LET’S GET PHYSICAL: LUST FOR DRACULA (2004) **

FORMAT:  DVD

Dracula (Darian Caine) comes to Los Angeles and seduces Mina Harker (Misty Mundae).  She turns Mina into a vampire, much to the chagrin of her wife, Johnathan (Julian Wells).  It’s then up to Abigail Van Helsing (Shelly Jones) to set things right.

We’ve seen plenty of lesbian vampire movies from Seduction Cinema, so what makes this one different?  Well, for starters, director Anthony Marsiglia likes to linger on shots of freshly shaven female genitalia.  So, that’s a plus.  

It’s also more serious and artsy than say, your typical John Bacchus movie.  That might sound appealing, but Marsiglia’s style is too erratic for its own good.  The constant crosscutting, dissolves, and cutaway shots during the action tends to get a bit irksome.  I guess he was trying to spice things up and make Lust for Dracula “respectable”, but it ultimately makes what should’ve been a straightforward sex scene confusing.  Maybe it was just Marsiglia’s way of disguising the fact that there was only about nine minutes of plot in a ninety-minute movie.

Still, there is scads of nudity to go around, which is nice.  Because of the odd editing techniques, you sometimes get two or three sex scenes happening simultaneously, which helps to beef up the Skinamax Score considerably.  (There is an even dozen nude and/or sex scenes in the first twenty minutes alone.)  The graphic close-ups of women touching themselves are near-hardcore, which helps make this one of the naughtier Seduction Cinema films in their catalogue.

After the odd first act, it finally settles into a fairly standard, low budget, modern-day retread of Dracula.  If you can get past the bizarre opening, it’s an okay lesbian vampire epic, even if it’s sluggishly paced and the sex becomes more infrequent as it goes along.  (Misty and Darian do get a hot nocturnal poolside scene before all is said and done.)  Then, there’s the ending which doesn’t really make sense, but were you really expecting coherence from an enterprise such as this?

I can’t say you’ll be lusting after this one any time soon, but Lust for Dracula isn’t bad.  It’s certainly far from the worst “serious” Seduction Cinema effort I’ve seen.  That is, if you consider a movie where Misty Mundae reads a children’s book to a bat “serious”.  

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: BREATHLESS (1983) *** ½

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on October 16th, 2008)

You know every film snob out there always goes on and on about the French New Wave and how great Jean-Luc Godard is and all that.  Frankly, I just don’t get it, man.  I mean the original Breathless is just a dull piece of poop.  This remake on the other hand is pretty fucking awesome.  I know you aren’t supposed to like the remake more than the original, but this movie, like A Fistful of Dollars and John Carpenter’s The Thing before it, outdoes its predecessor in every way. 

 

Honestly, this is the only movie I can think of in which Richard Gere is just flat out amazing.  Sure, he’s been in tons of stuff, but usually as Richard Gere.  This is Richard Gere, raw.  This was long before he started being all buddy-buddy with the Dali Llama.  This is Richard Gere, acting like a goddamn lunatic.  Seriously, he’s always twitching, moving around, talking to himself, singing, dancing, whipping his dick out, and talking like a Mexican for no good reason.  It’s as if Richard said, “Hey look I know my career is going to suck big time so I might as well just cram everything into this one performance.”

 

The plot is the inverse of the original.  Instead of a French hoodlum romancing an American girl, it’s an American thief romancing a French chick.  Basically, Gere plays a guy who’s obsessed with Jerry Lee Lewis and Silver Surfer comics who accidentally kills a cop and goes on the lam in LA.  He really should go to Mexico to hide out, but he refuses to go unless his Frenchy broad Valerie Kaprisky goes with him.  Even though she’s about as dumb as a box of crackers, Gere still wants her to come with him because of her habitual nakedness.  

 

The thing I love about Breathless is that Gere’s character is so out there that you never know what he’ll do next.  He’s just one crazy motherfucker.  Plus, he likes all the stuff I do, namely rock n’ roll, comic books and naked chicks, so he’s good people.  You get a feeling that he didn’t want to get typecast as the “romantic lead” so he just when fucking crazy.  I admire that.  He said, “You know what, they’re already paying me a truck load of cash for this movie, I might as well act like a goddamn maniac, talk like a Mexican every chance I get, and scream Jerry Lee Lewis lyrics at the top of my lungs.  Besides, I get to see Valerie Kaprisky naked a lot, so why not?”

 

Admittedly, Kaprisky is the weak link in the movie.  Her grating accent and look of perpetual boredom does not take away from the fact that she is one fucking hot French chick who likes to get naked a lot.  Respect.

 

Director Jim McBride bathes the movie in a seedy LA scumbag glow that’s genuinely winning.  The funky nightclubs, dingy back alleys and half empty movie theaters are a perfect milieu for Gere’s antics.  I also liked the way that he paralleled Gere’s predicament with that of the Silver Surfer.  Remember, this movie came out long before the mega-hit superhero movies of today, so seeing the Surfer featured so prominently in the film is a real treat for a fan of the comic like me.  

 

The flick is superb in almost everyway; it’s just a shame I have to knock a half a star off for featuring the most gratuitous cock shot of any movie ever made.  Seriously, if you are a man and you are taking a shower, do you just turn to the camera and shake your schlong uncontrollably for no good reason?  Didn’t think so.  I didn’t need to see Richard’s dick, so it’s only getting *** ½; otherwise it might have been Top Ten of ’83 material.  Don’t let Gere’s pee-pee stop you from checking the flick out though as the man is clearly at the top of his game, acting wise. 

 

He also gets some fucking great lines like, “Don’t take a shower.  I want us to smell like we’ve been fucking!” and “The moolah is in the coolah!”  My favorite line though came from cop John P. (Death Wish 4) Ryan who says, “Don’t F-U-C-K with the LAPD!”

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: SANTO VS. INFERNAL MEN (1961) * ½

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on December 8th, 2019)

Joaquin Cordero stars as a cop who goes undercover to bust a ring of drug smugglers.  Whenever he’s in a tight spot, the famed Mexican wrestler El Santo shows up to save his bacon.  Eventually, the bad guys discover Cordero’s identity and kidnap his best girl (Gina Romand).  

Santo vs. Infernal Men is El Santo’s second movie and it’s painfully obvious the filmmakers hadn’t quite figured out the formula yet.  It was filmed back-to-back in Cuba with his first film, Brain of Evil, and it feels more like a Cuban travelogue than an honest to goodness El Santo adventure.  There are long stretches where nothing happens, and a good deal of time is spent on Cordero hanging out on a fishing boat or lounging around the docks.  The musical numbers also pale to the ones we’d see in future installments.  (A mariachi band performs two songs, and there’s a lone nightclub dance routine.)

The big problem is that El Santo plays second fiddle to the boring hero and only occasionally pops up to bust some heads.  In fact, El Santo’s character almost feels like a power-up in a video game.  If there’s too many bad guys for Cordero to handle, he calls on El Santo to clear the screen of his enemies.  Unfortunately, like most video game power-ups, El Santo’s appearances are a limited commodity.  

It would be one thing if the action was sparse, but what action we do get is lackluster at best.  There’s also a potentially great set-up for a finale aboard a rollercoaster that ultimately goes nowhere.  Thankfully, the series got much better as it went along, especially when the filmmakers finally figured out they should give El Santo more to do.  I mean, why would you hire Mexico’s most famous wrestler to be in your movie and then have him play second banana to a far inferior leading man?  Not only that, they don’t give him a single wrestling match!  Aye caramba! 

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: THE EVIL BRAIN (1961) ***

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:  

(As posted on February 8th, 2020)

The Evil Brain was the very first El Santo movie.  It was filmed (in Cuba) back-to-back with his second feature, Santo vs. Infernal Men.  If you’re a fan of El Santo, you may be taken aback by the fact that he only has a supporting role and doesn’t participate in any wrestling matches.  While it’s obvious the filmmakers were still figuring out how to best utilize El Santo’s talents, there are many elements already present that would go on to become hallmarks of the series, namely, a mad doctor villain, long street fights with the villain’s henchmen, musical numbers (a mariachi trio goes from table to table entertaining patrons at an outdoor café), and dance routines (a trio of Mexican folk dancers do some clog dancing and play castanets in a nightclub without the benefit of musical accompaniment).  Even in a very rough form and with minimal involvement from El Santo, all of this still manages to be quite entertaining.

The film begins straightaway with El Santo (although he’s only referred to as “El Enmascarado”) battling three thugs in the street who are armed with chains, switchblades, and brass knuckles.  The bad guys eventually get the upper hand, knock El Santo out, and bring him before their boss, a mad scientist who is working on a “cell disintegration” formula.  He performs an experiment on El Santo and turns him into his mindless servant.  (“I will control his will!”)  El Santo then helps the doctor’s men kidnap various scientists and bankers that will further his nefarious plans.  It then falls to El Santo’s buddy, the masked man Incognito (Fernando Oses) to thwart the mad scientist’s plan and return El Santo back to normal.

Usually, when I watch these El Santo movies, I don’t always have the benefit of seeing a dubbed version, or one that includes English subtitles.  I’m glad my version of The Evil Brain had subtitles.  Otherwise, I would’ve missed out on some truly priceless dialogue like, “We are dealing with some well-organized delinquents!” 

Despite some gratuitous padding from the needlessly drawn-out driving scenes, The Evil Brain moves at a relatively brisk pace.  The battles with the villain’s goons are exciting and the scenes of the henchmen kidnapping scientists and tossing them into the back of their car are very much like something out of an old Republic serial.  The action highlight is when Incognito battles the mind-controlled El Santo in the doctor’s lair.  I mean if you can’t afford to show two Mexican wrestlers grappling in a wrestling ring, I guess having them duke it out in a mad scientist lab is the next best thing.  Even if it feels like the editor fell asleep during the driving scenes, the fight sequences are tightly cut together and well-choreographed.

Unlike most El Santo movies, The Evil Brain remains involving even when he’s not on screen.  The mad doctor plot is just fun enough to work on its own merits and there are a few genuinely atmospheric moments (like the scenes in the wine cellar) along the way.  While later entries would go on and perfect the Lucha Libre formula, the foundation for fun was firmly set with The Evil Brain.

AKA:  Santo vs. the Evil Brain.  AKA:  Brain of Evil.  

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: PHENOMENA (1985) ** ½

FORMAT:  4K UHD (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on July 17th, 2007, under the title, Creepers)

A pre-Labyrinth Jennifer Connelly stars in Dario Argento’s film about a misfit girl who has a psychic connection with insects who teams up with a paraplegic forensic expert (Donald Pleasence) and his super smart chimp to solve a series of brutal murders. The murder sequences are pure Argento and include a cool decapitated head and a sword through the back of a girl’s head and out her mouth. The pacing drags substantially mid-movie, but the rousing finale is among Argento’s best work. The nightmarish imagery involves a pit full of maggots, a mutant killer kiddie, a bee attack, and a homicidal primate. The best part of the movie is the cool soundtrack by rock bands such as Motorhead, Iron Maiden and Goblin. Co-starring the director’s wife Daria Nicolodi and the director’s daughter, Fiore. 20 minutes were cut out by the American distributors, but later DVD releases were fully restored.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

This is the longer Italian version that clocks in nearly thirty minutes longer than the American release.  While it provides more backstory and fleshes out Jennifer Connelly’s character, I can certainly understand the reasoning behind the cuts.  I’ve always felt that this is one of Argento’s most uneven films, but the rewards mostly outweigh the pokey pacing.  The reinstated scenes unfortunately make things a tad bit pokier.  There’s probably enough plot and weird imagery for three movies here and Argento strings the audience along a bit too much.  However, the last fifteen minutes achieve a wondrous fever dream anything-goes sense of dread like only Argento can craft. 

4K UHD NOTES:

Fortunately, if you want to see the American version, Creepers, it, along with yet another version of the film, is included along with a host of extras.  The 4K scan is quite good, which enhances Argento’s lush visuals.  The underwater scenes in the finale are particularly beautiful.  In fact, the film looks so detailed that some of the gore (most noticeably the hand in the opening scene) looks a little fakey.  That said, speaking as someone who previously owned the film on DVD as part of a Mill Creek 50 pack of horror movies, this comes as a major upgrade in every way. 

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: LET ME DIE A WOMAN (1977) ****

FORMAT:  VHS (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on July 17th, 2007)

In many ways, this is director Doris (Deadly Weapons) Wishman’s ultimate movie.  It’s a crazy, anything-goes pseudo-documentary about sex changes and transvestites.  It would make a perfect double feature with Glen or Glenda.  While it doesn’t match that film’s fever dream WTF? power, it comes pretty close.  It also delivers what Glen or Glenda promised and couldn’t show:  actual footage of a sex change operation performed in graphic detail.  

Wishman intercuts an interview with “Leslie” (“A year ago, I was a man!”) a real transgendered Puerto Rican with footage of a real doctor, Leo Wolman (who relies heavily on cue cards) who introduces us to several real transvestites and transsexuals.  He refers to their plight as a “monstrous biological joke”.  There are even sex scenes with said transsexuals and some simulated scenes with porn vets Harry Reems and Vanessa Del Rio.  The craziest part (if you don’t count the operation scenes) is Wolman’s story of a man who wanted to become a woman so much he cut off his own penis using a chisel and a hammer!  This incident is lovingly recreated in graphic detail for your viewing pleasure.  If that doesn’t make you squirm in your seat, I don’t know what will.  

This is one of the craziest movies ever made and only the strongest of stomachs need apply.  If you loved Glen or Glenda (or maybe even Faces of Death) then what are you waiting for?  Wishman started filming this as early as 1971 (as Adam or Eve) but later added the interview footage and released it in ’77.

AKA:  Man or Woman?

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: NIGHT RHYTHMS (1992) ***

FORMAT:  DVD

Martin Hewitt is Nick West, a radio call-in show host who offers his listeners intimate sex advice.  Sometimes, the smooth-talking Nick gets so worked up during the show that he has phone sex with his listeners over the air, bringing them to orgasm as he tells them everything he’d like to do to them.  He meets a stripper named Honey (Tracy Tweed, Shannon’s sister) in a bar and they immediately hit it off.  She gets hassled by her possessive boss (David Carradine) and Nick intervenes and scares him and his goons off.  Honey then rewards Nick with some hot sex.  Later, they have sex in the studio while Nick is on the air.  Afterwards, Nick wakes up to find Honey lying dead next to him.  Wanted for murder, he goes on the lam and sets out to clear his name.

Night Rhythms is another solid erotic thriller from Gregory (Animals Instincts) Hippolyte (AKA:  Gregory Dark).  The saxophone-driven soundtrack, elegant cinematography (by Christopher Nolan’s future director of photography, Wally Pfister), and heavy-breathing, scantily clad, enormously bosomed cast help set the mood.  I can’t say it’s a classic of its kind, but fans of the genre will certainly appreciate it.

The plot utilizes a standard template, but what makes it fun is the way Nick’s reputation precedes him.  Even while on the run from desperate villains and pesky cops, women will drop everything just to test him out in the sack, and he is more than willing to oblige.  This fuck-in-the-face-of-danger attitude is what gives Night Rhythms its charm.  It’s not believable in any way, but who cares?  

Hewitt is involved in nearly every sex scene.  You have to wonder if he acted in this for free.  I know I would’ve.  There’s a great scene where he eludes the police with the help of two sexy strippers who take him back to their place for a scintillating three-way.  His scenes with Tweed (one in a bar and the other in his studio where he ties her up and bangs her on his DJ console) are quite steamy.

The supporting cast is fun too.  Carradine makes for an appropriately scummy villain, Sam J. (Flash Gordon) Jones puts in a fine turn as a detective, and Delia Sheppard is sexy as Nick’s producer.  It takes a while before Sheppard gets in on the fun, but her hot romp with Deborah Driggs late in the picture is well worth the wait.  Add in Julie Strain in an extended cameo as a horny housewife and you have a recipe for a saucy slice of late-night cable erotica.

AKA:  Night Crimes.