LET’S GET PHYSICAL: GATOR BAIT 2: CAJUN JUSTICE (1988) ***

FORMAT:  DVD

Gator Bait must have been a huge hit on video.  That is the only explanation why it took Ferd and Beverly Sebastian fourteen years to make a sequel.  It’s not a patch on that iconic ‘70s drive-in classic, but it remains a solid rape and revenge picture. 

Big T. (Trey Loren), the brother of Claudia Jennings’ character from the first movie, is all grown up.  He marries a nice city girl named Angelique (Jan Mackenzie) and teaches her all his family’s Cajun customs.   Most importantly, he shows her how to hunt and navigate in the swamp.  Leroy (Paul Muzzcat), the surviving member of the feuding family from the original, still has a grudge with Big T., so he gets a bunch of his pals together to kidnap and rape his new bride.  When he comes home early, the marauders shoot Big T. and leave him for dead.  Eventually, Angelique escapes and exacts revenge on her tormentors. 

This sequel is more in the vein of I Spit in Your Grave than Gator Bait.  (There’s even a rapist who’s mentally handicapped.)  The Sebastians were smart not to recast the role of Desiree because no one could’ve filled Jennings’ immortal Daisy Dukes.  (It would’ve also been hard to imagine a tough cookie like Jennings playing a victim.)  Former GLOW girl Mackenzie isn’t half bad and has a few nude scenes.  She is also convincing during her action scenes and looks good while doling out Cajun justice via snake, shotgun, and swamp boat. 

If there is a problem with all this, it’s that it’s overlong (ninety-nine minutes) and the set-up is a little clunky.  Thankfully, the third act delivers some solid exploitation goodness.  It’s almost a shame the Sebastians didn’t make a trilogy out of the series.  Instead, they opted to say see ‘ya later gator to the franchise after this entry. 

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: GATOR BAIT (1974) ****

FORMAT:  DVD

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on August 18th, 2007)

Ferd and Beverly Sebastian’s knockout drive-in hit about a Cajun hottie named Desiree (the late great Claudia Jennings) who’s out for revenge still packs a punch after all these years. When Desiree gets pinched by the inept deputy for poaching gators in the Bayou, she escapes and causes the inadvertent death of some poor cracker. The deputy (the real murderer) frames her and the sheriff calls together the grieving backwoods family for some good old-fashioned southern justice. But they cross the line when they shove a shotgun up Desiree’s sister’s twat and pull the trigger and then she gets REAL mad and begins picking off the rednecks one by one, dispensing her own brand of Cajun justice. 

Basically, it’s First Blood in the Bayou, but with the ultra-hot Jennings in Daisy Dukes and her bosom hanging out her shirt, which means there’s not a thing wrong with it. Jennings went on to such classics as Sisters of Death, Deathsport and Fast Company before dying an unfortunate and untimely death. Luckily for exploitation movie fans, her legacy lives on in this classic. 

The Sebastians waited 14 years before churning out a sequel, Gator Bait 2: Cajun Justice. 

P.O.W. THE ESCAPE (1986) *** ½

David Carradine stars as a colonel in Vietnam assigned to storm a P.O.W. camp and rescue the prisoners.  The wily head of the camp (Mako) sets a trap for him, and Carradine winds up interred there too.  With the war coming to a close, Mako wants to take off with a bunch of gold and he needs Carradine and his men to cross enemy lines.  Naturally, Carradine and the other prisoners eventually escape into the jungle with Mako closing in behind them. 

P.O.W. The Escape is one of the better Namsploitation movies of the era.  It’s chockfull of action, exploding bamboo huts, shootouts, Jeep chases, great stunts, and bridges being blown up.  The plot moves with fierce efficiency and there are more twists than you might expect from a typical genre offering. 

The big reason the flick works as well as it does is because of David Carradine.  This is one of his all-time best performances and he delivers his lines with great intensity.  The opening scene where he receives his orders is particularly great as his “everybody comes home” speech coupled with his charismatic swagger instantly endears him to the audience.  I also liked that he wasn’t quite a one-man army like Rambo and still relies on his men to secure their objectives.  That of course doesn’t stop him from literally wrapping himself in the American flag while mowing down dozens of VC soldiers during the finale. 

Mako makes for a formidable foe.  He gives the villain a steely persistence and cold cruelty that makes him an ideal foil for Carradine’s stoic hero.  American Ninja’s Steve James also has some fine moments as one of Carradine’s fellow prisoners who acts as his de facto second in command. 

Overall, this is one of the best mid-budget Cannon films of the ‘80s.  War movie buffs, Carradine fans, and Cannon aficionados will be completely satisfied by this one.  In short, P.O.W. is A.O.K. by me. 

AKA:  Behind Enemy Lines.  AKA:  Attack Force ‘Nam.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: THE BEES (1978) ****

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As published in my book, Double Vision:  Hollywood vs. Hollywood)

Back when I had a Beta player, one of the few movies I owned was The Bees.  If ever there was an unsung B (err… Bee?) Movie, it’s this one.  The term “So Bad, It’s Good” has been thrown around so much that it has become a cliché.  If ever there was a flick applied to that cliché, it’s this one.  If you’re the kind of person whose lifeblood is “So Bad, It’s Good” cinema, you’ll want to check it out.  I’ll even go so far to say that if you go out and watch any one film featured in this book, it should be The Bees.  You’ll thank me.

The Bees was released to cash in on The Swarm.  It is one of the few cases where the cash-in is far more entertaining than its big budget counterpart.  I can’t say it’s a “good” movie exactly, but it’s funnier than most comedies.

The plot has a scientist in South America studying killer bees.  A poor farmer and his young son break into his property looking to steal honey and unwittingly unleash the killer bees.  They sting the little kid to death and this incites the local villagers to grab their torches and pitchforks and burn the place to the ground!

Yes folks, if you thought torch and pitchfork-wielding villagers were only relegated to Frankenstein movies, think again.

Anyway, the scientist dies and his hot wife (Angel Tompkins from The Teacher) survives by hiding in the walk-in freezer.  She then smuggles some killer bees with her to New York to show her scientist grandfather (John Carradine, utilizing a hysterical German accent) what her hubby had been working on.  She’s not in the Big Apple five minutes when some muggers swipe her bag and unwittingly get stung to death in the process!

Meanwhile, John Saxon is working with the U.N. to find a way to make the bees stop killing people.  They’re important because they produce twice the amount of honey than an ordinary bee.  Angel meets up with John in his hotel room where he is trying to score with a hot babe he calls his “friend”.

I have to tell you folks, the scene where John meets Angel for the first time is legendary.  His girlfriend winds up getting stung by one of Angel’s bees and runs out of the apartment.  This leads to the best dialogue exchange in the movie:

Angel:  “It probably stung your friend.”

John:  “Will she be all right?”

Angel:  “She’ll be dead in a couple of minutes.”

John:  “I need my friend.”

Just reading their dialogue doesn’t do this scene justice.  The way Saxon says his line is flat-out hilarious.  You’ll be laughing so hard you’ll probably miss the throwaway line where Tompkins assures him that one bee isn’t as deadly as thousands (although that doesn’t exactly rule out the fact that his girlfriend could very well be dead).

If that doesn’t make you laugh, the next scene will.  Apparently, John isn’t too worried about his “friend”, and Angel has fully gotten over the death of her husband because they wind up spending the night together!  Is this movie fucking awesome or what?

The next day, Saxon opens his big mouth to a bunch of businessmen that the killer bees produce more honey than regular bees.  Immediately, the big business guys have their people illegally sneak in a mess of killer bees.  Naturally, they get loose and kill a fat girl on the beach.

The attack scene on the beach is hilarious.  There’s one shot of a guy quivering in panic that will make you stop and rewind the film multiple times.  Did I mention the guy in question is wearing obvious blackface make-up?  (I guess they couldn’t find any African-American extras that day.)  This fact is made even more obvious when he covers his face with his hands, which are white as a ghost because they have absolutely no make-up on them whatsoever.

I couldn’t make this up if I tried.

Then there’s a great scene where an old dude gets a couple of foul-mouthed kids to find some bees to sting him to clear up his rheumatism.  Naturally, things go bad and they all get stung to death.  The hilarity of this scene is heightened by the fact that the musical score sounds like something out of a Merrie Melodies cartoon.

But it gets better.

The bees then attack the Rose Bowl parade.  The scenes of parade floats being swarmed by bees are priceless.  Former President Gerald Ford also has a cameo in this scene, but as far as I could tell, he emerged unscathed from the killer bee attack.

John then gets a big idea to stop the bees.  He’ll spray them with a pheromone that turns them gay so they won’t reproduce with the queen.  One congressman says, “Are you saying that this chemical of yours will turn the male bees into homosexuals?  That reminds me of a certain neighborhood I know in LA!”

Only in the ‘70s, folks.

Of course, the plan doesn’t work, but luckily, John Carradine has been listening to tapes of the bees’ buzzing and has deciphered their language.  He also figures out that one of the politicians has been stealing from his bee fund.  When he tries to do something about it, the politician has him gunned down by some hitmen.  They also go after John and Angel, but the killers wind up getting a face full of bees for their trouble.  Thankfully, the politician dies from a horrible bee attack and falls several stories to his death, so that plot point gets wrapped up fairly quickly.

If you can’t already tell, the stuff with the hitmen and the crooked politician is just padding.  Since we’re only at the hour mark, you know there’s bound to be even more padding just around the corner.  The Bees doesn’t disappoint as the next couple of minutes are nothing more than bees superimposed over stock footage of planes crashing while a TV news reporter covers the action.

I guess I should tell you about this TV news set.  It’s nothing more than a guy sitting at a desk in front of some steel shutters with the words “TV 3” written in black electrical tape on them.  God, I love this movie.

In the end, John Saxon finally cracks the bees’ language and learns they will destroy the human race if we don’t stop ruining the environment.  He takes this info to the U.N. and they naturally, don’t believe him.  (The ambassador for Great Britain says, “Good Lord.  This chap’s gone completely raving bonkers!”)  Then the bees crash the U.N. and John issues his final plea for man and bee to live in harmony.

Yes, folks.  The finale manages to rip-off Phase IV AND Superman IV at the same time.  Any movie that can pull off a feat like that is all right with me.

If you can’t already tell, The Bees is nuttier than a squirrel turd.  I love it.  I’ll gladly take it over The Swarm any day.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET (1977) ***

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on October 4th, 2011)

This movie resembles something that clawed its way out of Satan’s butthole; and I mean that in the best way possible. Every frame of the film looks like the final retinal image of a dying deranged lunatic. If that isn’t the highest form of praise I can bestow on a movie; I don’t know what is.

Some porno backers are tired of the usual old skinflicks so they hire Terry Hawkins (writer/director Roger Watkins) to make some new product. They don’t count on him being a total nutjob. Terry takes his work very seriously and he along with his loyal cast and crew, makes some disgusting snuff films in which they wear cheap dime store masks and slaughter the producers (and their wives) on camera.

So in a way; it’s kinda like Cecil B. Demented Meets The Strangers.

The first 40 minutes of The Last House on Dead End Street are sloppy, amateurish, and more than a little boring. But the final half hour of the film where all the snuffing happens is fucked up and then some. The gore highlight comes when Terry and his crew tie a chick down, cut off her legs, and rip every organ imaginable out of her body. We also get an outrageous scene where a chick is put in blackface and whipped at a party too. But nothing can prepare you for the scene where a gal unzips her jeans and pulls out a deer hoof and makes some poor bastard suck it like Sasha Grey.

Folks, if this scene doesn’t make you want to take a shower directly afterwards, nothing will.

Watkins is pretty awesome in this movie. He kinda looks like a cross between Bill Hader and Marky Ramone and gives a truly awesome performance. My favorite scene of his was when he stomped his producer to death while repeatedly screaming, “I’m directing this fucking movie!”

If ever there was a movie about a misunderstood artist struggling to find balance between art and commerce, it’s this one.

As a director, Watkins does a fine job too. He basically makes the whole flick look like an honest to God snuff film; which is a pretty impressive feat. It’s a shame he never directed another horror film because if The Last House on Dead End Street was any indication; he could’ve been one of the greats.

AKA: The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell. AKA: The Fun House.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: CORRUPTION (1983) **

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:  

(As posted on March 18th, 2016)

I’m a huge Jamie Gillis fan. In fact, my next book (which hopefully will be out by the summer) will feature an entire chapter devoted to the man. Gillis delivered some truly stellar performances in a slew of XXX movies over the years, and he’s always fun to watch, no matter the quality of the film. In Corruption, he gives a good performance, but the flick is so muddled that he never is really given much to work with.

Gillis plays a businessman who closes some sort of deal. His brother is a lowlife who he has to make a temporary alliance with to make sure the deal goes through. He then leads Gillis into a place that has a series of red doors, each of which feature a bunch of people performing sex acts just behind them.

I really couldn’t make head or tails of what was going on in the movie. It’s particularly frustrating and disappointing given the fact that it was directed by none other than Roger Watkins of The Last House on Dead End Street fame. Although he does toss in a few moments of random weirdness (like the guy in the mime make-up), none of it really makes much sense.

Not that you necessarily need a porno to make sense. If the sex scenes were any good, I probably wouldn’t have minded the fact that Watkins’ plotting sometimes borders on schizophrenic. Although Gillis gets a good scene with Vanessa Del Rio, many of the other sex scenes just come up short. The cinematography looks great too, but in the end, Corruption winds up being too arty to really work as erotica and not sexy enough to function as a straight XXX flick.

AKA: Corruption in Bed.

LET’S GET PHYSICAL: ROBOT LOVE SLAVES (1971) ** ½

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY (REWATCH)

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on December 4th, 2017)

A scientist is so busy in his lab perfecting his robot love slaves that he doesn’t have any time for his paralyzed wife.  Not to worry.  She’s not really paralyzed.  She’s just faking it so she can fuck her doctor.  Once the robot love slaves are in working order, the scientist sends them off to ball various friends before turning them on his wife. 

Robot Love Slaves might’ve been better if the hardcore scenes had remained intact.  As it is, this softcore version is perfectly acceptable.  Then again, the missing XXX footage might’ve been terrible, so who knows?  All I know is that sometimes, the editing gets a bit too herky-jerky during the sex scenes.  

Thank goodness the sci-fi scenes are just silly enough to keep you interested during its hour-or-so running time.  I mean the filmmakers did a nice job of making the most of the production’s shoestring budget.  It was all clearly filmed in someone’s apartment, but at least the lab looked decent as far as these things go.  The girls are appealing for the most part.  They certainly seem game enough.  There’s even an OK plot twist near the end.

The funniest and most memorable part though was hearing instrumental versions of the day’s top hits during the sex scenes.  I’m sure there are plenty of other better ‘70s sex films you could waste your time on.  However, how many of those feature people screwing to instrumentals of “Hey Jude” and “What a Wonderful World”?

AKA:  Too Much Loving.