This weekend saw the bi-annual(ish) meeting of friends and fellow Blueprint: Review writers Justin Richards, Andrew Skeates and Bill Old. As usual, we spent the weekend holed up in a stuffy living room chain-watching B-movies, exploitation and other fun and often neglected movies on a variety of formats. And, as usual, I’m going to share my thoughts on what we watched.
It was a special occasion too, as it was the 30th (recorded) weekend of horror, action, sleaze and cheese, and we made our way through 11 titles over a couple of days and nights. For those new to Blueprint: Review’s Weekend of Trash tradition, previous write-ups can be found in the category archive.
As usual, I’ve done some brief reviews of all the movies watched, and I’ve included clips and trailers when possible too.
Friday
The Last Hunter
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Screenplay: Gianfranco Couyoumdjian
Starring: David Warbeck, Tisa Farrow, Tony King
Country: Italy
Running Time: 92 min
Year: 1980
The Last Hunter is set in the final days of the Vietnam War, when a battle-hardened American soldier is sent on a suicide mission deep behind enemy lines to destroy a North Vietnamese radio installation. Along the way, he confronts personal demons and meets other mentally scarred soldiers.
So, basically, Antonio Margheriti does his own low-budget, Italian version of Apocalypse Now and, you know what, it’s pretty damned good. There’s not much of a plot, but it goes hard on the violence and gore, which proves effective in portraying the horrors of war. There’s some of the surrealism of Coppola’s film too, particularly when the team arrive at a cave full of drugged-up, mentally unstable GIs.
Trailer:
Headhunter (a.k.a. The Head Hunter)
Director: Francis Schaeffer
Screenplay: Steven E. de Souza
Starring: Wayne Crawford, Kay Lenz, Steve Kanaly
Country: USA
Running Time: 88 min
Year: 1988
Headhunter focuses on a pair of Miami cops, one who’s recently divorced, who investigate a string of bizarre, ritualistic murders that lead to the discovery of a demonic creature from African mythology. As the body count rises, he must face the supernatural evil before it claims more lives.
This atmospheric thriller spends time building its characters, which keeps you engaged, even if it’s not as action-packed or gory as some similar films. It looks nice too, with suitably moody lighting and some impressive tracking shots. It’s well worth digging out, if you can find it.
Clip:
Night of the Creeps 2: Zombie Town
Director: Damon Lemay
Screenplay: Damon Lemay
Starring: Adam Hose, Brynn Lucas, Dennis Lemoine
Country: USA
Running Time: 90 min
Year: 2007
In a small town plagued by an unexplained zombie outbreak, a group of young residents bands together to survive the night and put a stop to the carnage.
I imagine this has had its Night of the Creeps sequel moniker tacked on by a marketing guy afterwards, though it does have similar slug things causing the outbreak and the same effective mix of comedy and gore. It doesn’t have as sharp a script as its namesake or as strong a cast, but it’s good, grisly fun nonetheless.
Trailer:
Friday
Assault of the Killer Bimbos
Director: Anita Rosenberg
Screenplay: Ted Nicolaou, Anita Rosenberg
Starring: Elizabeth Kaitan, Christina Whitaker, Tammara Souza
Country: USA
Running Time: 85 min
Year: 1988
Assault of the Killer Bimbos centres around two go-go dancers, who are on the run after being framed for murder. Along the way, they pick up a ditzy waitress and hit the road, only to find themselves in even more trouble.
Despite the title, this is actually quite a charming comedy about female empowerment (with a little T’n’A to keep the guys happy). Ridley Scott must have been a fan because there’s more than a hint of Thelma and Louise to the first two-thirds and that didn’t come out until a couple of years later. Yes, it doesn’t always hit its marks and shows its age in places, particularly towards the end, but it’s a fun little romp with a lot of heart.
Trailer:
Maniac Cop 2
Director: William Lustig
Screenplay: Larry Cohen
Starring: Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Bruce Campbell
Country: USA
Running Time: 90 min
Year: 1990
* Full review forthcoming
Trailer:
Shark Attack 3: Megalodon
Director: David Worth
Screenplay: Scott Devine, William Hooke
Starring: John Barrowman, Jenny McShane, Ryan Cutrona
Country: USA/Bulgaria
Running Time: 99 min
Year: 2002
Off the coast of Mexico, a series of shark attacks are causing problems for the locals and tourists. To make matters worse, a member of the coastguard discovers a massive prehistoric tooth, suggesting the predator is actually a giant, thought-to-be-extinct megalodon. He teams up with a marine biologist in a race against time to stop the enormous creature from wreaking further havoc.
We’ve watched the first two Shark Attack films in previous Weekends of Trash, so we figured we should round off the trilogy. This starts out like the others, with a generic but entertaining enough low-budget shark attack tale. The final act, however, goes all out with some hilariously bad effects and over-the-top shark antics. The film also boasts the best/worst pickup line ever – “how about we go home and I eat your p*ssy?”
Trailer:
Manhattan Baby
Director: Lucio Fulci
Screenplay: Elisa Briganti, Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: Christopher Connelly, Martha Taylor, Brigitta Boccoli
Country: Italy
Running Time: 89 min
Year: 1982
After a family returns from a trip to Egypt, their young daughter begins exhibiting strange, supernatural behaviour. A cursed amulet she received at an ancient tomb appears to open a gateway to evil forces that now threaten their lives.
In typical Lucio Fulci style, this didn’t make a lick of sense. It was also a little slow, but it was stylish and atmospheric. I didn’t mind the moody, slow burn too much, but, particularly on a movie weekend, it could have done with a few more gory set pieces, and the end was rather underwhelming.
Trailer:
Wishmaster
Director: Robert Kurtzman
Screenplay: Peter Atkins
Starring: Andrew Divoff, Tammy Lauren, Robert Englund
Country: USA
Running Time: 90 min
Year: 1997
An evil Djinn, trapped in a gemstone, is released and begins granting twisted wishes in order to free his race and bring about the end of humanity. A young woman must stop him before he collects enough souls to open the gates to hell.
This was a fun slice of 90s horror. The CGI visual effects are dated, but that’s all part of the charm. The special makeup effects hold up really well though. There are some delightfully icky moments. The story rolls along nicely too, and our heroine is likeable and the villain suitably evil. Good stuff.
Trailer:
The Ice Pirates
Director: Stewart Raffill
Screenplay: Stewart Raffill, Stanford Sherman
Starring: Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, Anjelica Huston, Ron Perlman
Country: USA
Running Time: 94 min
Year: 1984
In a future where water is the most precious commodity, a group of space pirates steals from the galactic elite and stumbles upon a legendary planet said to hold unlimited water. Hilarity, robots, and swashbuckling space action ensue in this sci-fi comedy.
Ice Pirates is a bewildering mess but a fun one, from the maker of Tammy and the T-Rex and Mac and Me. I’m partial to wacky ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ films and this certainly fits the bill. Several genres are blended into one, the target audience is unclear, there are comic relief robots everywhere, random animals running around, and the costumes seem to be of the ‘whatever we can find in the hamper’ variety. Then you’ve got the final act, which is pure insanity, whilst simultaneously seeming like the inspiration for Interstellar. It was a blast.
Trailer:
Heroes Stand Alone
Director: Mark Griffiths
Screenplay: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Starring: Chad Everett, Bradford Dillman, Wayne Grace
Country: USA
Running Time: 83 min
Year: 1989
OK, so I was nodding off throughout this, so I can’t rightfully review it. From what I can remember though, it was a passable ‘exploding hut’ commando movie about some guys sent on an off-the-books mission in South America after a war had just ended.
From what I can gather from my fractured memory, it was a little slow, with not enough explosive action to keep genre fans excited. Plus, the main protagonist is a grumpy b*stard.
Trailer:
Sunday
Attack of the Giant Leeches
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Screenplay: Leo Gordon
Starring: Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Jan Shepard
Country: USA
Running Time: 62 min
Year: 1959
In the Florida Everglades, locals begin disappearing. The culprits are giant, mutated leeches living in underwater caves. A game warden and a scientist must stop the creatures before they attack again.
We had an hour to kill before we had to leave our Airbnb, so we squeezed in this Roger Corman quickie. It wasn’t bad. It’s a tad slow compared to more modern B-movies, but its short length prevents it from getting boring. Yes, the leeches are laughably bad, but what else would you expect from a low-budget 50s monster movie. There’s a scandalous romantic subplot to keep you watching too. Good, no-nonsense entertainment.
Trailer:
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