PSYCHOTRONIC NETFLIX VOL. 8
HEY BASTARDS. Welcome to another edition of PSYCHOTRONIC NETFLIX! This week we’ve got enough films to break each of the commandments! Unless you count the broken ones from THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART I.
10. The Wild Angels (1966)
Roger Corman’s classic biker flick isn’t exactly great, but it sure influenced a lot of imitators. Peter Fonda stars as the leader of a group of Hell’s Angels, whose best pal Loser (Bruce Dern) gets into problems when his bike gets stolen. It’s a fair share of filler, but there’s certainly enough ridiculous entertainment to be had as well. With Nancy Sinatra, Diane Ladd and Michael J. Pollard.
9. Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
John Sayles wrote this spacebound New World pic, influenced by THE SEVEN SAMURAI/THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, about a group (guess how many?) who band together to stop an evil overlord from taking over the galaxy. It even has Robert Vaughn in basically the same role he played in MAGNIFICENT! With Richard Thomas, John Saxon, George Peppard, Darlanne Fluegel and Sybil Danning.
8. Blood and Roses (1960)
Roger Vadim’s beautifully-shot version of “Carmilla,” about a young woman who may be possessed by her vampire ancestor, is oddly unavailable on DVD, but this gothic horror pic is highly recommended, and at least it’s available on streaming.
7. Full Moon High (1981)
A few years before TEEN WOLF, Larry Cohen directed this similar take on a teenager who gets a bit more hair than you’d expect from puberty after his family visits Transylvania. It’s actually a fairly effective horror parody, starring Adam Arkin and with a bizarre cast including Ed McMahon, Kenneth Mars, Pat Morita, Alan Arkin, Jim J. Bullock and Demond Wilson.
6. Crawlspace (1983)
David Schmoeller hated dealing with Klaus Kinski so much there’s a short documentary about it (search for PLEASE KILL MR. KINSKI), but there’s no denying that Kinski is the reason to watch this sordid piece of sleaze about the son of a Nazi surgeon who owns an apartment complex filled with trap doors, secret passageways and torture devices.
5. Apple Pie (1976)
A real oddity, and one with a mere 27 votes on IMDb, is this 1978 flick about a gangster relating the story of his life in a series of surrealist vignettes. I’ve watched it and can’t figure out what the hell it’s about, but it’s certainly unique. With Tony Azito and Calvert DeForrest, and directed by the guy who later wrote Tobe Hooper’s SPONTENEOUS COMBUSTION.
4. Cherry 2000 (1987)
Steve DeJarnatt’s 1987 feature isn’t as good as his better-known MIRACLE MILE, but this post-apocalypse tale of a guy looking for the titular sex droid features Melanie Griffith in one of her best roles as a bounty hunter who helps him. With Brion James, Marshall Bell, Laurence Fishburne, Pamela Gidley and Ben Johnson, and written by NADJA’s Michael Almereyda.
3. The Catman of Paris (1943)
In turn of the century Paris, a group of killings are blamed on a mysterious cat-man in this attempt to tie into the CAT PEOPLE films. More of a semi-effective thriller than a horror movie, it’s still an impressive obscurity from the vaults.
2. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
Before Joon-ho Bong rose to international fame with THE HOST and MOTHER, he wrote and directed this darkly comic story about a college lecturer who takes drastic action against a neighborhood dog that won’t stop barking.
1. Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
Posing as a psychic, the title Bulgarian played by Robert Quarry preys on innocent-ish California victims in this cleverly-scripted vampire flick that manages to feel both dated (from the décor) and fresh (from the originality). Hard to believe it was originally supposed to be a softcore flick, but this is miles more entertaining than a lot of the vampire films Hammer was releasing at the time.
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