88 Films Round Up

This time last year I posted a round up of all the films I had been sent by 88 Films for review but hadn't had the chance to do a full write-up of. In what threatens to become a yearly occurrence, here I am doing the very same thing once again (although obviously with different films). While Arrow seem to be a making a valiant bid to become the UK's answer to top notch US Blu-ray and DVD company Criterion, 88 Films are doing their best to be the most prolific distributor in town of low budget cheap and cheerful exploitation pictures, and there's nothing wrong with that. Much of what they release can hardly be called quality cinema, but they've certainly endeared themselves with their enthusiasm for movies that would most likely otherwise end up without UK releases at all. So here are my reviews of some of what 88 Films have released in the last couple of months, cut down to capsule size so I can fit them all in:

MOONTRAP (1989)

In which NASA astronaut Walter Koenig and his sidekick Bruce Campbell discover something very odd in the remains of a giant spacecraft. They bring it back to earth where it activates and shows a remarkable ability to build itself into a giant robot using anything to hand. It all turns out to be something to do with the moon and so off they go where they discover the remains of an ancient civilisation, more robots, and an (eventually) naked lady alien. Essentially the kind of movie Charles Band and Roger Corman became famous for in the 1980s, this was produced by neither of them but obviously has the same kind of low budget. It's a bit slow at times but you do get Chekov and Ash in space, which for many is going to be worth the price of admission.

MOTHER'S DAY (1980)

Another in 88 Films' "Slasher Classics" collection, this 1980 movie from Charles (not Charlie, that's someone else altogether) Kaufman starts off laugh out loud but quickly becomes really quite unpleasant. This is a cult favourite in some circles (Eli Roth likes it a lot and you can make of that what you will) but I'll admit that I had trouble getting through it. 88 Films' Region B Blu-ray offers you more extras than the Region A Troma release so this is the one to get if you're not sure. Not to be confused with the Darren Lynn Bousman remake of a couple of years ago, and definitely not to be confused with the forthcoming 2015 movie of the same name starring Christina Ricci and Laura Dern about 'interwoven stories of what it's like to be a mom'. Kaufman's film is probably more watchable than that at least.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE (1987)

Obese unkempt pig farmer's son threatens clean-cut American teens with an axe. There, that's the plot of this one so we can move on. Oh, except I should warn anyone who might be disturbed by violence towards animals that the film opens with a prolonged (and obviously realistic) track through a pig slaughterhouse, complete with details of the slaughtering process, to the most inappropriate Carry On oompah music they could find in the music library. Lots of extras with this one including interviews, a commentary and…er…raw on-set footage.

GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS (1968)

Ted V Mikels strikes again in a movie that has been compared to SHOWGIRLS in that both movies feature young ladies dancing, and both will make your jaw drop at the sheer incredulity of what's going on. Fans of BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS and THE CORPSE GRINDERS will know what to expect, but if you've never seen a Ted film before you're better off starting with one of the others. Featuring a wannabe dancer as the star of our show who is meant to be 'the best' but actually can't dance at all, inadvertent teleportation that could just be appalling editing, and all the other usual TVM misdemeanours and…oh you probably already know if you want this one or not.

All the above are currently available from 88 Films

88 Films Round Up

I’ve been sent quite a few movies from the UK distributor 88 Films recently, so many in fact that I’ve decided to provide capsule reviews for some of them instead of full length ones. There's a lot of fun to be had from this collection of low budget movies, most of which will probably be fondly remembered by VHS aficionados of a certain age.  If you’re an 88 Films fan, or thinking of perusing their increasingly vast catalogue of Full Moon Productions and other releases, you can find full reviews I’ve already written for the following movies by clicking on the links:

CASTLE FREAK
BEACH BABES 2: CAVE GIRL ISLAND
DEMONIC TOYS
DOLLMAN
PUPPET MASTER
SUBSPECIES
PUPPET MASTER II
PUPPET MASTER III
HIDEOUS!
THE CREEPS

But now, in an attempt to get through some of the 88 back catalogue a bit more quickly, here are briefer reviews of some of their releases not included on the above list. We start with…

LASERBLAST (1978)

Apparently this one's on the imdb worst 100 list, although I'm sure I've seen at least a hundred films worse than this one. An early Charles Band production, it's certainly an odd idea for a film. Blonde Billy Duncan (Kim Milford, who, it seems, can only put his trousers on when he's lying on the floor) finds a laser out in the desert that belongs to some cute little animated aliens. The more he plays with the laser, the more he starts to look like the green-faced chap who got shot by the aliens at the start of the film. As he causes more mayhem, the aliens return in their flying saucer and sort him out. With an appearance by tragic exploitation starlet Cheryl 'Rainbeaux' Smith, a downbeat ending, and little plasticine monsters who talk in a squawking alien language, LASERBLAST is definitely a peculiar low budget oddity that's probably worth watching once - there's certainly nothing else like it.

SHADOWZONE (1989)

Things didn't change much in ten years for Charles Band. By 1989 he was still bringing out micro-budgeted stuff like this. In an underground bunker that just happens to limit the action to a couple of sets, experiments in sleep deprivation have led to a naked girl in a box and Louise Fletcher's looking after her. A rickety monster that looks as if it's about to fall to pieces at any moment turns up very briefly at the end, but it's very much a blink and you'll miss it affair. 80s low-budget SF enthusiasts may get a kick out of this low-rent affair if they're very forgiving.

BLOODSTONE: SUBSPECIES II (1993)

More bloodsucking fun from the team who gave you SUBSPECIES. Evil vampire Anders Hove gets his head put back on by tiny creatures, only to discover that the heroine from part 1 is now being played by a different actress (Denice Duff). Denice's sister turns up (played by Melanie Shatner) and Anders then proceeds to chase her around the same picturesque locales from Part 1. If you enjoyed the first one you'll probably like this too. And the opening head reattachment scene is something you don't get to see everyday.

BLOODLUST: SUBSPECIES III (1994)

If you're a fan of the little red stop motion men from the SUBSPECIES series you'll have a bit of a wait to see them in BLOODLUST because they don't actually turn up until the final scene. Otherwise it's business as usual. Vampire Anders Hove is brought back to life when his hideously scarred mother feeds him some of Denice Duff's blood. Then it's time for more vampire shenanigans in the same lovely locations as the first two films. To give director Ted Nicolaou credit, some of the shots of the castle here are quite beautiful, and 88 Films' Blu-ray presentation is excellent. This really is the best this film has ever looked & it's the version to get if you're a fan of this series. 

ZOMBIES Vs, STRIPPERS (2012)

If you think the budgets of Charles Band productions couldn't get any lower than those for LASERBLAST & SHADOWZONE think again. Here's a zero budget, zero quality, zero everything film that somehow manages to have quite a good natured feel about it thanks to some oddly likeable performances from its ensemble cast. Don't get me wrong - this is a terrible, terrible film but fans of fun modern rubbish might find it distracting for its 75 minute running time.

MARA (2013)

Not a Charles Band production, MARA hails from Sweden and starts off quite well, with some nicely atmospheric scenes in a graveyard covered with snow. Unfortunately from there things meander rather a lot until we reach the final twist. The film-making techniques are sadly all a bit minimal, and had me yearning for the crash zooms and eccentric camera wobbling of the Euro films of yesteryear. MARA feels like a first effort and is definitely a film for Euro-completists only. It made me nostalgic for the work of Jess Franco, which unfortunately isn't a recommendation.

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1991)

Let's finish on a good one. Stuart Gordon's remake can't compare to Roger Corman's classic 1961 version with Vincent Price, but it's not really intended to. A fun pseudo-historical piece filmed in Charles Band's own castle, the 1991 PIT features fun performances from Lance Henriksen, Jeffery Combs and Frances Bay, and a very special one from Oliver Reed as the cardinal who gets walled up for poking his (very red) nose into Lance's affairs. Great music from Richard Band as well. Don't expect too much, and this one's actually not bad at all.

…and there's a lot more from 88 Films on the way. Watch this space. Or watch the films. But probably watch this space first...