a few exploitation/horror reviews today
the Bamboo house of Dolls http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071189/
WS (16:9) English dub with Dutch and French subs
The legendary Shaw Brothers did not only make Kungfu movies. This is a solid entry into the WIP exploitation genre. It has all the elements you’d expect. Sadistic wardens of a prison camp (here Japanese, during their WWII occupation of China), lots of young female prisoners getting naked all the time and ofcourse the usual bit of lesbian lovemaking. But there are also a few unique Hong Kong cinema touches such as a, for the genre, quite graphic torture scene in the beginning and later on a mass fight scene with a bit of swordplay. It starts with a banging tune over the opening credits. This, and the fact that the film was ‘grinded’ badly before it was committed to video (lot’s of jumps, dust and scratches and I think even a missing reel) got me really in the ‘bad taste cinema’ mood. Sadly the movie runs out of steam in the end. After a group of girls escape from the camp the mood/style changes and the film seems to loose direction. The first half still should make it a favorite with fans of the genre.
Primitives http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078113/
WS English with Dutch subs
Talking about funky opening tunes, this one has Kraftwerk singing “we are the robots” over the credits!?!?! I couldn’t think of a more out of place track for a movie in the Cannibal/Mondo genre, unless it is intentionally directed at the viewer as a kind of hypocritical meta-message… but I don’t think so. A funky track is required by the genre and it doesn’t get more funky than Kraftwerk the director must have thought. just like Hong Kong is able to make a good WIP, Indonesia has produced a Cannibal flick that isn’t any less revolting than it’s Italian counter parts. A crocodile gets gutted alive, a baby is born and the afterbirth eaten while the dirt covered grunting cannibals are licking the infant and everyone acts like they are not only primitive but also extremely savage and full of blood lust. The ‘anthropologists’ discovering this savage band are three very stupid student types who go totally unprepared on their expedition. they take no provisions or weapons and go downstream “deeper into the jungle” on a flimsy raft. When two of them escape in the end their flight back home is also downstream. Stupidity like that may sound like fun, but when a bad taste movie is rEAlly bad taste it’s just that, ugly bad taste stupidity.
Zombi Holocaust http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079788/
WS English with Dutch subs
Another jungle filled with Cannibals so crazy with blood lust that they want to kill everyone, eat the flesh raw while their victims are dying and don’t even mind that much if a few of them get shot dead while they do that. They might just be zombies the writer must have thought, and so in the third act of the movie he let’s a few real zombies loose. The victims who have to endure these dual abominations again have a supposed anthropological background but are too stupid to be called scientists. There are however e few inventive kills in this movie, including one with the engine of a small boat. An alternative title for this movie is Queen of the Cannibals and there turns out to be a kind of queen indeed. She comes in action in the final act and wraps up the movie, but why she is what she is and does what she does is not really explained. Too bad because she, painted in black flower motives (reminding me of Indonesian tattoo patterns), might have been the most original and interesting angle to this story. I also love the warning on the video box. Translated from the Dutch: Warning. This movie contains a few chilling and blood curdling scenes, more terrifying than the improbable!
