Policewomen (1974)

Lee Frost is a forgotten director now but he was responsible for a slew of the most exciting drive-in films of the 70's including Chain Gang Women (see one post below), Dixie Dynamite, The Black Gestapo and the classic The Thing With Two Heads (see the Best of... in the top right corner for this amazing trailer).

It doesn't get much better than this...

Directed by Lee Frost.

Starring Sondra Currie and Tony Young.

IMDB

Chain Gang Women (1971)

A fairly low-brow prison break movie with some misleading advertising. This is not a "women-in-prison" film, but as DVD Verdict states, a "bargain basement Cool Hand Luke". Lead actor Michael Stearns had a bit part in Battle For the Planet Of The Apes two years later.

Directed by Lee Frost.

Starring Michael Stearns.

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The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

Clip: "Trapped"



Soundtrack: Ennio Morricone



Dario Argento's first film is a masterpiece of the giallo genre and is in my top 5 movies of all-time.

This wasn't the first giallo (that distinction belongs to Mario Bava's The Girl Who Knew Too Much from 1963) but it set the template for the genre that would boom in the following years.

Also features a memorable score from Ennio Morricone.

This has just been released on Blu Ray by Blue Underground.

Directed by Dario Argento.

Starring Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall and Mario Adorf

IMDB

Lightning Bolt (1966)

This came out in the golden age of the spy movie and was directed by Antonio Margheriti who would become more famous for horror films like Cannibal Apocalypse and Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye under the pseudonym of Anthony M. Dawson.

This trailer has all the necessary ingredients...an evil genius bent on ruling the world and a narrator who actually uses the term "sexciting". Brilliant.

The electrified title card alone is worth the view.

Directed by Antonio Margheriti.

Starring Anthony Eisley and Wandisa Guida (originally billed as Wandisa Leigh).

IMDB

Death Rides A Horse (1967)

A good trailer for a classic Spaghetti Western. This is an absorbing little film with some real dark themes and brutal violence (the opening scene is one of the most horrifying in the genre) but unfortunately it has lapsed into public domain and the prints out there are usually full-frame and washed out. Worth looking at anyways.

Directed by Giulio Petroni.

Starring Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law and Luigi Pistilli.

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Bury Me an Angel (1972)

This trailer is what this site is all about.

Barbara Peters would go on to direct great drive-in fare like Summer School Teachers and the more well known Humanoids From The Deep before getting into television directing in the 80's.

Directed by Barbara Peters.

Starring Dixie Peabody and Terry Mace.

IMDB

Sno-Line (1986)

Filmed in Beaumont, Texas.

Featuring Paul L. Smith who played "Willard" in the classic slasher/giallo Pieces which was just released on DVD by Grindhouse.

Directed by Douglas F. O'Neons.

Starring Vince Edwards and Paul L. Smith.

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Laserblast (1978)

An MST3K favourite, Laserblast is one of many Star Wars influenced films that poured into theatres and drive-ins across the world.

The trailer focuses on the crude stop-motion aliens and Billy blowing things up real good. The scenes of Billy in his monster/zombie makeup are actually somewhat creepy. He kind of looks like a mix of Luke Skywalker and the Emperor.

Somehow Roddy McDowall was convinced to take a paycheque to be in this film.

Directed by Michael Rae.

Starring Kim Milford.

IMDB

Zombie vs. Ninja (1987) aka Zombie Rival: The Super Ninja Master

Admittedly my knowledge of 80's ninja titles is pretty low but this one caught my eye for the title alone (actually this one has many titles and it took me awhile to confirm that this trailer was for Zombie vs Ninja).

Joseph Lai was the producer on this and he was responsible for about 9 or 10 similar films PER YEAR in the mid-80's. He also directed a handful of them and about 90 percent have the word "Ninja" in the title. Many of these titles were released in North America by the video company Imperial Entertainment and the VHS covers are really memorable (many of which can be seen on Critical Condition Online). Lai went on to produce a whole slew of "Kickboxer" movies in the 90's.

Like a lot of these films, it looks like they were almost entirely shot on one location in the woods and there is plenty of dubbed in phrases like "bastards!" and the like. Fun stuff.

Directed by Godfrey Ho.

Starring Pierre Kirby.

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Massacre at Central High (1976)

Believe it or not, this is the best looking video I can find on the net of this trailer.

A great film with an overwhelming Southern California vibe that you can watch over and over again. Forget Heathers. This is the craziest High School movie ever made. Check out the "Craig" character sporting an early John Tesh look. You just know this guy is going to meet a gruesome end.

There are some extremely inventive kills (handglider electrocution!!) and it's all harmless 70's fun, perfect for a Saturday afternoon. This gets played quite a bit here in Canada on the Scream and Drive-In digital channels. Definitely a must-see.

Directed by Rene Daalder.

Starring Derrel Maury and Robert Carradine.

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Watch the Entire Movie!

Summer Camp Nightmare (1987)

Meatballs meets Lord Of The Flies. This trailer gets really good about 1:45 in when we get some great lyp synched rock. I swear they are singing "She just wants my beef baloney", or maybe "beefaroni". Dude. Amazing.

Right at this time there is a shift in marketing style - they seemingly wanted to market this as a serious drama for the first half but quickly change to teenage sex comedy style before ramping up the action aspect. Very strange stuff and somewhat mean-spirited. For 80's completists only.

Directed by Bert L. Dragin.

Starring Chuck Connors and Charlie Stratton.

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Bloody Pit Of Horror (1965)

Total Italian insanity from the 60's.

Directed by Massimo Pupillo.

Starring Mickey Hargitay and Walter Brandi.

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Horror of Dracula (1958)

Some have called this the greatest vampire film ever made. Regardless, it's worth a watch just to watch two legends in their Hammer horror prime.

Directed by Terence Fisher.

Starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

IMDB

The Video Dead (1987)

Watch the entire movie here!



A classic of Mom and Pop video rental places of the 80's. I remember the VHS cover very clearly from those old days. It's funny how the term "Video" was so cutting edge in the 80's that you could use it in a horror film title and be completely serious.

Directed by Robert Scott.

Starring Michael St. Michaels and Thaddeus Golas.

IMDB