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Edgar Wright’s brilliant fake trailer for ‘Don’t’ spoofs exploitation films of the ‘70s & ‘80s
07.28.2017
02:29 pm
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Don't
 
This summer, both critics and regular folks who have to pay for their movie tickets have gone ga-ga over Baby Driver. The film was directed by Edgar Wright, who first gained mainstream attention for his awesome horror-comedy, Shaun of the Dead (2004). Admiration for Shaun led to Wright being asked to contribute a fake trailer for the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez extravaganza, Grindhouse (2007), their highly entertaining tribute to ‘70s and ‘80s exploitation cinema. In an interview with Rolling Stone prior to the release of Grindhouse, Wright talked about the main inspiration for Don’t.

In the ‘70s, when American International [Pictures] would release European horror films, they’d give them snazzier titles. And the one that inspired me was this Jorge Grau film: In the UK, it’s called The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. In Spain and in Italy, I think it’s called Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead. But in the States, it was called Don’t Open the Window. I just loved the fact that there isn’t a big window scene in the film—it’s [the trailer’s] all based around the spin and the voiceover not really telling you what the hell is going on in the film.

Don’t Open the Window is set in England, and though English is the spoken language in the US version, the American trailer was cut in such a way that none of the actors’ voices are clearly heard. When Tarantino and Rodriquez appeared on Charlie Rose to promote Grindhouse, they talked about why there’s no dialogue in the preview for exploitation pictures like Don’t Open the Window.

Tarantino: His [Wright’s trailer] is like a British horror film from the ‘70s, but it’s the American trailer, which means they never let any of the actors talk, because in America they didn’t want anyone to know that it was a British movie until you were already in the theater.

Rodriguez: It was too late.

Tarantino: It’s too late!


Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Bart Bealmear
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07.28.2017
02:29 pm
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Rabies-infected acid-head hippie-gore Satanist masterpiece ‘I Drink Your Blood’ splats again!
11.21.2016
08:53 am
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“Let it be known, sons and daughters, that Satan was an acid head. Drink from his cup. Pledge yourselves, and together we’ll all freak out.”

So opens 1970’s gore shocker I Drink Your Blood, with it’s Manson-esque satanic hippie cult—a cult who was written into the picture, after the first draft of the script, to exploit the nation-wide hysteria surrounding the Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969.

Allegedly, the first film to receive an “X” rating due to violence rather than sex, I Drink Your Blood is the story of a group of acid-dropping satanists who wreak havoc in a small town until a local boy serves them meat pies he’s injected with rabid dog’s blood in retaliation for the cult raping his sister and dosing his grandfather. Soon the devil-worshiping hippies all become rabid, mouth-foaming, bloodthirsty zombie maniacs and go on a berserk killing spree, infecting everyone in town with rabies.

The movie is just as batshit as that description sounds. How could it not be?
 

 
The film was shot in Sharon Springs, NY which was practically a ghost-town at the time of filming. The production paid $300 for use of a run-down hotel which was scheduled for demolition. The crew ended up doing much of the demolition themselves during the course of the filming. According to the film’s director, David E. Durston, tensions ran high in the small town where the locals seemed to feel as if the actors in the film were actually for-real satanic hippies. These misunderstandings culminated with the locals calling the sheriff after witnessing Durston “motivating” actress Iris Brooks for an emotional scene. Luckily no one was arrested, and filming was allowed to resume, giving us the masterpiece that still shocks to this day.
 

 
Boutique label, Grindhouse Releasing, is issuing a new deluxe Blu-ray version of I Drink Your Blood this week with a bunch of killer extras including one of the best horror movie tie-in gimmicks since the Sinful Dwarf‘s Torben doll.

The limited release of I Drink Your Blood includes a “horror hypo” which you can use to draw out rabid dog’s blood to infect your friends!
 

Dog’s blood rising.
 
In addition to the “horror hypo,” and the HD restoration of the uncut print of I Drink Your Blood, the set includes an informative commentary track with director David Durston and star Bhaskar, four never-before-seen deleted scenes, interviews with Durston, and stars Lynn Lowry, Tyde Kierney, and Jack Damon.

This set also features a stunning print of the not-often-seen I Eat Your Skin, which was famously paired on a double-bill with I Drink Your Blood on the early ‘70s drive-in circuit. I Eat Your Skin is, arguably, a bit of a snoozer, but for me it was cool to see a movie that I had previously only ever read about.
 

 
One of the real treats to Grindhouse’s set is the inclusion of director David Durston’s long-lost X-rated psychedelic thriller, Blue Sextet, which has previously never seen a home video release. Though it’s far from being a masterpiece, Blue Sextet does have its moments of wild imagery, that make it worth viewing.

Grindhouse has provided Dangerous Minds with this exclusive clip:
 

 
I Drink Your Blood remains a shocking and highly unusual film with performances that rise above the film’s low budget and campy storyline. I had the opportunity a few months back to see it in a packed theater, with about three-quarters of the audience having never previously seen it. People were screaming. It’s a testament to the theory that the only bad movies are boring movies.

And I Drink Your Blood is ANYTHING but boring.

More after the jump…

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Posted by Christopher Bickel
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11.21.2016
08:53 am
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Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives
03.31.2011
07:37 pm
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What the hell?! How has this sailed under my radar for so long? And more to the point, how come nobody thought of this before? Tarantino and Rodriguez, I’m looking at you…

As the title may suggest, Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives is a very low budget exploitation flick about a group of transgendered, transvestite and cisgendered ladies who suffer a brutal trans-phobic bashing one night, and decide to take matters into their own hands. Knives, revenge and sheer-black catsuits ensue. Because it takes balls to get revenge. Of course, this isn’t some kind of modern masterpiece-in-waiting, but dammit, it looks like A LOT of fun! The premise is neat, the direction looks good, and the cast is very spirited. What more do you need out of an exploitation flick? Planet of Terror blog has this to say:

I know we all need another retrosploitation movie like we need a hole in the head. But writer/director Israel Luna is genuinely gifted and he has a knack for both the comedic as well as the over the top insanity which is needed to make these types of films work. ... It’s bloody, it’s gory, it’s howlingly good fun.

 

 
More on Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives at the official website (including DVD, screening and Netflix info)

Thanks to Dean Birkett for the tip off!

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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03.31.2011
07:37 pm
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Vanishing Point
07.30.2009
03:06 pm
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Vanishing Point (1971): An excellent road movie. An excellent drug movie. An excellent movie about America. And one of the great Man vs. the World and All Odds films (up there with Cool Hand Luke).

OK, it’s actually kind of cheesy and terrible in the way that only post-Easy Rider grindhouse flicks could be. But the sentiment at the core of the movie is so righteous that you might as well have this on in the background next time you have your shady friends over. Also, I’m surprised Robert Rodriguez or, for that matter, Michael Bay hasn’t remade this.

Plot? Oh, a crankhead drives a supercharger across the country while being pursued by the hounds of hell, all while being egged on by a blind radio DJ named Super Soul. That’s about all you need for two hours of Awesome.

Check out the trailer. (Also, this jam that Primal Scream made in tribute to the movie in 1997.)

Posted by Jason Louv
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07.30.2009
03:06 pm
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