The Gore Gore Girls (1972)

The Gore Gore Girls (1972) - The Godfather of gore Herschell Gordan Lewis brings us this film of a crazy psychopath who kills girls in a strip club and then mutilates their bodies. The film pulls no punches, the very first scene we see a figure from the neck down in a black leather coat with black gloves coming up behind a woman, Suzie Cream Puff (Jackie Kroeger) in a dressing room or bedroom. Immediate the killer begins to repeatedly smash the woman face into the mirror. Not satisfied with the results the murderer then stabs the woman repeatedly. The whole scene last 40 seconds before the credits role and defines what is to come.
  Nancy Waxman (Amy Farrell) is a reporter who, for her paper hires the famous private detective Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) to help solve the stripper murders. The paper is looking for exclusive rights to the story and I guess the cops are inept enough that the paper doesn't think they will solve the crimes. Gentry got a lead in like 5 minutes and off he goes in his sweet early sixties corvette with Waxman in tow.  Making sure we don't forget that this is a murder mystery we shift to the scene of another murder. A woman, Candy Cane, comes into a room violently chewing gum and notices herself in the wall mirror. You would wonder why on earth is she being so blatant about chewing gum. Well that is the hook and as she stands there touching her own breasts, like a fumbling fifteen year old boy, she blows a bubble, as the killer comes up behind her. Clocked with a rubber mallet she we get the gag which is the bloody bubble. Of course for good measure the killer then slices the throat of the unfortunate woman and then I guess because low budget gore is a thing for Herschell Gordan Lewis she is violently mutilated by the killer in what can only be deemed a disgusting gross display of gore as he smashes her head open and plays with her brains
  Through their leads from the club it is Waxman and Gentry who find the body. Gentry is a snide prick who makes quips about the dead and seems to have a real disdain for people in general. Lt. Anderson (Russ Badger) seems inept enough that he will never solve the murders. I think that they were going for the lovable jerk with an air of Sherlock Holmes, what they got was an unlikable prick you want to punch in the face.
  As they go from lead to lead we get to see some strippers dancing in pasties and are forced to listen to Waxman and Gentry verbally spar. Gentry is working on the case and every now and again he has to talk to a waitress or bartender to further his endeavors. Always he is difficult and it really is not very pleasant to watch. Then there are always strange things in these films. Like when Gentry goes to talk to Barney the bartender, not only is there a strange setup, with Gentry unable to get to the bar because the patrons won't let him in, but there is a strange 30 second double speed scene of the bartender making drinks. It was so weird and out of place that you barely notice that there is a second guy at the bar drawing faces on vegetables and then smashing them with his fists. Gentry of course noticed and got the stories from the bartender. Grout smashes the veggies to relieve the tension from his experiences in Vietnam. Is he a suspect or a red herring?
 This is really not a very good movie and when Gentry breaks the fourth wall it is all I can do not to just shut it off. The striptease with the circus music made no sense, but who am I to critique Lola Prize's routine.  The women activist barging in angry at the strippers but not the men watching them seems a bit misplace, The "Lewd is Crude" and "Quit with Tit" signs are amusing but ugh!
  Poor Lola gets killed too after she talks to Gentry back at her apartment. She recognized the killer so it must be someone we have seen before in the film? We learn from her conversation that the lead woman in the anti-stripper movement could be the killer or at least she is threatening to the stripper, and that one guy owns all the clubs Gentry has been to, Marzdone Mobilie (The late great comedian Henny Youngman). Again we are forced to watch a gruesome display of mutilation as the killer takes a meat tenderized to Lola's ass and then salts her before ripping her eyes of in squishy grossness all the while that silly circus music is playing.
  There are some more primitive yet creative murder scenes but you can watch this film is you want to see. Each is just gruesome and shown in the goriest of detail. The cops in this film are just there for comic relief bungling fools.  Mary McHenry (Emily Mason) the leader of the women's lib group is a suspect, also the veggie smashing Grout could be the killer, so could the bartender Barney. Another possibility is the angry waitress Marlene (Hedda Lubin).
  When the killer is revealed it happens so quickly and without excitement that the film really disappoints. The killer even dies in the most stupid of ways, I can't really understand why this film exists other than as an experiment in gory effects. The women in the film are targets for the killer and idiots. Even Nancy is easily manipulated and a bit of a lush. Really all she wants is a story and a roll in the hay with the smarter in control Gentry.  The snide and condescending Gentry is so unlikable that there is not even hero in this film. When he breaks the fourth wall a second time, and a third time it is infuriating. I suppose you can call it cute, or stylistic if you want but there is really no context for it. In the end if you want to see the early development of gore effects this is a movie you want to see, but if you are looking for an interesting smart balance horror film you will have to look elsewhere.
Rating (3.7) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more recommended than others.

Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)

Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009) - Jen and Silvia Soska present this really bad day of violence and death in this home brewed exploitation flick. Starting in a club we follow our lead "Badass" (Sylvia Soska) as she enters and has a drink with her friend "Junkie" (Rikki Gagne) but we are also there for the argument between the "Cowboy Pimp" (John Tench) and his "Hooker" (Tasha Moth) as they go at it in the bar. We get a forward flash where she is taking a baseball bat to the head, thus setting up the title of the film.
A look into the past shows us Badass as a little girl witnessing the death of her mother at the hands of her father. She as a child picks up the gun and shoots him, so we know what her issues are. That is how she got so Badass?, the trauma of having to murder your own father? No that's a starting point but unfortunately the film doesn't fill in the character any more than this. Instead we get to accept that the events of her past have slotted her into her personality. When she comes out of the memories She and Junkie go to pick up her sister Geek (Jen Soska) and head off in Badass's bad ass car to take Geek to her youth group. Geek on the other hand having avoided watching her mother die nor having killed her father has grown to adulthood a good girl. Thus the need to get her sister to drive her to pick up a friend at the church's youth group. There are a couple reasons for this, one is the fourth main character in the adventure that is about to start, Goody Two Shoes (C.J. Wallis) he is a holy roller who longs for the companionship of Geek but doesn't have the balls to do anything about it. The second is to have this really strange interaction with the Priest at the church. Probably because she is pure evil and going to hell inexplicably Badass catches on fire and he puts her out. Then he talks to a hoodie guy about Badass but thinks they should not mess with her. So it is quite obvious though that he is not quite right. This telegraphing makes the movie less fun but as violent romps go it doesn't take too much away. We certainly can sense that the Priest and the hoodie guy will show up again somewhere down the line.
The four head out to get some "shit" for Junkie, but a strange smell gets them to look in the trunk of the bad ass car and find the titular dead hooker. That is all the setup we really need to get because from here this film is a, this happened, and then this happened. It is a bad day that just gets worse while the entire time we wonder why the characters driven by Badass keep making poor decisions that make things worse. The first problem is since Badass and Junkie are a bit fuzzy about the night before they don't want to call the police. So begins the wild romp for the next couple days as they try to solve their problem without getting in trouble. They are being followed by Cowboy Pimp but seem oblivious to his vehicle just feet from them. So not just are they making bad decisions but they are not noticing who is around. Let me tell you last time I had a body in the trunk of my car, I became very hyper aware of my surroundings. You would think the characters in the film would too.
It all gets a bit strange from here which leads one to believe that maybe this is not just a poor low budget action film but instead a stealthy empowerment fantasy. That this is the hard core decisions making fantasized by a little girl who killed her abusive father. Instead of a scared traumatized child she sees herself as "Badass" the super decisive bitch you do not want to fuck with. It doesn't matter how stupid her decisions are, she will make them work with gall and spunk. Every curve thrown her way will be smacked out of the ballpark. Unfortunately I am not sure this is the case, so Badass becomes a one toned character who forces her will on those around her. She lacks a story arch that brings her from her starting point to somewhere new and surprising through the adventures of the day.
Deciding to bury the corpse instead of say, dumping it on the side of the empty road, or leaving it in the hotel room they got, or sitting it on a park bench to be found by a jogger, anything except keeping it with them for a day so they can depose of it. Note that although they have this body in the trunk of the car, they had no part in putting it there. They owe nothing to the hooker nor do they need to risk accessory to murder by touching it. Sure the setup is there that the police might blame them but like I point out above there are lots of things to be done with a dead body. Letting the hotel desk guy molest it in the car as payment for the room was pretty low on my list of things.
Geek has the very strange idea to call the cops on her sister. Really? The make believe that follows can't easily be explained nor can any real rationalization for the decision be made. The cops though do not end up looking very good after the music video encounter with Badass. She struts her sexy self well enough to leave them wishing they never responded to the call. It is much ado about nothing and in the end the foursome is back on the road with the hooker again in the trunk.
They head out get a fix for Junkie at her old boyfriends apartment, I use that term "apartment" as a very flexible way to describe a place to live but most human beings would not consider the pit he has to be livable. Cowboy Pimp is there again as he continues to track his Hooker, did he put the body in the trunk? Could he not ask them for the body? I believe he knows they have seen the hooker so whats the deal? Junkie gets a fix and a fuck with the boyfriend when for no real reason some Asian guys come and are going to kill them both. I am sure it is a money owed thing concerning drugs but again we shift into a long line of events with little organic origins in the film. There is some excellent gory violence while they are killing the boyfriend and cutting her arm with a saw. Lucky for Junkie that she has Badass for a friend. Saving the day with some more cool gory violence they get out of the situation now leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Now she is a killer but since it is for the right reasons, saving a friend there is no reason to be appalled by it.
Meanwhile Geek is again calling the police, this sister rivalry has to stop! While that call is happening a hooded figure walks up behind her and cracks her in the head with a pipe. Down she goes her eye knocked clean out of her head. You are probably saying "What the fuck!" at this point as was I. Even the fact the Goody Two Shoes was in the car while Geek was being attacked directly outside the door was enough to almost make me turn this film off. They all end up back in the car driving away the whole while the Cowboy Pimp watches from the sidelines. When they stop on the side of the road and a passing truck takes the arm right off Junkie we know we are in a complete fantasy. Badass does punch out the trucker and pulls the severed are from the grill. A bit of duct take and bingo Junkie can make it until the hospital. Which I should mention is not NOW! No instead the film goes off the rails with the explanation of the arm reattachment, the single line "I can't believe this actually worked." I remind you that this was a completely detached arm and I don't care how high Junkie was there is no way that a severed limb is not going to be extremely painful and life threatening. Okay so there is no way we can continue to suspend disbelief, and even though I watched this strange piece of work to the end I was dumbfounded by the irrational twist it takes. Questions still need to be answered and I am sure you will be drained while finding the answers. Will they ever bury that damn hooker? Will the Cowboy Pimp ever make his intentions known? Who is the strange hooded attacker? Will the Junkie ever get that arm looked at by a doctor? Will the Goody two shoes ever get that kiss from Geek he so desires? Will this day and this film ever end? Hey and although I did not mention it we do find out how the Hooker gets in the trunk and who killed her. They why is what is so fucked up in this scenario.
So many more things just happen and the climax is energetic and all the loose ends tied up. No doubt that our sisters will come out of it relatively okay. When the line that sums up the movie is " I can't believe there aren't any repercussions for all the things we have did over the last... " Neither can the audience.
So will I recommend this film? No, but I have to say I have always sort of enjoyed gory violence and did so in this film too. In fact I don't know what it is about exploitation that makes me "want" to watch it. It is not like a Giallo where the violence and nudity is mixed in a mystery of a story. It is probably because the films in this genre are so straight up and in your face. In a time where everything is so packaged it is refreshing to see a blunt instrument used to cause the audience damage. It did not make a lot of sense but it is a ride of sorts. I also appreciated the pretty decent music in the film. When all is said and done you still have to give a lot of credit to the Soska sisters for creating a film that they wanted to create. They wrote , produced, directed, acted in, did stunts for and I am sure had a hand in everything else in this film too. They created an internet presence and have given themselves a start in the business. That is more than can be said for all us film lovers out there that write blogs. So props for the work they have done and who knows, maybe this won't be the last Soska Sisters review I will do.
Rating (4.8) 5.0 and up are recommended, some films just more recommended than others.

Herschell Gordon Lewis:The Godfather of Gore (2010) - Documentary

Part of Terrorthon 10 at the Somerville Theater in Somerville MA
Herschell Gordon Lewis:The Godfather of Gore (2010) - In the late 50's and early 60's Herschell Gordon Lewis was a small time movie maker creating nudist movies in South Miami. There was a lot of censorship in those days so a way around it to show naked people was to do educational films on nudist colonies. Lewis was making a bit of money but not much doing just that.
In 1963 he was looking for a new vehicle to cash in on and with longtime assistant Allison (Bunny) Downe came up with the script for Blood Feast. In it a killer steals body parts from his victims all young women to perform a ritual feast that will bring the Goddess Ishtar back to life. In it was were lots of gruesomely real scenes of mangled bodies, possibly the first gore scenes on film. Shot in four days in South Miami for about twenty thousand dollars it was a surprise success. Included in the movie going experience was a gimmick of handing out vomit bags to the audience which went over well at the time. Went over well does not mean it was liked by critics, although it made a bit of money for Lewis and friends the film was panned by the critics of the time for being crude and unprofessional. There is a story told in the film by a critic who was approached by the manager of a Majestic LA theater and apologized that the film was shown in his theater.
This documentary is a loving look at a small time film maker and how he created a genre of film that would later influence many film makers in the horror genre. In the film we talk to Lewis, and long time collaborators and actors in many of his films.
We take a trip with H.G. Lewis back to St. Cloud FL. the site of his 1964 film 2000 Maniacs and here stories of what it was like to make the film about a small redneck town that wants to get revenge for the outcome of the civil war.
Covering many of his films with style, H.G. Lewis spins tales about a time in movie making long past. Some of the films covered include
Color me Blood Red (1965) - In which an artist uses blood instead of red paint for his art.
A Taste of Blood (1967) - Where a descendant of Dracula becomes a vampire and goes after the family line of his executioners.
Flesh Feast (1970) - A ring of Florida Nazis have possession of Hitler's body and want to bring him back to life. Starring the wonderful Veronica Lake
Many more films were included, directors Frank Henenlotter and Jimmy Maslon show the respect and love they have for Lewis and the appreciation they feel for his contributions to film. There are guest appearances from Joe Bob Briggs and John Waters to add weight to the appreciation of Lewis. By the end of the documentary the view has had an interesting and loving description, a history lesson about a small part of film making that changed what was seen on screen. We also have a picture of a man trying to make a few bucks who had no idea what the impact would be but should be appreciated anyway.
Rating (6.4) 5.0 and up are recommended, On the Zombiegrrlz scale I say Rent it!

Blood Feast (1963) - Horror Killer

Part of Terrorthon 10 at the Somerville Theater in Somerville MA
Blood Feast (1963) - A woman comes home and gets ready for a bath, she turns on her really cool radio, a Zenith Royal 250 to hear reports that women in town have been killed and to stay home after dark. Since she keeps her book of Ancient Weird Egyptian Rituals nearby and the camera lingers on it we know it is important. Suddenly as she relaxes in her bubble bath a man appears and stabs her to death and then after she is dead takes a leg as a trophy. So begins this 1963 gore movie, some would argue started the genre of gore in movies.
This is not a good movie, it is poorly written, acted and lots does not make sense as you watch. An example of this is the two cops that are featured. The Capt. Frank (Scott H. Hall) overly dramatic with every line repeatedly through the film states there are no clues to who the killer is. That's because in this work the police have yet to develop the ability to take fingerprints. The killer makes no effort to wear gloves or avoid smearing blood all over the place, but apparently the police don't know the existence of fingerprinting.
Nor does this movie attempt to hide the killer from the audience. We learn in the first three scenes who the killer, Fuad Ramses (Mal Arnold) is, what his motivation is and what his larger plan is. I won't be spoiling anything here by saying that he worships the Goddess Ishtar and wants to perform the Blood Feast that will bring her back to life. Where our killer runs a catering service and has some kind of mind control abilities he easily convinces Dorothy Freeman (Lyn Bolton) to have such a Feast for her daughter (Connie Mason). It is not a spoiler because 15 minutes into this you are shown everything. So the rest of the film is about the inept cops learning it.
I love that the killer worships a store mannequin dress as the Egyptian Goddess. He is a strange character who overacts and limps badly but somehow is completely silent and can easily surprise the most cautious victim. Needing more body parts the killer heads out to the beach to find Tony and his girl making out. She wants to go home but he wants her to hang and "prove" her love. Fuad dragging his dead leg behind him in the sand, knocks out Tony and kills the girl. For some reason there is a boa constrictor on the beach, when the police arrive they do not have a clue and state that fact. Since they did not tape off the area all the walking around must have erased the trail left by the killer as he dragged his leg behind him. It could have gone something like this.

Capt. Frank: Well guys we are here a bit late again. If we could just find a clue to what direction the killer went.
Officer: Capt Frank there is this clear path here in the sand, looks like someone dragged something from over there, to where the kids were attacked and then off that way with something dripping blood behind it.
Capt.Frank: Good work kid, What's your name? Hey lets fallow that blood trail and see where it goes.

BUT NOOO! Instead they talk to Tony who is awake again and crying like a two year old who had his candy stolen. Then they bring the parents of the latest victim in to ask if they know who did it? You see this scene would not be necessary except that the writer Allison Louise Downe wants to introduce that Det. Pete Thornton (William Kerwin) is connecting the book from the first scene to this murder. Since there are more body parts needed for the feast there are more murders to come. The Captain and Tanielle return to a Miami motel drunk, we only see them from a distance but can tell they are drunk from their bobbing and weaving. Capt does not get to go into Tanielle's room probably saving his life. Ramses drags himself to her room using the railing of the walkway but since there are no finger prints in this world leaves no clues when he kills her and rips out her tongue. I loved that we know she is dead because she crossed her eyes.
Now we get filled in on the feast and it is through a lecture that Thornton goes to with his girlfriend Suzette Fremont (Playboy playmate Connie Mason) the daughter who will have the surprise feast. They are both interested in Egyptian culture and history and besides how will Ramses ever get caught if Det. Pete doesn't have a way to make connections.
There are more murders and on the night of the party the police close in on the killer. When they get to his catering store and find the latest victim they are shock and then figure out that Ramses is the killer and is at Suzette's house right now!
Suzette comes close to having her number punched but Ramses has to flee the cops before the deed is done. Dragging his bad leg behind him he manages to stay ahead of a bunch of cops for a very long time until he can hide in the back of a garbage truck. You can guess his outcome. The gore effect were pretty effective and I had a better feeling about this film after seeing the Herschell Gordon Lewis documentary after this feature, but as a film itself it was really poor.
Rating (3.2) 5.0 and up are recommended, In the Zombiegrrlz system I would tell you to Skip It!

Zombieland (2009) - Comedy / (Horredy)

Zombieland (2009) - A fun romp through a post apocalyptic world of Zombies. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has his rule for surviving in the US of Zombieland and we are treated to a crash course early in the film. He is making his way back to Columbus when he accepts a ride from Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) who is surviving and in search of Twinkies. The two men are scammed a couple times by Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who are heading to an amusement park they have fond memories of. The four travel together and survival adventures and bonding ensue . There is a hilarious cameo by Bill Murray being himself. When the girls split off to do the amusement park the lights and noise attract all the local undead and the girls are in real trouble. Columbus and Tallahassee come to save then in the action filled finally.

This was fun. A story about people coming together and being a family when all around them has gone to hell. When survival dictates that being alone is better, but being human means joining and connecting what do you do? This movie is about that struggle. The light approach to the film making worked to set the tone as light and comedic but with that feel good story underneath. Splattering the camera with blood, having the rules appear on the screen and the voice over all work in the playful approach this film takes. Harrelson must have had the Tallahassee role written for him. He was perfect for it. Emma Stone was competent as survivalist and just sexy enough to pull off her role. Eisenburg was good as the guy with the rules of survival the goofy guy to Harrelson's quirky straight man.

I looked around the theater and saw the laughter at the right times and the smiles the rest of the time. I really think this movie pulled off what it was trying to do.

Rating (8.1)