Films 10 - mindfuck flicks for summer...

Alriiiiiiggghhhhtt,,,,

I sifted through some more garbage to find y'all the coolest underground low-budget shit I can muster.

...with LINKS this time:

'Tuesday Never Comes' - 1993

Surrealist 'Scarface'-esque drug kingpin story from writer/director/actor Jason Holt who made this ridiculous film I've yet to see. Troma re-released this flick, so that should let ya know it's quality. In fact, the sleazy vibe this dude conjures up is much more natural than most of Troma's sleaze. I dunno, I always felt like 'Scarface' was way too big-budget to be as seedy as it was trying to be, so this is like a much more accurate version of 'coked-out nightmare.' Holt himself plays an Irish former priest who's looking to get revenge on the mob for not paying him. The mob is mostly Erik Estrada who smokes crack and makes crazy faces throughout. By the time Holt's character is smoking crack in the sewer and chilling with rats, you know this thing's gone off the deep end. Weird stuff. Like Holt says, be careful if yer gonna watch it alone, because it IS a head trip. Holt also apparently had a musical alter-ego in the 70's called 'Daniel,' whose lone album is pretty high-up on collector's lists. You can hear some of the tracks here, which features Holt singing and playing an amplified cello(!) Oh yeah, if you have a link for 'Desperation Rising,' PLEASE share it with me, I'd love to see this thing...

'Death Warmed Up (aka Death Warmed Over)' - 1984

Supposedly the first horror flick out of New Zealand which, if you're familiar with the work of Peter Jackson,  should indicate that this is nutzoid. In fact, I don't think I've seen a more dreamlike film. Right from the first scene of the main character running feverishly through a hospital (never explained) this shit just drops you in its own world and doesn't let up. Basically, you've got a punkish guy who gets experimented on by an evil doctor...he then (under the doctor's mind control) kills his parents and goes to the psych ward. When he gets out, obviously the first thing he wants to do is fuck the doctor's shit up, so he brings some friends (who don't know the story) on a 'weekend getaway' to the doctor's private island dealie. However, the doctor's evil biker zombies (you read that right) are messing things up and the revenge plot gets left behind until the VERY end and it's mostly just people trying to survive the biker maniacs. None of this is explicitly laid out, though. It's all gathered through weird, surreal sequences that left me more confused than scared. It's kind of like someone SERIOUSLY mentally disturbed tried to make a 'regular' horror flick, and this is what came out. Oh yeah, it's deadly serious too, despite the plot. A unique film experience.

'The Abomination' - 1986

Rural Texas trash made all the creepier by the backwoods vibe of the filmmakers. Upon describing this film to a friend, he said it sounded like 'redneck Cronenberg' and this is pretty accurate. For the probably 7 dollar budget, the effects in this film are pretty outstanding. A guy who lives with his mom gets taken over by an evil tumor she coughs up, but he doesn't think much of it and starts hiding his own coughed-up tumors around the house. The tumors take over and turn into monsters with giant teeth, then he kills his friends to feed the monster because that's apparently what he's supposed to do. Oh yeah, and the first 10 minutes of this film are more like a trailer than anything, giving away ALL the gore...I guess it's supposed to be like the guy is telling a psychiatrist about the whole thing, and it may or may not have really happened...he might just be a murderer with no good reason. Whatever the case, if ya liked 'Videodrome' but wish it made even LESS sense and was created by some farmer instead, you'll love this shit.

'Arise! The SubGenius Video' - 1992

I didn't know much about the Church of the SubGenius before seeing this, but it didn't really matter. What you get is a proto-Tim and Eric video collage made by some pranksters who started a fake religion. Members include Mark Mothersbaugh (who does much of the soundtrack), Robert Anton Wilson and Paul Reubens. This is supposed to be a 'recruitment' tape for potential converts, but it plays more like a Mr. Show sketch. If you have a fairly dark sense of humor, you'll get a kick out of this weird thing. I won't give much else away, but the SubGenius Rap is pretty amazing.

'Toxic Crusaders: The Movie' - 1997

Basically the entire 'Toxic Crusaders' TV series cut down to movie length. If you've seen the show, you don't really need to see this, but if you haven't, watch this instead...it's much more bearable. If you're completely unfamiliar with this, it's the kid's cartoon based on Troma's Toxic Avenger series. Let that sink in for a second....it's a KID'S version of a film that features a headcrushing radioactive monster, created by a studio known for making the sleaziest trash around. Fuck, I even had action figures of this thing when I was a kid...I had no idea. More or less, it's 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' only dumber and with more environmental messages. If you're a fan of Kaufman and Troma, you NEED to see this. It's great.

'Drunken Wu Tang' - 1984

Absurd Kung Fu film that plays like it should be a cartoon. A ridiculous, drunken master has to fight some evil guys and make it through all these traps they set up, including the 'Watermelon Monster,' an annoying-voiced puppet. He also drives around in a tiny car that looks like a rat or something. The whole thing is pretty great. If you like the surreal nature of low-budget Kung Fu flicks, this one will be yer new favorite thing.

...alright, that's it for now.