2016 Drive-In/Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge
2010 = 74
2011 = 80
2012 = 105
2013 = 60
2014 = 60
2015 = 62
Final Stats
Total =61 FTV =57 (93.4%)
Media DVD =50 BluRay =9 Streaming =2
By Decade
30's =1 40's =0 50's =4 60's =20 70's =21 80's =8 90's =1 00's =0 10's =1
(4 Commentaries and 1 Trailer Disk not counted in decade totals)
* = first time viewing
DVD unless otherwise noted
April 01
01. Betmen Yarasa Adam (Turkish Batman) (1973)* Streaming archive.org
When they can pull themselves away from the nudie club, Batman and Robin fight against a gang who guns down beautiful women. No subtitles so the plot is a little fuzzy. Nudity and laughs make it entertaining enough although the charm didn't quite make it through the entire hour long running time. The big fight at the end was pretty good. This Dynamic Duo rely more on acrobatic tricks than brute force. 4/10
02. Hell's Bloody Devils (1970)*
An undercover FBI agent tries to stop a shipment of counterfiet money from a Neo-Nazi group to the Mob. A motor cycle gang is working for the Nazis and a bunch of communists are against everybody. Not the biker film I thought it was but entertaining enough. It's not always clear who is shooting or chasing who or why but the acting and action is pretty good. Some well known stars including Broderick Crawford appear. Biker footage was added to a two year old spy movie to help sell it to the drive in market. It worked. JC 6/10
April 02
03. Angels From Hell (1968)* (4 Cult Movie Marathon Volume 2)
A biker returns to his club from a stint in the Marines and takes over which disrupts an understanding which the former leader had with the local cops and leads to trouble. The story went in a direction that I didn't anticipate and ended up being very good. Most of the acting was fine but there were several missed opportunities for just a little nudity - which was strangely absent. 7/10
04. Hell's Bloody Devils commentary with producer Samuel M. Sherman*
Good but not great commentary kind of runs out of steam before the end but does have some interesting details about the cast, crew, and what it takes to add material it a movie shot years before.
05. Attack of the Mayan Mummy (1964)* (Jerry Warren Collection Volume 2)
A scientist uses hypnotic regression on a young woman in order to locate a treasure hidden deep in a Mayan pyramid. Uses part of a Mexican film (The Aztec Mummy) and newly shot scenes consisting mainly of conversions explaining the plot. The source material was a little slow moving and Warren's additions don't help at all. Oddly watchable though, in a train wreck kind of way, I kind of enjoyed it but didn't care for the ending. There is one excellent scene from the original when the mummy first appears. 4/10
06. The Arena (1974)* (Roger Corman's Cult Classics Lethal Ladies Collection 2)
In ancient Rome the owner of an arena gets the idea to use female slaves as gladiators in order to beef up falling attendance. It's not a good idea. Peplum done New World Pictures style! Conceived as a female Sparticus with frequent topless scenes and filmed in Rome. Entertaining with leads Pam Grier and Margaret Markov doing a good job. 5/10
April 03
07. Mean Johnny Barrows (1976)*
Fred Williamson directed and stars in a story about a down on his luck vet who reluctantly becomes involved in a war between two mob families. Slow moving with action that isn't all that exciting but overall still interesting. Features one of the lamest (and funniest) martial arts fights I've ever seen. 5/10
08. The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968)*
A gang of rodeo bikers (!!) turns on one of their own when he dares to marry an outsider. Diane McBain, as the jealous and vengeful ex, leads a good cast in a tense and exciting story. Makes you wonder though, if it's really a good idea to ride horses or motorcycles in mini-skirts. Ouch! 7/10
09. Goose Boxer (1979)*
A goose roaster with a natural talent for martial arts becomes involved in a master's quest for revenge. I think. Kung fu comedy with little plot but a lot of action both comic and serious, well choreographed with many different styles. I only had a vague sense of what was going on but enjoyed the fights and the humor was pretty good too. With Charles Heung, Phillip Kao and Lee Hoi San. 5/10
10. Chatterbox (1977)* (4 Cult Movie Marathon Volume 2)
A woman's vagin* suddenly starts talking and singing which leads to problems and fame. A satrie that isn't too heavy handed and filled with very silly stuff. Luckily lead Candice Rialson is very attractive because we do see a lot of her. 5/10
April 04
11. Blood of Dracula's Castle aka Dracula's Castle (1969)*
A man and his girlfriend visit an old castle in the desert that he inherited only to find it has some strange occupants. TV version with additional werewolf footage. Not bad but just awful pacing and padding. Almost every scene, including the added footage which isn't bad, goes on too long. When I saw the shorter version years ago I disliked the upper middle class version of Dracula but that didn't bother me now. We do get a lot of John Carradine and Robert Dix as a psychotic killer is pretty good. I also liked Mango, the monstrous caretaker and there is a nice sacrifice but damn, that pacing. JC 3/10
April 05
12. Tiger Over Wall (1980)*
Corrupt police officials persuade an old umbrella maker to take the rap for the theft of a dog belonging to some Westerners. Only a few men are willing to stand up against the crooked cops. A surprising amount of story and not too many fights in the first two-thirds of this movie but the last part is all action. Starring Phillip Ko and Hwang Jang Lee. 5/10
13. The Naked Cage (1986)* (4 Cult Movie Marathon Volume 2)
Good girl Michelle gets inadvertently involved in a bank robbery due to her hopped up ex and escaped convict Rita. She ends up going to prison where she has to face the usual WIP problems (nasty warden, horny guard) and also Rita who blames Michelle for messing up the heist and is out for revenge. A heck of a lot goes on in this prison at night maybe because there just don't seem to be that many guards around. Absorbing sleazy story. 6/10
April 06
14. Savage Island (1985)* (4 Cult Movie Marathon Volume 2)
An undercover task force targets a slave camp where women are forced to mine emeralds. A women in prison picture with an island for the prison covers the basics: cat fights, showers, and sad*stic guards. Scenes with Linda Blair bracket scenes from two Spanish/Italian movies and she also does some narration. Holy Jerry Warren! The slave camp part is pretty good but near the end there is the most tedious chase through the jungle I've ever seen. 5/10
15. Candy Stripe Nurses (1974)* (Roger Corman's Cult Classics The Nurses Collection 2)
Three candy stripers get involved with one of their patients: a man accused of armed robbery, a collage basketball player, and a big rock star. I expected all boobs and no story but there were three pretty good stories (and some boobs). One of the nurses is the lovely Candice Rialson who was also in Chatterbox. Surprisingly fun. 6/10
April 07
16. Satan's sad*sts (1969)*
A motorcycle gang terrorizes the California desert. Solid biker film directed by Al Adamson with good pacing and decent B-level acting. Russ Tamblyn is particularly good as the murderous leader Anchor. Good sense of the outsider lives of the gang. Low budget shows mostly in the small cast (the gang only has six members) and somewhat limited action effects. 7/10
April 08
17. Sex & Fury (1973)*
In Tokyo in 1905 a thief and gambler searches for the people who killed her father which she saw when she was a little girl. More sex than fury by a bit. Standard revenge story with an outstanding performance by star Reiko Ike. Visually impressive often with bright colors and very stylish direction. One fight scene has the heroine stark naked with a sword taking on a horde of attackers outside in a snowstorm! Violent but lovely. For a while all we see are legs and feet in the snow with a limb falling to the ground occasionally. 8/10
April 09
18. Curse of the Stone Hand (1964)* (Jerry Warren Collection Volume 1)
Anthology movie with two stories about families living in an old cursed house. Jerry Warren mashup using two Chilean films from 1945 and 1946 and newly filmed framing sequences (which are pretty cool) and inserts for the second story. The first story seems to be just a condensed version of the original with narration a little dubbing. The second story has several inserts, often featuring John Carradine or Katherine Victor, a couple very tightly integrated into the movie. It seems like major changes were made to the story line here, especially given the tacked on ending which came out of left field but really made it all worth while. JC 5/10
19. Wandering Ginza Butterfly (1972)*
The former head of a female gang gets out of prison and tries to go straight working as a hostess at a bar but soon runs up against a yakuza boss who wants to take over the business. Standard plot but star Meiko Kaji is impressive and well supported by the rest of the cast. Not action packed but it does include a high staked game of billiards. 7/10
20. Death Trip (1967)* (Sinister Cinema)
In Istanbul, two agents battle an organization trying to steal a large quantity of LSD to use against NATO forces. Joe Walker (Kommissar X) and Captain Rowland seem pretty ineffective with most of the heavy lifting done by people they meet. Not as fanciful as other movies in the series. There are some nice touches in the final shootout in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. 5/10
21. The Bees (1978)* Blu Ray
Killer bees from South America are accidentally set loose the United States. Mayhem follows. What starts out as a standard killer bee plot takes a few crazy turns on the way to a surprising finish. The bee attack effects are OK but used too much. John Saxon is his usual dependable self, John Carradine has a nice big part but his German accent fades away once in a while, and Angel Thompkins is cute and perky as heck. JC 6/10
22. Queen of Blood (1966) Blu Ray
Astronauts from Earth are sent to Mars to rescue an ambassador from another world whose ship has crashed. One of my favorite films looks great on Blu Ray. Director Curtis Harrington does an excellent job of matching footage he filmed with that of a Russian movie which had spectacular special effects. Cast lead by John Saxon does a good job. 8/10
April 10
23. Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939) (Charlie Chan Vol. 4)
In Paris, on the eve of war, Charlie investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman and finds himself deep in international intrigue. Lesser Chan due to too much time spent on comic relief with Harold Huber who plays his typical overly excitable and incompetent police official. Although the film was made before the war started it comes down solidly against Hitler and warns of German diplomatic treachery. 4/10
24. Hooked (1957)* (SWV Delinquent Double Feature)
The police narcotics division investigates heroine use in a high school after a gym coach tells them that he suspects one of his students is using drugs. The story has just a touch of Dragnet style although the lead (Paul Kelly) is no Joe Friday. Sometimes the plot doesn't quite make sense and the acting isn't the best but both of these help keep it entertaining. The anti-drug message is hit hard several times. 5/10
25. The Flaming Teen-Age (1956)* (SWV Delinquent Double Feature)
Two stories that show the dangers of booze and drugs. Extra footage was added to an existing movie to make this. The additional scenes, about a father who takes his son around to the sleaziest bars in town to show him why drinking is evil, are the best part of the movie. The original, the true(?) story of Fred Garland who goes from candy store owner to drunk to junkie and ends up a preacher, is stupefyingly boring. 3/10
26. Devil's Express (1976)*
A New York martial artist has to deal with a Black-Chinese gang war and a horrible killer lurking in the subways. Everybody in the Hood knows kung fu! A blacksploitation kung fu horror movie sounds great but the execution is only adequate. Star Warhawk Tanzania has presence but his acting, like everyone else, isn't that good. Most of the fighters have nice moves but the fights seem like walkthroughs. A lot of gritty street scenes and quirky minor characters up the entertainment level. 6/10
April 11
27. The Black Klansman aka I Crossed the Color Line (1966)*
A light skinned black man (played by a white actor) shaves his goatee and gets a slicked back hairpiece and goes to Alabama to join the KKK in order to find out who threw the fire bomb that killed his young daughter. Well-intentioned and generally well made. Some of the material, like interracial romance, was probably more shocking when the film was made than today but the Klan scenes are still chilling. Directed by Ted V. Mikels. 6/10
April 12
28. Five Bloody Graves (1969)*
Ben Thompson seeks vengeance on a Yaqui chief who is on a rampage against whites and was responsible for the death of Thompson's wife. Narrated by Death! Good cast including Robert Dix as Thompson, Jim Davis as a sleazy gun runner and John Carradine in a great role as a preacher. It dragged a little in the middle and the end was kind of anticlimactic but overall a good, gritty effort with lots of nice scenery (but not in OAR). Not all that bloody but it does have a high body count - FIVE graves wouldn't be enough. JC 6/10
April 13
29. Satan's sad*sts commentary with producer Samuel M. Sherman*
This was better than the one for Hell's Bloody Devils with more info about the movie, Al Adamson and Independent-International Pictures. Sherman was listed as production consultant for this picture.
April 14
30. Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)* (The Russ Meyer Collection R2)
The philandering owner of a topless bar, his frustrated wife, and his bartender get involved with each other and an oddly incompetent pair of thieves trying to break into the bar's wall safe. The first half of this Russ Meyer movie is all bouncing breasts and soft core sex scenes while the second half plays out as a violent crime drama. The wife does have a bit of a character arc but the effort spent to get into the safe, which couldn't have more than a couple hundred bucks in it, seems ridiculous. Occasional bits of humor pop up some intentional, some not. 5/10
April 15
31. Delinquent Schoolgirls (1975)* (VCI Psychotronica Collection)
Three "sexual deviants" escape from an institution and find their way to a reform school for girls (with big chests). The humor is broad and often tacky but it got a few chuckles out of me at first. By the time we saw the same jokes the third time around I was getting antsy. The "girls" were nice looking though and I've sat through worse. 4/10
April 16
32. Dream No Evil (1973)* (VCI Psychotronica Collection)
A woman finally finds her father who left her when she was a child only to discover that he has just died - or has he? A note before the movie says this was edited before release to get a PG rating instead of an R. Not the incoherent mess promised by the blurb on the back of the DVD case. A narrator does fill in some blanks but very early on also spoils what should be a big revelation that is sufficiently explained at the end. Actually pretty well done with some good acting which balances some not so good. Nice surreal feel at times. 6/10
33. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964)*
An amusem*nt park fortune teller hypnotizes slacker Jerry and sends him out to kill. She also has a back room full of disfigured men who have offended her. I think. Somebody help me, I really enjoyed this movie. There may be a few too many musical numbers used for padding but I liked them all as well as the dream sequence. The plot makes little sense and the acting is often lame but this is just pure cheesy goodness from start to finish. 6.5/10
34. Enter the Ninja (1981)* Blu Ray
A westerner who has just officially become a ninja visits an old army buddy in the Philippines and finds plenty of trouble including another ninja. No surprises here. Christopher George plays a standard issue overly quirky bad guy and the action scenes are adequate and plentiful. The comeuppances could have been better. 5/10
35. The Creeping Terror (1964) (BCI Drive-In Cult Classics Vol. 2)
Creatures from outer space terrorize a small town in California. One of of the funniest bad movies ever made. The DVD booklet says this was originally intended as a spoof of SF movies so some of this may have been intentional but a lot comes from the shoddy production values and acting. Many have dumped on the monsters. I think they were the best part of the movie with an imaginative non-anthropomorphic design which looks pretty good in closeups. Even the monsters' movement, similar to a multi-person Chinese dragon costume, looks unearthly from the right angle. 6.5/10
April 17
36. Santo in the Hotel of Death (1961)*
Santo helps the police investigate several strange murders at a resort hotel. Very good Santo movie is a straight mystery/crime drama with just a touch of strangeness thrown in at the end. One of the police detectives has a watch-like Santo Signalling Device and Santo himself has a very Alfred like manager and a cool basem*nt lab. 7/10
37. Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler (1972)*
Meiko Kaji returns as Nami, with Sonny Chiba, to avenge the death of her father, who was a gambler. Similar to the original, most of the action is in the finale. Not quite as good as that one but still very entertaining. 6/10
38. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? commentary with Joe Bob Briggs*
Good commentary with a few really funny lines and some good insights into the cast. I didn't think the film was as incomprehensible as Joe Bob claimed.
April 18
39. Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture (1973)*
Reiko Ike returns as Ocho in the sequel to Sex & Fury in which she seeks vengeance on a drug gang who tortured her and on a man who killed a yakuza boss who befriended her when she was a girl. More nakedness and brutality than in the original but not as much action. The story seems more convoluted and the weirdness factor is upped quite a bit as is the sleaze. Not as visually elegant though. 6/10
40. La Resa Dei Conti aka The Big Gundown (1967)* Blu Ray
A successful manhunter goes after a young Mexican accused of raping and killing a twelve year old girl but the prey proves to be cleverer than anticipated. Leads Lee van Cleef and Tomas Millan are excellent and everything else about the movie is top notch. 7/10
April 19
41. Gone with the Pope (2010)* Blu Ray
Four ex-cons hatch a plan to kidnap the Pope. Low budget and kind of odd but entertaining. Star, producer, and director Duke Mitchell sings several songs on the soundtrack and I think he sounds good. I enjoyed the whole film but the end really sealed the deal. Shot in 1975 but not premiered until 2010, thirty years after Duke Mitchell's death. 6/10
April 20
42. Night Call Nurses (1972)* (Roger Corman's Cult Classics The Nurses Collection 2)
The adventures of three psychiatric nurses who work in a large hospital. Gratuitous skydiving, water skiing, and psychoanalysis followed by nudity and soft core sex. I didn't find the stories as interesting as those in Candy Stripe Nurses but a sudden eruption of action and violence at the end gives a satisfying conclusion. 5/10
April 22
43. Ms. 45 (1981)* Blu Ray
After being raped twice in one day, a mute young woman starts taking revenge on all men. Very well made movie which almost becomes just a series of killings but avoids that by showing the woman's growing aggressiveness and feelings of power. Stylishly directed with good acting. Bloody climax works perfectly. 8/10
April 23
44. Casus Kiran (Turkish Spy Smasher) (1968)* Streaming archive.org
Masked hero Spy Smasher and his hot female sidekick/girlfriend battle bad guys who are trying to do bad things in Istanbul. Lots of pretty well done action but only the vaguest of plots. Spy Smasher was an American comic book hero who was also featured in a Republic Serial. Several aspects were taken from the original including the costume, the motorcycle and the head villain known as The Mask, who ironically has a pretty crappy mask in all incarnations. What the original did not have was the female partner in a mini-skirt and dark glasses. Yow-zha. 5/10
April 24
45. Have a Good Funeral, My Friend ... Sartana Will Pay (1970)* (Sartana: The Complete Saga)
Sartana helps a beautiful woman whose murdered uncle left her his land. Very entertaining with Sartana outwitting his opponents at every turn and shooting straighter than any of the henchmen. The plot has some good twists and the standard supply of quirky characters. 7/10
April 25
46. Blood of Ghastly Horror (1971)*
A scientist implants an electronic device into the brain of a critically wounded soldier and it saves his life but turns him into a sad*stic killer. The result of a couple of attempts by Al Adamson to beef up an early crime movie of his is a bit of a mess. It can be difficult to tell just which flashback you're in but the story does seem to hang together with some work and there are TWO mad scientists for your viewing pleasure. The big problem is that the original movie doesn't seem like it was any good and the added footage is only a little better but is more entertaining due to schlocky strangeness. I wasn't ever totally bored but came close once or twice. JC 3/10
April 26
47. Mars God of War (1962)* (Sinister Cinema)
Mars is sent to save a city from barbarians and falls in love with a mortal woman so he gives up his godhood then, surprisingly, nothing exciting happens. There's a good siege battle at the start but that's almost all of the action we get. There is an OK looking but lame monster at the end along with a small melee. There are a couple of kind of good sets. Very lukewarm on this one. 4.5/10
April 27
48. Blood of Ghastly Horror commentary with producer Samuel M. Sherman*
Interesting story of how this film came to be after undergoing several transformations and at least two rounds of adding new scenes. Sherman runs out of things to say before the movie is over but still worth hearing.
49. The Police Connection aka The Mad Bomber (1973)*
A mad bomber is terrorizing Los Angeles and only a serial rapist can identify him. Scripted, produced and directed by Mr. B.I.G. himself, Bert I. Gordon, and a surprisingly good film. Much more blood, nudity and even sleaze than I expected from Gordon's cheesy sci-fi movies. Well paced, well acted and genuinely suspenseful at times. Has Gordon made any more like this? 7/10
April 28
50. Santo at the Border of Terror (1981)*
Illegal immigrants from Mexico to the US end up working at a ranch where they become victims of a mad scientist. A very late El Santo movie and it shows. There are two wrestling matches and four songs! The sets range from shabbily furnished to empty rooms, the acting is below par even for a Santo movie, and once the plot kicks in Santo spends much of the time tied up. He moves and dresses like a middle-aged man, which I guess he was by then. Sad. 3/10
51. Revenge of the Ninja (1983)* Blu Ray
A ninja and his son go to America to find peace but find betrayal and death. I liked this much more than Enter the Ninja. There's lots of decent action and a variety of ninja tricks and weapons, not to mention a good looking blond and a cool looking psycho-ninja. There are some absurdities in the plot but it's never less than entertaining. Cheesy and delicious! 7.5/10
April 29
52. Blackbelt (1992)*
Don "The Dragon" Wilson plays an ex-cop hired to protect an up and coming singer whose manager is involved with the mob and who is being stalked by a crazed, and very big, martial arts expert. Very good, very exciting movie with lots of action. Wilson has grown on me since I first saw him in the Ring of Fire trilogy. The man can't really act but he sure can kick. 7/10
53. Vixen! (1968)* (The Russ Meyer Collection R2)
Vixen - vivacious, free-spirited, insatiable, and a racist - lives in the Canadian wilderness and loves her bush pilot husband who is often away so she must fine satisfaction with others. The first half of the film has many pleasant sex scenes and almost no plot. A story suddenly pops up when an Irish communist tries to hijack the plane for a trip to Cuba! His commie claptrap and Vixen's racism try to provide a message for the viewer but don't quite make it. An enjoyable watch. 6/10
April 30
54. Creature of the Walking Dead (1965)* (Jerry Warren Collection Volume 2)
A doctor finds his great grandfather's notes and brings him back to life using blood from living human beings. Jerry Warren adds narration to what seems like a pretty good Mexican horror movie made in 1960 and also adds some pointless scenes of his own. The source material has atmosphere and a nice lab set along with OK makeup for the dead guy. The additions have some of the worst dialog ever. 5/10
55. The Pom Pom Girls (1976)* (BCI Drive-In Cult Classics Vol. 3)
Cheerleaders and football players at Rosedale High pair up, play pranks, and get ready for the big game with rival Hardin High. Above average teen sex comedy provided me with several laughs. Favorite parts included the cheer leading tryouts and the big games itself. I found one of the leads to be more annoying than likeable but the rest of the cast was fine. 6/10
56. Malibu Beach (1978)* (BCI Drive-In Cult Classics Vol. 3)
School's out and it's time for fun at the beach and cruising around town. No reals laughs for me here but I still had fun watching this. A little more high school romance than silly comedy, there was a lot of nice eye candy especially on the beach. I wonder just how old these high school kids are since they routinely hit bars and buy beer. And where do they get all those great cars? 5/10
57. Ninja III The Domination (1984)* Blu Ray
Upon his death, the spirit of an evil ninja enters the body of a beautiful aerobics instructor/telephone line worker and causes her to start killing the police officers who gunned him down. Kept me interested throughout but I didn't really care for either of the two leads and the movie only really took off when Sho Kosugi went into action near the end, which did result in a good final ninja battle. 5/10
58. Frankenstein's Daughter (1958)*
Working for an older scientist the original Frankenstein's grandson and an old family assistant secretly try to create life using modern technology and a woman's brain believing the creation will be easier to control. Not the best 50's sf movie aimed at teens but better than many. Low budget but some good sets, OK acting, and an exciting finish. The monster makeup works fine. John Zaremba who was the lead scientist in The Time Tunnel plays a police lieutenant. 6/10
59. Missile to the Moon (1958)
A scientist convinces two escaped convicts to be his crew on a trip to the moon when he discovers that the government is going to take over his rocket project. Considered as a remake of Cat Women of the Moon (but who would really want to do that??) there are a few new twists thrown in like the cons and the rock creatures. The low budget could not be overcome here, although the spaceship interior isn't that bad and one or two interior shots on the moon look OK. Not too much of a chore to get through but very familiar stuff. 4.5/10
60. They Saved Hitler's Brain (1968)* (BCI Drive-In Cult Classics Vol. 2)
One of only two scientists who knows the formula for the antidote to a deadly nerve gas is killed and the other is kidnapped. The world's most domesticated government agent goes to South America with his wife to rescue the professor. TV version of The Madmen of Mandoras with around 20-25 minutes of new footage added at the beginning. After that the film runs pretty much as the original. The new material is even worse than the original. 4/10
61. Trailer War (2012)* Blu Ray
Some great trailers here. I watched this over the course of the challenge and finished up as sort of a preview of next year.
Spoiler:
