapse, numerous obligatory barrels explode while generic 'battle music' is threatening to drown out the gunfire noise.

The only real(minor) complaint would be use of 'shaky-cam' during the fight scenes. That is annoying, surely guys like Jet Li can do their stuff convincingly in a static wide shot, without all the editing and jerky shots?
As long as there still chance of films like THE EXPENDABLES appearing on big screen I will keep going to the movies.

This prop has been round the block...

My mate Aaron over at THE DEATH RATTLE has kindly tagged me in this picture meme.
I am supposed to post any number of screengrabs connected by some theme.
My theme is simple: all the grabs show the amazing 'futuristic control panel' prop that has popped up in a few of my favourite Italian genre films.

1. Luigi Cozzi's fabulous chest-bursting CONTAMINATION (1980)

Louise Marleau and Carlo De Mejo behold 'the awesome thingie' before
questioning Marino Mase who's being kept in the quarantine.

2. Umberto Lenzi's immensely dumb and entertaining NIGHTMARE CITY (1980)

Not visible particularly well here, it's in the background behind Lenzi's regular actor Tommaso Felleghy. Umberto obviously didn't feel this cool sci-fi prop deserved a close-up...

3. Bruno Mattei's sickeningly stupid and amateurishly acted (yet loved by many)
RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR (1984)


You see, by this point in time at least 4 years have passed since this prop's first documented appearance.
So whoever was the set designer decided it was time to get imaginative. He put the control panel upside down.

That's it from me.
I'm pretty sure this thing can also be spotted in Deodato's RAIDERS OF ATLANTIS (1983) but I don't have a copy at hand to prove that. Maybe you guys saw this piece of kit in other films, too?

Now I'm supposed to tag five more people in this but I won't.
I've annoyed enough people with my recent award already:)

Trashfilmaddict receives Happy 101 Award!

Can you imagine my surprise when Jason of CINEZILLA gave me this nice award?

I mean, that is really nice, bearing in mind that trashfilmaddict is a pretty recent blog - less than a year old, with under a hundred posts!
I consider this a sort of an 'advance'. Things like that sure motivate you to keep at it.
So - cheers, Jason!
It was also really good to see friends at NINJA DIXON and ITALIAN FILM REVIEW get their awards:)

Ten things: (I didn't put 'watching movies' down as it goes without saying)

1. Receiving e-mails from old friends who are miles away and whom I haven't seen in ages.

Life scatters us across the globe and it's no surprise people loose track of each other. So it's a real pleasure to hear from an old friend who you hadn't had a chance of catching up with for a good while.
Keeping in touch is important and I'd say it's just plain good manners, damn it.

2. Reading a cool review of a film I'd thought no one else but me cared about.






3. Going for a run in the morning.
Not that I'm much of a fitness fan. But running causes endorphins release - an easy way to cheer up. I can only really afford to run in summer, so I'm a pretty happy boy right now.

4. Reading and re-reading books by XX century authors.
Georges Simenon, Vladimir Nabokov and H.P. Lovecraft never fail to inspire and impress.

5.Movie soundtracks.
No further comment necessary.









6. Learning Italian.
This language has fascinated me for years, and I've been trying to learn it by watching poliziotteschi films without subtitles. Would be cool to go to Italy one day and get some proper language practice.

7. Watching Eurotrash with my girlfriend.
I know, I wasn't gonna put 'watching movies' down, but this isn't quite the same thing. You see, watching far-out stuff like 'Ninja Terminator' or 'Snakewoman' with an uninitiated person is a totally different ball game - and I'm loving it.


8. Hearing that Dario Argento is making a new film.
No matter how tasteless Maestro's recent films have been, I am always very happy to hear that he is still going. Most of his peers are out of business by now. But Dario is still managing to raise decent funds to make proper 35mm films for theatrical release - at the age of 70! Much respect, Argento.

9. A nice cup of coffee.
That stuff perks creativity up pretty well.







10. Making movies.

Almost forgot to mention it. Being involved with any production, however cheap, primitive and obscure gives a major kick. It's always hard work, even if results are next to unwatchable. It's a challenge. It's a way of life...

Now here are the blogs that I think could do with an award or two:

Hans of QUIET COOL
- now here is a man who reviews some obscure, diverse films.
Not content with just sharing his opinion, he backs it up with extensive quotes from a variety of credible sources. I want to see your blog flourish man!


Armando of BLOGO TRASHO
- again, a wide range of some very obscure, awful and fascinating movies. Brief, unpretentious reviews with some lovely screengrabs.

Aaron of THE DEATH RATTLE
- this guy blogs A LOT. I mean that. And I have a lot of respect for prolific people. And if, in his opinion, the movie sucks, Aaron will put it plainly. Even if it's some 'sacred' classic.

Riccardo of JUDGE OF CELLULOID.
- One more place where I stop by to read about the movies I care and learn a bit of Italian in the process. Very concise reviews on some classic European films.

Luigi of OCCHIO SULLE ESPRESSIONI
- A man of broad tastes. Luigi writes about everything from the Soviet movies from the silent era to modern day digital oddities seen on youtube. Very interesting blog of truly international scope.

The Goodkind of LOST VIDEO ARCHIVE.
I've come across this superblog on various occasions in search of information on very different (but mainly bad) movies. This is a fascinating place which I haven't yet fully explored myself.

Bruce Holecheck of CINEMA ARCANA.
You need to check that blog out. Even just to see the fab banner. And they have cool movie quiz and other stuff. Recommended.

Richard of DOOMED MOVIETHON.
Now my opinion on certain films may frequently be opposed to Richard's but I have frequently been impressed by his writing style. It actually resembles 'proper' literature. Plus he's the first guy I know of who brought up the film adaptation of Nabokov's 'Laughter in the Dark'.

Mirko of MARISA MELL.
If a film has anything remotely to do with Marisa, Mirko will write about it.
If a shop window dummy looks a bit like Marisa, Mirko will be sure to post a picture of it. Respect to the keeper of the great Euro-goddess archive.

That's it from me.
Thanks again, Jason!

melodramatic giallo: DELIRIO CALDO

I could never objectively review DELIRIO CALDO, as I am so crazy about it. This film is something else! Story is giallo, execution - over-the-top melodrama.

Some may say that framing is TV-like. Predominance of "talking heads", fairly static shots. I wish all television films were like this one - full of outrageous violence and perversion.


It is impossible not to fall in love with Rita Calderoni, who delivers her most memorable performance in DELIRIO CALDO, playing a woman who loses her sanity to passion.

Like certain other genre classics (Jess Franco's EXORCISM, for example), DELIRIO CALDO exists in at least three very different cuts. Both versions available on the BU DVD have lots of incredible fun to offer. The U.S. cut boasts grainy Vietnam stock footage, extra 2 murders and a totally different ending. The Italian cut has fantastic opening and closing credits sequences and a bigger part for Tano Cimarosa.

Often, police procedural scenes in gialli are totally dull padding. In DELIRIO CALDO they're fun due to an odd way in which they're staged and due to cops being dressed more like pimps than policemen.

There's earnestness in Mickey Hargitay's performance, even though it frequently slips into wild overacting. But that's the steamy universe of Polselli. A lot of my admiration for DELIRIO CALDO stems from the fact that it's a little movie. Many times cheaper than gialli of Martino or Lenzi.

I am so glad that DELIRIO CALDO didn't become a 'lost' film, like Polselli's MANIA. There really is something in the story and lead performances that is moving, even on repeat viewings. Plus the polyester shirts, the music...Aah, I'm smitten. This is delicious delirium - superior to Lamberto Bava's namesake DELIRIUM in every respect.