The late 50's and early 60's saw an emergence of Exploitation sub genres. Some weirder and more random than others. Many low-budget directors indulged in various types of Exploitation, very few of them being known for one in particular. And while Herschell Gordon Lewis is mostly known for the gore film, he was always one to go back and forth and experiment with many subjects besides graphic violence. Today, we're going to talk about a Hixploitation flick from good 'ol H.G. called Moonshine Mountain.It's now the mid-60's, and Herschell Lewis has already been there and done that with friend and producer, David F. Friedman, with some roughies, Nudie Cuties and of course, the Gore, which together, they both pioneered. Recently split up with Friedman, Herschell heads down to South Carolina to exploit a subject he seems to be pretty fond of. The South. Not just the South, but hicks, rednecks, country bumpkins, and their way of life, their attitudes, their ignorance, and their moonshine-fueled shenanigans. It's no surprise Herschell would make a movie like this so soon after Two Thousand Maniacs, as it was by far the best and most profitable thing he had been involved with up to this point. And what better way to capitalize on his pride and joy than to make a similar movie without the gore, or anything else that made it worth watching?
Yeah. It feels like Two Thousand Maniacs, at times. But this definitely ain't no Two Thousand Maniacs! And to be blunt. Moonshine Mountain ain't shit. This movie is about a country singer named Doug Martin. A city slicker, who is looking to live out in the sticks for a while, and maybe get to know some of the locals so that some of their hickishness rubs off on him, which might add a little authenticity to his lyrics. You got to admire the man's ambition. After getting knocked out and robbed (for the lack of a better word) by a local idiot, Doug stumbles upon a backwoods clan who don't seem to do much of anything except sing, drink and cut up. And that's pretty much all that goes on in this movie. Everyone is over the top in their Southern ways. A little like Gomer Pyle, but not awesome.
You may recognize the patriarch of this family as the man who played Mayor Buckman from Two Thousand Maniacs. Always a pleasure to see the human version of Foghorn Leghorn in anything. The always likable Jeffrey Allen makes this movie just a little easier to sit through. Another returning actor from previous H. G. Lewis films is Gordon Oas-Heim of Color Me Blood Red Fame. Credited under the name of his role from said movie, Oas-Heim plays the drunken, no good Mayor who is in no way above murder or rape. And hell bent on keeping away Revenuers. If not for him, there really wouldn't be a story at all.Not so Fun Fact: When Herschell Gordon Lewis saw how many kids were in the audience of the Moonshine Mountain premiere, he rushed into the projection booth and cut out some of the more questionable moments in the movie (including the rape), which have still yet to be restored. I hope it was worth it, Herschell.
I'm not exactly sure what brought on this Hixploitation thing in the first place. Possibly the popularity of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. I say that mainly because these types of films seem to draw humor from making a joke out of Southerners. Herschell's efforts are no different, whether they were intentional or not. His admiration for the Southern way does shine through, but he does have a way of making them look like a bunch of tards at the same time. A love letter to the hicks or not, still expect the same lame, badly timed jokes you'd see in any of this yankee's other movies. Moonshine Mountain is probably worthless to most, but for a Herschell Gordon Lewis completist ike myself, this here shitty movie is a must. 4/10
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Rod and Nathlie, along with some freshly orphaned children, make their way out of the madness, using their wit and sweet guns which seem to never need reloading. Along the way, they run into new friends who give them not so cleverly placed lessons in living green for a healthier tomorrow, as well as keeping the birds happy and the gas prices down. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that guy just implied that these disgruntled birds have somehow made gas prices soar to $100 a gallon. Okay. I'm officially lost...
Following in the footsteps of fellow Florida filmmaker, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Ritter always offers plenty of trashy violence and gore. But not without substance. Ritter's films have a reoccurring theme that started with the original Truth Or Dare? Cheating wives and the unexpected damage they can do. That's what these Truth Or Dare movies are mainly based on. In this first installment, We begin with Mike Strauber, a decent, normal guy, heading home from work to find his wife getting it on with another man. At first, Mike seems heartbroken just like any normal guy in his situation. But underneath his heartbreak, lies madness and an urge to harm himself and others. Along with a life long obsession with a game called Truth Or Dare? Mike takes a camping trip out in the woods, but picks up a hot, young hitchhiker on the way. As the two sit by a campfire, they start a game which ends with Mike pulling his own tongue out. As we discover the girl never existed, we also discover Mike has completely lost it. Now put away in the looney bin, Mike is eventually let out on good behavior, and ends up murdering his wife's lover. before he knows it, Mike is back in the looney bin. But these idiots can't keep seem to keep track of him. Mike makes himself a copper mask after disfiguring his own face, and once again bolts to go on a killing spree in style.
Wicked Games begins much like the original. A guy named Gary (who looks and sounds like Dante from Clerks) has just caught his wife in the act. Unlike Mike, who ran off to have a cry, Gary pulls out a gun right then and there and forces his wife and her lover to finish their fuck session. He taunts them, intimidates them, but ultimately leaves to go get drunk. He doesn't seem quite as fragile as Mike did. Later, Gary pays his friend Dan Hess a visit, looking for a place to stay for a while. Dan is hanging out with a woman played by the same actress as Gary's cheating wife, which is weird, but just go with it. Gary explains his situation, and Dan takes him in. Later on, a string of murders take place. And it's discovered that all the victims were spouses in the act of cheating. Dan, who is a doctor at Mike's loony bin, is already starting to think something is up with Gary. But when he discovers that Gary is actually Mike's cousin, it looks very possible that he may be the second coming of the copper masked killer.
13 years have passed since Screaming For Sanity. Deadly Dares: Truth Or Dare IV is different than any past Ritter movie. This is very much a new flavor and a new beginning. No more Florida, no more Wynkoop, no more looney bin. But plenty of violence and twists. This story, which is even further removed from that of the original, drags us into the 2010's, as it mostly revolves around the internet. Deadly Dares is about a boring loser named Tunor who has a red nose, and just got fired and broken up with by his girlfriend for being a boring loser. Depressed and looking for something new to take his mind off his woes, Tunor gets involved with a young girl over the internet. Dara is obsessed with legendary serial killer, Mike Strauber as well as playing cyber-truth or dare. Tunor, eager to impress, agrees to anything she dares him to do. At first, it's silly shit like sipping water out of the toilet with a straw, and spraying bleach in his eyes, but before he knows it, Tunor is being dared to go out and hurt people and film it, which eventually leads to murder. Tunor gets very into this, as it provides a rush he's never experienced, and hope for a brighter future. He even goes so far as to paint his face copper when fulfilling dares. Whatever it takes to keep this girl wet, Tunor is up for it. But when Dara dares him to go to Florida to break Mike Strauber out of the looney bin, things take quite an unexpected turn.
But let's back up a little. The year is 1999, and I rent Redneck Zombies for the first time. And I am not one bit amused. Although, it was a step up from the only other two S.O.Vs I had seen. That being Blood Lake and Violent Shit. In all fairness, this was the R-rated version I saw, which might as well have been PG. Something I didn't realize for many years. Even aside from the misplaced gore and fuckedupness. my brain wasn't quite ready for the genius level of retardation Redneck Zombies had to offer. It wasn't until 2008 when I bought the unrated Tromasterpiece DVD which was packed with extras, that this pefect shit storm finally won me over. Although, it took quite a few viewings to convince me. And now, 8 years after that, and possibly 100 viewings later, I am ready to admit that Redneck Zombies is good. Actually, I would go so far as to say Rednecl Zombies is God!
Somewhere, out in the sticks, Tyrone the soldier is hauling a barrel of toxic waste. But when he burns his finger on a joint that he's trying to share with a dog, he accidentally has a wreck, and said barrel tumbles on down a hill. Not sure what happened to that dog, as he seemed to vanish right before this happens, never to be seen again. Some lardass "redneck" sees the barrel, and decides it's his. Proving so with a gun he pulls on Tyrone. As Tyrone hightails it, four more rednecks, the Clemsons, all pull guns on Ferd and run his fat ass off. So, now the barrel belongs to Jed Clemson and his boys, who just happen to make the best moonshine this shithole town has to offer. Jed and his idiot boys ponder on what this barrel could be for a while, and come to the conclusion that it's a still. And if not, then, they're perfectly willing to use it as one. And that's exactly what they do.
Meanwhile, we got a group of campers looking for a nice spot with a pond to piss in. Wilbur leads this pain in the ass group of friends, who don't really seem to know or like each other too well, deep into the woods, as the Clemson family prepare their new batch of 'shine that they're convinced will fuck everyone up nicely. How right they are. And as the Clemsons try it out, they soon realize This stuff packs one hell of a buzz, which, of course, leads to death, which leads to resurrection, which leads to a craving for human flesh. And all of that leads to a lot of gore, and dark, slapstick humor, as well as some unusually surreal moments possibly only there to confuse us city folk.
Izzy likes to kill. Not only that, but she's also kind of a badass, well schooled in self defense, which comes in handy when obtaining her prey. Izzy is a frustrated chick. She has to take care of her prissy little brother because the parents, whom we never learn much about, are dead. Izzy also misses her older brother, who is away, fighting in Iraq. Izzy has a massive hardon for big brother, so, she REALLY misses him. The only help Izzy and little brother get is from an old friend of their parent's, Barney, some fat biker guy, played by one hell of a bad actor. Any scenes involving fat biker guy are awkward. Little brother gets bullied at school. Izzy jumps at the chance to defend him, and takes it much farther than one would expect. She kidnaps all three of the tormentors, sits them down and gives them a little therapy session to try and find out why they're such assholes, and then decides to intimidate them into killing each other, until one is left, whom she takes back to the barn where she's keeping a couple others she's kidnapped for play time. She does a pretty good job of hiding play time from little brother and Barney. Play time includes such games as Izzy cutting some guy's dick off, and ass raping some chick with it. Meanwhile, The little kid gets his arm broke and then turned into a Bonzai tree. Looking back, the little asshole got off light.
Izzy seems like a fairly decent person, at times. And at one point, she may have been. But something went wrong at some point, and she just snapped. Could it be the pressures of having no parents and being mother to her brother? Or does she miss her other brother so much that her only way of coping with this is to inflict suffering and destroy life? Maybe all of that plus the fact that her only friend is a boring chunk of shit whom she inherited from the parents. Izzy is bored, lonely and frustrated. She loves her little brother and would do anything to protect him. So, some decency does remain but her little hobby does shine through, at times, as she gives advice on how to fight dirty and giving deadly weapons as gifts. Even though she may mean well, it becomes obvious that she is becoming a destructive influence. But there is just no way around that.
A bit artsy, with a dark, slightly sacreligeous tone, Shatter Dead is a different approach to the Zombie story than what we were used to at the time. But first things first. In the beginning, we are treated to a hot, lesbian sex scene between a human and an Angel, which is cut short as we are now seeing the world 17 months later. The aftermath, so to speak. One can only figure this out by reading the back of the box, as the movie gives us no indication, but the Angel on human, lesbian fun we had witnessed angered God so much that he has taken away human's ability to die. I mean, they still die, but the soul remains no matter what. The world is now in panic and chaos. People are divided. Some see this curse as a gift of immortality and embrace it. Others, not so much. Some still view the gift of life as something that should be held on to at all costs, even when death is no longer the end. The living dead are not zombies. They are unfortunates, a nuisance, often victims, and sometimes a menace. There is no epidemic. But there is also no hope.
Susan, some badass bitch who never smiles, is trying to make her way home to her boyfriend, but keeps on getting caught up in living dead bullshit. Susan has no tolerance for these "people" and frankly, is just looking for a reason to blow one away. After setting one on fire for trying to steal her gas, she gets her car stolen by some pro-death radical group led by some old bastard called "The Preacherman". The resilient Susan soon steals herself another car off a corpse, only to be forced to stay in a boarding house for the living due to a nationwide curfew. Susan meets some odd, but interesting characters in this surreal environment. Some hit on here, some want her soap, but all Susan is interested in is getting some sleep. Unfortunately, all hell breaks loose as Pericles Lewnes and Howard Stern (The New Order) go on a rampage. A frustrated Susan bails, and avoids becoming part of the bloodbath. now, once again, on her way to her boyfriend, Susan very well may regret her final destination once she gets arrives.
Henry and Otis go on a bit of a spree. Henry is generous with his knowledge. The obnoxious Otis isn't much of a thinker, and seems to discard most of the advice given. However, he soon gives us the impression that he may be a little sicker than even Henry. He just lacks skill and patience. As the killing continues, Otis' big mouth and dumb ass weighs on Henry's nerves. Although, Otis mostly knows when to shut up, as Henry is a bit on the intimidating side. But one night, after way too many beers, and after a lingering hardon for the sister catches up with him, Otis may finally be getting on Henry's last nerve.
Loosely based on the infamous sick fuck, Henry Lee Lucas, this movie is actually far less gruesome than the truth. Like Michael Rooker's portrayal, Lucas did in fact kill his abusive whore mama. And he was a drifter who avoided getting caught for a long time due to always moving. And he did have a friend named Otis, who had a little sister named Becky, who was actually far younger than the fictional version. The real Henry was big on necrophilia, and once apprehended, Lucas gave the cops one last middle finger by confessing to hundreds of murders. Many of which have been proven false. Because of Henry Lee Lucas, many murders will most likely go unsolved.
The little brother of the killer from the first movie is all grown up and already in an insane asylum. He's not like Billy. Ricky's kind of a dick, on top of being a killer. Even though he was an infant way back when their parents got murdered, Ricky claims to remember the entire thing. His mother getting raped and everything, I guess. So, he eventually headed down the same road as Billy, with his own killing spree. Personally, I think he's just a dick. But Ricky is having a session forced upon him by a court-appointed therapist. Relunctant and hostile, Ricky finally caves in and tells his story. But not after telling Billy's story in great detail. So, Billy's story made Ricky fucked up. He eventually got adopted out of the orphanage by a normal couple, who did a decent job of raising him. But somewhere, things went wrong. The demons of a past that really shouldn't affect him, are affecting him, anyway. And one day, Ricky snapped, and did a little killing of his own. And if he gets his way, he'll do a little more before his story is over.
Happy, young couple, Christopher and Celia, arrive on the island of Mynokos, looking for a place to stay. At first, they seem fairly normal, but it's quickly revealed that they're on the run. Christopher and Celia are killers. It's soon established that Christopher is a bit of a judgemental prude, and a hot head. He seems to think it's his job to rid the world of perversion. Celia seems to be along for the ride, but far from innocent. We then cut to a scene the next morning, as the two are in bed, Christopher tries to get Celia to take care of his morning wood. She refuses because she wants to sleep. Frustrated and hard, Christopher wanders outside and stumbles upon a very loud, yet strangely cooperative Goat. "Masturbation is for pussies", he probably thinks to himself. Christopher then picks up the goat, takes it behind a bush, and sticks his dick in the damn thing. True story. And after relieving himself into the animal, he goes that extra, unnecessary mile and slits its throat. Just for fun, I guess. It's not like the goat was going to cry rape. Christopher kinda sucks.
Later on, after pimping out Celia to some Frenchman, the two quickly and brutally murder him. Christopher later sets his sights on a newly married gay couple who he has proclaimed an abomination. He also develops a grudge against an old whore, and goes after her with a bulldozer after pissing all over her. And some other "sinners" get it, as the guy goes wild on this very small island, ignoring any possible consequences. However, it's difficult to figure out where Celia's head is at, at times. sometimes, she seems to be the sympathetic voice of reason. Other times, not so much. Is she a victim of Christopher's influence, or is there some kind of game being played, here? One thing is for sure. Celia is not playng when she insists they need to get get away from this island and soon.
