L7 PRETEND WE’RE DEAD: DON’T CALL THEM AN ALL GIRL BAND

Rockers L7 were a band made up of four talented female musicians. But in a world where people attempt to peg every act out there they were known first as an all-female band rather than just a rock band, something they weren’t fond of. Who’s to blame them? I mean how many all-male bands are designated that way? And yet that sort of labeling continues to this day.

I was unfamiliar with the band so looked forward to learning about them via this documentary, a film that takes a look at the band from formation to their current status. Formed by Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, the band played a heavy grunge style metal music that found fans around the world. The band was not the typical all girl band though the labelers tried to give them that identity. Instead they rocked out with the best of them.

The movie takes us to the meeting of the two, their fast friendship and love of metal music and their formation of the band. It moves forward from there to the time they spent on the road, living that hard lifestyle so familiar to fans of rock and roll. Touring began in small vehicles and never really extended to that huge mega private jet that most band shoot for. Instead this band kept it real, kept it tight and kept playing.

But the perks of mega-stardom come hand in hand with album sales and sell out concert halls. While the band was popular with a select crowd it never peaked at the level that was required to push them to that point. Music videos helped as did numerous appearances on shows, mainly on MTV back when they actually played music on the channel. But something always seemed to keep them just from that top notch.

Eventually the band succumbed to the tried and true issues that all bands seem to. Burn out, agitating atmospheres and the grind of daily travel and performing for smaller crowds in smaller venues took its toll on the band. One by one some were replaced with the leaders of the band tiring at some point as well. While their popularity in some countries was high in the states it never did as much. Eventually the group disbanded in 2001.

Now they have a chance to be rediscovered with this documentary. Considered a huge influence on female rockers to have attempted that role in the heavy music world the band gets the recognition long deserved with this film. Compiled with over 100 hours of home movies taken by the band over the years it shows us life on the road for them from the start. We get to see the highs and the lows, the places played and the crowds that embraced them. We get to hear the music they made, music that once heard will make you want to pursue finding it in digital or disc format.

The movie pretty much follows the usual method of showing us a band in various stages as well as interviews. It breaks no real new boundaries in style but that’s not what we came here for to begin with. Those of us not familiar come to the movie to learn about the band. Those who were fans come to celebrate the band that they loved. And along the way new fans will be made and perhaps, one day, we’ll see the band opening for major acts again. Who knows, it might just lead to their finally hitting that pinnacle all bands aspire to.

 
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BAT P**SY: LOST LOW END PORN

So if you’re like me, someone who grew up in the sixties during the whole Batman TV heyday then when you hear about something Batman related your curiosity gets the best of you. When I saw that this was being released by AGFA (American Genre Film Archive) I thought there must be something to this. Well there is and there isn’t but more of the isn’t than is. How’s that for a fun sentence?

The movie was made in the early 70s and many consider it the first of the porn parody films ever made. These were films that would steal the concept of a major release and then parody much of what the film/series was about while throwing in a generous portion of porn. It was discovered in the storeroom of a Memphis, TN, adult theater and saved from extinction by Something Weird Video. Following that it developed a bit of a cult following where many discussed how bad and flawed it was. As if most porn from those days were technically adept.

The thin plot involves a married couple named Buddy and Sam (as in Samantha) in a small apartment bedroom. Buddy is reading an article in SCREW magazine about oral sex and convinces Sam to give it a try. Most of the movie has them attempting this but throughout they both criticize one another on their performance. On the other side of town the title character senses something is going on and heads out to find out what on her hoppity ball. Yes, one of the large balls with a handle on it that you sat and then bounced on. She gets to Buddy and Sam’s apartment and then jumps into their sexual acts for a threesome.

Watching this film my thoughts drifted to smoke filled lodges across the country, hearing the sound of ice cubes tinkling in glasses of whiskey as talk filled the air, laughter rose from the gathering of men and the tunnel of light shone from the projector to a screen erected at the far end of the hall. It felt more like that than a movie what would have played out in an actual theater.

No opening or closing credits. Terrible single camera photography. Scratched film on display. Better acting found asking someone on a street corner to read a phone book. Washed out color tint that has been enhanced from what it originally was. Yes this movie, at under an hour, is quite the mess. But fans consider that the charm of the film. Myself? I watched wondering what in the world people thought was great about it. Sure, there is the notoriety of the film being that first known parody porn flick, but other than that what’s the allure?

The AGFA release includes plenty of extras including a commentary track with Something Weird’s Lisa Petrucci and Tim Lewis and the AFGA team, crime-smut trailers and shorts, liner notes by Mike McCarthy and Lisa Petrucci, a bonus early porn flick ROBOT LOVE SLAVES and reversible cover art with illustration by Johnny Ryan. Of these extras the most entertaining was the collection of shorts like THE DOS AND DON’T OF DATING and the like. The truth is the extras this time around were better than the movie that was featured.

For those who collect obscure porn or are curious about just how bad it was at the time you may want to pick this one up. Amazingly with a few clips here and there these films are less outrageous than the T&A films channels like Showtime and Cinemax present late at night. Compared to what a 30 second search via google can present to anyone this is incredibly tame. But for the sake of curiosity you may want to give it a look. Everyone else will be content to look at the cover and have the through what were they thinking?

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JUST DESSERTS-THE MAKING OF CREEPSHOW: A FITTING TRIBUTE

Made in 2007 this documentary is now making its way to blu-ray via Synapse. Thank goodness they made the decision to do so, adding several special items that will please fans of the film and those who made it.

As we learn via interview with director George Romero Warner Brothers contacted him after the success of his film MARTIN concerning a vampire in modern society. They had just acquired the rights to SALEM’S LOT and wanted him to meet with author Stephen King about making a film adaptation. The two met, became fast friends and while the studio changed their plans about that film the pair later found something else to work together on. That was the 1982 film CREEPSHOW.

Fans of the old EC Comic books that were banned at one time and credited with creating subversive attitudes in teens, they came up with an anthology film that combined those old styled stories with modern movie technology. Rather than use the old comic titles they came up with their own comic called Creepshow. Instead of the Crypt Keeper they had The Creep. But the stories they told in this film would have fit perfectly in those old comics.

This documentary takes a look at their efforts moving from how they came up with the idea to the cast to the special effects to the music and so on. Each step of the way is an interesting look at just how a movie gets made and in this case outside of the studio system. That’s because whole Warner Brothers eventually distributed the film it was indeed an independent film to begin with. Made on a shoestring budget for the project it was every penny spent on this film shows up on screen. That only made it better.

Interviews in the film range from various cast members including Ed Harris and Adrienne Barbeau to effect supervisor Tom Savini to Romero himself. All of them offer anecdotes about the making of the film and from the things they discuss it sounds like they had far more fun than they should have. The entire team seems to have bonded, everyone from grips to well-known actors who had been in loftier roles but found that there was something special in this film, that it was more than just a cheap horror flick. It was a homage to those great comics that came long ago. For myself I think that this film was an inspiration for the later HBO series TALES FROM THE CRYPT which used those original comics for their scripts.

The film uses behind the scenes footage along with the interviews to give a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. It’s interesting to watch as some actors who were just beginning at the time, like Harris as well as Ted Danson who was just about to start a TV series about a group of people hanging out at a bar, and others involved in the production who went on to bigger things are shown in their early days. Particularly fascinating is the way the effects were done. Remember these were days long ahead of computer generated effects. Most were practical effects that were done, including some hair raising stories concerning the final story involving thousands of cockroaches.

The movie is well made, informative and for fans of the film a must have for their collection. In addition to the film the extras are fairly massive for as old as the movie is. They include:

-An audio commentary track with director & editor Michael Felshe

-An audio commentary track with actor John Amplas, property master Bruce Alan Miller and make-up effects assistant Darryl Ferucci

-Creepshow Days – An interview with director of photography director Michael Gornick

-Extended interview segments with George A. Romero, Tom Savini and Bernie Wrightson

-Behind the Screams – a compilation of on-set video footage from Tom Savini

-Horror’s Hallowed Grounds with Sean Clark – An episode of the series that takes you to the locations made famous in various horror films

-Vintage 1982 Evening Magazine segment shot on the set of the film featuring rare cast & crew interviews

-Behind the scenes photo gallery of CREEPSHOW

-Best of all the full SCREAM GREATS VOL. ONE: TOM SAVINI documentary with optional audio commentary track with Tom Savini. To my knowledge this is the first time this has ever been released on disc.

If you love making of movies, documentaries, horror films, George A. Romero, Tom Savini or CREEPSHOW then by all means this needs to be added to your shelf. Once viewed you’ll find yourself digging out that copy of the original film to watch again and remember just how much fun it was the first time around.

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