Flicks: The Female Bunch (1969)

Spahn Ranch 1969: The story for this film was the set and not the actors.

Shot on location at Spahn Ranch in the Summer of 1969, the infamous adopted home of the Manson family from 1968-1969, The Female Bunch was released the same month that California authorities raided the Ranch for Manson and his followers on suspicion of murder in October of 1969^[0].

The Female Bunch features a worn down Creighton "Lon" Chaney Jr. fresh from his role in Jack Hill's cult classic Spider-Baby (1968) as the drug dealing Monti in his one of Creighton's last film roles ^[1].

The rest of the cast includes the inscrutable Russ Tamblyn who co-starred in High School Confidential! w/the sensational Mamie Van Doren with a bevy of underemployed part-time actresses and aspiring models including Jennifer Bishop as gang leader Grace and Nesa Renet as Sandy.

Al Adamson's Female Bunch are a collection of tough cookies who live by themselves on Spahn Ranch and proudly boast that they are completely independent of men - while also hiding out from a group of them from across the deadly desert of Death Valley.

Director Al Adamson made many, many other B-movie "classics" such as Psycho A Go-Go (1965), Black Samurai (1977), Blazing Stewardesses (1975) and Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971).

All did not end well with Al Adamson who, in 1995, was bludgeoned to death by a handyman by the name of Fred Fulford. Fulford buried his body under fresh cement and tile in Adamson's own Indio, California bathroom. Fulford then posed as the 66-year-old former director even using Adamson's clothing and credit cards at a hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida while on the run. Eventually Fulford was apprehended, convicted and sentenced in 2000 to 25 years to life.

Notes:
[0] = In the 1960's George Spahn was no stranger to having film crews pay for usage of his small ranch. "Spahn's Movie Ranch" was the setting for several biker movies including Angels From Hell (1968), Hell's Angel's '69 (1969) and Angels Wild Women (1972).

[1] = Creighton Chaney's final film role was in 1971 with the truly unwatchable Dracula v. Frankenstein as Groton the Henchman. Coincidentally, this was also co-star J. Carrol Naish's (House of Frankenstein (1944)) final film role as well.



References:
IMDB, The Female Bunch (1969)
IMDB, Al Adamson
Wikipedia, Al Adamson
Monster Movie Muzak, Drakenstein vs Frankula
e-Armenia, Theatrical Trailer
University of Missouri, Manson/Spahn Ranch Crime Photos
Brian's Drive-In, Lon Chaney Jr.
LMZ Blog, Spider-Baby
Grindhaus Database, The Female Bunch
Spider-Baby On-line, The "Official Web Site"

The Female Bunch is available at:

Flicks: Satan's Baby Doll (1982)

The first film on the Blender to receive Zero stars!

Italian softcore director Mario Bianchi’s 1982 pseudo-sleazefest (aka La Bimba Di Satana or A Girl For Satan) was shot as a hardcore film and released in two re-cut versions in the U.S. One of these cuts is an unassuming little B-movie about exorcism and the other is a porno starring the Devil.

Both cuts feature Marina Hedman. Hedman, not the most comely vixen to ever grave the silver screen, started out in the Italian film business in La Pretora (My Sister In Law) staring the heavenly Edwige Fenech in 1976 and end up working her way up to co-star with a secretly HIV positive John Holmes in his last film The Devil In Mr. Holmes in 1987.^[0]

Re-released in May of 2010 on DVD by Shameless Films Satan's Baby Doll is a pretty lifeless 90 minutes with occult themes and a wandering storyline. Satan's Baby Doll, despite having a great title, earns itself a grand total of ZERO manling skulls outta a possible four manling skulls!

Notes:
[0] = According to Wikipedia, John Holmes contracted HIV in February of 1986 and told no one. After being black-listed in the U.S. for infecting both male and female co-stars Holmes went on acting in Italian made porn before dying March 13^th 1988 at the age of 43.


References:
Wikipedia, Marina Hedman
Sex, Gore and Mutants, Satan's Baby Doll
Dread Central, Satan's Baby Doll
Sins of Cinema, Satan's Baby Doll
Shameless Films, Satan's Baby Doll DVD's
EGAFdb, Marina Hedson Filmography

Satan's Baby Doll is available at:

Flicks: I Spit On your Grave (1978)

Camille Keaton stars in one of the most controversial flicks in American film history.

I Spit On Your Grave (1978) is director Meir Zarchi's controversial and genre defining rape-revenge movie of 1978 starring Camille Keaton^[0] as Jennifer Hill. The cult status movie remains one of the most controversial flicks in American film history. The film was released in the U.S. and U.K. four years after completion in 1982 after rounds of heavy censoring and a title change from "Day Of The Woman" to I Spit On Your Grave.

Despite the feminist and bare bones mysogynist/misandrist overtones, without a doubt, I Spit On your Grave is an exploitation film with a twist. The themes revolve around violence, rape and revenge. However, the plot takes the traditional slasher formula of Male Killer versus hapless Female Victim and turns it inside out. The pivotal rape scene in I Spit On Your Grave itself is not rendered in any heroic dimension but is disturbing and discusting in order to set up a series of over-the-top bloody vengeances exacted by the sinister Jennifer.


Jennifer Hill (Keaton) finds the best way to man's heart is through the sternum.

The original film is generally viewed as a poorly made gore. After awarding the film Zero stars (outta four possible) Roger Ebert called it "a vile bag of garbage"^[1]. In 2010, a re-make of I Spit on Your Grave is ready for a limited release on October 8^th 2010. This re-make is directed by Stephen Monroe (Wyrvern) and starring Sarah Butler reprising the role of Jennifer Hill.



Notes:
[0] = Reportedly, Camille Keaton was Buster Keaton's grand-niece!
[1] = Ebert's review of the film appeared in the Chicago Sun Times.

References:
Wikipedia, I Spit On Your Grave
IMDB, I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
Official 2010 Remake Site, I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
Shock Til You Drop, I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
Cineploitation, Director Stephen Monroe Interview
Horror Movies.ca, Re-make Review
Sound On Sight, I Spit On Your Grave
Lianne Spiderbaby, I Spit On Your Graves: 1978 and 2010

I Spit On your Grave is available at:

Flicks: Quarantine (2008)

Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) finds a story that wants to sink it's teeth into her.

What begins as a regular type of a day for a t.v. news crew turns into a real trip as the unsuspecting news crew and the residents of a downtown L.A. apartment building get turned into Alpo in Quarantine (2008). The movie is shot in a continuous first-person POV shot/Blair Witch style and told from the perspective of the camera man's camera.

The Quarantine screenplay (written by director John Dowdle and brother Drew Dowdle) was adapted from an experimental 2007 Spanish horror film called REC. REC was originally written by Jaume Balagueró, Luis Berdejo and Paco Plaza and features much of the same plot points. In the U.S. version, after a sluggush start, the remake begins to pick up a furious momentum thanks to good writing and good casting.



Rabid children make for rather unpleasant house guests dontcha know.

Lead actress Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and nearly every actor in the film are "character actors" yet each one brings to bear a wide range of experience including the Russian super, Rade Serbedzija (Snatch and Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels). The film has a lot of solid things going for it by using police, firefighters and regular people as characters in a tight spot.For Quarantine, all said: three manling skulls outta a possible four manling skulls.



References:
IMDB, Quarantine
IMDB, REC
Horror Movies, Quarantine Clips/Stills
Terror Feed, Quarantine Trailer

Quarantine/REC are available at: