(Less than) six degrees of Luciana Paluzzi; new this week at the buffet...

Today's title refers to one of the actresses in this week's second menu item; in Tragic Ceremony Luciana Paluzzi plays Lady Alexander, a Satanic Majesty with a request for eternal life. A role that affords her about five to ten minutes at the beginning of the movie and about five minutes at the end.

Her degrees of separation from our first menu item is that our copy of Attack Of The Crab Monsters is part of a triple feature we taped off of TCM featuring the aforementioned Corman classic along with The Killer Shrews and The Green Slime. The latter is a kooky, kitschy Sci-Fi film starring - yep, you guessed it, Luciana Paluzzi. Only in this one she plays a doctor and has much more screentime.

Also of note while we're on the subject: The Green Slime's title track is awesome and has been covered by at least one band that I know of, The Fuzztones. Although their version is more atmospheric and a lot less rockin' than the original.

Anywhoo, now back to our menu...

First join the Kommandant as he returns to his Corman Corner to get pinched by the claws of Attack Of The Crab Monsters.

Then join Bunny and accept an invitation to a somewhat tragic, somewhat Satanic, tragic ceremony, Tragic Ceremony.

Boobs, blood and bad acting; new this week at the buffet...

This week we check our collective brains at the door for a truly mind boggling double feature of scandalously non-scary slasher flick parodies. (One actually from the '80s and one that just wishes it was.)

First up dive into the deep end (and contemplate not coming back up) of a Bikini Bloodbath.

Then settle into a sticky booth and attempt to enjoy a blood buffet at the somewhat infamous Blood Diner.

Sadists and sexperts; new this week at the buffet...

This week we set the wayback machine for Spain circa the sexy '70s as Bunny turns the pages on one of Jess Franco's many Marquis De Sade inspired films, Eugenie De Sade.

While the Kommandant heads for The Big Apple circa the sleazy '60s to get touched by the temptation of the kind of life many dream about... but don't dare live... The Sexperts.

The Man In The Shadows

Last night the Kommandant and I caught the premiere of Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows on TCM, the Martin Scorsese produced documentary about Val Lewton. (Although I guess that part is redundant as the subject's name is in the title.)

For those who aren't familiar with Lewton, he was a Russian immigrant who began his career in Hollywood as an assistant to producer David O. Selznick, working on "normal" productions like A Tale Of Two Cities and Gone With The Wind. Later he was hired by RKO where he helmed a number of low budget horror movies, not as a director but a producer, that essentially went on to become his legacy; films like Cat People, Isle Of The Dead and I Walked With A Zombie. Incidentally, the latter is also the name of one of my favorite Roky Erickson songs. (I think I actually read somewhere that the song was inspired by the movie. But don't quote me on that.)

Anywhoo, although I had heard of him prior to seeing this, I have to admit seeing the re-worked version of Cat People (starring Nastassja Kinski) as an impressionable teenager is the closest I've ever come to watching one of the films he was directly involved with. This very engaging documentary has convinced me I need to change that. (In other words, you can expect at least one Val Lewton themed menu in the upcoming weeks.)

In typical TCM fashion, I could not figure out when - if ever - they plan on showing this again but if they do, I highly recommend it.

Bloodsuckers, devil dolls and seductive slashers; new this week at the buffet...

First join the Kommandant and head for Morella's graveyard theater for an all-night terror-rama featuring Grave Of The Vampire & House Of Evil.

Then join Bunny and get caught up in the sexy, bloody, death grip of Amando De Ossorio's The Loreley's Grasp.

PS: We now return you to our regularly scheduled weekly updates. See you next week!