Berberian Sound Studio – UK poster
Not an obscure movie by any means, but nonetheless, I cannot forbid such a gorgeous movie poster from being ignored simply because the movie in question achieved some popularity. I don't even want to say anything about it. Just look at it.
Cynthia Rothrock destroys Richard Norton with a thousand kicks
Well, maybe not a thousand, but there's certainly an inordinate amount of kicking in this clip from Lady Dragon.
Sweet Movie – German poster
Dusan Makavejev's Sweet Movie is the epitome of a divisive film. It also happens to be a personal favourite of mine, mixing the evocative with the funny, intense and plain gross.
Rutger Hauer shoots a rat
Rutget Hauer's performance in 1992's action/sci-fi hybrid Split Second is a thing of beauty. He chomps down so much scenery that he can barely contain his Dutch accent. He's extraordinarily entertaining. He also shoots a rat.
Red Room (1999) & Red Room 2 (2000)
The flat out absurdity and unabashed goofiness of the Red Room films mean that they sit outside the world of truly soul-destroying Japanese films like the Guinea Pig series. Yamanouchi just can't play things straight. In the past this has worked against him. Here, it works.
Houseboat Horror (1989)
Houseboat Horror is 86 minutes of all-round terrible filmmaking and it is so-bad-it's-good at its finest. Wooden acting, a non-existent plot, scenes with no connection to the story, mullets – it's all there. A must for fans of Australian films and awful horror flicks.
Simon, King of the Witches – US poster
I shan't deny my interest in Occultsploitation and Simon, King of the Witches is a truly odd gem. . This poster is also an absolute delight, featuring a strange mix between Hammer-style composition with an early-70s acid-drenched colour scheme and pattern.
An unexpected headbutt
My favourite moment of bad movie lunacy in Raw Force is a lengthy party scene, which functions like a collection of nonsensical sketches. It's hard to pick out a single moment from it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this absurd headbutt.
Unmasked Part 25 (1988)
Unmasked Part 25 needs to be dredged out of its pit of obscurity and worshipped as a cult classic. I say this a lot, but I really mean it this time: this is a legitimate must see, so see it!
Black Eye – US poster
I am in deep love with this poster for the 1974 Blaxploitation gem Black Eye. It somehow exists in a design space at once utterly unhinged yet elegantly restrained.
Best worst line reading ever
I don't think I've ever pressed rewind so many times, and all to hear a mangled line of dialogue over and over again. I'd imagine the Japanese director of Gappa had no clue how horrifically this poor gaijin actor, clearly not a native speaker, was delivering his line.
The Gappa Family (ガッパ)
It's a shame Nikkatsu only made this single kaijū film. Gappa, while no masterpiece, has a lot more energy and passion than some of the Godzilla and Gamera efforts that appeared towards the end of the Shōwa era.
