Hagsploitation truly is the horror sub-genre
that keeps on giving. Sparked by the unexpected success of 1962’s What Ever
Happened to Baby Jane? in the 1960s and 70s, maturing female stars of golden
age Hollywood extended their careers by swallowing their pride, embracing their
inner scream queen and plunging into exploitation shockers: think of Joan Crawford,
Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, Olivia de Havilland, Agnes Moorehead and
Shelley Winters starring in the likes of Strait-Jacket, Hush … Hush … Sweet
Charlotte, Berserk, Lady in a Cage, Die! Die! My Darling, Dear Dead Delilah and especially
the “question movies” Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?,What’s the Matter with Helen? and
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Roaring back from career doldrums (I last remember
her playing Miley Cyrus’ mother in 2012), 61-year-old Demi Moore finds herself in a similar
position in director Coralie Fargeat’s grisly and stylish satire The Substance.
In a gutsy, exposed (in every sense) performance, Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle,
a middle-aged television celebrity abruptly fired by ageist and sexist network
executive (Dennis Quaid, really chomping the scenery). Despondent, Elisabeth takes
desperate measures to rejuvenate her “best self” with a mysterious unregulated black
market scientific procedure called The Substance … and things swiftly unravel.
Characterized
by stunning art direction and a visceral sound design that emphasizes every repulsive
squelching noise, The Substance ratchets up maximum dread and offers a goldmine
of knowing movie references: Basket Case. Carrie. Death Becomes Her. The Elephant Man.The Shining. Every single
David Cronenberg “body horror” flick but particularly The Fly. Thematically, it
reminded me of two specific b-movies from the late 1950s: The Wasp Woman and The Leech
Woman, in which the anti-heroine experiments with science (or voodoo) to
restore youth and beauty with monstrous consequences (and – it must be noted - these
films make their point with a fraction of The Substance’s budget and two hour-and
40-minute running time).
The Substance is bound to be divisive. There was multiple
“walk outs” when I saw it yesterday. Does it critique society's youth fixation or wind up reaffirming it? And has Fargeat lost control of the material by the
ultra-gory splatter fest finale? However you cut it, it’s a wild ride and
destined for cult status.
Who
doesn’t love a gritty women-in-prison exploitation movie? Give me a Caged
(1950), Women’s Prison (1955), Betrayed Women (1955), Girls in Prison (1956), Women
Without Men (1956) or Caged Heat (1974) and I am entranced! (The whole genre was
brilliantly parodied by SCTV in 1977 in the essential sketch “Broads Behind Bars”).
Compared to these lurid, hard-boiled American exemplars, the British
variation The Weak and the Wicked undeniably feels buttoned-up, drab, downbeat and
yes, tame, by comparison but it’s not without its merits. Glynis Johns stars as
Jean Raymond, a posh upper-class woman (she wears prim little white gloves!) with
a gambling addiction sentenced to prison on a trumped-up fraud charge. We watch
as Jean and the other new arrivals file-in to be “processed” by the stern
prison matrons: weighed, bathed (“strip!”), checked for lice and issued their frumpy
uniforms. Once installed, Jean promptly befriends brassy peroxide blonde Betty
Brown (the perennially sensational Diana Dors. Betty’s first words to Jean: “gizza
fag!”). With each new female inmate Jean encounters, we get a flashback outlining
her backstory (some are funny, some are tragic). British cinema aficionados should
watch for Rachel Roberts, Sybil Thorndike, Irene Handl and Sid James in small
roles. (I think it was contractually obligated for either James or Herbert Lom
to appear in every single British film of the period). Director J Lee Thompson
would reunite with Dors for yet another, better-known women-in-prison movie, Yield
to the Night (inspired by the Ruth Ellis case) in 1956.
Recently watched: Netflix’s The
Deliverance (2024). Tagline: “Every family has its demons.”
Directed by the reliably juicy and lurid
Lee Daniels (the filmmaker best known for Precious (2009) and The
Paperboy (2012)), it begins as a gritty urban drama (complete with Lil’ Kim
on the soundtrack) about poverty, abuse, alcoholism, and racism as we watch the
troubled African American Jackson family (mother, three kids and grandmother)
hoping for a fresh start by moving into a new home in blue collar Pittsburgh.
But within no time, it becomes apparent the house is cursed, and The
Deliverance shifts tone into berserk, traumatic down-and-dirty horror in
the tradition of The Exorcist (1973) or Amityville Horror (1979).
(Or more accurately, The Deliverance is like an update or variation of Abby,
the 1974 Blaxploitation version of The Exorcist). All the demonic
possession horror movie tropes are present and correct: possessed children
scuttle up the walls. Characters suddenly adopt growling, guttural voices or
speak in tongues or develop stigmata on their hands. A cross on the wall bursts
into flame. When someone is sprinkled with holy water, they scream “It burns!”
Is The Deliverance silly and cliched? Sure, and the reviews have been savage, but if you keep your expectations low it’s also a blast. And the acting
is exceptional: Andra Day is ferocious as tough, beleaguered single mom Ebony
Jackson, as is Mo’Nique as a no-nonsense social worker. But it’s Glenn Close -
gamely sporting wig and make-up choices pitched somewhere between Tammy Faye
Bakker and Rachel Dolezal - as flamboyant born again grandmother Alberta (her
wildest role since playing J D Vance’s Mamaw in Hillbilly Elegy) who
steals the whole thing. Alberta is the kind of part Shelley Winters or Susan Tyrrell once might have played and the way Close attacks it is pure, gleeful
hagsploitation. My favourite scene: the three generations of Jackson women
(grandmother, mother and granddaughter) braiding each other’s hair while
watching 1967 camp classic Valley of the Dolls on TV and reciting the
“Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope” dialogue off by heart. But weirdly,
for such a cine-literate family, none of them seems to have watched The Exorcist!
It
immediately disarms by emphasizing Dunaway’s scary diva reputation. Before we
see her, we hear Dunaway imperiously snapping “Can we shoot? We need to shoot.
I’m here now. C’mon. I really would like to shoot” then fretting “This is the
worst seat in the world. I’m not happy with anything here … I need a glass of
water, not a bottle.” This is followed by the notorious Johnny Carson clip of a
desiccated and cantankerous Bette Davis raging she wouldn’t work with Dunaway
again for a million dollars. And the revelation that co-star Jack Nicholson
nicknamed her “Dread” (as in: “the dreaded Dunaway”).
Faye also
reveals Dunaway’s battles with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. (I remember
when Nina Simone was regularly described as “volatile” and “temperamental”. It
wasn’t until after her death it was disclosed, she struggled with mental
illness). The supportive Liam ponders, “If she wasn’t in so much pain, would
she have been that good?” Dunaway is a mesmerizing actress – do we need her to also
be "nice", “relatable” and “likeable”? As one of the featured talking heads replies
when asked to summarize Dunaway in one word: “She’s complicated.”
Recently watched: MaXXXine (2024).Tagline: “She’s
gonna be a star no matter what it takes!”
MaXXXine, of course, represents the hotly
anticipated concluding chapter of the juicy elevated horror trilogy beginning
with X (2022) and the prequel Pearl (2022) by director Ti West and leading lady
Mia Goth. I’ve been yearning to see this one for what felt like an eternity.
Its trailer (soundtracked by the Laura Branigan classic “Self-Control”) was so
tantalizing it tormented me! We watched MaXXXine last weekend (its opening weekend) and it was - OK! I
felt like I was willing it to be better. Of the three films, MaXXXine is definitely
the slightest and flimsiest entry. Maybe my expectations were unrealistically
high and the remarkable Pearl(which I consider a modern masterwork) set an
impossibly high bar for this follow-up.
Anyway, there is still much to enjoy. Set
in 1985 Los Angeles, MaXXXine unfolds against a backdrop of satanic panic
paranoia, the rise of Tipper Gore’s censorious Parents Music Resource Centre, Ronald
Reagan’s presidency and the Night Stalker’s reign of terror. Goth returns as driven,
burning-with-ambition porn starlet Maxine Minx. Now 33, she knows it’s now or
never if she’s ever going to transition from skin flicks into legit cinema
(well, a low-budget slasher movie entitled Puritan II in this case). “In this
industry, women age like bread not wine” she laments. But just as stardom finally
seems within Maxine’s grasp, her friends start getting gruesomely picked-off
one by one by a serial killer …
MaXXXine boasts an authentically scuzzy, grungy
discount bin VHS vibe. The soundtrack pumps with 80s tunes (ZZ Top. Frankie
Goes to Hollywood. “Obsession” by Animotion. Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.” John
Parr’s theme tune to St Elmo’s Fire. And yes, Laura Branigan). Aficionados of 1980s
trash cinema will revel in West’s references to the likes of Savage Streets
(1984), Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984), Vice Academy (1989), Angel (1984)
and Avenging Angel (1985). Goth is a riveting, singular presence and one of THE
great actresses currently working (The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw aptly called
her the Judy Garland of horror). MaXXXine is a pulpy, grisly down-and-dirty
summer thriller – just don’t expect another Pearl!
This month, the FREE Lobotomy Room cinema
club presents Satan in High Heels (1962)! 20 June 2024 at Fontaine’s bar!
Hard-boiled and stylish, Satan in High Heels
represents the acme of early sixties sexploitation cinema NOT made by Russ
Meyer. Characterized by exceptionally good acting, atmospheric film noir
black-and-white cinematography and an urgent jazz soundtrack, Satan was filmed
in just 21 days with an estimated budget of less than $100,000 – and is a taut
89-minute journey into deep sleaze!
/ Above: jazz chanteuse, actress and pin-up queen Meg Myles as Stacey /
Weary of her hard-scrabble two-bit
existence bumping-and-grinding in the carnival, scheming, manipulative and
utterly amoral fairground burlesque dancer Stacey Kane (Meg Myles) ditches her
useless junkie husband and flees to New York to re-invent herself as a singer.
Cynically employing sex and a smile, the redheaded vixen inveigles her way into
a gig crooning at the upscale Greenwich Village nightclub managed by fiercely
chic and jaded lesbian proprietress Pepe (the reliably intense Grayson Hall).
Stacey promptly becomes the mistress of wealthy married businessman Arnold
Kenyon, but – to considerably complicate things – she also pursues Kenyon’s
feckless beatnik son Laurence! As the poster’s tagline leers “The father … the
son … the husband … the lover … they all had her … but she had them – right
where the heat was hottest!”
/ Stacey sparring with Pepe. With
her butch tailored tweed suits, ascots and long cigarette holder, the fierce Grayson Hall
is a consummate scene stealer and a great LGBTQ role model. So Satan makes an ideal choice for Pride Month! /
Aside from some fleeting glimpses of side
boob in a gratuitous skinny-dipping scene, no actual nudity is on display. But
Satan’s producer Leonard Burtman’s background was in the realm of fetish porn
magazines and that sensibility is amply reflected onscreen in the emphasis on
Stacey’s spike-heeled Spring-o-Lator mules and the kinky black leather
dominatrix ensemble she wears (complete with jodhpurs and riding crop) growling the climactic
musical number “The Female of the Species” (sample lyric: "I'm the kind of
woman/ Not hard to understand / I'm the kind that cracks the whip / And takes
the upper hand"). Everyone snarls their tough-as-nails dialogue,
chain-smokes and knocks-back hard liquor. (You could play a fun drinking game
taking a sip every time a character onscreen does, but it would risk projectile
vomiting).
/ Watch
also for simpering ultra-kitsch sex bomb Sabrina (the British Jayne Mansfield) playing
herself as Stacey’s bitter burlesque rival. She’s gloriously awful! /
Lobotomy Room is the FREE monthly film club
devoted to Bad Movies for Bad People! Third Thursday night of every month
downstairs at Fontaine’s cocktail lounge in Dalston. Numbers are limited, so
reserve your seat via Fontaine’s website.via Fontaine’s website. Alternatively, phone
07718000546 or email bookings@fontaines.bar. The film starts at 8:30 pm. Doors
to the basement Bamboo Lounge open at 8:00 pm. To ensure everyone is seated and
cocktails are ordered on time, please arrive by 8:15 pm at the latest. Full putrid details on Facebook event page. Facebook event page.
This April I went to the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend festival at The Orleans Hotel and Casino for the first
time since 2019. (This gap was mainly down to factors like coronavirus and being
made redundant / starting new jobs over the years. I’ve been regularly
attending on and off since something like 2003). I was reuniting with and
splitting a room again with my old friend Kevin from California (the artist formerly
known as Kevin from New Orleans), plus some newbies / VLV virgins: my friends Louise
(henceforth referred to by my nickname for her “Weezie”) and London-based German
couple Knut and Anne-Kathrin (the In-Kraut!). Anyway, here is my unexpurgated account
– disgustingly frank and revoltingly candid!
I arrived evening of Wednesday 17 April and
caught up with Kevin over the first of many (many) beers at The Alligator bar
of The Orleans.
Thursday (day one):
/ Kevin and I at The Golden Tiki /
Kevin and I went to The Golden Tiki that
afternoon for Mai Tais. (Well, Kevin had his customary Three Dots and a Dash).
Gratifyingly, The Golden Tiki was heaving (all the tables were already reserved,
so we drank at the bar). Great to see that this amazing venue is clearly
thriving.
/ Above: decor at The Golden Tiki /
/ Reunion with Rich at Sweet Pea's Hooch'n'Smooch Thursday afternoon. Photos by Sheilah /
/ Patrick, Sweetpea and Andre at the LGBTQIA mixer /
Both Anne-Kathrin and Knut, and Weezie
arrived and found us at the mixer. The party had well and truly started!
/ Knut, Anne-Kathrin and Weezie. By the way, this trio nor Kevin had ever met before, so it was so great watching them all instantly become friends! /
Musical highlight: The Spuny Boys – rockabilly
heartthrobs from France.
Friday (day two):
Friday morning a group of jaded
international thrill-seekers went in search of some vintage smut and
sin-sational adult situations. I mean, of course, Anne-Kathrin, Knut, Kevin and
me! But don't worry - it was educational! We visited the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum for a guided tour. My only disappointment: my priority was to genuflect
before a sacred relic (their permanent collection contains a pink velvet
heart-shaped settee salvaged from Jayne Mansfield’s Pink Palace!). BUT they
regularly rotate the items exhibited and Jayne’s settee wasn’t on display when
we visited! (Also, the guide said visitors kept wanting to sit on it).
/ Above: treasures from the Burlesque Hall of Fame including Tempest Storm's glittery g-string (yes, you can see my gormless reflection) and Dita Von Teese's champagne glass prop from 2000 (surprisingly tiny!) /
/ What I'd hoped to see but wasn't on display ... Jayne Mansfield's heart-shaped velvet settee from the Pink Palace /
Afterward, Weezie joined us at Frankie’s Tiki Room, one of my favourite bars in the entire world. Let’s face it, for the
most part the United Kingdom just doesn’t “get” Tiki culture – it’s an entirely
American phenomenon – so you must soak up and luxuriate in the authentic deal
when you get the opportunity. A real plus: Frankie’s creaky barely functioning but
excellent jukebox is stuffed with exotica, surf instrumental and punk
selections. When I die, scatter my ashes at Frankie’s Tiki Room!
/ Bad Girls Go to Hell! Anne-Kathrin and Weezie at Frankie's /
/ Bathroom selfie at Frankie's /
/ Above: Weezie and I giving major “We’ve been watching you across the bar and would like to buy you a drink” /
/ Kevin, me and Knut /
/ Leaving Frankie's, tipsy and blinking in the sunlight /
Back at The Orleans, Kevin, Weezie and I
hung out briefly at the pool. (The Bloody Marys at the pool bar are a must and
have miraculous reviving properties).
/ Poolside with Weezie and Kevin (and their perfectly coordinated Tiki ensembles) /
THEN: I had the bright idea of revisiting
Big Elvis at Harrah’s. I explained to Weezie, Knut and Anne-Kathrin that seeing
Big Elvis perform was an essential authentic Vegas ritual and rite of passage
and that he had to be experienced at least once. I have many deliriously happy
memories of Big Elvis over the years but wow, I was horrified by the price of
drinks at Harrah’s these days ($12 for domestic beers. Knut’s bill came to
$65). A major rip-off. And while Big Elvis himself was in soaring voice, he seemed
totally “checked out” and delivered an abbreviated set. Previously I would
advise anyone that seeing Big Elvis is de rigueur when visiting Vegas. Now
– and it pains me to say this – I’d say approach with caution.
/ Below: Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret - reunited! Only kidding: Weezie and Big Elvis having a moment /
Musical highlights: Crazy Joe. The Viva Rhythm
and Blues Show: the whole showcase made me swoon, but everyone was completely
blown away by flamboyant flaming creature Les Greene. Pouting, wailing and
gyrating in a pink zoot suit with two-toned hair and a septum piercing, Greene
effortlessly evoked the essence of young Little Richard in his prime (he tore
through two numbers: “Baby Face” and Richard’s “Tutti Fruiti”). A star was born
and regardless of gender or sexual preference, everyone had an instant crush on
him! Then: Omar Romero. I regret not seeing James Intveld at midnight.
Then: the car show. Like all self-respecting
rockabilly kittens, Weezie and Anne-Kathrin shielded themselves from the
blazing sun with parasols. Didn’t spot any stars. Cassandra Peterson (aka
Elvira Mistress of the Dark) was a frequent presence at the car show in
previous years signing autographs and selling merchandise (catching a glimpse
of her is always a religious experience!). And of course, the late, great flame-haired
burlesque queen Tempest Storm. But: I learned later that both modern striptease
showgirl deluxe Dita von Teese AND effervescent Drag Race contestant and YouTuber
Jaymes Mansfield attended the car show, just not while we were there, damn it!
Or we somehow missed them!
/ My role at the car show was to capture Weezie looking sultry next to vintage cars /
/ The owner of this 1955 Ford Crown Victoria Skyliner (in Tropical Rose)
was a total mensch and happy to let people actually climb behind the wheel
for photos. (Trust me, this is unheard of!). Needless to say, we took advantage
/
More time at the pool. The “official” pool
party is considered the Sunday, but we skipped the crowds and long queues and treated
Saturday as the pool party – and it was sun-kissed bliss! A striking lesbian couple
won the “Couples Swimsuit Contest” (see below and check out the brunette's killer batwing-shaped Vampira sunglasses) and no one batted an eye (like I said, the
queerest VLV yet). Surf band The Hula Girls provided the soundtrack.
/ Note: I've had that striped nautical t-shirt for years and this trip, applying sunscreen to my neck stained it with yellow streaks. Did anyone else not know that sunscreen stained clothes? /
Musical highlight: The Hexxers. Both Weezie
and I were flagging and had to have a nap. Afterward, we were both groggy and
irritable – until rampaging savage voodoo-tinged Californian garage punk band
The Hexxers blew away the cobwebs. The Hexxers were like a shot of adrenaline. They
are awesome! Followed by Deke’s Guitar Geek Show.
/ Girls Gone Wild! Weezie and Anne-Kathrin at Champagne's Cafe /
Then: beers at the graffiti-covered ne plus
ultra of punk dive bars Double Down Saloon. I hadn’t been there in years and
thankfully, it was exactly how I remembered it. There’s a reason the sign outside
(accurately) declares “happiest place on Earth.” Double Down and Frankie’s Tiki
Room are both owned by the same person. Whoever you are, I could kiss you.
Hell, I’ll gladly fellate you. Weezie sampled the signature house drink “Ass
Juice” and even bought its special accompanying toilet-shaped glass. I vaguely
remember Ass Juice being red (the Time Out guide describes it as “a sweet,
blood-red concoction of mysterious origin”) and it tasting primarily of Jägermeister.
They must have tweaked the recipe: now it’s pink and taste like schnapps. I
think I like it better now.
Back at The Orleans, the musical highlights
were Dave and Deke Combo’s Hillbilly Fest and Sebastien Bordeaux. Disappointingly, the usually excellent Big
Sandy & The Flyrite Boys’ set was all mid-tempo and ballad-heavy and we
bailed after a few songs.
/ That girl's got roaches in her hair! Kevin snapped this shot of this stunning woman and her perfect (homemade) recreation of Tracy Turnblad's "cockroach" dress from Hairspray (1988). Surely THE outfit of the whole weekend /
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DJ. Journalist. Greaser punk. Malcontent. Jack of all trades, master of none. Like the Shangri-Las song, I'm good-bad, but not evil. I revel in trashiness