Watch-A-Thon flicks 1 & 2: BLOOD FREAK & WILD PUSSYCAT

My first two flicks off the starting line are part of the Brattle's "Return To The Grindhouse" series, running thru October 9. I highly recommend checking out the listings and seeing everything that doesn't completely turn your stomach! =)

Note that both films play again in this series, so check the schedule if you think yo might be into them.

BLOOD FREAK—He's not a man, he's a turkey-boo~
trailer | Brattle listing
The last time I saw this was in college, courtesy of my classic horror connoisseur roommate, Ross. It's just as fried as I remember it. =)

It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of sullying your body, the lord's temple, with the taint of drugs. At the same time, it's critical of scientists who choose to play god with man and poultry. Herschel, a drifter-biker working an Elvis look befriends a Bible freak named Angel. She introduces him to her sister Ana and her friends, all of whom like to party. A good Christian boy, he resists her repeated attempts to lure him to the dark side, but only for so long. Once he falls, he falls hard, becoming quickly addicted. Meanwhile, Angel's good Samaritan friend offers Herschel a handyman job on his poultry farm. At work he meets a pair of scientists who are working with some sort of experimental process to enhance the growth of their turkeys. They offer to hook him up with drugs in exchange for his help testing the product of their work. Soon after Herschel begins playing guinea pig, he is wracked with convulsions and ultimately transformed into a monster afflicted with his same addiction, but he can only satisfy it with the blood of other junkies! Wacky, low production and, umm... earnestly acted hijinks ensue!

Note that ROLLING THUNDER was originally scheduled to screen at 8pm tonight, but those reels hadn't arrived in time. As a result, there was more time than planned between the 8pm show and the 10pm WILD PUSSYCAT. This is how I spent some of that extra time. =)


THE WILD PUSSYCAT—When revenge is a sexy party...
Brattle listing
This is the older Greek cousin of American femme fatale vengeance flicks, it's not as harsh and graphic, but turns the melodrama up way high, playing like an EMMANUELLE version of SECRETARY meets I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. The vengeance, as well as the crime, in this flick have a distinctly sadomasochistic kink to it. Shot in black and white and scored with an excellent, if repetitive, blend of lounge and pop instrumentals, it's way—well—classier than I expected.

Upon her sister's death, Nadia arrives in town and quickly learns that her abusive gigolo of a boyfriend, Nick, basically drove her to kill herself. Nadia sets herself up as a mystery woman and seduces the unwitting but ever cocky Nick into her carefully planned psychosexual torture chamber. Her goal, to punish Nick by putting him thru the ego-dismantling grinder that he subjected her sister to. There's lots of kink but not so much in the way of explicit visuals. There is one scene of particularly violent treatment, but—call me a naive romantic—I hafta say, this would be an awesome date movie for the right super cool couple.

Re-reading the above, I find I'm doing a poor job of relating the goodness here, so I feel obliged to include a copy/paste of the Brattle's blurb for the movie...

Wild Pussycat
(1968) dir Dimis Dadiras w/Gisela Dali, Paul Dillon [88 min]

From Greece comes this amazing, kinky, violent psychosexual soap opera. When good girl Nadia investigates her sister's death she finds out that sadistic pimp Nick is behind it all so she straps on the leather and whips and beats him at his own game. Full of unspeakable perversions, dark secrets, serious chain-smoking, two-way mirrors, orgies and 40-weight sleaze. There's even an adorable pussycat, who purrs and licks her paws as the worst kinds of depravity unravel in front of her. A rare and compulsively entertaining treat that has wowed audiences since its rediscovery.

Rated R; Not Available on Video; Also screens Mon 10/6

One odd observation: I suspect the adorable pussycat is homophobic.

Keep on grindin on~