Sexy Sisters (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite

Switzerland/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Manfred Gregor
Starring: Karine Gambier, Pamela Stanford, Jack Taylor
Color/87 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date:

The Film
Edna keeps her sister Milly chained up in her secluded bedroom. Milly suffers from sexual trauma after being raped as child by a large muscular man. Milly may be curable but Edna has no desire to help her sister as she is the sole heir to their father's large fortunes he left for inheritance as long as Milly is mentally incompetent. Edna and her lovers long plot of drugging Milly to keep her in a state of sexual desire, a nymphomaniac will soon unravel and Milly will get what is rightfully hers.

Another piece of sexploitation from Jess Franco. It seems in 1977 that is all the director had on his mind. This one isn't as weird as Blue Rita, and not as boring as Voodoo Passion. SEXY SISTERS lies somewhere in between. At the very least it has a story but then again, it isn't a very interesting one. The entire point of this film is for Franco to show off his beautiful actresses. There's nothing particularly wrong with that but a more interesting movie would certainly have made it more enjoyable. 


The Audio & Video
Ascot Elite's transfer of SEXY SISTERS is good, despite being one of the weakest I've seen from their Jess Franco Golden Goya collection. The film is mostly very sharp and detailed with a nice natural look to it. Colors are vivid and skin tones healthy and fleshy. There are instances throughout that are soft and overly grainy. These scenes aren't terrible but they don't hold up to the high bar that Ascot Elite has set for themselves. The English 5.1 HD audio track (the only English friendly option) sounds very good, as usual. It is a full bodied track that is well mixed with no instances of background noise that I could notice.

The Extras
A trailer and photo gallery are the lone extras

The Bottom Line
Franco completists or sexploitation super fans will want to add this disc to their collection immediately. As for the rest of us you'd be better off seeing the movie before plopping down the big bucks to buy it. 

SEXY SISTERS is available HERE

The Baby (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

USA/1973
Directed By: Ted Post
Written By: Abe Polsky
Starring: Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianne Hill
Color/84 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: July 8, 2014

The Film
Anjanette Comer stars as a social worker who looks in on the case of the Wadsworth family. Mrs Wadsworth and her three grown daughters look after Baby, their adult infant. Baby has the capabilities of a child about a year old and is pretty much well taken care of by his family but the social worker suspects foul play and that Baby's condition is due to years of negative reinforcement. When the social worker starts prying a bit too much, the Wadsworth family invites her to Baby's birthday party and plans on a way to get rid of her for good. The family is caught completely off guard when their plan backfires in the most unimaginable way possible.

Called "one of the most bizarre films to come out of Hollywood in the 1970s" by DVD-Drive-In, I'd be willing to go a step further and say it is one of the most bizarre Hollywood films ever. THE BABY bathes and breathes in it's weirdness. THE BABY is more than weird it is a well made film. From Ted Post's excellent A-list direction to the great casting and performances from the entire cast, THE BABY manages to be a piece of exploitation from Hollywood that works in just about every way.


The Audio & Video
Severin Films has given THE BABY it's Blu-ray debut with a beautiful, film-like transfer. Detail level is high and the print is in great condition with minor speckling and scratching. Colors are natural and very warm. The English mono track is free of background noise and pretty clear but is nothing exceptional.

The Extras
-"Tales From The Crib": Audio interview with director Ted Post
-"Baby Talk": Audio interview with David Mooney
-Theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
THE BABY is a totally bizarre film. It draws you in from the opening moments and you won't be able to look away until the credits roll. THE BABY is something you need to see.

THE BABY is available HERE

Voodoo Passion (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite

Switzerland/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Erwin C. Dietrich, Jess Franco
Starring: Muriel Montosse, Ada Tauler, Jack Taylor
Color/87 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: November 19, 2013

The Film
Oh, Jess Franco. I really have no idea what to make of you. For every film you made that is at the very least entertaining, you make crap that is an absolute chore to sit through despite always being filled with some sort of exploitative fare (more often than not it is copious amounts of naked women). While I was hoping VOODOO PASSION would be a fun, sex filled, horror film example of the former, it ends up being a glaring example of the latter.

Upon arriving in Haiti to live with her husband Jack, Susan is introduced to Jack's sister Olga, a nympho who likes to push the boundaries of taboo, and their lesbian housekeeper. Susan expresses an interest in learning about the local Voodoo culture to Jack and soon after begins having nightmares about Voodoo ceremonies, murder and sexual rituals. After 80 minutes or so a really half-assed attempt to throw together a conspiracy against Susan involving Jack and his partners is revealed by Olga who helps Susan along with the local Voodoo community.

The only reason to watch this is for the endless nudity from just about everyone involved. The beautiful women are rarely dressed and even when they have something on it usually exposes boobs or bush or both. Hell, the only reason this film has anything to do with Voodoo, as far as I can gather, is so Jess Franco could incorporate shots of beautiful dark skinned people baring it all. VOODOO PASSION could have easily had a few different plot details and the there would be no need for Voodoo at all.  Really, this film isn't good at all. If you're a Franco completist or really want to see an underwhelming sexploitation film, you can give it a shot.

The Audio & Video
At least the A/V is good. Ascot Elite has proven to be a top notch company with their Jess Franco Golden Goya releases. VOODOO PASSION looks very good overall. There are a couple instances of DNR but for the majority of the film has a very natural look with great detail and color. The only way to watch this in an English friendly manner is with the DTS-HD 5.1 English track. It sounds great. There's no background noise or hiccups in the audio. 

The Extras
Trailers and a stills gallery are included.

The Bottom Line
This is far from Jess Franco's best work and despite its fantastic looking and sounding disc I can only recommend this film to Franco super fans.

VOODOO PASSION is available HERE

Blue Rita (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite

Switzerland, France/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Jess Franco
Starring:
Color/79 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 18, 2014

The Film
Rita runs a popular strip club where men who are believed to be rich and undercover agents are held captive, stripped naked and tortured. These men are pushed to within inches of their limits of sexual sanity, especially when Rita douses them in her secret green potion that makes the men horny to sign over their bank accounts and tell all of their secrets.

BLUE RITA is not a film that will engross you with it's story. This is purely Jess Franco stroking himself visually. And that isn't a bad thing because BLUE RITA is one of the most visually striking and appealing films I've seen in a long time. Of course there is the group of women who are naked for the duartion, it is like they don't know what clothes are. Beyond that however, are colorful rooms, packed with inflatable furniture, tin foil doors and cellophane curtains. Even the cell the men are kept in is striking as it is below the floor and covered in spikes so the angles the viewers are exposed to are cool.

I have no idea if BLUE RITA was improvised, it certainly could be with the random inclusion of the Eastern Block part of the story. It seems like the movie just skips around getting from one naked lady filled scene or one extravagantly dressed or lit set piece. Franco has done better, but to date I'm not sure he's been so visually striking in any of his films I've seen. 

The Audio & Video
A visually stunning film deserves a visually stunning Blu-ray and Ascot Elite has done that. The 16x9 (1.78:1) transfer looks very good. There is a bit of light DNR applied to clean things up a bit but the film still retains a natural look and a light grain structure. Skin tones are fleshy and healthy while the colors are vibrant. Detail is strong as well. The only English friendly audio option is an English dub track which isn't the way I'd prefer to watch it, but it'll have to do. Some of the voice acting is crappy to say the least. The quality of the audio itself is quite good however. There's virtually no background noise and the DTS-HD 5.1 track is full bodied, and crisp with excellent mixing on the levels.

The Extras
-Interview with actor Eric Falk
-Trailers
-Still gallery

The Bottom Line
A bizarre mix of exploitation and art house, BLUE RITA ends up being something very distinct. I haven't decided if I'm a fan of it yet but I certainly won't be forgetting it any time soon. If you're inclined to check out the movie this disc is the way to do it.

BLUE RITA is available HERE

42nd Street Forever: The Peep Show Collection Vol 2

USA/1970s-80s
Directed By: Various
Written By: Various
Starring: Desiree Cousteau, Candida Royalle, John Holmes
Color/129 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: June 3, 2014

The Film
Things start off with a few straight forward reels filled with more facials than the local salon before we get into a home invasion rape, some lesbian scenes and orgies, this collection of short stag films is pretty crucial for your collection of vintage skin flicks. This is the type of thing you might want to grab a couple bottles of wine and throw on with that special someone for a bit of a different evening. Or you can close the windows and enjoy it by yourself.

The 42nd STREET FOREVER series has featured from just about every genre under the sun with trailer and short film compilations. There may be no releases more historically significant to fringe cinema in the line than the volumes of the PEEP SHOW COLLECTIONS.

The Audio & Video
These short films have been taken from 8mm reels, remastered in HD and transferred to DVD for the first time by Impulse Pictures. The materials have been kept in decent condition for their age and subject matter. Scratches and other light deterioration are the norm here but I wouldn't have it any other way. These reels will likely never look better. There was no sound recorded for these films so they're silent aside from the sound of the projector running them. 

The Extras
Liner notes from Cinema Sewer publisher Robin Bougie are included

The Bottom Line
Its grimy, its a bit beat up and its just the way you think of something under the 42nd STREET FOREVER banner.

42nd STREET FOREVER: PEEP SHOW COLLECTION VOLUME 2 is available HERE

Sugar Cookies (Blu-ray Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1971
Directed By: Theodore Gershuny
Written By: Theodore Gershuny, Lloyd Kaufman
Starring: Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowry, George Shannon
Color/91 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: June 3, 2014

The Film
Erotic film star Alta (Lynn Lowry) dies of a gunshot wound while with her big time producer Max (George Shannon). The death isn't exactly an accident and is a bit more bizarre than it seems. Max asks his partner and Alta's agent Camilla (Mary Woronov) for an alibi which she gives him without hesitation. Camilla goes about looking for a replacement for Alta when she discovers an unexperienced girl, willing to do anything to be an actress named Julie (Lowry). As time passes it becomes clear to Julie that Max and Camilla want nothing more than to turn her into a clone of Alta, on screen and off and Julie fears for her life.

Dubbed by writer/producer Lloyd Kaufman as "the only X-rated film to lose money", SUGAR COOKIES is far from your typical X-rated fare. There's no hardcore action here and barely anything that could you could even call softcore sex. SUGAR COOKIES was marketed, perhaps mistakenly, to the porn theater crowd instead of playing up it's bizarre relationships and deceitful intentions to the midnight exploitation movie and perhaps even arthouse movie crowds. Director Theodore Gershuny gets great performances out of his three leads. Future cult film legends Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000, Rock N Roll High School) and Lynn Lowry (The Crazies, I Drink Your Blood) have excellent chemistry together and play off of each other well. Lowry may have never been better than she is here. George Shannon is completely on board with his role of Max the nasty producer. And the soundtrack features a great poppy rock score along with a great theme song.

SUGAR COOKIES' biggest problem is the subplot involing Max's family. While it adds slightly to his despicable nature it never really integrates with the rest of the film and seems like it was just something for the Max character to do to occupy time until he was needed with Camilla and Julie. Even with that issue SUGAR COOKIES is still a very interesting early film involving Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman (who would later distribute the film through Troma) and favorite cult and exploitation actors.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome has released SUGAR COOKIES in a pretty fantastic looking Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The HD transfer has nice color representation, and healthy, natural skin tones. Detail levels are good and there's no DNR or edge enhancement. The HD mono audio track sounds as good as you'd hope SUGAR COOKIES would sound. I did notice a tiny bit of background noise but the sound is crisp, mixed beautifally and sounds great overall.

The Extras
-New video interview with writer/producer Lloyd Kaufman
-New video interview with star Lynn Lowry
-Video interview with star Mary Woronov
-Original theatrical trailers

The Bottom Line
You may not have heard of SUGAR COOKIES before but that is no reason to write it off. If the names attached to it don't pique your interest enough to buy it than hopefully this review did because it is a very cool film deserving of your time and attention. Vinegar Syndrome nailed it!

SUGAR COOKIES is available HERE

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (Blu-ray Review) - Cult Epics

USA/1977
Directed By: George Barry
Written By: George Barry
Starring: Demene Hall, William Russ, Julie Ritter
Color/80 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date:

The Film
In 1972 George Barry set out to make a horror film and over the next few years, when time and money allowed, he would film it until it finally was completed in 1977. Barry shopped the film around to various distributors, entering talks with a few of them but ultimately never striking a deal. Time passed and Barry went on with his life forgetting about it until he stumbled upon an internet message board topic asking if anyone had seen a particular film. The film in question was DEATH BED, his film. He quickly realized that a bootleg copy had been made back in the 70s and it had been circulated around Europe as a bootleg for years. The film's following was small, but he was shocked to see that people had seen his film and that it had a following at all. Skip ahead to 2003, over 30 years since production began and Cult Epics released the film officially for the first time on DVD.

A strange mix of horror, poetry and fairy tale, DEATH BED is the story of a demonic bed that will consume anything that happens to be on it, while it's owner is trapped inside of a painting of the bed and is powerless to stop it. Well, that's the basic gist of it anyways. DEATH BED is a fever dream, something a mind pushed to the brink of boiling madness could think of. That or a really dumb idea while smoking a bowl. It's a cheap film, independently produced around Michigan, the effects in the film aren't Rick Baker or Tom Savini quality effects. They're amateurish and somehow it all lends to the overall atmosphere and feel of the film. DEATH BED will suck you in, you won't be able to stop watching and before too long you'll realize that you're having a great time watching this incredibly odd piece of horror. 

The Audio & Video
How did Cult Epics pull together a nice looking and sounding Blu-ray? I suppose the same question was asked about the DVD a decade ago. Either way this is a film that certainly wasn't stored in a climate controlled room, or even with the basic intentions of keeping it around for future use. This film was abandoned and luckily materials stayed in good enough condition for Cult Epics to give us a solid release. The HD transfer is pretty sharp, with healthy skin tones and good detail levels, all things considered. Colors are lively and vibrant enough while the audio track, a 2.0 HD stereo track ( a 5.1 HD surround is also available) is well mixed and fairly crisp. There's a bit of background noise but it is far from intrusive.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with George Barry and Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA
-Introduction by George Barry
-New introduction by Stephen Thrower
-George Barry and Stephen Thrower have a conversation on horror films of the 70s and 80s (you need to watch this for some awkward hilarity at the end!)
-Behind-The-Scenes of DEATH BED in Detroit
-Original music credit track

The Bottom Line
When I think of movies that have been given the Blu-ray treatment it amuses me that oddities like DEATH BED have made the cut. Nobody would have batted an eye if this movie was never rediscovered but it was, and it's here and I fucking love it. I love the odd nature of the film and the great presentation it has been given. 

DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS is available HERE