Thriller: They Call Her One Eye (1974)
Directed by Bo Arne Vibenius
Starring Christina Lindberg
104 mins; Not Rated; Colour

Previewed Release: R0 Synapse (cut)
Tagline: The movie that has no limits of evil!
Country of Origin: Sweden

The Film:

In light of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s ode to seventies exploitation in Grindhouse, dozens of horror films with a low-budget and were made in the seventies are being given the title of a ‘grindhouse picture’ undeservingly. Thriller, however, is a real grindhouse movie – a grimy, mean-spirited little flick that has developed worldwide notoriety.

Rendered mute after a childhood sexual assault, Madeleine (also referred to as Frigga and played by the lovely Christina Lindberg) lives with her parents on a country farm. One day when she is walking into town, Madeleine is picked up by a charming young stranger named Tony (Heinz Hopf). Tony wines her, dines her and then takes her home. He then drugs Madeleine, holding her captive for a week. When she comes to, Tony reveals his sinister intentions – Tony has gotten Madeleine hooked on a potent form of heroin and, without a fix, she will die within 48 hours. In order to get the uniquely cut form of the drug she is now addicted on, Madeleine must work as a prostitute in Tony’s brothel. When her first client arrives, Madeleine scratches his face and, as punishment, Tony cuts out her eye with a scalpel in a graphic scene filmed with a real corpse. Now Madeleine knows the kind of situation she is in and, instead of escaping, she bides her time, saving enough money and using her days off to get training in weaponary and martial arts. Finally, she has her revenge.

The Release:

Synapse have released two versions of Thriller after Quentin Tarantino brought global attention to it, saying Madeleine inspired his character Elle Driver in the Kill Bill films and asserting that ‘Thriller is the roughest revenge picture ever made’. The previewed release is the cut, yellow covered version with the subtitle ‘They Call Her One Eye’. This is devoid of about one minute of hardcore sex footage, and cuts to the eye-gouging scene. The red cover edition with the title ‘Thriller: A Cruel Picture’ has these scenes intact and is limited to 25 000 copies, as well as having a vast array of special features. Extras of the yellow covered edition (also known as the Vengeance Edition) are limited to trailers and liner notes.

The Bottom Line:

It’s difficult to know what camp to put Thriller in – arthouse or exploitation. Very often it straddles the line that runs through both camps – the film is beautifully shot, yet the moronic, slow motion action scenes and deadpan acting tend to lessen the film’s quality. As a revenge picture, it leaves a little to be desired: Madeleine had been treated so appallingly that the revenge payoff was more-than-a-little underwhelming. Regardless, this is a solid revenge film that has obviously been immensely influential amongst Hollywood filmmakers – one need look only at a frame of Kill Bill with Elle Driver or one of Loretta in Smokin’ Aces to see the resemblances. Worth watching.

Motel Hell (1980)
Directed by Kevin Connor
Starring Rory Calhoun & Nancy Parsons
101 mins; R; Colour

Previewed Release: R1 Midnite Movies double feature
Tagline: It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters!
Country of Origin: USA

The Film:

First off, let me say this – if you have any affection for horror films, then you will like this movie. If you don’t, get out. You’re not wanted. Because if you don’t like this delightful, gory and hilarious parody of seventies horror films, then you’re no fan of the horror genre.

Motel Hell is the story of Farmer Vincent (Calhoun) and his young obese sister Ida (Parsons), who own a motel (called ‘hello’ and displayed by a bright neon sign, but the ‘o’ bulb doesn’t work, get it?) in the countryside. Farmer Vincent is a very famous man – his smoked meats have developed a following, and people flock far and wide to buy in bulk. Only thing is, it’s not only ‘pork and secret herbs and spices’ that Vincent uses for his meats – human flesh is also an addition. In order to ‘catch’ his prey, Vincent booby-traps nearby roads, capturing men and women, ripping out their voice cords and burying them in his garden, with only their heads exposed. When they are ‘ripe’, Vincent dismembers them and cures them in his shed behind the hotel.

The Release:

The previewed release was the Midnite Movies double feature with the Ed Gein-based thriller Deranged. The best of the features are trailers and English subtitles, however it should be noted that the Motel Hell looks exceptionally good, and the audio quality is also above par. The disc is double-sided. There is an R4 release of the film with trailers and a picture gallery.

The Bottom Line:

A parody of the era’s ‘serious’ films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Last House on the Left, Motel Hell is one of the most outrageously entertaining B-movies I’ve ever seen. With a mix of cheesy, offbeat black comedy (‘meat’s meat, and man’s gotta eat’) and some delicate use of gore, there’s no doubt that this is a popcorn movie par excellence. To fault it, there’s not too much claret drenching the surroundings, but the hilarity and pure deranged set of proceedings makes up for this in spades. If you haven’t seen this, you’re missing out big time – do yourself a favour, and pick this one up as soon as you humanly can.

Pink Flamingos (1972)
Directed by John Waters
Starring Divine, Mink Stole
92 mins; NC-17; Colour

Previewed Release: R0 New Line Cinema
Tagline: An exercise in poor taste.
Country of Origin: USA

The Film:

Pink Flamingos is something of an underground legend, one of these films spoken in whispers. One of the few truly ‘midnight movies’, Pink Flamingos was a regular on the circuit of smutty theatres that screened everything from ultra-violence to soft porn. To truly understand Pink Flamingos, it’s vitally important to put it in chronological context: this was 1972, way before the antics depicted in Borat, South Park and American Pie. When you walked into a cinema, few could expect what John Waters was to display – incest, bestiality, murder and sheer, all out vulgarity.

There’s not much plot to Pink Flamingos – Divine (played by the actor of the same name, an obese transvestite) holds the crown for the ‘filthiest person alive’ and lives with her morbidly overweight and egg-obsessed mother Edie, her son Crackers and companion Cotton. The foursome live in a caravan parked in bush land. However, Divine finds existence shattered when competition to her title comes in the form of the Marbles, determined to claim the ‘filthiest person’ crown. And Divine realizes that the Marbles (husband-and-wife team Raymond and Connie) mean business – the latter family have a business going in which they kidnap female hitchhikers, use their retarded servant to impregnate them, sell their babies to lesbian couples and, to top it off, use these profits to fund a scheme in which they sell heroin to high-schoolers. So, in order to reclaim the title, Divine must extend her ‘filthy’ repertoire and, by film’s end, she has murdered and eaten two police officers, thrown a party with her band of misfits and, in a scene that was completely, one-hundred percent genuine, eats a freshly laid dog turd. This is comedy at its lowest denominator; it doesn’t get much sicker than this.

The Release:

New Line has released this DVD as a 25th anniversary special and, considering the film is one of the most underground of all time, they’ve done pretty well. John Waters obviously had a significant hand in the compilation of this release and he’s recorded an extremely entertaining audio commentary and has unearthed about thirty deleted scenes, all of which are introduced by Waters and range from ten seconds to three minutes in duration each. There’s also the standard theatrical trailer, also introduced by Waters. Audio/visual quality is as good as you’d expect from a film like this.

The Bottom Line:

Rude, brash, in your face and vile – Pink Flamingos is everything you’d want from a film and more. Recently rated R in Australia with seven minutes of cuts (it’s banned in its uncut form), this is testament to how well the film has aged. If you’re looking for a movie that’s guaranteed to shock and repulse you, then you simply cannot go past Pink Flamingos. One of the most underground cult classics of all time, few moviegoers are unable to recognize the image of the larger-than-life Divine in her pink dress, even if they are unable to place the film in which it comes from. Recommended, but with caution – those who found Borat sick would need a Valium to cope with this.

Silent Hill (2006)
Directed by Christophe Gans
Starring Radha Mitchell & Sean Bean
120 mins; MA15+; Colour

Previewed Release: R4 Universal
Tagline: We’ve been expecting you.
Country of Origin: USA

The Film:

When the name ‘Roger Avary’, particularly when in a writing role, is mentioned in the context of film, you can’t help but be excited. For those who don’t know, Avary was co-conspired with Quentin Tarantino to create the box-office hit Pulp Fiction, and he won an Oscar for his efforts. Having scripted and directed a number of ‘serious’ films since, including the sensational crime caper Killing Zoe, you’d be forgiven for picking up Silent Hill based on the fact that it boasted a ‘written by Roger Avary’ credit. You’d also be forgiven, then, for assuming this is a well-written film. And, with the star power of Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean, you’d also be forgiven for assuming this is a well-acted film. The truth is, Silent Hill is a film so shithouse that you feel cheated on all counts.

Based on the hit Konami video game, Silent Hill introduces Rose (Mitchell) who, at wits end over her adopted daughter Sharon’s dangerous sleepwalking, takes her to her place of birth, the mysterious Silent Hill. On the outskirts of the town and surrounded in thick fog and smoke, Rose has a car accident, knocking her unconscious. When she comes to, Rose discovers that Sharon has disappeared into the town and, with the assistance of a local police officer, sets out to find her. Unbeknownst to Rose, Silent Hill was burnt to the ground thirty years prior and its abhorrent citizens have become stuck there in permanent purgatory. Pursued throughout the town by hideous creatures and the homicidal townspeople, Rose finds no way out: the roads have given way and smoke enshrouds every square centimetre of the town. With growing panic, Rose tries to find Sharon and uncover the deadly secret of the town and its people.

The Release:

For the very few who care about whether this gets anything but a bare-bones release (or, even better, no release at all), the features consist of a featurette and TV interviews. Audio/visuals are very good, but that’s to be expected for a DVD release of a modern film.

The Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for a good night in front of the telly, skim right over Silent Hill when doing the preparatory video-store visit. Apart from being far too convoluted to satisfy someone watching this to be scared, Silent Hill could have easily been shorn of half-an-hour because, at 120 minutes, this is far too long for a horror film. On the upside, there are some decent scenes of gore, however the aesthetic of these scenes is far too video game like – blood splatters unrealistically and the gore is equally fake. Those who liked the game could probably add a star or two, but for Silent Hill virgins this is a complete waste of time.

Africa Addio [English Edition] (1966)
Directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi
Starring Gualtiero Jacopetti
128 mins; Not Rated; Colour

Previewed Release: R0 Blue Underground
Tagline:
Country of Origin: Italy

The Film:

Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi are probably the most controversial filmmakers of all time. From Jacopetti’s private life (he married a 13 year old gypsy to avoid a statutory rape charge), to their final feature Mondo Candido, the duo is loved and reviled the world-over and single-handedly generated the mondo craze with the 1962 film Mondo Cane. Africa Addio is by far their most controversial feature. Taking them three years to film, this magnificent labour of love almost landed Jacopetti, cameraman Antonio Climati, and production manager Stanis Nievo an international war crimes charge after a genuine murder was captured on film. The charges were dropped, but it was alleged that the three charged filmmakers ordered a number of Congolese mercenaries with ‘camera-action’ – in other words, when they gave the word, they would kill their native prisoners. Adding to the controversy was an African delegation meeting the UN about the film’s racist content, as well as Jacopetti and Climati almost being executed at the hands of rebel soldiers (which is all captured on film). Welcome to the plight of the Dark Continent. Welcome to Africa Addio.

Translating to ‘Goodbye Africa’, Jacopetti and Prosperi’s documentary chronicles the hand-over of Africa by colonialists to the natives, and the latter’s attempts to establish government. The film begins with a vast landscape of African culture and customs, before changing into something increasingly nasty – Jacopetti and Prosperi take us to a games reserve, where we see hunters kill hippopotami, gazelles and, most tragically, elephants, one of whom is pregnant. The aforementioned controversy is generated primarily as a result of the scenes concluding the film, where the duo takes us into the bowels of rebel fighting in the Congo, where a team of Anglo mercenaries liberate a town captured by black rebels. The footage is, one can assume entirely, genuine and is not for the squeamish. Jacopetti and Prosperi take no prisoners, and the film certainly not worse off for it – the filmmakers’ blatant approach makes this one of the most effective, and certainly the most shocking, documentary features ever made.

The Release:

Blue Underground have done it again. Not a great deal by way of special features, but the DVD-Rom pressbook is a welcome edition, and is a nostalgic relic of the past. There’s a threatrical trailer as well. However, the real star of the disc is its audio/visuals – presented in 1:71:1, this looks the best it’s ever been. The mono soundtrack is also clear and audible in most part. This disc isn’t available individually, but in Blue Underground’s Mondo Cane Collection, or the Shockumentaries Volume 2 set.

The Bottom Line:

In an era where Michael Moore is the most shocking expose artist on celluloid, the work of Jacopetti and Prosperi must come as a surprise to the mainstream viewer. Completely relevant and immensely compelling, Africa Addio is the work of two men at the peak of their careers and the fact that they aren’t behind a camera in this day and age is tragic. Highly recommended.

The Wizard of Gore (1970)
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
Starring Ray Sager, Judy Clar
95 mins; R18+; Colour

Previewed Release: R0 Siren/Something Weird
Tagline: The maniac magician whose tricks really work!
Country of Origin: USA

The Film

Think Saw. Think Hostel. Think Herschell Gordon Lewis. Lewis was, and remains, a God in the horror genre, specifically in the types of film that use violence and gore as a pivotal plot device – Lewis directed the first ever gore film in 1963 with Blood Feast, an enormously controversial picture that was a mainstay in the Grindhouse circuit. Lewis followed this seminal classic with a number of similar exploitation films. One of his last was The Wizard of Gore, a much nastier and surrealistic work to its predecessors.

Montag the Magnificent (Sager) is a small time magician who can put on a sensational show. The realism of his acts, in which young hypnotised women swallow swords and are disembowelled, dismembered and mutilated, leave audience members in shocked disbelief. Montag’s technique? Nobody knows – but what is known is that, after walking away seemingly unharmed, Montag’s volunteers die of the same injuries that are depicted on stage. The phenomenon piques the interest of a TV talk show host Sherry (Clar) and she invites Montag onto her show in order to showcase his talents. Unbeknownst to Sherry is that Montag has her in his sights as his next victim.

While it may not his best film (the plot gets a bit bogged down and convoluted at times) The Wizard of Gore is certainly Lewis’ hat-tip to what was presumably one of his greatest inspirations – the Grand Guignol. The Guignol was a theatre that operated in Paris from 1897 to 1962 and was home to outrageously gory and explicit plays. Lewis clearly derived much from these performances, honing his effects from Blood Feast’s cheesy aesthetic to something increasingly nasty, as was done in the Guignol. In an exclusive interview with MJ Reviews, Lewis explained that the increase of violence was for the purpose of originality, and he raises the question, ‘what does one do for an encore… obviously, I had to open new doorways with each film.’

And he does. The violence and gore in Wizard is genuinely nasty, almost queasy, paling in comparison to that of its contemporaries (Saw, Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes et al) in the sense that Lewis shows relish in depicting these events on screen. The camera never shies away, not even when Montag plays with a young assistant’s intestines or when a hole is drilled through another’s brain. It’s over-the-top, it’s outrageous – it’s HG Lewis. And, if nothing else, it’s the sheer audaciousness of a Herschell Gordon Lewis picture that makes it an absolute delight to watch.

The Release:

Siren has sourced this release from the US DVD company Something Weird, who in turn have shown great respect to the film. A trailer, exploitation art gallery and, most notably, a commentary with Lewis is on offer here. HGL is a delight to listen to, and he always holds informative and entertaining commentary tracks on all of his films. Audio/visual quality isn’t fantastic, but that is certainly to be expected of a film of this age.

The Bottom Line:

Immensely grisly and sporting a mind-blowing ending, The Wizard of Gore is great fun, though perhaps a bit too much for Lewis newcomers. There are some pacing problems here and there, but Lewis as director never falters and, with respect to grue, it is only topped by Lewis’ follow-up, The Gore Gore Girls (which is banned in Australia). The release is also very good. Buy with confidence; you’ll have a fantastic time.