Cult/Grindhouse Challenge (December 2022)

[flavo5000]

Cult/Grindhouse/Drive-In Challenge

Goal:
Watch as many Cult/Drive-In/Grindhouse films as possible during December 2022

What counts for this challenge?:

What is a "Cult" film?

A cult film is any film that has a cult following, although the term is not easily defined and can be applied to a wide variety of films. Some definitions exclude films that have been released by major studios or have big budgets, that try specifically to become cult films, or become accepted by mainstream audiences and critics. Cult films are defined by audience reaction as much as by their content. This may take the form of elaborate and ritualized audience participation, film festivals, or cosplay. Over time, the definition has become more vague and inclusive as it drifts away from earlier, stricter views. Increasing use of the term by mainstream publications has resulted in controversy, as cinephiles argue that the term has become meaningless or "elastic, a catchall for anything slightly maverick or strange". Academic Mark Shiel has criticized the term itself as being a weak concept, reliant on subjectivity; different groups can interpret films in their own terms. According to feminist scholar Joanne Hollows, this subjectivity causes films with large female cult followings to be perceived as too mainstream and not transgressive enough to qualify as a cult film. Academic Mike Chopra‑Gant says that cult films become decontextualized when studied as a group, and Shiel criticizes this recontextualization as cultural commodification. - source

What is a "Grindhouse" film?

A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly showed exploitation films. It is also a term used to describe the genre of films that played in such theatres. Grindhouse films are also referred to as "exploitation films." Grindhouses were known for non-stop programs of B movies, usually consisting of a double feature where two films were shown back to back. Many of these inner-city theatres formerly featured burlesque shows which included "bump and grind" dancing, leading to the term "grindhouse." Beginning in the late 1960s and especially during the 1970s, the subject matter of grindhouse films was dominated by explicit sex, violence, bizarre or perverse plot points, and other taboo content. Many grindhouses were exclusively pornographic. - source

Rules:
- A feature film (Anything over 40 minutes) counts as one entry.
- A total of 80 minutes of short films and/or TV episodes count as one entry.
- Rewatches are welcome
- Please do new posts for new watches. Don't edit existing posts. Thanks.

Official Lists:
Grindhouse Cinema Database's Top Grindhouse Classics
Badmovies.org Best B-Movies
The New Cult Canon
500 Essential Cult Movies
BFI's 100 Cult Films
The Spaghetti Western Database's Essential Top 50 Films

Unofficial Lists:
Sleazoid Express: A Mind Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Time Square
The Complete Video Nasties List
Danny Peary's Cult Movies
I Was A Teenage Juvenile Delinquent Rock 'n' Roll Horror Beach Party
Drive-In Delirium
Hammer Film Productions
J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum's Midnight Movies
Blaxploitation.com's Top Thirty Classic Blaxploitation Films
A Guide to Pinky Violence
Pink Films
Giallo Checklist
CineMassacre's Monster Madness
Psychotronic
Furious Cinema's 50 Furious Films of The 1970s
American Grindhouse
Sound on Sight's Greatest Giallo Films
Cult Film Podcasts
Paste Magazine's The 100 Best “B Movies” of All Time
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Feature Films
The Gentlemen's Guide To Midnite Cinema
The Rough Guide to Cult Movies
500+ Essential Cult Movies
Skype Crew Watch Bad Movies
VideoHound's Cult Flicks & Trash Pics
Nazisploitation
Filmmagasinets Kultsider
An Exploitation Independent Checklist
Swedish Sensationsfilms 2011
Exploitation TV
Chicks in Chains and Mean Muthers
Blaxploitation
Vinegar Syndrome
The Disregarded Movies of Turkish Cinema

Shout-outs to MaxwellDeux who I stole this OP shamelessly from and to DulceDoes who Max stole his from shamelessly from the prior year. Also, holy crap! We haven't done this challenge in an official capacity since 2018. What's up with that, folks!?

Rank	Participant	Count
1	flavo5000	120
2	jdidaco	70
3	DudeLanez	56
4	gunnar	47
5	sol	35
6	Lonewolf2003	29
7	maxwelldeux	26
8	VincentPrice	21
9	frbrown	20
10	RogerTheMovieManiac88	17
11	ChrisReynolds	16
11	AB537	16
13	Minkin	12
14	peeptoad	9
15	Mochard	6
15	dirtyscore	6
17	blocho	5
18	magnusbernhardsen	1

And of course, you know how I usually roll with these challenges. Here's what is hopefully a fun little SCAVENGER HUNT for all you exploitation and cult-y movie watchers out there!

BONUS CHALLENGE #1: SCAVENGER HUNT
See if you can hit all 25 of the items in the scavenger hunt! Just tag your post with the relevant goal. For the goals that require multiple films to complete, please put the number of the film watched in the goal in the tag.
Example:
6. Rosso sangue a.k.a. Absurd (1981) #VideoNasty1
7. I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses (1978) #VideoNasty2

1	maxwelldeux	24
2	jdidaco	23
3	DudeLanez	22
4	flavo5000	16
5	Lonewolf2003	13
6	gunnar	12
7	frbrown	11
8	peeptoad	7
8	Minkin	7
10	ChrisReynolds	6
11	RogerTheMovieManiac88	3
12	Mochard	2
13	dirtyscore	1

Scavenger Hunt Goals

Challenge Name	Challenge Description
#VideoNasty	Get Margaret Thatcher's knickers in a bunch and watch TWO Video Nasties (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051364249/)
#Blaxsploitation	Check it, jive turkey! Watch a film that would be considered blaxsploitation released between 1970 and 1979
#NudieCutie	Take a trip back to a more innocent time and watch a nudie cutie (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls096744003/)
#JuvenileDelinquent	Parents just don't understand...Show 'em who's boss and watch a JD film from the '50s or '60s.
#OfficialCult	Watch one film from Jennifer Eiss' 500 Essential Cult Movies list and one film from BFI's Top 100 Cult Films list
#TurkishMadness	Holy copyright infringement, Batman! Double dip and watch a Turkish film that rips off a commercial property. (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/the+ ... flavo5000/)
#DontTouchMe	Need a cold shower? You will... Watch a rape/revenge film.
#42StreetForever	Celebrate the grindhouse in its purest form and watch a film from the '70s that features New York's famous 42nd Street.
#IKnowKungFu	Delight in the spectacle of ass-kicking and watch a film released by the Shaw Brothers.
#MakeItOfficial	Watch a film from the official Top Grindhouse Classics list (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/grin ... +classics/)
#Giallo	Celebrate black gloves, straight razors and a glass of J&B scotch. Watch a giallo!
#Pinku	Get sexy and weird. Watch a Japanese Pinku film.
#DeepThroat	It wouldn't be a grindhouse challenge without a little bit of porn, right? Watch an adult film from the glory days!
#EuroCult	Revel in some nice grue from across the pond and watch a horror film from Europe from the 1970s.
#BikerPic	Get rough and rowdy with a biker flick (NO EASY RIDER PLEASE)
#Nazisploitation	Get ready for something vile. Watch a nazisploitation movie. (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/nazi ... thpetgull/)
#GoldenAge	Take a walk back in time to the "Golden Age" of exploitation films and watch a film from this list: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/kino ... makattack/
#Mondo	Double dip with one of the other challenges this month and watch a mondo doc
#TheKing	All hail the king! Watch an Ed Wood film (It could be one he wrote, directed or both)
#SoBad	Watch a film considered So Bad, It's Good, preferably with a group of friends to heckle it.
#PostNuke	Look into the future and see how awesome/awful our society will be. Watch a post-apocalyptic film from the '70s or '80s.
#SleazoidExpress	Take a trip with down the sticky, grimy back alleys of 42nd Street with Bill Landis, who lived the era and shared his experiences in his seminal 'zine Sleazoid Express. Watch a film from his book (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/slea ... flavo5000/)
#MyOwnCult	Watch a film that you feel is deserving of cult status but may still be unrecognized as such by the greater population. There's no wrong answer here unless you post something like Star Wars!
#NoTimeWarp	Resist the urge to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This can only be claimed on the last post of the challenge.

BONUS CHALLENGE #2: ICMFF CROSSOVER
This one is simple. Just watch the four films currently part of the 2022 ICM Film Festival: Just Before Dawn Slate!
All info for the four films can be found in the thread below (also while you watch them, post your thoughts in the below thread too!).
viewtopic.php?t=6137&view=unread#unread

Bonus #2 Rank

Participant

Count

[maxwelldeux]

Love this - should be fun!

(Though I think you might have missed your "table" tags in your spoiler.)

[flavo5000]

(Though I think you might have missed your "table" tags in your spoiler.)

Yerp, it should be fixed now.

[frbrown]

Looks fun!

For TurkishMadness, can we count other Turkish rip-offs, or just the ones on the linked list?

[flavo5000]

Looks fun!

For TurkishMadness, can we count other Turkish rip-offs, or just the ones on the linked list?

Any Turkish ripoff. The list was just intended to give people ideas.

[Lonewolf2003]

Just to be clear; so any cult or grindhouse movie goes, it doesn’t have to be on any of the (official) lists?

[flavo5000]

Just to be clear; so any cult or grindhouse movie goes, it doesn’t have to be on any of the (official) lists?

Correct.

[VincentPrice]

1. Asylum-1972: 9/10

Framing Story/"Mannequins of Horror": *****
"Frozen Fear": ***1/2
"The Weird Tailor": ****
"Lucy Comes to Stay": ****

Pretty fantastic anthology Horror from the studio that was among the best at doing them, that framing story and Mannequins of Horror is one of the greatest that you will see in any anthology Horror.

[peeptoad]

1. Tell Your Children aka Reefer Madness (1936) 3 #GoldenAge
2. Shao Lin san shi liu fang/The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) 8 #IKnowKungFu

[Minkin]

I've been looking forward to this challenge, and all the more with the scavenger hunt to work towards as well. I don't watch many films in a month, but I'll do my best to work towards this challenge, and my only goal is to NOT come in last place. So get culting away!



01. Racket Girls (1951) - Los Angeles County - Rating: 2/10 #GoldenAge
Oh no! The proud and noble institution of women’s wrestling turns out to be run by crooks and the mafia. This just seems kinda weirdly hilarious to me, that wrestling, let alone women’s wrestling was once considered a clean sport – as both the main wrestling opponents refuse to accept an offer to dive for money, as the sport still means something to them. There’s an inkling of the sport having some semblance of fun about it – what with one bout being between the Leopard Lady vs the Panther Woman – with both of them wearing cat masks. It’s just odd that all of the contenders treat it as a genuine sport where they have reputations to uphold. I was expecting something like GLOW or WOW – where the competitors have complex backstories, and are all just following a script that dictates who wins based on some predetermined popularity schedule of hero and villain characters. Instead you just get endless sequences of the women actually trying to wrestle each other – so there’s no theatrics, no use of the stage to add flourish, no finishing move, and nothing defining any of them from each other in antics or performance. No, this is just a room full of sweaty trenchcoated men, eagerly watching the female combat – in their revealing “gymtards,” putting each other in thigh-holds, and perhaps placing bets on who wins. It just seems silly to me that they try to pass off someone billed as The Leopard Lady, and we’re supposed to 100% see this as serious athleticism, before the notion of “fun” entered the wrestling lexicon. None of these goings-on seem exactly empowering, it just feels more like they’re pandering to a specific male prurient interest, under the guise of strength. The whole ordeal is just an excuse for the crooked owners to launder money, and just treats the wrestling as secondary to their other shady businesses – like fixing horse races. Interesting, at one point the wrestler promoter dude gets caught up in a committee hearing, which is quite befit this film’s age, with going after criminal enterprise as being un-American. Anyway, this is like 60% wrestling matches, 20% wrestling practice, and 20% mob dudes wanting their $35k, which this all comes together as an intensely dull film, as they chose to make this about the mafia dudes, and leave us with next to nothing about any of the strong independent women, no, just shitty mob bossing business only.

Rewatched Racket Girls on Dec 1st, sans MST3K riffing, hence why I'm counting this for Cult as well as Film Noir challenge (I've watched it twice now)

[flavo5000]

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
Nothing like starting a challenge with some Fred Williamson ass-kicking action...
Defining Moment: I'm tempted to go with one of the many sequences of Williamson shirt open, bare-chested and sweaty, punching, kicking or shooting guys, but there's a sequence about halfway through where he romances a woman, promises her a fancy dinner, then hard-cut to he and her sitting side by side on a train eating train food across from the fat, balding Hawaiian shirted schlub Williamson is supposed to be protecting while he wolfs down his food, burps and all. I was cracking up. Of course, once they get back to their cabins, Williamson puts the moves on her, only to have her try to stab him in the back followed by this wonderful dialogue exchange:

Alice: You bastard! I should have killed you first.
Williamson: Yeah, baby, but you didn't.
[he throws her off the train through a open door]
Williamson: Have a happy landing, bitch!


2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
What a sleazy rambling early slasher this was...
Defining Moment: While there are lots of random nonsense in here, I'm tempted to give it to the scene where William Sanderson (playing yet another scumbag after Fight For Your Life) scorches an 'H' into a woman's chest with a hot branding iron meant for cows. It's just such a cruel, mean-spirited scene that comes out of nowhere, which certainly typifies what this raunchy, dumb film is all about.

Something Weird Presents!
Throughout the month, I'm gonna be checking in with the good folks at Something Weird, one of the longest running purveyors and archivers of cult/grindhouse/drive-in nonsense out there.

3. Peek-A-Boo (Lillian Hunt, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)
First up in our dive into the archives of Something Weird is an old-school burlesque two-fer. Both "films" are obviously made from someone setting up a stationary camera and pointing it at a random burlesque stage and filming a typical night's performance. These are honestly both pretty boring affairs, basically extended strip tease and/or dancing girl sequences interspersed with painfully unfunny sketches.
Defining Moments: From Peek-A-Boo I did get a laugh out of an early routine where a woman used a white fox pelt prominently, really showing off the little dangling legs of the pelt flopping around to her gyrations... Gotta be one of the least sexy things I've ever seen. As far as moments that truly embody the dullness of these films, the extremely long dance segment in 'B' Girl Rhapsody with girls in non-revealing bathing suits dancing around awkwardly with beach balls above their heads has gotta take the cake.

Spoiler

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
3. Peek-A-Boo (Peek-a-Boo, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)

[AB537]

Technical question: does anyone know how to pull IMDB links from someone else's list (e.g. BFI's Top 100 Cult Movies)? Given the number of lists in the OP, I'm hoping to create a combined list for easier reference (which I'd gladly post here).

[flavo5000]

Technical question: does anyone know how to pull IMDB links from someone else's list (e.g. BFI's Top 100 Cult Movies)? Given the number of lists in the OP, I'm hoping to create a combined list for easier reference (which I'd gladly post here).

The Export list function has the IMDB URLs, doesn't it?

[flavo5000]

5. The Georgia Peaches (Daniel Haller, 1980)
A Roger Corman-produced hick flick starring Tanya Tucker? Sure, why not? I mean, it's obviously a rip-off of Dukes of Hazzard, and before I read the IMDB trivia, I could tell it was a failed TV pilot.
Defining Moment: Probably when a muscle car pulls a helicopter down to the ground using a grappling hook. Yes, that's something that happens in this movie.


6. Sixteen Tongues (Scooter McCrae, 1999)
This is definitely one of the more strange shot-on-video efforts of the '90s I've seen. While it definitely still looks cheap like most SOV movies, Scooter McCrae doesn't let the medium hold back his aspirations. The film has some pretty interesting cyberpunk ideas if you can get past the low budget trappings.
Defining Moment: While the showdown in the porn hallway at the end is fairly memorable, just the visual of a burn victim who has skin grafted tongues all over his body is extremely Cronenbergian imagery that's gonna be hard to forget any time soon.


7. Sik ching nam lui a.k.a. Viva Erotica (Tung-Shing Yee, 1996)
I quite liked this at times funny, at times touching love letter to the Hong Kong film industry, basically chronicling the scrappy making of a HK CATIII erotic film while also showing the toll it takes on the lives of those behind the camera.
Defining Moment: There are several funny moments that explore the banality of filming artful sex scenes, but one scene that sticks out involves them filming a sex scene in a public phonebooth, for which they got no permits or roped off the set or anything, culminating in the actress screaming that quits and storming off camera as a huge crowd of people gathers around to see what the hell is going on.


8. Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)
I really dug this propulsive Ozsploitation classic that just never lets up once it gets going. It follows a similar pattern to the great Aussie film Night of Fear in that it takes a near wordless hunter/hunted format of a woman being tormented by kangaroo poachers before turning the tables on them.
Defining Moment: While the scene of the woman strapped to the front of their massive truck topless is the one here that always gets the attention, I prefer to bring some attention to their comeuppance and call out the scene involving spear-throwing and the truck crashing into a skillfully concealed trap.


9. Psych-Out (Richard Rush, 1968)
I'm not the biggest fan of '60s drug movies. They often come across rambling and borderline plotless. Still, this one was directed by Richard Rush, whose The Stuntman I'm a big fan of. Unfortunately not even a crazy Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson's ponytail can save it.
Defining Moment: I did really dig Dern's freaky mother/daughter story that climaxes in Lovecraftian bile spewing from the daughter's mouth. It really seemed to just come out of nowhere.

Spoiler

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
3. Peek-A-Boo (Peek-a-Boo, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)
5. The Georgia Peaches (Daniel Haller, 1980)
6. Sixteen Tongues (Scooter McCrae, 1999)
7. Sik ching nam lui a.k.a. Viva Erotica (Tung-Shing Yee, 1996)
8. Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)
9. Psych-Out (Richard Rush, 1968)

[AB537]

Technical question: does anyone know how to pull IMDB links from someone else's list (e.g. BFI's Top 100 Cult Movies)? Given the number of lists in the OP, I'm hoping to create a combined list for easier reference (which I'd gladly post here).

The Export list function has the IMDB URLs, doesn't it?

Thanks, that worked! (After I set up a paid account, which has been long overdue anyway). The compiled list worked out to over 9000 unique IMDB links.

Part 1: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/dece ... t+1/ab537/
Part 2: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/dece ... t+2/ab537/

Hope others also find this helpful!

[DudeLanez]

1. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973, Bo Arne Vibenius) 6/10 #OfficialCult (BFI)
2. Death Race 2000 (1975, Paul Bartel) 5,5/10 #OfficialCult (Eiss)
3. Demon Pond (1979, Masahiro Shinoda) 6,5/10 #MakeItOfficial

[magnusbernhardsen]

1. The Outsiders (1983) #OfficialCult (Eiss)

I would have loved this one if I saw it in my early teens, but now it just left me uninterested. I watched the theatrical release, and from what I've read the Director's Cut would be better, whit a bit more space to flesh out the characters. Overall, 50s youth gangs are among my least favourite subjects.

[AB537]

1. The Wicked Lady (Leslie Arliss, 1945) 7.5/10

[frbrown]

1. The Big Bird Cage (1972) #SleazoidExpress

[Lonewolf2003]

Technical question: does anyone know how to pull IMDB links from someone else's list (e.g. BFI's Top 100 Cult Movies)? Given the number of lists in the OP, I'm hoping to create a combined list for easier reference (which I'd gladly post here).

The Export list function has the IMDB URLs, doesn't it?

Thanks, that worked! (After I set up a paid account, which has been long overdue anyway). The compiled list worked out to over 9000 unique IMDB links.

Part 1: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/dece ... t+1/ab537/
Part 2: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/dece ... t+2/ab537/

Hope others also find this helpful!

Thanks, sure is helpful

[DudeLanez]

4. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969, Teruo Ishii) 6/10 #Pinku
5. Pink Flamingos (1972, John Waters) 6/10 #SleazoidExpress
6. The Big Bird Cage (1972, Jack Hill) 6/10
7. Mirrormask (2005, Dave McKean) 4/10

Scavenger Hunt: 4/24

1. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973, Bo Arne Vibenius) 6/10 #OfficialCult (BFI)
2. Death Race 2000 (1975, Paul Bartel) 5,5/10 #OfficialCult (Eiss)
3. Demon Pond (1979, Masahiro Shinoda) 6,5/10 #MakeItOfficial
4. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969, Teruo Ishii) 6/10 #Pinku
5. Pink Flamingos (1972, John Waters) 6/10 #SleazoidExpress
6. The Big Bird Cage (1972, Jack Hill) 6/10
7. Mirrormask (2005, Dave McKean) 4/10

[gunnar]

1 - Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997) - 7/10 - A lion tamer, a gardener who shapes bushes into animals, a guy who studies naked mole rats, and a guy who builds robots are all profiled here. Some parts were more interesting than others.

[Mochard]

1. Inferno (1980) - 5.5/10 - #VideoNasty1
2. Delirium (1979) - 3.5/10 - #VideoNasty2

Total - 2

1. Inferno (1980) - 5.5/10 - #VideoNasty1
2. Delirium (1979) - 3.5/10 - #VideoNasty2

[flavo5000]

10. Korkusuz a.k.a. Rampage (Çetin Inanç, 1986) #TurkishMadness
well, here we have a pretty blatant Turkish ripoff of Rambo but done with zero budget. It felt like everyone making this knew how shitty it was and put forth as little effort as possible.
Defining Moment: I was laughing pretty hard at the rocket launcher rescue. The rockets seemed to have about as much oomph as a homemade cherry bomb, doing ridiculously little damage like just blowing a door off a hut. I also cracked up when he runs out of rockets and just cold cocks a guy in the face with the empty launcher.


11. Droste no hate de bokura a.k.a. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) #MyOwnCult
I usually have a lot of fun with a well-made time travel movie, and this one seemed specifically designed for cult status, alongside the likes of Timecrimes and Summer Time Machine Blues. The single take style is just icing on the cake for a joyfully convoluted narrative.
Defining Moment: The climactic rescue is wonderfully satisfying to watch, but that applies to much of the third act of this in general.


12. Smokey Bites the Dust (Charles B. Griffith, 1981)
Another Corman-produced hick flick, this one is a shameless ripoff of Smokey & the Bandit but with random oil sheiks thrown in. It's extremely corny and stupid, but it does have a lot of mildly entertaining car chases... So I guess there's that.
Defining Moment: We watch an old clunker ramp off a trailer and land pretty much unscathed. Meanwhile, the cop pursuing it explodes as it ramps off the same trailer for no reason whatsoever.


13. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (Michael Pressman, 1976)
The third Corman hick flick on a DVD set I had, this one is actually pretty fun albeit utterly preposterous involving a couple of gals on the run robbing banks with dynamite.
Defining Moment: Just the what-the-fuck silliness of seeing a happy-go-lucky woman enter a bank with a lit stick of dynamite for the first time is a hell of a way to get the audience's attention.


14. The Ultimate Warrior (Robert Clouse, 1975) #PostNuke
In the distant future of 2012, humanity has dwindled due to a deadly plague. Yul Brenner is a loner badass hired to be "The Baron"'s bodyguard. The first half of this is alright as it does some extremely cheap-looking world building. But after Brenner leaves the Barony, the movie gets excruciatingly boring as he wanders through a series of empty warehouses occasionally kicking somebody that runs at him.
Defining Moment: I mean, you can't go wrong with Max Von Sydow's head being crushed with a typewriter...


15. Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan a.k.a. Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (Riccardo Freda, 1961)
Samson vs. Genghis Khan... A peplum with a flare for the orient. Why is Samson a.k.a. Maciste in Mongolia? It doesn't matter.
Defining Moment: I'm not sure it really gets better than early on when Samson fights a tiger that seesaws between real and alive, fake and real and dead depending on the shot.

Spoiler

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
3. Peek-A-Boo (Peek-a-Boo, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)
5. The Georgia Peaches (Daniel Haller, 1980)
6. Sixteen Tongues (Scooter McCrae, 1999)
7. Sik ching nam lui a.k.a. Viva Erotica (Tung-Shing Yee, 1996)
8. Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)
9. Psych-Out (Richard Rush, 1968)
10. Korkusuz a.k.a. Rampage (Çetin Inanç, 1986) #TurkishMadness
11. Droste no hate de bokura a.k.a. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) #MyOwnCult
12. Smokey Bites the Dust (Charles B. Griffith, 1981)
13. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (Michael Pressman, 1976)
14. The Ultimate Warrior (Robert Clouse, 1975) #PostNuke
15. Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan a.k.a. Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (Riccardo Freda, 1961)

[frbrown]

2. Death Wish 3 (1985) #SoBad (very much so)

This also gets me back Bronze on The New Cult Canon

Spoiler

1. The Big Bird Cage (1972) #SleazoidExpress
2. Death Wish 3 (1985) #SoBad

[DudeLanez]

8. Glen or Glenda (1953, Edward D. Wood Jr.) 4/10 #TheKing
9. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971, Melvin Van Peebles) 5,5/10 #Blaxsploitation

Scavenger Hunt: 6/24

1. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973, Bo Arne Vibenius) 6/10 #OfficialCult (BFI)
2. Death Race 2000 (1975, Paul Bartel) 5,5/10 #OfficialCult (Eiss)
3. Demon Pond (1979, Masahiro Shinoda) 6,5/10 #MakeItOfficial
4. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969, Teruo Ishii) 6/10 #Pinku
5. Pink Flamingos (1972, John Waters) 6/10 #SleazoidExpress
6. The Big Bird Cage (1972, Jack Hill) 6/10
7. Mirrormask (2005, Dave McKean) 4/10
8. Glen or Glenda (1953, Edward D. Wood Jr.) 4/10 #TheKing
9. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971, Melvin Van Peebles) 5,5/10 #Blaxsploitation

[gunnar]

2 - Reefer Madness (1936) - 4/10 - #GoldenAge - The dangers of that deadly weed - marijuana - are shown here. The story was boring and the acting was pretty bad.


3 - Team America: World Police (2004) - 5/10 - There were bits here and there that I found kind of funny, but most of it was just dumb.

Spoiler

1 - Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997) - 7/10

[peeptoad]

3. La campana del infierno/Bell from Hell (1973) 7 #EuroCult

Spoiler

1. Tell Your Children aka Reefer Madness (1936) 3 #GoldenAge
2. Shao Lin san shi liu fang/The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) 8 #IKnowKungFu

[jdidaco]

Thank you for hosting, flavo!

Before I go mad in trying to select the films for this challenge, I decided to focus primarily on Italian cinema, with Marco Giusti's "Stracult" - https://letterboxd.com/raffaelepetrini/ ... ani-marco/ -, and critic Roberto Curti's articles, books and lists on Italian genre cinema (1957-1993), as my main guides (but not restricted to them!). Due to the Scavenger Hunt, I'll also venture into a few other places.

On this batch: Gothic horrors, Turkish delights, Eurospy/Mafia spoofs, Giallo variations, Erotica-exotica, Decamerotic, Mondo, Alpha France, Nazisploitation & a tribute to the late Just Jaeckin!

(Gifs/Screenshots from 'Katarsis', 'Meglio vedova', 'Il bacio' & 'Le dernier amant romantique'),



1. Katarsis/Sfida al diavolo (Challenge the Devil, Giuseppe Veggezzi, 1963) 7.5/10
2. Altin Çocuk (Golden Boy, Memduh Ün (& Ray Bowman & André Hunebelle), 1966) 6.5/10 (#TurkishMadness]) (The "Turkish James Bond", 'Thunderball' discreetly ripped-off)
3. Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang (Duccio Tessari, 1966) 8/10
4. Meglio vedova (Better a Widow, Duccio Tessari, 1968) 7.5/10

(these legs, wearing the most seductive tights ever, belong to the one and only Virna Lisi!)



5. Violenza al sole (Blow Hot, Blow Cold, Florestano Vancini, 1969) 8.5/10 (#Giallo)
6. Quarta parete (The Fourth Wall, Adriano Bolzoni, 1969) 7.5/10
7. A cuore freddo (A Cold Heart, Riccardo Ghione, 1971) 8/10
8. Il decamerone nero (The Black Decameron, Piero Vivarelli, 1972) 8/10
9. Codice d'amore orientale (Oriental Love Code, Piero Vivarelli, 1974) 8/10
10. Il bacio di una morta (Kiss of a Dead Woman, Carlo Infascelli, 1974) 7/10
11. Il bacio (The Kiss of Death, Mario Lanfranchi, 1974) 9/10 (#EuroCult)

(Martine Beswick, in her greatest performance in Italian cinema, wearing this stunning Theda Bara-ish costume designed by the great Salimbeni; love that gargoyled brassière!)



12. Intikam Melegi/Kadin Hamlet (The Angel of Vengeance - The Female Hamlet, Metin Erksan, 1976) 8/10
13. Sex O'Clock U.S.A. (François Reichenbach, 1976) 8/10 (#42StreetForever)
14. Échanges de partenaires (A Change of Partners, Claude Mulot, 1976) 7.5/10 (#DeepThroat)
15. L'aigle et la colombe (The Eagle and the Dove, Claude Bernard-Aubert, 1977) 8/10 (#Nazisploitation)
16. Le dernier amant romantique (The Last Romantic Lover, Just Jaeckin, 1978) 8/10



A very fetishistic batch, as you can see; sadly I couldn't find a screenshot with the sexy red swimming trunks Giuliano Gemma wears in 'Violenza al sole'!

[maxwelldeux]

1. Deep Throat (1972) #DeepThroat

Hadn't seen it, now I have. Surprisingly few Richard Nixon and Watergate references.

[flavo5000]

Just fyi, I've updated the OP. You folks might wanna check and make sure your counts are accurate.

[flavo5000]

16. Nu ji zhong ying a.k.a. Bamboo House of Dolls (Chih-Hung Kuei, 1973) #SleazoidExpress
I'm a fan of Chih-Hung Kuei and feel he was one of the best directors in the Shaw Bros. stable, but I've put this one off for its reputation as a women-in-prison film, a genre I don't tend to like much. The first half of this film is pretty much exactly that with all the naked torture and unpleasantness you'd imagine. It really picks up and gets significantly better in the second half when it transforms into more of an action film though.
Defining Moment: The mid-film, near silent prison escape is actually very well done, and I love Kuei's unconventional directorial choices at times.


17. Scorchy (Howard Avedis, 1976)
Pretty bland action sleaze starring Connie Stevens as an undercover cop busting a bunch of drug smugglers and gettin' naked a lot.
Defining Moment: At the time this was made, Connie Stevens was trying to shed her good girl image she had accrued as a teen, so while it isn't a single moment, really the accumulation of her potty mouth coupled with her fondness for shedding her clothes is probably the thing that is most memorable about this.


18. Come Play with Me (George Harrison Marks, 1977)
A saucy Brtish sex comedy about a health resort that employs hot nekkid women in the pursuit of sexual healing. It's pretty dumb but I imagine it gave the intended audience what they were looking for, lots and lots of T&A.
Defining Moment: One of the more memorable therapeutic methods involves what seems to be a particularly effective back massage...

Something Weird Presents!

19. Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death (Antony Weber, 1973)
Something Weird indeed... I honestly don't know what the fuck was happening in this half the time. Very bizarre softcore post-nuke(?) flick with a seizure-inducing soundtrack.
Defining Moment: When the kung fu babe drop kicks the Tusken raider-looking dude.


20. 12 Hour Shift (Brea Grant, 2020) #ICMFF
This was a really fun entry into the Just Before Dawn slate of the ICM Film Festival this year. Angela Bettis I don't think has ever been better, and it's pretty damn funny and chaotic.
Defining Moment: When the dumb cop walks in on Bettis covered in blood in the morgue cutting the kidney out of a dead body that has fallen on the floor, and the cop just thinks it's regular doctor stuff, I cracked up.

Spoiler

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
3. Peek-A-Boo (Peek-a-Boo, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)
5. The Georgia Peaches (Daniel Haller, 1980)
6. Sixteen Tongues (Scooter McCrae, 1999)
7. Sik ching nam lui a.k.a. Viva Erotica (Tung-Shing Yee, 1996)
8. Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)
9. Psych-Out (Richard Rush, 1968)
10. Korkusuz a.k.a. Rampage (Çetin Inanç, 1986) #TurkishMadness
11. Droste no hate de bokura a.k.a. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) #MyOwnCult
12. Smokey Bites the Dust (Charles B. Griffith, 1981)
13. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (Michael Pressman, 1976)
14. The Ultimate Warrior (Robert Clouse, 1975) #PostNuke
15. Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan a.k.a. Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (Riccardo Freda, 1961)
16. Nu ji zhong ying a.k.a. Bamboo House of Dolls (Chih-Hung Kuei, 1973) #SleazoidExpress
17. Scorchy (Howard Avedis, 1976)
18. Come Play with Me (George Harrison Marks, 1977)
19. Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death (Antony Weber, 1973)
20. 12 Hour Shift (Brea Grant, 2020) #ICMFF

[frbrown]

3. The Hammer of God (1970) #IKnowKungFu

AKA The Chinese Boxer

Spoiler

1. The Big Bird Cage (1972) #SleazoidExpress
2. Death Wish 3 (1985) #SoBad
3. The Hammer of God (1970) #IKnowKungFu

[DudeLanez]

10. Promises..... Promises! (1963, King Donovan) 4/10 #NudieCutie
11. Don't Go in the House (1979, Joseph Ellison) 6/10 #VideoNasty1
12. The Funhouse (1981, Tobe Hooper) 6/10 #VideoNasty2

Scavenger Hunt: 9/25

01. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973, Bo Arne Vibenius) 6/10 #OfficialCult (BFI)
02. Death Race 2000 (1975, Paul Bartel) 5,5/10 #OfficialCult (Eiss)
03. Demon Pond (1979, Masahiro Shinoda) 6,5/10 #MakeItOfficial
04. Horrors of Malformed Men (1969, Teruo Ishii) 6/10 #Pinku
05. Pink Flamingos (1972, John Waters) 6/10 #SleazoidExpress
06. The Big Bird Cage (1972, Jack Hill) 6/10
07. Mirrormask (2005, Dave McKean) 4/10
08. Glen or Glenda (1953, Edward D. Wood Jr.) 4/10 #TheKing
09. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971, Melvin Van Peebles) 5,5/10 #Blaxsploitation
10. Promises..... Promises! (1963, King Donovan) 4/10 #NudieCutie
11. Don't Go in the House (1979, Joseph Ellison) 6/10 #VideoNasty1
12. The Funhouse (1981, Tobe Hooper) 6/10 #VideoNasty2

[sol]

I wasn't going participate here, but I guess I can do weekly updates.

Here's what I have seen during the first week of December that I think fits into the spirit of this challenge:

1. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) https://letterboxd.com/solh/film/austin ... f-mystery/ (fits 'cult' paragraph definition plus this)
2. A Wounded Fawn (2022) https://letterboxd.com/solh/film/a-wounded-fawn/
3. Av: The Hunt (2020) https://letterboxd.com/solh/film/av-the-hunt/
4. Violent Night (2022) https://letterboxd.com/solh/film/violent-night/
5. Landmine Goes Click (2015) https://letterboxd.com/solh/film/landmine-goes-click/

[Lonewolf2003]

1. Truck Turner (1974, Jonathan Kaplan): 6.8 #Blaxsploitation
2. Sie tötete in Ekstase [She Killed in Ecstasy] (1971, Jesús Franco): 7.5 - With this I've have lost my Jesus Franco virginity. It did make me want to see more of him. My first impression is that he has a good audiovisual sense
3. The Trip (1967, Roger Corman): 5.5 #OfficialCult
4. Du bei chuan wang [One-Armed Boxer] (1973): 7.2 - It's not the best directed and choreographed kung fu movie out there, but it is a lot of fun with a bunch of outlandish non-Chinese fighters as opponents. From the moment Yu finally loses his arm around the 45 min mark, it amps up the craziness. It also moves on a fast pace, skimping even over the obligatory rehabilitation sequence with a quick montage of still photos, so rarely bores.

Scavenger Hunt Progress

Challenge Name	Challenge Description
#VideoNasty	Get Margaret Thatcher's knickers in a bunch and watch TWO Video Nasties (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051364249/)
#Blaxsploitation	Check it, jive turkey! Watch a film that would be considered blaxsploitation released between 1970 and 1979
#NudieCutie	Take a trip back to a more innocent time and watch a nudie cutie (https://www.imdb.com/list/ls096744003/)
#JuvenileDelinquent	Parents just don't understand...Show 'em who's boss and watch a JD film from the '50s or '60s.
#OfficialCult	Watch one film from Jennifer Eiss' 500 Essential Cult Movies list and one film from BFI's Top 100 Cult Films list
#TurkishMadness	Holy copyright infringement, Batman! Double dip and watch a Turkish film that rips off a commercial property. (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/the+ ... flavo5000/)
#DontTouchMe	Need a cold shower? You will... Watch a rape/revenge film.
#42StreetForever	Celebrate the grindhouse in its purest form and watch a film from the '70s that features New York's famous 42nd Street.
#IKnowKungFu	Delight in the spectacle of ass-kicking and watch a film released by the Shaw Brothers.
#MakeItOfficial	Watch a film from the official Top Grindhouse Classics list (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/grin ... +classics/)
#Giallo	Celebrate black gloves, straight razors and a glass of J&B scotch. Watch a giallo!
#Pinku	Get sexy and weird. Watch a Japanese Pinku film.
#DeepThroat	It wouldn't be a grindhouse challenge without a little bit of porn, right? Watch an adult film from the glory days!
#EuroCult	Revel in some nice grue from across the pond and watch a horror film from Europe from the 1970s.
#BikerPic	Get rough and rowdy with a biker flick (NO EASY RIDER PLEASE)
#Nazisploitation	Get ready for something vile. Watch a nazisploitation movie. (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/nazi ... thpetgull/)
#GoldenAge	Take a walk back in time to the "Golden Age" of exploitation films and watch a film from this list: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/kino ... makattack/
#Mondo	Double dip with one of the other challenges this month and watch a mondo doc
#TheKing	All hail the king! Watch an Ed Wood film (It could be one he wrote, directed or both)
#SoBad	Watch a film considered So Bad, It's Good, preferably with a group of friends to heckle it.
#PostNuke	Look into the future and see how awesome/awful our society will be. Watch a post-apocalyptic film from the '70s or '80s.
#SleazoidExpress	Take a trip with down the sticky, grimy back alleys of 42nd Street with Bill Landis, who lived the era and shared his experiences in his seminal 'zine Sleazoid Express. Watch a film from his book (https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/slea ... flavo5000/)
#MyOwnCult	Watch a film that you feel is deserving of cult status but may still be unrecognized as such by the greater population. There's no wrong answer here unless you post something like Star Wars!
#NoTimeWarp	Resist the urge to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This can only be claimed on the last post of the challenge.

[frbrown]

4. The Psychic (1977) #Giallo

Very atmospheric (and barely any gore!)

Spoiler

1. The Big Bird Cage (1972) #SleazoidExpress
2. Death Wish 3 (1985) #SoBad
3. The Hammer of God (1970) #IKnowKungFu
4. The Psychic (1977) #Giallo

[flavo5000]

21. Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (Russ Meyer, 1970)
With Russ Meyer, you know you're gonna get a fun flick with lots of flesh on display, and that's exactly what this delivers. The actual plot is his usual soapy mixed up nonsense, but one thing I noticed I don't think Meyer gets enough credit for is that his films, including this one, are edited really well.
Defining Moment: The smash cut highlight reel at the end with the over-the-top narration pretty much sums up Russ Meyer's entire oeuvre pretty well.


22. Muscle Beach Party (William Asher, 1964)
Once again, Frankie gets distracted by a pretty face and Dee Dee tries to win him back in another in the long line of Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach party movies. This time this silly mess involves Don Rickles managing a bunch of body builders on the "kids'" beach and a rich lady managed by Buddy Hackett sets her sights on Frankie. It rarely makes sense and is absolutely stuffed with dumb jokes and bug-eyed mugging at the camera. You probably already know whether you'll like this or not.
Defining Moment: While I'm tempted to give it to Peter Lorre freezing time or Candy Johnson's supernatural hip-bumping powers, I'm a big music guy and it was a genuine delight to see the likes of Dick Dle & the Del Tones and "Little" Stevie Wonder in here.


23. Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975)
Pam Grier is a fashion photographer who gets embroiled in a murderous conspiracy when she accidentally witnesses an assassination attempt. Despite the seemingly heavy conspiracy plot, this is actually one of the lighter, more relaxed roles I've seen from Grier. She seems positively bubbly at times. The rest of the cast is pretty damn great too with reliable guys like Yaphet Kotto, Carl Weathers and Scatman Crothers. Kotto especially is damned awesome.
Defining Moment: This exchange during one of Kotto's fights:
<punch to the face>
Kotto: “2 and 2 are 4”
<another punch>
Kotto: “4 and 4 are 8”
<hard punch to the ground>
Kotto: “See Spot Run!”


24. Something Weird Presents! Invasion of the Love Drones (Jerome Hamlin, 1977)
This is kinda like Invasion of the Body Snatchers except the takeover involves boning. This is primo Something Weird material with an even more what-the-fuck vibe than other Something Weird horny sci-fi flicks like Space Thing and Wham Bam, Thank You Spaceman.
Defining Moment:
Woman is boning a guy. He then suddenly turns into an old school "Gray" alien via abrupt jump cut. They both orgasm. A sign flashes CLONE DRONE. And we get this wonderful quote: “That’s one small cum for man, one giant bang for mankind”


25. Jennifer (Brice Mack, 1978)
It's basically Carrie but with snakes. Seriously. It's that.
Defining Moment: I've gotta go with the over-the-top borderline surreal climax when Jennifer really lets loose.

Spoiler

1. Death Journey (Fred Williamson, 1976) #Blaxsploitation
2. Savage Weekend (David Paulsen, John Mason Kirby, 1979)
3. Peek-A-Boo (Peek-a-Boo, 1953) #GoldenAge
4. 'B' Girl Rhapsody (Lillian Hunt, James R. Connell, 1952)
5. The Georgia Peaches (Daniel Haller, 1980)
6. Sixteen Tongues (Scooter McCrae, 1999)
7. Sik ching nam lui a.k.a. Viva Erotica (Tung-Shing Yee, 1996)
8. Fair Game (Mario Andreacchio, 1986)
9. Psych-Out (Richard Rush, 1968)
10. Korkusuz a.k.a. Rampage (Çetin Inanç, 1986) #TurkishMadness
11. Droste no hate de bokura a.k.a. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi, 2020) #MyOwnCult
12. Smokey Bites the Dust (Charles B. Griffith, 1981)
13. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (Michael Pressman, 1976)
14. The Ultimate Warrior (Robert Clouse, 1975) #PostNuke
15. Maciste alla corte del Gran Khan a.k.a. Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (Riccardo Freda, 1961)
16. Nu ji zhong ying a.k.a. Bamboo House of Dolls (Chih-Hung Kuei, 1973) #SleazoidExpress
17. Scorchy (Howard Avedis, 1976)
18. Come Play with Me (George Harrison Marks, 1977)
19. Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death (Antony Weber, 1973)
20. 12 Hour Shift (Brea Grant, 2020) #ICMFF
21. Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (Russ Meyer, 1970)
22. Muscle Beach Party (William Asher, 1964)
23. Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975)
24. Invasion of the Love Drones (Jerome Hamlin, 1977)
25. Jennifer (Brice Mack, 1978)

[gunnar]

23. Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975)
Pam Grier is a fashion photographer who gets embroiled in a murderous conspiracy when she accidentally witnesses an assassination attempt. Despite the seemingly heavy conspiracy plot, this is actually one of the lighter, more relaxed roles I've seen from Grier. She seems positively bubbly at times. The rest of the cast is pretty damn great too with reliable guys like Yaphet Kotto, Carl Weathers and Scatman Crothers. Kotto especially is damned awesome.

You might already know it, but Friday Foster is based on a comic strip that ran from 1971-1974. A really nice hardcover collecting all of the Sunday strips was published about a year ago and I read it last summer. I liked it a lot and have the movie on my list of films to watch. Hopefully I can get to it this month, though it's currently checked out at my local library.

[flavo5000]

23. Friday Foster (Arthur Marks, 1975)
Pam Grier is a fashion photographer who gets embroiled in a murderous conspiracy when she accidentally witnesses an assassination attempt. Despite the seemingly heavy conspiracy plot, this is actually one of the lighter, more relaxed roles I've seen from Grier. She seems positively bubbly at times. The rest of the cast is pretty damn great too with reliable guys like Yaphet Kotto, Carl Weathers and Scatman Crothers. Kotto especially is damned awesome.

You might already know it, but Friday Foster is based on a comic strip that ran from 1971-1974. A really nice hardcover collecting all of the Sunday strips was published about a year ago and I read it last summer. I liked it a lot and have the movie on my list of films to watch. Hopefully I can get to it this month, though it's currently checked out at my local library.

Yep, I was aware. The movie definitely feels like it. It doesn't really give you much intro to the character and throws in a bunch of supporting characters that it feels like you are already supposed to know. It's still a fun movie though.