What he said!!!
In the words of THE CRAMPS: 'People ain't no good'. People PISS me off!!! LOL.

Last of the zombies... the trailers

While we wait here's a couple of trailers for Mattei's last zombie flicks. Unfortunately, I can only embed the first one but if you click those links apart from the trailers there's also scans and film details as well + a press-book.

ZOMBIES THE BEGINNING



ZOMBIES THE BEGINNING (same trailer but better picture quality and there's info on the page about the film)

ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD
(On this page there's also a press-book you can download. It's nothing special but still).

And for ol'e times sake; ZOMBI 3

Last of the zombies...

...well, Mattei's zombies that is. It's not like we've seen the last zombie movie ever, eh. Anyway, Per Svensson, a member over at Dvdmaniacs, uploaded some screen grabs from Mattei's last two zombie movies; ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING and ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD which so far only have been released on DVD in The Czech Republic. According to mr. Svensson BEGINNING is actually... the sequel! Yep, sounds like true Mattei logic, LOL. Here are some of the scans.

[Click the scans for twice the size]




Anyway, until we (or at least I) get hold of these babies here's a cool trailer from Mattei's totally entertaining PREDATOR ripoff ROBOWAR:

No news hey hey

That headline sounds like a fucking song, LOL. "Nooo news todayyy, my love went awayyy, heyyy heyyy, what'ya sayyyy, hey hey" Oh well, maybe not!! Anyway, no news what so ever and I loathe and dispise smalltalk so I'll be back when I've actually got something to tell ya. Nothing's going on in Cyberspace anyway (except Fred having fun with his spoons, LOL).

The Mistreated

I love 50s horror & sci-fi movies and I just discovered this totally cool (fake) trailer on Jocke Andersson's Gummimonsterfetischism blog. Check it out:



PS: it's actually a TV spot to get Swedes to recycle their used batteries. Of course, in Denmark we just chuck them in the lake.

Et pladekøb for længe siden

Jeg sad lige her i dag og surfede inde på YouTube efter noget helt andet musik, men så helt tilfældigt faldt jeg over en liveoptagelse med Sort Sol. "Hmm, en gammel optagelse, selvklart", tænkte jeg først, "gruppen holdt jo op med at spille for snart længe siden"... og så pludselig går det op for mig, at optagelsen kraftedeme er fra oktober måned... fra i år!! Altså for en måned siden! Og takket være min nu lynhurtige Internetopkobling kan jeg nu (ligesom alle andre mennesker har kunnet de sidste 10 år eller deromkring) se YouTubevideoer med det samme uden først at skulle downloade dem i 20 minutter. Jeg spillede straks den nye optagelse og må straks indrømme, at de lyder bedre end de har gjort MEGET længe. Det ene nummer YouTube-medlemmet havde lagt ud var en coverversion af Gasolin's gamle "Langebro" og som sagt det lød mere råt og ufortrødent end det har gjort rigtig, rigtig længe. Og så var det jeg kom til at tænke på en dag i '83, hvor jeg sku' i skole, men i stedet pjækkede og tog ind og købte Sort Sols (eller Sods som de naturligvis stadig hed dengang, osse selvom der stod Sort Sol på pladen) "Dager & Guitar" LP. Min første Sods plade. 1983-2008; det er fanderme 25 år!!! Femogfuckingtyve år med Sods/Sort Sol!! Det er sgu længe (og året efter, altså '84, fik jeg optaget dokumentarprogrammet "Omkring en sort sol - et portræt af Sods" fra DR TV med min første videomaskine. En Betamax, og jeg har sgu stadig båndet!). Da jeg købte den den efterfølgende LP "Everything that rises... must converge" (som først kom i '87), var jeg overbevist om, at det var den bedste danske plade, der nogensinde var udgivet. Jeg må nok indrømme, at dét mener jeg sgu stadigvæk! Fanderme så! Men du vil høre om det så holdt nu, det ene nummer fra den ene optagelse, ikke sandt? Gu fanden holder det så! Jeg må ha' genspillet den 15 gange i rap! Haha.
Hva' fanden var det lige med Sort Sol dengang i gamle dage? Well, udover muzakken naturligvis, var der det med kompromisløsheden! De sked bare på,hva' der var populært og in. Og musikken var fuldstændig voldelig, ikke fuldstændig overgearet som heavy metal, men i selve UDTRYKKET og ikke mindst teksterne. De sang bare Pinocchio, der var ond og blod, der flød ned at halsen, og alt muligt. Jeg husker at være til den skide Afrika-koncert i '85 og bare hade alle de danske lortebands. Nanna, News, Søs Fænger, Rungsted & Kreutzfeldt, og hvad fanden alle de selvfede, vamle mainstream grupper hed. Jeg husker stadig Sort Sol gå på scenen midt i al rygklapperiet og de danske kunstnere, der ikke ku' slikke hinanden nok i røven, og bare fyre den af med en cover af Suicides gamle "Ghostrider", bedre end Suicide nogensinde selv har spillet den.
Og i oktober spillede de altså så "Langebro". Okay, det er ikke det samme. Der mangler ligesom tre af de oprindelige medlemmer, men hold da kæft det holdt alligevel. Femogtyve år. Hmm, det er måske bedst ikke at tænke på, hvornår jeg hørte originalversionen af "Langebro" for første gang! Det har været i første eller anden klasse. Det kan godt være, at Sort Sol ikke spiller punkmusik mere, og det kan også godt være de ikke er undergrund mere, og nej det er ikke den oprindelige gruppe mere, men jeg er villig til at overse de dersens uheldige detaljer. "Everything that rises..." er stadig den bedste danske plade nogensinde og "Langebro" lød helt A-okay. Hvorfor tar du ikke bare og checker optagelsen ud! Om du så er enig med mig eller ej, er sådan set ligegyldigt.

Og her er den så (jeg ville ha klippet de 20 sek. snak i starten væk, men det kan man vist ikke med den gratisudgave af Realplayer, jeg har!).

Gettin' the shakes

I've been off-line for three days because my Internet provider decided to close shop and run off to some sunny island with all the dough (well, actually they were Tele2 and they cancelled their business here and went back to Sweden, LOL). What a bummer. Three days without Internet and you get the shakes (lol).

More evil Mexicans

Ahh, yesterday I finally received more old Mexican horror moves!! This times a handful of original US NTSC tapes even, no bootlegs. The handful of 60s movies I got were all horror (or "terror" films as they're called south of the border - obviously not "south of the border" where I'm at cos that would leave you in Flensburg, Germany, LOL) and they were: DR SATAN (1966), DR SATAN VS BLACK MAGIC (Dr Satan y la Magia Negra, 1968), THE BLOODY VAMPIRE (El Vampiro sangriento, 1962, actually this one is probably a vhs boot. Oh well!) and ISLAND OF THE DINOSAURS (La Isla de los dinosaurios, 1967). Only THE BLOODY VAMPIRE is in English. Aye Caramba!!

Mystics in Bali + 30 minutes!!!

No, wait! Come back!!
I just know you're on your way out the door! You're going "FFS, that guy is shitting me! Again!!" But no, really... I'm not! Someone over at Cinehound has... REALLY... found a version of MYSTICS IN BALI that runs about thirty minutes longer than the Mondo Macabro DVD!!!!!!!!!

Someone (in India I think) uploaded it to YouTube and tonight I watched the first ten minutes of it and... sure enough... it's got tons of stuff not in the DVD version!! For instance we get to see how the American girl meets her Indonesian boyfriend-to-come! Apparently this version was released on VCD in Malaysia but never dubbed into English. Very exiting!!
MORE INFO LATER!!!

Check the Cinehound thread about it here!

Killer Snakes VHS

[Click scan for bigger size]

No, I'm not gonna review KILLER SNAKES or anything I just thought I'd show you the old Something Weird VHS cover for this dark and nasty Hong Kong horror flick because I think it's pretty cool! Nowadays you don't need to track down a copy of this rare video tape as there's a great looking HK DVD, fully letterboxed, in Mandarin and uncut (well, apart from some reel-end frames missing. Reportedly) and there's also a US DVD (apparently the latter isn't looking as good as the HK one!). However (again; reportedly) the Something Weird Video tape contains the reel-end frames that are missing from the DVDs.
(The scan comes courtesy of Stephen Gladwin from a post at Cinehound)

News from the Philippines!

Well, the first piece of news is actually not from the Philippines but from America. Well, strictly speaking it's from Andrew Leavold in OZ but it's ABOUT a new exciting American DVD release: THEY CALL HER CLEOPATRA WONG and ONE-ARMED EXECUTIONER are coming out on a spiffy double disc next year!!! Very spiffy indeed!!! Obviously (haha) I have both films already (Cleo Wong on kinda-almost-legit dvd from Global in South Africa, and One-Arm on Greek vhs) but it's gonna be cool with a proper DVD release. Andrew also gave the video company 10 (that's TEN) hours of Bobby Suarez-related interviews to use for extras!! Wonder how much they'll be using!?).

Another piece of VERY exiting news is that the making of VENGEANCE OF CLEOPATRA WONG is getting closer! Yes, astonished 'Pino film fans: Suarez is going to make another sequel to THEY CALL HER CLEOPATRA WONG!! Some of the backing money comes from France and it seems French television is ALSO keen on getting a TV-SERIES made in which Cleo Wong's daughter takes the lead!! My friend, can your heart stand the excitement! I'm absolutely about to burst!!

And, oh, oh, I forgot... VENGEANCE OF CLEO WONG is going to feature not only Cleopatra Wong but ALSO the kid from the two BIONIC BOY films AND the guy from ONE-ARMED EXECUTIONER!!!

Lastly, Andrew himself is also going to the Philippines to make a film entitled THE TALLER THEY COME! LOL. I'm not sure how much of the story and cast is a secret as of yet but lemme just remind you the guy is a big fan of FOR Y'UR HEIGHT ONLY (the TALLER they come, haha). Good luck with all that.


This is the Pakistani poster for the original THE BIONIC BOY film (unfortunately the scan is all I've got. So many posters, so little wall space).
[click the scan to see the full poster]

Glory days

Received the premiere ish of Sweden's new fanzine "Gory-Glory Magazine" today. Exciting! I haven't received a fanzine for the past two years! I remember back in the olden days when there were zines in your letterbox every month. Those days are definitely gone. Usch! Everything was better in the old days; music was something you could actually listen to, not like the infernal racket they pass on as "music" these days. Films were better. Hell, television was better. I miss black & white television. And if your arm broke your dad would just fix it, not like today where you have to go into hospital and shit. I miss the old days.

When the Vietnam War raged... in the Philippines

One movie genre that is overlooked by EVERYONE is TRASHY VIETNAM WAR MOVIES FROM THE PHILIPPINES (I know, I know, The Philippines never took part in the Vietnam War but just nod your head and look as if you understand).
And before you dismiss these movies just hear me out: Filipino war movies are nothing like old, boring American war movies. Or old, boring Italian war movies, or any other old, boring war movies for that matter were you see endless scenes of convoys driving slowly thru the countryside, officers holding endless boring meetings on how to infiltrate German lines, or boring battle scenes.
If there's ONE thing Filipino war flicks are NOT it's boring! There's just so much action, carnage, mayhem, death, and violence that they rival any HK action film for the sheer amount of everything I just mentioned!!!

There are a few things that are standard to genre; They were made in the 80s or very early 90s. Most of them are totally no-holds-barred. They are nowhere to be found on DVD (legit DVD that is) and they were mostly (often only) released on VHS in Japan and Greece.

And one more thing that links these films together: They star several actors from a group of Westerners who stayed in the Philippines in the 80s. Some of these actors also starred in wild movies from Indonesia and some of them weren't even really actors but just happened to be at the right place at the right time when some Filipino film producer needed westerners for a film with "Americans" in it. Some of the actors were actually real actors who had starred in cheap movies in Italy and some (very few) had even been in American movies. The genre died out in the early 90s but some of these actors stayed on and still live in the Philippines (Nick Nicholson is one of them).



Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, even most genre film fans don't know these films. Or even if they know them they don't give a rat's ass about them. Well, a couple of us know them and are gone on 'em! (i.e. enjoy them immensely). You can find us hanging out in the Filipino thread over at Dvdmaniacs. Anyway, I think that's enough for now, I'll probably write some incisive piece on all this shit later. Sufficient to say you should try and check out some of them. A good place to start is PHANTOM SOLDIERS (check the trailer in the above) directed by Teddy Page who unfortunately passed away in October (October 8, 2008). The film almost ventures into horror movie territory as the enemy is not only the Vietcong but also, as the title suggests, an army of ghostlike soldiers! Over-the-top entertainment guaranteed!!

Didin Syamsudin: The queen's makeup artist

"The Jakarta Post" has just printed yet another SUZANNA related article. This time not about her as such but about Didin Syamsudin who worked with her as her makeup artist for many years all the way from SUNDEL BOLONG (aka Ghost With Hole) in 1981.




Didin Syamsudin: The queen's makeup artist
By Lovelli Ariesti , Contributor , Jakarta | Sun, 11/02/2008 10:33 AM

If Didin Syamsudin's professional life could be summed up in one line, it would probably be "making horror faces since 1980", and even that would be an understatement.

Born in Cirebon, West Java, 55 years ago as an only child, Didin excelled in all the art and drawing classes he took. He is now known to possess a cinematic Midas touch, turning every film he lays hands on into a box-office hit.

Maybe it's his charm and charisma, maybe it's his patience, maybe it's the genie he claims to have had by his side since early childhood, maybe it's his good looks, or maybe it's just his luck.

Whatever it is, Didin certainly charmed Indonesia's Queen of Horror, Suzanna, who passed away on Oct. 16: Didin was the only person to have had the chance to work intensively with her face for an entire decade.

Sparing some time between his two careers -- one as a father of six and the other as a makeup artist -- Didin spoke to The Jakarta Post about his life and working with the Queen of Horror.

"I first worked with her on the set of Sundel Bolong, a very awkward time," said Didin about Mbak Usi, the affectionate nickname he uses for Suzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, who in return called him Diding.

Didin said that during the production of Sundel Bolong (1981), in which Suzanna played a legendary female ghost characterized by a hole in her back, the actress could be very demanding.

"Mbak Usi would get upset over any dirt stains on her costume. The scenes were being shot in graveyards," he said.

There were days, he said, when he had to wash the white costume in the mornings, right after the production team called it a wrap, so it would be ready before shooting began again in the afternoon.

A beginning makeup artist at that time, yet to master the knack of characters and effects, Didin chose to humor Suzanna, keeping this to himself and making sure the actress felt comfortable as her ghost self.

"It was from that moment on maybe that she, in a more commercial term, 'fell in love' with me. She spoke to the producer, saying that she wanted me to do her makeup on the next project too," he said.

The dynamic duo -- Didin and Mbak Usi -- teamed up again in Ratu Ilmu Hitam (The Queen of Black Magic), another Rapi Film production, in 1981.

It was on the set of their second film, Didin said, that the awkwardness was replaced by a feeling of comfort.

"We grew close and working with her felt just right," he added.

Their cooperation was fruitful, and the film was considered a success.

Suzanna was nominated as best actress for her role as a desperate woman seeking vengeance through black magic in Ratu Ilmu Hitam at the 1982 Indonesian Film Festival.

"Maybe I'm a bit weird," Didin said about the way he works. "When an artist trusts me 100 percent, I will work it all out. But if they don't, then I won't bother.

"When I do my work, I do it as if I was doing my mandatory praying. I start with a prayer and I do everything seriously. I always refrain myself from swearing or uttering negative remarks."

Didin began his career as a makeup artist in 1976, after he was persuaded by a friend to help out on Perkawinan Dalam Semusim (Marriage in a Season), directed by the late Teguh Karya.

After he crossed paths with Suzanna in 1980, he continued doing the makeup on almost all her horror films, including Nyi Blorong (1982), Telaga Angker (The Haunted Pond; 1984), Ratu Sakti Calon Arang (Calong Arang the Powerful Queen; 1985), Ratu Buaya Putih (The White Crocodile Queen; 1988) and Titisan Dewi Ular (Reincarnation of the Queen of Snakes; 1990).

He designed Suzanna's costumes and, most importantly, designed the arrangements of the jasmine -- the flower that appeared in most of her films.

"Mbak Usi really followed the laws of being a horror actress," Didin said. Before a shoot, he explained, Suzanna would conduct puasa mutih, a fast in which a person drinks only water and eats only white rice.

"She also regularly visited Nyi Ratu's room in Samudra Beach Hotel. Believe it or not as you please, but I think these things exist," he said.

Shortly after her burial, Suzanna's husband, Cliff Sangra -- her junior by 20 years -- denied rumors his wife had frequented the hotel room to worship supernatural or mystic powers.

The hotel room in question is room 308 of the Ina Samudra Hotel in Pelabuhan Ratu, West Java, which is dedicated as a show of respect to Nyi Roro Kidul, the queen of the southern sea of Java. Legend has it that the queen also has a daughter named Nyi Blorong.

"These mystic occurrences, I believe they do exist. How can I not? I have had my share of unexplained incidents too," said Didin.

Didin claims that as a child -- and this was later confirmed by gifted people he met along the way -- he was often spared from being involved in potentially dangerous situations by an external force he could not control.

"Later on, people who could see spirits said there was a genie accompanying me," Didin said.

But it isn't just spirits and ghosts: Didin is also popular among the living. His specialization in the art of makeup for characters and special effects has resulted in his involvement in a variety of successful productions, including TV soaps, films and even public service announcements.

Some of his recent work can be seen in Riri Riza's Gie (2005), a film about an activist named Soe Hoek Gie, Nia Dinata's Berbagi Suami (Love for Share; 2006) and Hanung Bramantyo's Ayat-ayat Cinta (2008).

"I have taught 15 students how to do makeup for films. One of them is now a lecturer in Yogyakarta, while the others have begun their own careers," Didin said.

But the problem with today's makeup artists, he said, lies in planning and sensitivity.

"Nowadays, I see women going to sleep in their houses in soaps on TV and can't help but wonder what is up with their gaudy make up."

He believes the purpose of the makeup department in a production is not to provoke negative comments about a "good artist with lousy makeup".

After devoting 22 years of his life touching up makeup and preparing costumes and effects for Indonesian films, Didin said the secret to great makeup was simple.

"It's all in the way you wash your face," he said.

Link to the article in the "The Jakarta Post".

New Scandinavian flick zine!

You don't come across a new fanzine on psychotronic films every day so I thought I'd give this new Scandinavian zine a plug; "Gory-Glory Magazine" hail from the Danish city of Malmø (a city the Swedish stole recently) and I can't really tell you much as I haven't received my copy yet but it looks cool. If you read one of them Scandinavian lingoes you might wanna check out their home page here. The price is SEK30/DKK20 + postage.
Ehh, about their name... one of the editors is Magnus "Gory-Glory" and I guess they thought it would be a cool idea to name the zine after him. Hmm, I'm not so sure about that, LOL. But, hey, what's in a name! If you're in Scandinavia I recommend you give the mag a try.

The Green Slime

I watched THE GREEN SLIME (1968) this morning. Wauw, what can I say other than fun, cheesy, and more fun. LOL. And the theme song is great. Greeen sliiiiime. :-)
The dvd is unfortunately fullscreen but screw that it was a fun movie regardless. Hopefully we're gonna see an official dvd soon (that's the rumour anyway). Oh, and those monsters! THE GREEN SLIME was made in Tokyo by Toho but if you expect their usual style monsters you're in for a surprise! These monsters are soo ridiculous it's... ridiculous! Haha. Totally laughable... but good fun. You should watch it.

Old horrors

Alright, I've got nothing to tell ya and I'm tired cos I stayed up owl night watching the damn election so now I'm too tired to write anything deep or of any value. Or something. So'eh... instead I'll just show you a couple of my new requisitions!!

First of all, a pretty rad cover for one of my (and probably everyone else's) all time favourite horror movies; THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. And no, it's not like I don't have it already but when someone (in Austria) offered me this totally über-rare Danish ex-rental I had to have it. Obviously.
Thanks, Resonator05.


Up next is IT CAME FROM HELL, a horror movie from 1957. Incidentally, the old American horror punk band The Misfits used the title for one of their songs once.



Next up we have THE SCREAMING SKULL (1958) which I discovered via an exiting review that you can find here. These three DVD's are all public domain releases and usually I would only buy one of those if a film doesn't exist on ordinary DVD. Now, SCREAMING SKULL does actually have numerous official dvd releases, however, they are all fullscreen versions except for one release which is out of print and retardedly expensive on Amazon. This public domain release promises to contain a letterboxed print so there's your explanation. LOL.


Now, the last one is THE DISEMBODIED from '57 which I know nothing about - but it doesn't exist on non-public domain dvd so I thought I better get it before it disappears again, haha.



[Click the TCM cover for a bigger size. It doesn't work with the other ones. Sorry]

October 31'st

Hey, it's Halloween eve! Jack Skellington's in da house, haha. Anyway, horror movie viewing mandatory so up next is THE OMEN (the original version mind you).