DUSK TO DAWN DRIVE-IN TRASH-O-RAMA SHOW VOL. 2 (1996) *** ½

This second installment of trailer trash from Something Weird kicks off with a fantastic trailer for a Kung Fu double feature of Devil Woman and Dragons Never Die that manages to steal taglines from Last House on the Left (“Keep Repeating:  IT’S ONLY A MOVIE!”), Children of the Damned ("Beware the Eyes That Paralyze!”), AND come up with an amazing tagline of their own (“Take Yo’ Mama to See It Before Someone Else Does!”).  Other great taglines belong to TNT Jackson (“With That Dynamite Bod, She’s a Jet-Black Hit Squad!”), Killers Three (“Dick Clark…A Guy with a Gun!”), and Crypt of Dark Secrets (“You Pay for the Whole Seat… You’ll Only Use the Edge!”).

What makes this installment so much fun is the vast variety of exploitation subgenres on display.  It doesn’t focus on a particular one for too long before moving on to another, and that makes for a breezy good time.  There’s crime (The Italian Connection and The Outside Man), Blaxploitation (Car Wash and Hit Man), Burt Reynolds vehicles (White Lightning and Shamus), ‘70s Coming of Age comedies (Teenage Graffiti and The Van), pseudo-documentaries (The Devil’s Triangle and The Force Beyond), Italian Horror (Suspiria and Hatchet for the Honeymoon), William Girdler movies (Asylum of Satan and Three on a Meathook), biker flicks (The Born Losers and Devil’s Angels), and sexy ‘70s Sci-Fi (Galaxina and The Love Factor), just to name a few.

The highlight is the trailer for The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow (AKA:  Invasion of the Girl Snatchers) in which offscreen producers try to come up with a better title for the movie.  I also enjoyed being lulled into a trance by the Hypno-Wheel for “The Young American Mystic Cult of Horror” Spook Show.  There’s also a long stretch of trailers for WTF kid’s movies (Puss N’ Boots, Tom Thumb, Sleeping Beauty, The Brave Little Tailor, and The Wonderful Land of Oz) that is sure to befuddle any dyed-in-the-wool fan of psychotronic cinema.  

The complete trailer line-up is as follows:  Devil Woman/Dragons Never Die, Challenge to Survive, The Impossible Years, Las Vegas Lady, The Thing with Two Heads, The Italian Connection, The Outside Man, Car Wash, TNT Jackson, Kansas City Bomber, Lipstick, A Bullet for Pretty Boy, Jackson County Jail, White Lightning, Shamus, Arnold, The Devil’s Triangle, The Hidan of Maukbeiangjow, The Killer Elite, Teenage Graffiti, Killers Three, The Van, Hit Man, The Black Six, Sting of the Dragon Masters, Beyond the Door, The Night Child, The Force Beyond, Crypt of Dark Secrets, The Legend of McCullough's Mountain, Asylum of Satan, Suspiria, Torso, Hatchet for the Honeymoon, Three on a Meathook, The Manitou, Mandingo, The Born Losers, Cornbread Earl and Me, Carry on Camping, Up in the Cellar, Devil's Angels, Eye of the Cat, The Dirty Outlaws, Fearless Fighters, Infra-Man, Slumber Party Massacre, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Phantasm, Puss 'n Boots, Tom Thumb, Sleeping Beauty, The Brave Little Tailor, The Wonderful Land of Oz, Battle Beyond the Stars, Galaxina, The Love Factor, Invasion of the Bee Girls, Raw Meat, The Devil's Wedding Night, Deathmaster, The Young American Mystic Cult of Horror, and The Mad Doctor of Blood Island.