Mike Lester's Blog, page 2

Saturday Sinema #66 - Vengeance of the Zombies

I know what you're thinking. You're sitting there staring at your screen thinking Holy shit Mike, when are you going to post another Paul Naschy flick? Well, you can relax now. And just to show you how much I care I've got not one, but two Naschy's in this week's celluloid reach around. Good ole Jacinto plays twin brothers, one a somewhat normal (if you consider your older brother's '70s stoner friend normal) turban-wearing, Deepak Chopra-style guru, the other a fucked up voodoo madman who raises a posse of undead bitches to perform acts of murderous revenge for him. Fuck yeah! I want a posse of zombie chicks too! Anyway, what we have here is one of the unsung masterpieces of Euro-Grindhouse ass-kickery. Most reviewers knock this flick for its soundtrack, but I say a hearty fuck off to them. Don't listen to those squares, instead, pop several cool ones and kick back with Jacinto and the gals for one hell of an interesting (if not good) time... Love it.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TUuK...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeUXS...

Put on your favorite polyester leisure suit and groove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTjLK...

What really goes on at those Bilderberg meetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR1oH...

Naschy!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSPdc...

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Saturday Sinema #65 - The Red-Headed Corpse

You know you've got really shitty luck with women when even your favorite mannequin cheats on you. That's exactly what happens to poor sap Farley Granger in this weeks cinematic clusterfuck. Farley's a struggling artist trying to make a living off his paintings. Things are pretty dicey for him until he discovers an old mannequin one day and starts to use it as inspiration for his art. Things start picking up for him now that he has his new muse. Pretty soon it turns into red-headed bitch goddess Erika Blanc and, as is wont to happen in these situations, he gets obsessed with her. But she's a cheating bitch, naturally, and before you can say J&B, heads start to roll. This is a pretty groovy giallo, obscure for all the wrong reasons. Makes for a great double feature with that amazing celluloid abortion Mannequin, or, for the more adventurous of you out there, Mannequin 2: On The Move. Fuck yeah!

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyWRo...

Erika + Boots = Woodstock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD9_0...

They do, they really do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMjcD...

Something I've never understood:






Enjoy life, eat out more often: www.saturdaysinema.com

Saturday Sinema #64 - Black Sunday

Mario Bava does it again! This week we get not one but two Barbara Steeles; she plays dual roles - one a witch and the other an aloof, bitchy princess. Seems Princess Katia's ancestor Asa was burned at the stake for witchcraft back in the good ol' 1600s. But before the townsfolk lit the timbers they hammered a spiked steel mask to her face. Ouch! Back in the present, well, the 1800s at any rate, two doctors end up stranded at Katia's pad. They stumble across Asa's tomb, and wouldn't ya know, they end up resurrecting the bitch. Needless to say she's pissed. This was Mario Bava's first proper film, and it remains one of his most cherished among barfhounds and movie geeks. Filmed in glorious black and white, Black Sunday is a Gothic masterpiece and will kick your ass. Dig it.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5nV...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EssyE...

The Maestro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2PeN...

Mario lays it down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgVMQ...

Barbara!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGvk...

You can do it:







Feel the love: www.saturdaysinema.com

Saturday Sinema #63 - The Velvet Vampire

So, Luke Skywalker and Tim Curry's lovechild accepts an invitation to stay, along with his wife, with some naughty, freaky bitch at her place in the desert. Pretty soon it's obvious she's putting the moves on them. Turns out she's a vampire and plans to have her way with them... I fail to see the problem here. Made in the early '70s, this slick little grindhouse gem features the kicks of the day - namely dune buggies and swinging. There's a lot of nice female flesh on display here, but unfortunately there's a fair amount of dudity too - that's the risk we take as cineasts, kids. Now get that tube top on and enjoy a sanguineous trip back to the '70s - before you know it you'll be smoking grass and swapping spouses...

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6vKc...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsYlv...

Portishead needs to cover this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHEld...

Impress your neighbors:






Enjoy life, eat out more often: www.saturdaysinema.com

Saturday Sinema #62 - Cauldron of Blood

In the great tradition of House of Wax and Bucket of Blood, this week's flick features Boris Karloff as a blind sculptor whose handiwork is a little too lifelike. The movie starts with our protagonist on board a Pan Am flight, as all good gialli do. Then, after landing, some amazing customer service goes down at the ticket counter, and we quickly realize this is a science fiction movie. After that it's all Costa del Sol. Makes a great double feature with A Quiet Place to Kill, or maybe Ice Castles. Either way, kick back and relax; you've earned it after this damned week...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69PBk...

Big Bad Boris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4Wv...

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Saturday Sinema #61 - Succubus

"So, what's it about?" That's the one question I most hate to hear. Drives me up the wall. I can only imagine how batshit it must have driven Jess Franco. A quote from IMDb seems to sum up this week's story the best: "Janine Reynaud stars as a nightclub stripper who free-floats through a spectral 60's landscape littered with dream-figures, dancing midgets, and bizarre S&M games." Sounds kinda like Twin Peaks. Maybe this is what Twin Peaks would have been like if Franco had a go. Pretty damned amazing.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-fl6...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NorIK...

Franco!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chp1N...

One of the guys from Lynyrd Skynyrd gives Franco an award: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKABe...

Cat scratch fever:








Learn about the Force: www.saturdaysinema.com

Saturday Sinema #60 - Phenomena

Okay kids, I've got a fun one for us this week! What do you get when you take Jennifer Connelly, millions of insects, an intelligent chimpanzee, a psycho slasher, a school full of hormonal teenage girls, and a homicidal dwarf? You get one of the most kick-ass, full-frontally fucked-up movies of the '80s, that's what. Dario Argento was really letting it all hang out when he made this one. So, Jenny's dad is a famous actor, and you know what that means - he's never around. He sends his daughter off to some girl's academy in the alps for some fresh air. Trouble is, there's some crazy motherfucker running around town skewering people on the end of a really nasty spear. One night, after sleepwalking, Jenny meets a chimp. No shit. This brings her into contact with Donald Pleasance, who plays a kindly old entomologist who seems to have a kink for Jenny. Well, who can blame him, right? I mean, come on. Anyway, it seems she can communicate with insects, and this just thrills the doc, natch. Together they try to find out who the killer is. Lotsa fun from the maestro of Italian chunkblowers, Dario Argento. Let's hear it for the man!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mk6E...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3SVC...

You need this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fptz...

Jenny at the premiere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grrJW...

Iggy Pop & Dario Argento! Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksJTy...

Read damn you, read:








Leave your troubles behind: www.saturdaysinema.com

The Shadow of the Unknown

Very happy to see the expanded edition of The Shadow of the Unknown, which contains my newest story "The Courtier," finally in print. Coupled with Monk Punk, another anthology from the same editor in a nice omnibus edition, this sucker weighs in at over 500 pages. If you are in any way interested in Lovecraft, Ligotti, or weird tales in general I suggest picking this one up. Available in either paperback or kindle editions....

Saturday Sinema #59 - The Black Belly of the Tarantula

It's Giallo time again folks, and this week we've got a good one! The plot is pretty much standard fare for this genre; someone is going around town killing naughty nymphomaniacs with nasty needles. The police drive around and ask a lot of questions. Red herrings abound. You know the routine by now, right? This one features a great score from Ennio Morricone and not one, not two, but three Bond girls in the cast! Fuck yeah! So get your shot glasses handy and keep an eye out for those J&B bottles...

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeWCy...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFdWd...

The stunning Barbara Bouchet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hEwO...

Giallo style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfU--...

Read this!:





Secrets of Tantric sex revealed at www.saturdaysinema.com

Saturday Sinema #58 - Night of the Devils

This story by Tolstoy (Alexi, cousin of Leo), "The Family of the Vourdalak," previously filmed by Mario Bava as a segment of his film Black Sabbath, is one of the true gems in the realm of family entertainment. Basically, the shit goes down like this: A traveler ends up in the rural home of a skittish, paranoid peasant family. Seems the patriarch of the clan has just returned from an unsuccessful witch hunt, so their undies are in a bunch. Strange vampiric shenanigans ensue, and pretty soon it seems the whole damned family is getting infected... Made by Giorgio Ferroni, the chap responsible for the superlative Mill of the Stone Women, this is a nice modern take on Tolstoy's Gothic tale. Watch this one back-to-back with Bava's short for the true psychotronic cinematic freakout experience...

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWxWn...

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAvps...

Garko!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeUcf...

Read the original story here:






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