Mike Lester's Blog, page 8

Saturday Sinema #11 - Malenka (aka Fangs Of The Living Dead)

Anita Ekberg finds out she's some kind of countess and inherits a castle. The only bummer is the place comes complete with cobwebs and an effete John Hurt lookalike. Oh yeah, and a bunch of vampires. Yowza! Great shit from the legendary Amando de Ossorio. Dig in and chew thoroughly before swallowing....

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPZOwW...

Full Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TVWM4...

Bonus Short: Eurotika - Spanish Horror http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oknc1P...

For more on de Ossorio and the wonderful world of 60s Spanish sleaze, check out this wonderful tome:

Saturday Sinema #10 - Diary Of An Erotic Murderess

Dick Conte is one wealthy bastard. His kid is fucked in the head and won't speak a word to anyone. So he hires Marisa Mell to move into his pad to try to break through to the lad...but she has other ideas.... Goddam, why couldn't I have had a governess like Marisa Mell? Keep your eyes peeled for those ubiquitous J&B bottles....

Full Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vUin...

Marisa Mell, taken way too soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFGLxB...

Saturday Sinema #9 - So Sweet...So Perverse

"You're not jealous, you're just bitchy..." The dialogue in this week's flick is peppered with gems like this. Jean Louis Trintignant finds himself caught up in a sticky love triangle with Carrol Baker and Erika Blanc in what may be the most convoluted giallo ever made (and that's saying something ladies and gents...). Soon their debauchery leads to double-cross and murder..... You can't go wrong with ANY Umberto Lenzi giallo; they're all amazingly groovy even if you don't know what the fuck is going on. Anyway, if you're faithfully playing the J&B game you won't know what's going on after the first reel.... Dig it!

Full Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkAi2f...

Bonus Short: "Eurotika Episode 7: So Sweet...So Perverse" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTVm8o...

Saturday Sinema #8 - The Corruption of Chris Miller

Jean Seberg and her naughty, fucked up daughter live in an isolated farmhouse all by their lonesomes....that is until a swinging 70s-type drifter shows up in their barn. They put him to work, and he ends up mowing more than just the lawn. He nails Seberg early on, but will he get in her daughter's pants? And if he does, will he survive? Oh yeah, there's also a maniac running around the countryside slashing people with a scythe. And a creepy Charlie Chaplin-themed murder at the very beginning. Fun stuff. Check it out.

Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql_Wk...

For more on the lovely, tragic Jean Seberg, I recommend these fine books:








***Movie link fixed

Saturday Sinema #7 - Hallucination Generation

You are invited to a pill party! This is what the posters promised theatergoers back in '66, and it was no lie.... There's pills-a-plenty (among other things) as you journey into the underworld with the hipsters, the beatniks, the sickniks.... Watch a group of young drop-outs in paradise go south real fast when they hook up with an older cat who slings.... Fun stuff! Enjoy!

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9riK_D...

Full Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w66ds7...

Bonus Short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSmu_J...

Also, dig into some fine reading after the movie:

Saturday Sinema #6 - Death Walks at Midnight

Valentina, a beautiful fashion model (aren't they always?),takes an experimental drug and has wild hallucinations. Soon she finds herself being stalked by a Phil Spector lookalike with the most peculiar taste in hand wear.... Groovy music and massive J&B sightings abound in this wonderful giallo starring the lovely Nieves Navarro (aka Susan Scott)....

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5MI-s...

Full movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-hrFJ...

Saturday Sinema #5 - The Case of the Bloody Iris

A prime example of what a giallo should be, this one features the amazingly beautiful Edwige Fenech as a fashion model on the run from a psychotic nut. I really can't blame the guy for stalking her; wait until you see her scene with the motorcycle and the body paint. We also get a groovy pop art night club act featuring a feisty dancer, lots of knee high boots, and a gay Woody Allen look-alike fashion photographer...

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiY76g...

Full movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41GZJj...

Edwige Fenech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsQO7H...

**Remember to play the J&B scotch drinking game with this one (as you should with any Italian film from the 60s and 70s)! One shot each time a J&B bottle appears on screen. Look carefully! Some are obvious, some are tricky. Multiple shots per number of bottles shown in each scene (two bottles on screen at the same time = two shots, etc....)

To learn more about the wonderful world of the Giallo I recommend these fine publications:

Saturday Sinema #4 - A Bell From Hell

The ultimate dysfunctional teen is released from some kind of institution and goes to the countryside to live in a house with his three nubile cousins and a creepy aunt. Hilarity ensues. Actually, though, this dark little Spanish number has a mood about it that few movies can seem to match these days. It reminds me of Stephen Gregory's stories, or Ramsey Campbell's. There's also a strange, trippy Gandalf of the woods-type character wavering about in the backstory. My only complaint would be the real abattoir footage that seems to have found its way into some 60s and early 70s Spanish cinema. The director jumped to his death from the very bell tower featured in the film on the last day of shooting. A perfect film for the holiday season....Enjoy!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8qls...

Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TgFq...

Saturday Sinema #3 - The Bobo

Sure, Peter Sellers was completely off his rocker, but he made some wonderful films. Criminally underrated, The Bobo is a strange mixture of mid-60s lighthearted comedy, a dash of melancholy, and some pretty intense flamenco.

Bobo drinking game: 1 shot whenever the words "Manchego cheese" are uttered.

Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW2K4...

To learn more about how incredibly insane Sellers was in real life, I recommend these two books:

Saturday Sinema #2 - Diabolik (aka Danger: Diabolik)

This week I've got Mario Bava's pop art masterpiece, Diabolik. Better than Bond, badder than Batman, Diabolik is a master thief who will go to any lengths to pull off his heists.... Filmed with style, filled with color and light-hearted fun, Diabolik is one of the greatest movies ever adapted from a comic book and easily one of the best movies ever made. I dare you not to get the theme song stuck in your head.....

Starring John Philip Law as Diabolik, the amazing Marisa Mell as his sidekick and muse Eva....featuring Adolfo Celi and Terry-Thomas....

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

Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKkPj...

Also, check out these groovy Diabolik comics: