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Gappa
Aka Gappa the Triphibian
Monster . Aka Daikayoju Gappa. Aka
Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. Directed
by Harunasu Noguchi. Special Effects
by Akira Watanabe.
I
remember the frustration I felt as a youngster who loved the
giant monster genre but – in the prehistoric era before
video and cable – had to experience such cool kaiju
fare as GAPPA (1967) solely via the pages
of such die-for mags as FAMOUS MONSTERS and CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
Of
course, that’s one of the hidden pleasures of discovering
flix like this that you were “forced” to miss
due to regional obscurity or plain non-availability –
they have hidden joys only those “in the know”
can ever truly appreciate. It’s like not knowing the
lyrics of the opera; sure, you can let the emotion of the
voices carry you, but… it doesn’t replace knowing
what the hell they’re singing about!
GAPPA
is like a mish-mash of all the great giant monster flix
rolled into one rollicking adventure. Equal parts GODZILLA,
RODAN, GORGO and KING KONG, too, GAPPA
aims to please the “inner child” devoted to
this genre and pays off handsomely for knowledgeable devotees.
Though
it “suffers” from the usual production limitations
of the era (i.e. dubbing done on the cheap and freely with
the adaptation at that), GAPPA also has
the aforementioned classics’ strengths: good pacing,
good effects, and just enough  narrative
‘surprises’ to keep it from getting stale before
the final reel. In short, it’s primo kaiju.
The
story is the largely a variation on GORGO with the foolish
explorers unwisely removing the jungle natives’ God
(or, in this case, a baby Gappa), which understandably ignites
Mr. and Mrs. Gappas’ fury at the Gap’napping.
Ala RODAN, the pair go on a rampage, seeking to  destroy
as many bitchin’ model cities along the way as they
can possibly rubberfoot. Their mission: recover junior,
toy tanks be damned!
One
of the main reasons GAPPA works so well
overall is that it has the hand – albeit in a legit
way – of GODZILLA’s own special effects maestro,
Eiji Tsuburaya, invisibly gracing it. That’s  because
Watanabe, who did GAPPA’s effects,
was a protégé of Tsuburaya. In fact, this
effort was even discreetly filmed on standing sets at Tsuburaya’s
own studios, thereby adding a familiar albeit successful
retrostalgic feel to the proceedings, as you may vaguely
recognize them from countless other kaiju flix.
Weirdly,
GAPPA is an obscure flick, which makes no sense
given its level of production value and creative talent.
But, as cult flix fans all too sadly know, good flix often
get buried beneath the altars of less deserving ‘movies’
of the day. In this sense, GAPPA delivers
the goods and then some, sure to please fans of the genre.
--
Notes by R.U. Holden.
What
Critics Say:
“GAPPA
plays out like a combination of the original KING KONG,
GODZILLA, RODAN, and GORGO… the effects are better
than most of the Daiei films… I am recommending monster
fans to check out GAPPA.” –
DVD CULT
“We saw GAPPA when we were very young,
and we remembered it fondly. And from that perspective,
it was worth it for us to see it again.” – STOMP
TOKYO
“Scientists who have never seen Japanese monster movies
take the infant [Gappa] to Tokyo for study. Gargantuan mom
and pop rush out to rescue him, trampling over 42 cities,
456 villages and 9,362 innocent people. Then they really
get mad. Director Noguchi captures a playful, childish touch
that makes this more bearable than most Japanese monster
movies.” – John Stanley, CREATURE FEATURES
MOVIE GUIDE |
Ghidrah,
the Three-Headed Monster
 aka
San Daikaiju: Chikyu Saidai no Kessen.
Starring Akiko Wakabayashi, Yosuke Natsuki & Yuriko
Hoshi. Godzilla portrayed by Haruo Nakajima. Music by Akira
Ifukube. Directed by Ishiro Honda.
When
you think of prototypical flix, GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED
MONSTERS (1964) is a great example for Toho's mythic
output. Behind the lens, you get Honda directing, Tsuburaya
doing EFX, and Ifukube marshalling the score, but in front
of the camera stands Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra (larva and
moth stages), and the newest sensation: mighty Ghidrah,
the three-headed monster.
Not enough for you, eh? Toss in the amazingly beautiful
Akiko Wakabayashi as an alien ambassador sent to Earth to
warn of impending doom, a full three years before she rocked
James Bond's two lives in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, in which
grateful viewers will recall her spending the last half
hour entirely in a modest white bikini. While she remains
fully clothed in GHIDRAH, her luminous
features do perfectly embody the "alien other"
that mesmerizingly attractive people exhude, hence she is
perfectly cast in this role.
Let's be honest, though: the only reason to watch a Godzilla
flick is, well, for the total mayhem and annihilation of
mankind. Fans of such cinematic destruction will not be
disappointed by GHIDRAH in that regard,
either. But consider: back before you could catch such "reality
 programming"
on CNN, little tykes actually fantasized about a world where
"nucular" madmen and billionaire-funded, shadowy
terrorist networks as routinely portrayed in the average
kaiju flick were just that: a fantasy.
In so many ways, that makes GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED
MONSTER unwittingly poignant. It's basic thesis
-- we have more to dread from rubber-suited monsters than
the worst examples of ourselves -- is heartachingly naive
and all the more endearing for it. Wow, I miss a world where
watching Tokyo get stomped every Saturday was the worst
you had to fear. -- Notes by R. U. Holden
What
Critics Say:
 "One
of the most memorable Godzilla movies... emotions expressed
by Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan will cheer-up any bad day,
or make a good day better... a must-have film for any kaiju-eiga
(monster film) fan." --  GOJISTOMP.org
"Until
this movie was released, Godzilla was always portrayed
as an evil creature, but here, he shifts roles to become
one of earth's protectors... The music that goes on during
the various fights matches the fights flawlessly, in my
opinion. Yet another great work by maestro Ifukube."
-- MASERCITY.com
 "Given
that Mothra's larval form already looks something like
a hand-rolled cigarette, we began to wonder: just what
sort of vegetation grows on Peace Island, anyway?... all
three monsters eventually team up to take on Ghidorah
in a monster battle to end all monster battles."
-- STOMP TOKYO
Like this flick? See also:
THE
HUMAN VAPOR; PULGASARI.
|
Ed
D. Wood Jr.'s
Glen or Glenda?
Aka I Led Two Lives
aka I Changed My Sex. Starring Bela
Lugosi & Ed Wood. Directed by Ed Wood.
Ed
D. Wood, Jr., was a remarkable filmmaker in many aspects,
not the least of which was his preference to wear women's
attire while directing his flicks! Yep, put Ed in a pink fluffy
angora sweater and tight slit skirt -- his preferred drag
while calling the shots -- and he was reasonably able to function
in his element.
Many were the regular cast of zany actors who remarked on
Ed's complete professionalism on the set, albeit with his
ultra-tight bra painfully digging into his chest and back.
Because of the heat of the creaky studio lights he was forced
to use, such a sight as a topless Wood was not uncommon on
Ed's studio sets, as he had to avoid fainting and peel his
sweater as the shooting day wore on.
Speaking of overheated, there's plenty of terrific "Woodian"
speechifying and rhetorical speak in this, his most personal
effort. Largely but loosely based on his own life story, GLEN
OR GLENDA (aka I LED TWO LIVES aka I CHANGED MY SEX)
is the story of titular Glen, an otherwise "normal" man save
for his predilection for wearing panties and bra. But now
that he's in love with bride-to-be Dolores Fuller, how can
he break his "shameful secret" to her without ruining their
trip to the altar?
This also features the famous 'pull der string!' speech made
immortal by ED WOOD. Lugosi is in fine latter day form, chewing
his dialogue like a juicy prime rib. His strange cadence and
intense eyes always make such scenes entertaining in and of
themselves, even if you care less for the rest of the movie
he's in; fortunately, this one is amazing throughout, as only
Ed D. Wood, Jr. could be -- an auteur with a cause. --
Notes by Billy Bodeen.
  What
Critics Say:
"Ed
Wood's infamous cross-dressing anti-classic." -- WIRED
"This film heralds itself as one of the earliest classics
of the 'Bad Movie Night' genre." -- BAD MOVIE NIGHT
"Truth to tell, this film is literally indescribable —
you must see it in order to believe it. It is no wonder that
this flick has taken a place next to REEFER MADNESS as one
of the greatest cult films of all time." -- MR. MIKEY'S
VIDEO VIEWS
|
Goke,
Body Snatchers from Hell
aka Goke.
Starring Teruo Yoshida. Directed by Hajime Sato.
If
not for the fact it was made by a different studio with different
talent, GOKE BODY SNATCHERS FROM HELL (aka
GOKE) (1968) would almost have to be considered a sequel to
MATANGO aka ATTACK
OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE. While it is not
100% the same basic concept and storyline minus the obvious
differences in rubber-suited monsters, they are truly and
remarkably consistent in tone and impact.
Where they differ most is in use of color. Whereas MATANGO
favored a subdued palette befitting the more somber storyline,
GOKE
goes straight for the spurting jugular with Argento-like zeal.
Actually, straight for the temporal lobes, as that's where
these particularly nasty aliens enjoy residing. Besides its
shock ending, GOKE
is infamous for these sequences in which the alien nasties
- bodiless blobs of psychedelic jelly - split open the forehead
of their living human victims and then slowly slime their
way up and inside. It's a guaranteed shudder-inducer to all
but the most black-hearted, who still might get a good laugh.
It goes without saying that the effects are not 'state of
the art,' but it should be added: they were superior for their
 era. For example,
for sheer believability and effective use of miniatures, the
opening crash-landing by the jet is as good as George Pal's
reminiscent rocket glider landing concluding his WHEN WORLDS
COLLIDE. But that's just the opening of GOKE!
The lurid color use is inspired throughout, and gives it all
a psychedelic edge that rivals Dino's FLASH GORDON for sheer
spectrum saturation per screen inch. The opening sequence
is a typical example - against what even the pilots describe
as blood red skies, the jet full of soon to be marooned passengers
bicker pettily amongst themselves to kill their boredom.
It's this game of Chinese Roulette played by the cast that
makes it so much like a cousin to MATANGO. Because it unfolds
not unlike a feature-length episode of SURVIVOR (but with
the added beauty of space vampires preying on the idiots who
are sucked dry rather than voted off the island). GOKE
is very familiar,  indeed.
It's Darwinian viewpoint is coldly but effectively rendered,
which makes it play like a Japanese-cast version of THE TWILIGHT
ZONE as if shot in fantasy colors.
Though obscure among non-converts, GOKE
enjoys a healthy sub-cult thanks to the undying interest in
all movies kaiju. Had it been played non-stop like its cousin
MUSHROOM PEOPLE, it would probably be equally well regarded.
As it is, one viewing convinces most it's a shame it still
remains a well-hidden gem of a horror flick.
It is finally worth noting again that this was not a Toho
effort, but made by a rival studio (Shochiku Films) in the
profitable Toho style. But the result is much more lurid than
a Toho flick, which by this point tended to be very family
friendly in order to gain American distribution. As such,
it is in no way a 'kiddy' Japanese horror flick but one strictly
for adults only. --
Notes by Sam U. Rye.
What Critics Say:
"Compelling
as it hysterically unfolds in a way purely Japanese." -- John
Stanley, CREATURE FEATURE MOVIES GUIDE
"Super atmospheric Japanese flying saucer epic... amazing
opening sequence." -- THE SINISTER URGE
"Pretty amazing...surprisingly grisly." -- Michael Weldon,
PSYCHOTRONIC
"With uncredited sci-fi inspiration from Robert Heinlein's
novel THE PUPPET MASTERS,
GOKE
nearly succumbs to conniption fits, faliling around screaming
the sky is falling via anti-war speeches and mushroom clouds.
..an amzing simulation of a headline driven, anxiety-ridden
bad dream, complete with no-exit ending." -- Patrick Macias,
TOKYOSCOPE
Like this flick? See also:
HUMAN
VAPOR ;
X
FROM OUTER SPACE
|
 Great
White, The
aka Ultimo squalo,
L' aka The Last Shark. Starring James Franciscus
and Vic Morrow. Directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
You
all know me. I'm the Great White Shark. You've seen me doin'
this role before, too, in countless movies. But since I
like chewin' scenery, especially in bad B flix -- a little
steakin', a little tenderizing, and down it goes -- I thought
I'd give you the biting truth about my participation in
this infamously fishy fiasco.
Don't get me wrong. Though the memory grows distant, I enjoyed
working on THE GREAT WHITE (1980). First,
I got to travel to Italy, as mentioned, where we shot. Being
seasonally employed (and remember, this was way before SHARK
WEEK, mate, and those phat Discovery Channel re$iduals I
now get), I was just glad to get the work, meet some new single marine
life, travel free, whatever. But problems started soon after
my arrival.
First, let's jaw the script. Look, I'm a friggin' shark,
with a brain the size of your left one, but get this: they,
like, stapled together pages from JAWS and JAWS 2!  Actually,
not really, but I wish they had. I mean, if you're gonna
rip it off, why not Xerox it instead of doing pantomine,
but what do I know? There's a reason I'm endangered, I guess.
Well,
I may not know film, but this much I do know: the
director was no Steven. Look, I spoke Italian about as well
as he spoke English, so I shouldn't knock Enzo, but... again,
Steven's got nothing to worry about (note to Steven: why
won't you return my calls any more?). That said, you know,
Enzo kept things going, in focus, and featured lots of shots
of me cruising under the water, looking pretty bad, I gotta
admit.
At least that was the game plan. And then they brought in
that phony lookin' Bruce wannabe. I mean, damn, he was fake-o.
And talk about over the top: the guy was like Roberto Benigni
in a shark suit, always popping out of the waters and growling
at his intended victim. Even I  knew
better than that, but like I said, Enzo was his own Man
with his own Vision: JAWS and JAWS 2 but slightly different,
sort of, kinda, sometimes.
How
was workin' with James Fran and Vic, you wonder? Total pros,
those two. I mean, the way Vic was able
to "channel" Robert Shaw's Quint was eerie at
times. And James was never more restrained in a perf; at
times, I wondered what he was smokin', man. Not that, y'know,
I blame him, as he didn't have much to do except stand around
and look pained most of the time. Or was that simply his
feeling about being on the set? That reminds me, I scored
some killer seaweed on an off-day of that shoot, but that's
another time and place.
That plastique Bruce clone? I gotta admit after we got to
know one another, he was okay. I mean, he's never gonna
be mistaken for no Stan Winston job, but underneath it all,
he was a funny guy for a robot with an Italian accent who
kept us all laughing, capiche? And I gotta admit: I crapped
a carp from chuckling so hard  on
the set the day he did that "biting the Mayor character's
legs off while that old human windbag was holdin' on to
his 'I'm The Man' helicopter" scene! Boy, do I love
it when the good guys win for a change.
One last beef to chew with you sound effects dubbers from
THE GREAT WHITE. Sharks -- especially us
white sharks -- do not growl when they surface, okay? So
while the effect is amusing, I gotta say this is one time
where your  "cinematic
tricks" didn't fool nobody. Everybody 20,000 deep I
knew laughed their asses off every time your shitty engineer
mixed up that dinosaur yell when I opened my mouth. Real
funny, human.
But remember: I know where you swim. And I have a long,
keen memory for a predator with a pea-sized brain. So anyone
who worked audio post on THE GREAT WHITE
I am earnestly begging: take a small boat ride off the Southern
California
coastal waters this summer. Get out of that cramped sound
mix studio and enjoy the waves, man. I'll be waiting to
show you what a real predation sounds like, as I strike
from below and send you airborn, you lousy sons of beaches.
And my open jaws will not be growling. --
Notes by Great White Shark.
What
Critics Say:
 "A
fairly entertaining knock-off of JAWS and JAWS 2... the
Mayor battling the shark from his personal helicopter is
a bad movie classic moment." -- Chad Saxelid,
SCI-FILM.org
"Deemed
semi-watchable by Morrow's totally hammy performance, some
mismatched stock footage that's used and a completely robotic
looking shark. Worth seeing for genre fans... more funny
than suspenseful." -- THE VIDEO GRAVEYARD
"Over the years, the movie has built a kind of mystique
around it here, partly... because it was directed by prolific
director Enzo G. Castellani... there is something pleasing
about seeing this stiff looking model [shark] suddenly shooting
out of the water, and I looked forward to seeing it every
time." -- UNKNOWN MOVIES
"Vic
Morrow's Scottish/Irish/Jibberish accent is appalling. He
tries to act and sound like Robert Shaw's Quint character
but it's ridiculous... one of history's bad movie moments
as the mayor dangles a piece of meat from the helicopter
and attempts to shoot the shark. It's so laughably bad I
wonder if it was meant to be that way." -- POPCORN
PICTURES.co.uk
"Clearly
the best of all the movies about sharks which came after
JAWS... a decent and exciting movie with OK actors and realistic
gore-effects. It's a bit strange this one is so unknown."
-- Ag- Nor,
Trøndelag, Norway via IMDB.com
"The
irony is that this blatant rip-off is actually pretty good,
and more watchable than Universal's own sequels to original
Spielberg classic. Not to mention the fact that this shark
looks more realistic than the original one in JAWS... One
of Vic Morrow's last efforts." -- CULT MOVIES
ONLINE
"This
thing is classic! Some of the goofiest dialog ever helps
keep you awake." -- BURIED.com
 "In
another of the controversial (stolen from JAWS or JAWS 2)
scenes, the shark eats the mayor who is hanging from the
helicopter. Somehow, the mayor has enough strength in his
hands to hold onto the airship as the fish rips his legs
off." -- SHARKS ON FILM
"James
Fransiscus och Vic Morrow bestämmer sig för att
fånga hajen. Men samtidigt sätter tävlingen
igång." -- SKRACKFILM.com |
Great
White Death 
Hosted by Glenn Ford.
Back
before the great white sharks of pre-JAWS days had not been
hunted to near extinction,
you could still chum the waters and drop into a cage to capture
footage of near 20-footers with no problem. These days, even
the best stuff on 'Shark Week' have White Pointers only 15
or so feet if you're lucky (or unlucky, depending on your
p.o.v.).
GREAT WHITE DEATH (1977) is an attempt to
cash in on the shark feeding frenzy occurring in the media
during those halcyon days of UFO and Bigfoot sightings. JAWS
had cleverly traumatized an entire generation of shocked youth,
and the mania for all things 'great white' related is hard
to over emphasize.
Still, even were it not for its clear intent to swim in the
lazy wake of that much bigger
fish, GREAT WHITE is no lemon shark, either.
As a mondo sharkumentary, it achieves a rare distinction of
at once being completely exploitation but also largely successful
on its own terms.
 By the
standards of its era, it is not only well-photographed by
the French divers who captured much of the action, but also
boasts veteran Glenn Ford as genial host and narrator. It's
a day shoot for him, no doubt, and it's a standard library
set. Nevertheless, Ford's icy readings of the grim realities
about human and great white encounters is an overall plus,
as his flat mid-western twang adds a kind of no-nonsense Johnny
Carson-esque feel to the proceedings.
We could go on and on about how it documents a variety of
strange shark rituals from around the world, but why bother?
What white shark flick fanatics care about is the shark footage.
Here, GREAT WHITE is a neo-classic, if for
no other reason than the sheer amount of onscreen carnage.
In these politically correct days, it's impossible to show
the real damage these predators can inflict on a human body.
But GREAT WHITE contains what is the  only known 16mm filmed footage
of a scuba diver post-encounter with a true giant White. That
his leg is already missing as the shots begin should prepare
you for the realities of this mondo effort: while it purports
to take the shark's side in the end, the gruesome lead up
to the positive spin feels a little too late and less than
convincing.
Fear and sharks. It's like sex and death. The eternals. And
as far as fears go, being devoured whole and alive is about
as basic as they come, and so GREAT WHITE
is a primal scream dream. If scary sharks the size of a SUV
with jaws agape is your idea of a relaxing way to spend an
hour and a half, GREAT WHITE DEATH should
go on your 'must see' list. --
Notes by R. U. Holden. |
Grizzly: Killer Edition 
aka Claws aka
Killer Grizzly . Starring Christopher George, Richard
Jaeckel & Andrew Prine. Re-Starring Chad Nelson &
Damon Packard. Directed by William Girdler. Re-Directed
by Damon Packard.
William
Girdler (left). Kentucky good ol' boy almost
made good in Hollyweird, a life-long goal in a short life.
Girdler always claimed in interviews he'd die young and
sure enough, while shooting second unit helicopter footage
in 1978 for his follow-up feature to THE MANITOU, he died
in a low altitude crash (read: they were swooping down and
tree topping at insane speeds to get eye-poppin' shots).
Still,
nobody besides John Carpenter ever made a helicopter shot
look so damned cool on film as William Girdler.
While Girdler had a great exploitation career making such
fare as ASYLUM OF SATAN, THREE ON A MEATHOOK and ABBY, this
JAWS "inspired" picture was his biggest success.
It played in hardtops (rare then for Girdler) and drive-ins
alike. It made producer Ed Montoro lots of money. Naturally,
Girdler saw precious little of it. You can read about how
Mr. Montoro would later split the country with all the dough
herein.
That was then, this is now. And now, indie maverick Damon
Packard has taken and shaken GRIZZLY (1976).
He's shot all new footage to intercut with old scenes ala
DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID and THE
LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE. In other words, rather than allow
William Girdler to rest in pieces, we've resurrected his
work and set loose Packard's corruptive genius to do an
'extreme cinematic makeover' on what even Girdler fans admit
is not Girdler's finest hour.
If that flagrant attempt to justify our pilfering Girdler's
work and "re-interpreting" it hasn't set your
purist heart afire with plans of vengeance, you're in for
a prime Packard treat. For now, such stock Packard Players
as Chad Nelson (the reluctant cgi hack in THE
UNTITLED STAR WARS MOCKUMENTARY) as
well as Packard himself go mano a grizzly redux
with Girdler's vision. It's a paws-down win for Packard
and viewer, as GRIZZLY KILLER EDITION becomes
suddenly much more watchable than GRIZZLYand
like all of Packard's best work weirdly relevent.
There's a lot to like about GRIZZLY KILLER EDITION,
not the least of which is the gentle but persistent humor
which Packard lovingly utilizes to send up GRIZZLY
without slashing it to pieces. My favorite moment is the
otherwise predictable "set piece" involving a
rickety fire tower, a lone ranger who is too dumb to shoot
straight (down!), and the marauding bear. As is, it plays
with tedious preditability. But with Packard's introduction
of a new motivation -- he inserts a shot of a package of
Hostess Twinkies® falling out of the ranger's lunch
and thus giving the bear a comical reason to attack -- the
whole sequence is suddenly hysterical in a Buster Keaton
sort of manner. It's a gentle comedy and not mean-spirited.
Thankfully, there is none of the smug, condescending 'tude
genre fans are accustomed to having to stomach in such parody
efforts as HIDEOUS SUN DEMON: THE SPECIAL EDITION or whatnot.
Such flix make the viewer feel foolish for enjoying genre
flix. Packard is clearly a fan of the film he is sending
up, and so the humor becomes infectuous instead of infected.
It's redeeming to laugh at the silliness and realize how
truly naive you once were if you saw GRIZZLY
'as was' in the theaters and were truly scared by it. In
today's crazed world, such rememberance of things past seems
comforting, even if the flick in question is taking one
in the yarbles for your grim amusement. --
Notes by Travis Crabtree.
What
Critics Say:
"Photography was breathtaking at times with the script
and music score more then adequate for a B-Movie and most
of all, the killer bear was truly frightening. In short,
going to see GRIZZLY you not only got what
you paid for, but a lot more then you expected." --
Sol from Brooklyn, IMDB.com
"A
fun movie with lots of cool bear-on-man action... had the
good awful taste to have a scene with a little boy, a bunny
rabbit, and a giant grizzly bear and leaves the bunny rabbit
unharmed. (poor kid) And I loved the moment where it knocks
off a horse's head, and then we see the hoofs just kind
of stumbling about blindly." -- CALVACADE OF
SCHLOCK
"One thing going for it, BLOOD! This film is full of
some great kills, well maybe not great but at least brutal.
I mean the bear knocks the heads off horses and in a scene
that really surprised me, the bear kills an entire family!...
an excellent animal flick and the effects are pretty good...
good flick to watch while camping if you can't find a copy
of DELIVERANCE, know what I mean?" -- HORRORWATCH
"Christopher
George, Andrew Prine, and Richard Jaeckel all have strong
parts in the film, which is just what an  action/horror
film like GRIZZLY needs... a very good
and fun B-Movie... ending is pretty good along with some
suspenseful thundering music by Robert O. Ragland."
-- SCIFILM REVIEWS
"Racking
up some serious cash at the box office: GRIZZLY,
which threatened to do for camping what JAWS did for beaches...
we’re not here for backstory or explanations, we’re
here to see people get et by a grizzly bar!... there is
a sequence with many hysterical backpackers running through
the woods while a newscaster relays information about the
killer bear... Ms. McCall is also saddled with one of the
worst hairstyles to come out of the 70s, and I began to
think of her as The Horrible Baby-Headed Monster, far more
disturbing than the title character. It is an absolute relief
when George finally informs her she can't go on the final
hunt, and we no longer have to deal with The Horrible Baby-Headed
Monster... an okay waste of 90 minutes." -- BAD
MOVIE REPORT @ Stomp Tokyo.com
 "Film
Ventures International (FVI) specialized in turning out
cheap imitations of big blockbusters. When THE EXORCIST
came out, FVI followed it with BEYOND THE DOOR; while JAWS
was a number one money-grosser, FVI came out with this
film, replacing the shark with a 15-foot bear... George,
Jaeckel, and Prine would star in another nature-gone-mad
movie, DAY OF THE ANIMALS, the next year." --
T.V. GUIDE
"This
is for the drive-in, and late-night cable TV, not for Sundance...
tight editing and wonderful aerial cinematography... works
as mindless, fun, and entertaining... would only recommend
it to those who want to see people dumber than they are
get torn to shreds by a really big bear." -- Doug Mosurak,
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Like this flick? See also:
REFLECTIONS
OF EVIL;
THE
UNTITLED STAR WARS MOCKUMENTARY |
 Groupie
Girl
aka I
Am a Groupie Girl. Starring Billy Boyle. Directed
by Suzanne Mercer.
Somewhere
between such exploitation good girl/youth-gone-bad groundbreakers
as PROBATION, WHAT PRICE INNOCENCE, RED LIGHTS, MAD YOUTH,
and THE ROAD TO RUIN, and the rock band parody THIS IS SPINAL
TAP, with a very clear dose of HELP, and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
(had the Fab Fours shown their truer, nastier stripes), with
a nod towards 60's studies such as WILD FOR KICKS, and even
a dip back into the noirisms of JAIL BAIT, et al -- that's
where you will find GROUPIE GIRL (1970) aka
I AM A GROUPIE GIRL, an outstanding independent portrait of
a girl's dashed dreams of glory and life on the road with
a late 60's band.
Curiously, GROUPIE GIRL has been nearly impossible
to find in the states, having had only a minor video release
in the early 70's. It's quality, however, suggests this is
not as it should be. Although clearly low budget, it does
not feel like it; although performed by mostly unknown actors,
some of whom apparently never appeared in another film, you
would not know it; although not just a 'rock' movie, its soundtrack
(featuring such UK bands as Opal Butterfly and English Rose)
is OUTSTANDING if you like the late 60's/early 70's sound.
This one will stay in your head.
This is arguably the production team's finest work, half a
world away from their usual sexploitation and schlock horror
efforts. It is dark, gritty, and feels authentic. It was marketed
as an 'adult' film at one time, but, although it contains
some sex scenes that would get it an R rating today, it's
not by any means a glorification of of sex. If anything, the
sex is portrayed as relatively desperate, casual, misogynistic
despite its frequent instigation by the groupie -- in short,
empty. And the guys look pretty lousy in bed, too. The more
I think about it, in fact, GROUPIE GIRL becomes
a rather searing indictment of the failure of various 'hippie'
ideals, and a darned grim portrait of the disparity between
the lip service given to
the concept of 'love' in at least that era's popular song,
and the nastier reality of the lives of those who did the
most talking.
An interesting portrait and statement from a director known
otherwise as, primarily, a pornographer. Although the director's
exploitation roots are well evident, the film targets authenticity,
rather than gratuity, and hits its mark.
Although GROUPIE GIRL contains all the elements
of rock movies -- witness the 'zany madcap' rip-offs of Beatle
flix while the band is marching around town striking 'nonconformist'
poses -- and sexploitation films, the work rises above the
simplistic genre productions, and achieves a level of documentary.
Here, the writer and
director actually had something they wanted to say, and set
about saying it with a considerable degree of indie production
skill, excellent use of minimal resources, mostly unknown
talents, and a soundtrack worth re-releasing, too. --
Notes by J.R.
Sebastian.
What
Critics Say:
"A forgotten gem." -- MOD CULTURE
"Has a brilliant soundtrack." -- EUROFILMS |
|
Reviews:
G
