Pitt, no pendulum; new this week at the buffet…

This week we have two horror-ific horror films starring the one and only Ingrid Pitt.

First, The Kommandant's ears are alive with the sound of Sound Of Horror; also starring Spanish beauty Soledad Miranda.

Then Bunny returns to the tombs of Hammer horror to be seduced by the sexy, sapphic sirens of The Vampire Lovers.

Brainiacs, kidnappers and pianists; new this week at the buffet…

New to our menu this week we have a trio of films that, essentially, have nothing in common. But that won't stop us from posting them in the same update!

First up, alphabetically speaking, join Bunny as she takes in the brain sucking terror of the most bizarre horror movie… ever… Brainiac.

Then join the Kommandant and be taken hostage by Mario Bava's curiously non-horrific lost masterpiece Kidnapped.

Finally, join Stately Wayne Manor as he discusses his thoughts on pianist enhancement in the latest installment of Manor On Movies, Sincerely Yours.

Naked and naked-er; new this week at the buffet...

This week we travel back in time to the seamy, steamy, sometimes black and white world of the swinging 1960s.

For an appetizer, prepare to strip down and pucker up for Samuel Fuller's cult kitsch classic, The Naked Kiss.

Then, for our main course, grab a seat at Giallo Biafra's Trattoria Of Terror to sample a satisfying slice of schoolgirl slaying, Naked You Die.

The Deuce comes to Chicago!

Speaking of film festivals and things I didn't have time to blog about last week, regular c14 contributors Michelle Clifford and Bill Landis, of Sleazoid Express & Metasex fame, are / have been hosting a series of grindhouse films that I wish I lived close enough to attend at Chicago's Music Box Theater.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the Clifford / Landis oeuvre, here's the official press release, culled from the SE website.

Michelle Clifford and Bill Landis authored the definitive book on exploitation films and Times Square culture, Sleazoid Express, a distillation sprung from their film magazine that was the first to chronicle the Deuce lifestyle during its 25 years of debauchery. Forty Second Street, known to its denizens as the Deuce, was the most lowdown, seen it all, done it all, grizzled sexual stalking ground in the world. Films offered a smorgasbord of fun, an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. Endorphins on the rise, euphoria, dysphoria, shock and unintentional laughter. The Blood Horror genre wanted to drive you insane and leave you with shocking memories. California Sleaze was a fantasy world populated by beautiful girls at the mercy of the twisted. The Hardcore XXX Roughies genre was a bastard marriage of sadomasochism peppered with wild psychosexual performances, the ultimate in wish fulfillment to a grateful offbeat audience. On the flip side, the Sexphobic genre was littered with characters and plots revolving around severe sexual fears and traumas. Eventually the wrecking ball turned everything into multiplexes and all manner of uninspired mall shops. The neutered Times Square. What lives there now? Disney. Time has finally caught up to exploitation. To celebrate Quentin Tarantino's genre tribute film Grindhouse, Clifford and Landis evoke the Deuce, raising it from its grave to appear at The Music Box. Landis (who had been a projectionist at Deuce grindhouses) and his partner in crime, Clifford, will be present to introduce each film, reminisce about the Deuce, and answer questions. Each film will be preceded by fun-filled theatrical trailers of shocking and juicy exploitation hits.

It's too late to catch the first two installments, which featured "the penultimate of the California Sleaze genre," Pets and I Drink Your Blood, a film that "exemplifies the Blood Horror genre with its fast, unrelentingly violent and sexually explicit shocks," but residents of the Windy City, or anyone else who happens to find themselves in the area over the next two weekends, still have time to catch the final two installments.

This week's feature is Toys Are Not For Children:

The masterpiece of the Sexphobic genre. A sexually arrested young woman works in a toyshop and sleeps with her dolls. Traumatized by her shrew mother and whoring drunken absentee father, she pathologically throws aside her ineffectual husband to reunite with her long lost Daddy. In her quest, she is led to hell by her prostitute Aunt and her worthless greasy pimp. A dirty pearl from the Sleazoid private family collection.

Next week it's Dominatrix Without Mercy:

The crown jewel of the Roughie genre from the Deuce's infamously malevolent Avon Productions. In a dominatrix's lair, we are treated to the possibilities that lead men to pay for professionals. Marlene Willoughby, a slender, severe sadist trains, chastises, and delivers fountains of liquid gold to her weepingly happy clientele. Jamie Gillis is a man in need of a tight rope and strong hard sexual healing. A true relic of the '70s Sleazoid ethos. Wanna come to a private party?

For more info. visit www.musicboxtheatre.com or www.sleazoidexpress.com

Bunny & The Kommandant do the Philadelphia Film Festival…

Spring has sprung here in Hostile City, despite the less than Spring-like temperature, and thus the Philadelphia Film Festival is in full bloom.

Technically it was in full bloom last week as well (the festival started on April 5th) but I was too busy to blog about it then. Plus there was nothing I wanted to go see last week. This week we've been blessed with a relatively light schedule and were able to find two PFF screenings we want to hit. Not to mention the fact that we're going to see Roky Erikson Sunday night in NYC. (And, PS: I am totally excited!) But I digress.

Friday night we're gonna go check out The Burglar at the Ritz 5; presented by Irv Slifkin. The Kommandant and I are big fans of only other "b noir" film we've seen starring Jayne Mansfield, Dog Eat Dog, and Jayne Mansfield in general, so this sounded like a winner.

Here's the blurb about it from the PFF website:

This classic example of a "B noir" was shot in and around Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Dan Duryea stars as the leader of a group of thieves (which includes Bryn Mawr native Jayne Mansfield) who steals a coveted necklace from a spiritualist living in a Main Line mansion. As tensions start to run high among the thieves, a couple of less-than-honorable cops appear on the scene leading to a chase along the Steel Pier. Adapted from his own story by David Goodis (writer of Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player and Jacques Tourneur's Nightfall), this offbeat crime yarn was produced by Louis W. Kellman ("Diver Dan") and stylishly directed by Paul Wendkos (The Mephisto Waltz) in a flamboyant cinematic style reminiscent of Orson Welles at his most extravagant. Other highlights include appearances by local news legend John Facenda and the diving horse at the Steel Pier. We are proud to reintroduce this film in a pristine new 35mm print. Local author "Movie" Irv Slifkin will talk about the film and sign copies of his latest book "Filmadelphia: A Celebration of a City's Movies" (Middle Atlantic Press), which features The Burglar and over 100 other films made in and around our area.

Saturday afternoon we'll be heading to the Ritz East for the Philadelphia premiere of Viva. We've reviewed a bunch of these "suburban sin" type films over the years and, while they can be hit or miss, I'm very curious to see a modern take on this classically '70s style of sexploitation. Plus I'm developing a serious crush on the woman who wrote, produced, directed and stars in this film, Anna Biller.

Here's some information on that one, again from the PFF website:

Sure to be a future cult classic, the sheer audacity of Viva is something to behold. Anna Biller has single-handedly and lovingly created a campy sexploitation pic worthy of Russ Meyer, Radley Metzger and Hershel Gordon Lewis. Biller not only stars in the film, but collected all the set pieces and costumes and wrote and directed as well. The result is a swirling, boozy, large-breasted, semi-clad sexual odyssey that is vividly colorful, outrageously over-the-top and just a lot of breezy good fun. Biller stars as Barbi, a buxom housewife, who yearns to explore her sexuality. In the midst of the sexual revolution and with an adventurous friend along, she sets off in search of herself. Taking on the pseudonym "Viva" for her exploits, her journey lands her in a world of prostitution, nudist colonies, drugs, lesbianism and bohemian orgies. Viva's breathtaking color palate highlights Biller's set design of flamboyant 1970s "chic." Every detail is meticulously crafted, from the hilariously stilted performances right down to the copies of books like "Gynomite" sitting on shelves in this hilarious and nostalgic look at the innocent days when sex was still something "dangerous."

More woman on woman action - literally; new this week at the buffet…

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