recap of the past month or slow of schlock
Death Ship - watched this one to review for my podcast. didn't have much in the way of expectations except for what bitewerks told me in advance. an absolutely absurd film and premise but really enjoyable in the 2nd half. George Kennedy hams it up and the rest of the cast is serviceable. the big reveal about the Death Ship was spoiled by the DVD menu beforehand so that was a little annoying. low on gore but high on silliness, definitely a movie that would benefit from a few beers. loved the blood shower scene though!
Just Before Dawn - doubling down on George Kennedy, I watched this one a few days later. had no expectations and wound up really enjoying it. great atmosphere, beautiful shots of the Oregon wilderness. unexpectedly great minimal score. not a ton of violence but really solid atmosphere and very hot leading lady. watched it on DVD but enjoyed it so much I'm gonna have to upgrade to the Bluray copy which to my understanding restores a bit of gore too.
Pieces - a friend of mine cleans out foreclosed properties and sometimes scores some good shit. he grabbed a bunch of DVDs from an abandoned meth house and this was one of them. the Diamond Entertainment version, it's easily the worst DVD transfer of the film i've seen, even being formatted for fullscreen. but Pieces is so insane it almost didn't make a difference. enjoyed it more than my first viewing and I hope to see it's fully uncut bluray version at some point. it's got all the subtlety of an Eli Roth movie but unlike an Eli Roth movie its actually fun.
Snowtown - watched a month or two ago. made Hounds of Love seem like a romantic comedy in comparison. fucking bleak stuff, which is somehow less brutal than the actual crimes. not one I'd return to anytime soon but definitely effective.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times - Barbara Bouchet is reason enough to watch any movie. the fact that she gets a ton of screen-time makes this one that much better. an especially stylish giallo with gothic horror elements, the costuming (done by an Italian designer), the modern interiors, the fashion house and fashion models and solid murder scenes made me fall in love pretty fucking quick. and a great score too! definitely recommended!
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids - this one is so mediocre that I only realized I had watched it before halfway into the movie. maybe it's the cut I watched but gore was super low (edited?). and there's nothing so dumb to get good/bad enjoyment out of it so generally I just didn't give a shit.
Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Fury Road - all 3 of these are absolutely flawless to my taste and will remain essential classics. Mad Max 2 was an essentially part of my adolescence and early teens. must have watched it 20+ times by the time I was 18. but the first Mad Max still really holds up for my taste and Fury Road is just like doing a 2hr long line of coke. If you're not into Mad Max we're probably not gonna be friends.
