Eurotrash Pinnacle Project-The Hungover Gourmet Dishes!

Dan Taylor, the mad genius behind The Hungover Gourmet and Exploitation Retrospect gives us his top ten Eurotrash films today-a fun mix of "classics" drenched in trashy goodness. Give his sites a chance and if you EVER get to try this mans pulled pork sandwich you'll be a hungover gourmet fan for life. Promise.

I'm thinking of Pulled Pork while contemplating the greatness of Demons-Lamberto Bava and Dan Taylor should be proud. Yum. Demons... I mean..uh..pork.

1) NOSFERATU: Not just my favorite Herzog/Kinski flick, but the first
Kinski flick I ever saw.
2) THE GREAT SILENCE: I'm no Spaghetti Western fan, but this is a
standout with Kinski stealing the flick as a vicious, vicious villain.
3) HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE: Maybe the definitive Eurotrash movie.
Naschy stars as a vengeful, lovesick hunchback who hooks up with an
evil scientist.
4) THE BEYOND: As much as I love other stuff from Fulci, I really
consider this his masterpiece.
5) TENEBRAE: Argento at his "paint the screen red" finest.
6) NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES: My all-time fave DAWN OF THE DEAD rip-off. I
think it's brilliant but many hate it.
7) DEMONS: Still remember seeing this in the theater and being blown
away.
8) RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD: The second of the Blind Dead flicks, it
just nudges out the first and fourth entries in the series.
9) HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB: More kitchen sink cinema from the mind
of Naschy.
10) CANNIBAL FEROX: Crazoid jungle gut-munching with a brain-pounding
soundtrack.

Eurotrash Pinnacle Project-The Groovy One!

Here comes the lists...these are the top 10 Eurotrash Films from a wide variety of viewers-and when I think of a man with wide interests, Curt Purcell comes to mind. Check out his GROOVY AGE OF HORRORS blog if you don't believe me... Also, you can read three chapters of his novel-which celebrates the groovy edge of fairy tales-by going here!

Some great choices with a focus on horror here. The Groovy guys vibe is strong on the Naschy-and I agree with his assessment of Night Of The Werewolf. Julia Saly is easy on the eyes in that film for sure (how do you like that for deep critique???)-and it was one of the first Naschy films I found, hidden under the title of The Craving on US Video.

VAMPYRES--the sheer enthusiasm of the girls in combining sex, violence, and blood drinking

NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF--the best Daninsky, to my mind; Naschy's own
directorial remake that improves on an already awesome eurotrasher,
WEREWOLF VS. VAMPIRE WOMEN

WOLFMAN NEVER SLEEPS--my first Naschy, and still a sentimental fave

DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE--Erika Blanc, her costumes, her character, and the
way she switches between succubus and demon

BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE--my personal favorite Argento

OPERA--I saw this back to back with BIRD, and the amazing violence of
this one really made an impression

EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN--Franco's mind-boggling sexy monster rally

FEMALE VAMPIRE--speaking of Franco, this one's just awesome . . . ah, Lina!

ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER--Fulci's super-groovy proto-giallo, a personal
fave.

KILL BABY KILL--gotta have a Bava, and this one looks so fantastic;
the most beautiful gothic I've ever seen.

The Eurotrash Film Pinnacle Project begins!

As I mentioned a few days back, I'll be compiling lists of top 10's from various luminaries of the fan world, as well as people like me... the average joe that just loves to watch his trash films and chat 'em up. What I'm hoping to do is figure out what the fans of Eurotrash film like the most-count up the repeats and rank up some stats. While it is simple, the actual numbers in and of themselves are a diversion really. I hope these lists will work for you as they do for me... a shopping list of things you have yet to see. Maybe a reason to dig out an old VHS or DVD and rewatch it-intrigued by the high regard others have for it. Or perhaps...just maybe, to see that you aren't alone in your like of some obscure film or another.
But what is meant by the term Eurotrash Cinema? For me, this phrase comes from Craig Ledbetter's ultra important, and still a great read even with the gap of years in publishing, ETC magazine. Craig came into my reading world at a great time, after being lured down the Euro Horror highway by writers like Tim Paxton (and the host of Monster! International scribes including Tim Lucas and Dave Todarello), Bob Sargent (ah, Videooze-where I first read of Thriller-A Cruel Picture) and Chas. Balun (with his Gorezone articles)-it was ETC that really got me obsessive. With a range as wide as could be, this magazine was gold on every page. Not to mention that you could easily drop a letter into the mail and get back an enthusiastic response from Craig about...well, anything!
What ETC showed me was that there was a lot more than Fulci and splatter out there... you had sleazy French sex romps, midgets vs. babysitters (well, that was all Bob's fault) and a world of bizarre action films to be discovered. That wide range is the tack I'm taking here. European Trash Cinema isn't Italian Horror, it isn't even horror exactly. It is disposable films, that by the sheer oddness, the crazy don't give a shit wackiness and yes...the stunning craftsmanship that can go into a movie all at the same time. It is about personalities like Paul Naschy that can write themselves into always having sex with a hot woman, even if they are playing a hunchback! It is about directors like Max H. Boulois that just want to tell stories like OTHELLO, THE BLACK COMMANDO! And yep, it is about nudity, violence, bad language, naughty situations and as much spaltter as you can take.
But don't forget it can be about Mario Bava and his careful lighting and inventive camera that roves and rips through tales of terror that will stay with you not just after you go to sleep, but forever. Or Jean Rollin and his one of kind beachfront property that only his vampires and virgins can inhabit.
It is about thrills-made in Europe. Spys, Robots, Black Gloved Maniacs, Naked Women, Groovy Chicks, Swinging Dicks (lots of those on show-ask Howard Vernon)...
It is about the things that make me smile when I'm staring at an 11th generation dupe of some Eurocine film I've long wanted to see (and in a language I don't understand) AND about the digital revelation of seeing the edges on Naschy's werewolf mask.
It's Eurotrash baby...just enjoy it.
So, tell me your favorites and I'll tell you mine. Tomorrow...we start!

Krimi Corner Newsletter! A Fanzine You Need!

With the rise of blogs (and blogspots like this), the web has become even more loaded with content. Sure, I used to have my own website, but this technology has made things so simple and easy that anyone...and I am amongst those anyones, can do it. But I do love to pull through my boxes of old fanzines-many contain articles and artwork that remains unavailable on the web. While there are a few magazines out there, the zine scene for horror has been by and large replaced in the casual readers market.
I was thrilled to see Latarnia.com owner, Mirek Lipinski, doing a print zine, and this one is a steal. It is a small four pager that brings back the look and feel of the best newsletters-and it covers the wild world of the Krimi film. If you don't know what that is, then all the better-because number 1 lets you know in no uncertain terms. A breed of thriller that pre-dates the popular Italian Giallo films, this is a genre ripe for rediscovery in the age of digital preservation. Issue one covers the often adapted Edgar Wallace and also includes a comprehensive review of Retromedia's Krimi double feature dvd from a ways back.
But it gets better...
You can subscribe to this cool zine for a very small investment and a big return
For the US the price is $2.oo for a sample issue or $8 for a five issue subscription folded in a regular envelope. If you want a flat copy subscription goes up to $10. Outside of the US is folded for $10. You can paypal to Mirelski@aol.com and be off to the races for lightning fast delivery.
You won't be disapointed!

Also, if you want to try something different but cool, check out Mirek's translations of Stefan Grabinski. You can get The Motion Demon at Shocklines HERE!