Sex & Fury (1973)
This one is a "pinky violence" flick from Japan directed by one of the masters of the genre Norifumi Suzuki. It follows the sexy adventures of Ocho Inoshika (Reiko Ike) a petty thief who gets mixed up in some international intrigue with spies and gangsters. In what has to be the most titillating crossover event ever, exploitation darling Christina Lindberg also has a starring role as an exotic gambling expert. As the title of the movie would imply, there is a whole lot of nudity to include a fully nude slow-mo samurai sword fight (which is choreographed better than a lot of other action movies I have seen lately). While this is definitely a sleazy movie, it's filmed extremely well and boasts a groovy '70s soundtrack. Quentin Tarantino lifted a lot of his ideas for Kill Bill (2003) from Sex & Fury.
Available on DVD from Panik House.
School of the Holy Beast (1974)
We have another film from Norifumi Suzuki and this one dives headlong into the "nunsploitation" genre. This film is extremely blasphemous as it takes place in an Japanese convent and has all sorts of sordid acts perpetrated by the nuns who worship there. Catholicism isn't as prevalent in Japan and so it tends to be used as an aesthetic choice as opposed to an exploration of the religion. School of the Holy Beast (1974) does try to delve into the some of the contradictions inherent in the dogma but it mostly focuses on the more shocking elements like topless nun whip battles and lesbian sex. As an aside, this movie is absolutely gorgeously filmed and if it weren't for the lurid content it would most likely be hailed as an art house classic now.
Available on DVD from The Cult Epics.
Neon Maniacs (1986)
Most slasher films have only one creepy stalker murdering up the place, but Neon Maniacs (1986) takes the Costco bulk approach and has more than twelve for you to choose from! The creepers are a who's who of '80s tropes: samurai, zombie biker, native american, lizard monster, evil doctor, and even a goddamn cave man! There's a rad battle of the bands scene which we all know is the hallmark of every good '80s flick. It's too bad that the story makes absolutely zero sense because it would have been neat to find out where these monsters came from. Also, the catalyst for the creatures being summoned at the beginning of the film is because some dude found sweet trading cards featuring all of them in menacing poses. WHERE CAN I BUY THESE?!
Available on Blu-ray and DVD from Code Red.
Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
The Shaw Bros turned to making horror films when their kung-fu epics started to become less popular and Seeding of a Ghost (1983) is one of their most insane entries. The first half of it is basically a soft-porn soap opera concerning a taxi driver and his unfaithful wife. After she is raped and murdered by some local thugs he turns to a master of the dark arts to exact revenge. This is one of the "black magic" sub-genre films and it has lots of goopy nasty ass monsters and weird disgusting magic rituals. There also a sweet fight between a priest and the dark shaman (complete with them throwing fireballs at each other) as well as a scene with ghost sex. The last fifteen minutes of this movie are worth the price of admission and fans of The Thing (1982) will be pleasantly surprised.
Available on Region 2 Blu-ray from 88 Films.
Doctor Mordrid: Master of the Unknown (1992)
Doctor Mordrid (1992) was initially supposed to be an adaptation of Marvel's Doctor Strange properties but right before production started the director Charles Band lost the rights. Band made the film anyway and changed the elements just enough to avoid copyright infringement. This ended up feeling like the "store-brand" version of Doctor Strange but it is saved somewhat by Jeffery Combs' laid back interpretation of the titular Doctor Mordrid. The special effects are hilariously bad but the sheer goofiness of the acting and story will keep you entertained. There is also a stop-motion magical dinosaur fossil fight at the end that is pretty damn sweet.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from Full Moon Entertainment.
--Michelle Kisner