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Ya know, sometimes you just get a preconception, an idea of how a films gonna be and what you think you can expect. I’ve had such an experience here with Snuff. I’ve had this in my collection for as far back as I can remember, never seen it. Always thought it was gonna be real bad. Not gory bad, just cheap and bad. Today, I got quite a surprise.

The film focus’ on a Manson type sect, a ‘family’ of beautiful girls whose master, S’tan persuades to indulge I’m his every whim, even murder. The girls are more than happy to accommodate and mostly target rich business men and politicians. Meanwhile, there’s another plot going on involving a beautiful young across tied to a mean manager and in love with an arms traders son.

The film is great. It’s kinda like Russ Meyer meets Jess Franco. It’s full of intrigue and subtle back stories for some characters which give quite a bit of depth to the whole thing. Some of the acting is poor, but overall, it’s pretty good all-round. Simple direction with some good snappy editing.

So it’s pretty good? Mostly, but there are some problems. Some scenes make no sense at all. Maybe lost in context through a re-edit at the later date when the ridiculous new ending was added as a means to gain a rebranding and some notoriety with the rumor that all the cast were really killed and never seen again. Stupid. How could anyone believe this?

The violence is quite harsh in places but I wouldn’t go as far as unacceptable. A torture scene early on is quite nasty with some of the girls cutting between the toes of one of their family who’d used more than her share of their drugs. A little extreme one might think. The added murder at the end is quite nasty too but by this point I was left a bit annoyed as I was still with the other characters from the rest of the film, not this crazy tagged on thing at the end, and couldn’t care less.

This film has surprised me. It’s easy and enjoyable to watch, fun and exciting at times too.

Snuff [DVD] [1976] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Margarita Amuchástegui (Primary Contributor). Blue Underground 2003, DVD, £6.19

Jesus Franco here with one of his most notorious films, notably banned in the UK. It’s a tale of a diamond heist gone wrong, the girlfriend of one of the criminals pops some lead and seals the secret of the whereabouts of the missing stolen diamonds. She owns up to the police, claiming he was a beast of a guy, but still gets sentenced to prison. It’s not long before the head warden is after some answers and uses torture to loosen some tongues. wHat’s happend to the loot? Does Shirley Fields (Lina Romay) know anything?

The film’s plot is pretty good, it flows well with some good twists and intrigue with double crossing thrown in for good measure. The torture is all a bit tame. Naked women get whipped and electrocuted but it’s not convincing which for me is a big plus as it gives the film a bit of charm really.

The actors here are great and of the usual Franco stock. Lina Romay heads up the cast and is brilliant as always. Here, arguably in one of her finest roles actually. She’s a regular Franco actress who has real charm and screen presence.

There’s the usual expected cliché lesbian romp which stereotypes prison life for women. But apart from naked women in prison, expect more from this one as the plot is cool and enjoyable. Script is great but the Franco’s films are always a joy for me. He’s a great director who knows what he wants out of a cast and a film and goes for the bulls-eye every time, budget or no budget. One of the greats. This is not his finest moment, but it’s a great place to start if you wanna experience a bit of Franco goodness.

Women Behind Bars (Ws Dol) [DVD] [1975] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Lina Romay (Primary Contributor). Blue Underground 1975, DVD, £12.44

This is a cheep, dirty little film which really gives me a pain between the eyes, but beneath the shoddy exterior, hides an interesting little life. It’s not for everyone. It’s not really for anyone to enjoy, but a select few will appreciate what Freddy Friedel was attempting here.

A small town is hit by three thugs on a crime spree. They stumble upon a farm house inhabited by a young girl and her mentally challenged grandfather. Lisa, (Lynn Bradley) at first look the innocent and is abused by the three bloke, but little do they realise, there’s a monster burning inside and they are about to meet its wrath.

Simple plot which is similar to a few others made around the same time. Here though, Friedel offers us a little difference in that Lisa tends to be accommodating to the thugs and go along with their plan until the moment is right for her. One by one, she picks them off and seems to have the whole situation under control. This subtle difference makes the film stand out from the rest, the usual offering the woman as a poor victim who eventually gets her own revenge. Lisa has this all tied up and has evil pouring from that sweet face of hers from the opening scene. The gore is not really bad, we don’t get to see much as there was no real budget here, but the camera work and connotations involved make this a disturbing film to watch and enjoy. Better, rather to appreciate what Freidel was aiming for.

Axe [DVD] [1977]

Lynne Bradley (Primary Contributor). 4Digital Media 2008, DVD, £1.00

This is another one of those films which I’ve owned, since about, 1985 and never got around to watching; until now. I don’t know why I never got around to it. It’s in my loft right now, probably still illegal to own that edition on Betamax, although now freely available throughout our land. Which it being directed by Tobe Hooper, they guy who brought us Texas Chainsaw, Poltergeist and Lifeforce, you would have thought I would have dived at the chance to watch everything the guy has ever made, but maybe it was the George Lucas syndrome which I have, which prevents a viewer watching other works of master directors. It took me a very long time to get around to viewing THX1138. Why didn’t I watch it earlier? I could have had another 30 years with THX in my mind making me happy. The same goes for Tarkovsky. Andrei Rublev is a masterpiece. Took me 3 years to watch Solaris followed by a further 4 years to watch Stalker. I’m scared to watch anything else by him as they might just not live up to the perfection. I digress

Hooper gives us a glimpse of life in a crazy circus. A bunch of teenagers head out for a fun night at the fair but find a much darker tale behind the big tent. This is basically a glossier version of Chainsaw. It’s kinda, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury America which is cool and charismatic with nice characters having a fun time with odd strange folks. It actually feels like a John Landis film too, bright and colourful as you’d expect from a circus. Even when it gets bleak and dark, it’s all quite comic book. The monster guy is quite creepy with quite a basic effect from a young Rick Baker, which works well here. He’s a spooky character and it’s all quite shocking when he freaks out and removes the mask. The films darker side is also quite disturbing. One scene has the master of one of the freaks shouting and barking and you’d expect him to take a whip or stick to the young beast, but instead, he’s been conditioned to hit himself when the master shouts.

This is all quite good. It’s very easy to watch and flows easy with enjoyable characters, even when they behave badly. I’ve no idea why this was banned. No reason at all. It’s like banning Creep Show for Christ sake. It’s all good though and enough to encourage me to view some other Hooper flicks.

The Funhouse [1981] [DVD]

Elizabeth Berridge (Primary Contributor). Arrow Films 1981, DVD, £5.63

This is a real guilty please for me, one of my favourite films which is nasty, vicious and violent, but brutally realistic. The late 70’s look gives it a distance which allows me to step away from the true reality of the situation, but it’s a shocking film.

Two crazy mechanics are about to close up shop for a night on the town when a quick repair job comes in, a Mercedes with rich owners. They persuade the work to be complete with the promise of a swanky party afterwards. The party starts of swinging, but it soon turns sour with a clash of social status, then the violence erupts.

This one works for me for so many reasons. The film is shot beautifully by Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust) and his right hand man, DP Sergio D’Offizi who does a great job at capturing the harsh actions with beautiful clear lighting and crisp photography. Notable also, Tomassi as editor. So it looks great. The cast are something else too. All perfectly cast and pushed to the limit of their ability. Dave Hess is a star, a rugged nasty beast of a bloke who you can’t help but love to watch. Giovanni Lombardo Radice here knocks out his finest role. Annie Belle is a babe, Marie Claude Joseph  is also perfect. And then there is Brigitte Petronio as the tortured Cindy, a brilliant performance from the young actress. But for me, the winning formula is the balance between Hess, Belle and Lombardo Radice who all conjure pure cinema magic. The shower scene with Hess and Belle is legendary and the card game with GLR is superb.

As I say, the film is a nasty one, dealing with revenge, rape, humiliation, abuse but you can sympathise from all sides. It’s a character drama which is beautiful to watch, mesmerizing and enthralling. Finally, what an ending. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know what I’m talking about, but that scene in slomo which just goes on for ever is pure stunning. This is what video nasties are all about. This is a nasty little film that really shouldn’t be seen by society, but deal with the stuff you really shouldn’t watch, but can’t take your eyes away from it. It’s not gratuitous for the sake of it, every scene has reason and purpose.

If you watch one nasty in your life, make it this one.

House On The Edge Of The Park – Uncut Edition, David Hess, Ruggero Deodato

EC Entertainment, DVD, £8.99

This was banned. Outlawed. You could go to prison for owning this film back in the early 80’s! It’s shocking… not the film. It’s shocking that this was so offensive back then that people could do time. Tame is the understatement.

The tale follows a young woman, Julia a teacher of deaf kids who has a secret twin sister, Mary (Allison Biggers) who is her alter ego, evil, disfigured and angry. She spends her time in the local madhouse, but niggles in the back of Julia’s (Trish Everly) mind. When Julia’s friends start going missing, she’s obsessed that it’s her evil sister out for revenge, but with a mysterious killer dog on the loose, it’s a question of whose really doing the murder’s here. The dog, Mary, Julia or some other bizarre reason.

It’s quite a good film, well shot with great performances all round. Every is cool and convincing with the difficult lead role here. Dennis Robertson plays the friendly supportive vicar at the madhouse, also offering a very challenging role to the audience.

This is not the usual nasty. It’s more like a mid afternoon drama with a bit of added suspense. Saying that, the opening 15 mins are pretty heavy going, very creepy and disturbing, but nothing to get all banned about.

Madhouse [1981] [DVD]

Trish Everly (Primary Contributor). Film 2000 2004, DVD, £5.45

I was expecting a surprise moment of genius here, a spark of creative magic, a pure hidden gem, but it’s not to be. I’ve heard things about this one for years and years. Good and bad and even though, branded as Last House 2, this one really doesn’t come near. At a first glance, the film looks good. It’s got a fine giallo look and feel, although none of the intelligence, mystery or fantasticalness which you’d expect.

The film follows two crazy bad guys who kill a Santa Claus in a German Christmas market, then rip a woman’s coat open. They get chased by some cops through a train station, making their escape on a train to Italy. At this point, the film shows some good signs of a classic film in the making. The train is full of some odd characters who offer a bit of intrigue, a great springboard for the plot to flow, but sadly, we get taken down an obvious route which allows the two thugs to meet up with two young girls who are heading home for Christmas. An original, although somewhat odd turn in the plot includes an older upper class lady who becomes significant in the thugs actions on the train, encouraging and promoting rape and violence.  It’s a strange combination allowing the interaction of class and education, obscene actions in a confined environment.

The film has a great look, and a good pace, which is slower than you’d expect for this type of film. The problem we have here though, is there is nothing to cling to within any of the characters, the bad guys or the victims. Unlike Last House and House on the Edge of the Park which both offer solid realistic characters, which show off the good and bad side of all, Late Night Trains has stale roles. The acting is not to blame here with good performances all round. The violence is all pretty nasty and some moments are impressive. The girl getting g thrown from the train is shocking and realistic and hits all the right points.

This one does not live up to the others in its class, saying that, it’s well worth a look. It was released in the UK in it’s fullest form for the first time a few years ago after sitting on the DPP list for years, but it still surprises me that this can be picked up in HMV.

Night Train Murders [1976] [DVD]

Macha Meril (Primary Contributor). Shameless 2008, DVD, £4.38

The first thing which you notice about The Slayer is how good it looks. The lighting, cinematography and set are all beautifully designed. It’s a strange film too, with an odd feeling about it, pace wise and structure which make this one quite unlike anything else really.

The basic idea is focused on Kay (Sarah Kendall), an artist who is obsessed with her dreams. She and a few friends head off to a remote island together, only to discover a strange beast picking them off one by one. Kay has premonitions and dreams of each murder, but has been having these all of her life, building up to this final event.

It’s a good spooky idea which JS Cardone (writer & director) works with well, getting believable dramatic performances out of the cast of unknowns. The plot works due to the steady build up, tension and atmosphere which is created steadily. The murders are violent but captured lightly with mainly only the after shock shown, with some great results fro the effects department. The pitchfork through the back and out the chest is a brilliant effect. Also, check out the hanging headless body, dried, black blood stains down the arms. Pretty nasty stuff.  

This was one of the films banned in the UK back in 83, but I’m surprised by this as it’s not an overly horrific film, focussing more on a spooky dreamlike atmosphere. This really was one of the innocent victims in the whole witch-hunt. Another point, if ever a movie had been wrongly titled it’s this one. The Slayer really does not do this film justice.

This is a good quality film from the 80’s, well worth a look. Plenty of atmosphere to keep you glued.

Slayer (Beyond Terror) [DVD] [1982]

Sarah Kendall (Primary Contributor). Cornerstone Media 2010, DVD, £3.85