BLACK EMANUELLE, WHITE EMANUELLE

The last of the Serverin set BLACK EMANUELLE'S BOX VOL. 2 and it looks like I have saved the best for last. A non-Joe D'Amato entry in the Black Emanuelle series and now Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is in North Africa visiting friends and handing out with Carlo, the demented photographer that is played by her real life husband, Gabriele Tinti. You know were in for a demented time when he forces her to pose naked next to a corpse of a dog. Blech!
It isn't long before Emanuelle and company get entangled with a religiopus zealot by the name of Antonio. This blonde haired, messiah wannabe spells serious trouble.
This is how Emanuelle is supposed to be. Exotic location, lots of naked women and some seriously simulated sex. When the head of the household goes down on Antonio in the desert and comes back into view with some serious man goo on her face you know that you're in for a good time.
The characters have actual depth, surprising in this type of film. The cinematography is gorgeous and Ms. Gemser never looked better.
BLACK EMANUELLE, WHITE EMANUELLE is the feather in the cap of this recent release by Severin. Can we have the next set soon? Please?

BLACK EMANUELLE 2

Black Emanuelle means one thing to me...Laura Gemser. There are other things that come with an Emanuelle flick. Hordes of gorgeous women, lots of simulated, hot steamy sex and exotic locations.
BLACK EMANUELLE 2 has none of this going for it. Even Laura Gemser isn't it it! Sheesh! I really think this might be the weakest flick in the box and probably the entire series of Black Emanuelle films. Thankfully, the rest of the box set is strong enough to hold this one up along for the ride.
For Emanuelle completists only.

EMMANUELLE AND THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE

Introduction Note: I recently received BLACK EMMANUELLE'S BOX Vol. 2 from the fine folks at Severin Films www.severin-films.com. Three gritty, grimy Emmanuelle flicks along with a soundtrack CD. To give them the coverage that they deserve I will be covering them individually instead as a cohesive whole. Enjoy!

Laura Gemser is at it again in this classic piece of Eurotrash. She's hot on the trail of a big story and is in Kenya to get the goods. Being Emmanuelle it isn't long before she's groping her friend in the shower before winging her way back to New York for some more fun with her photographer friend. Of course, the only way to get the real story of the White Slave Trade is to go undercover at a brothel in San Diego so she's off to the west coast to get her funk on. She barely escapes being lobotomized when the brothel finds out who she really is and then she's off on another adventure..right after she gang bangs a group of fishermen who give her a ride in their boat.
Emmanuelle movies are about one thing. Sex. Director Joe D'Amato knows this and puts in as many softcore clutches as he can fit in the running time. Laura Gemser is still the lean, dark skinned beauty we have come to know and lust after.
Sure, there are some inconsistencies like that lighter/camera she uses. No way that thing would work in real life. Especially when she is taking pictures of the slave auction and the lens isn't even pointing at the girls.
My favorite scene would have to be the big fight between a burly transvestite and a horde of hoodlums in a bowling alley. The tranny hands them their respective asses for a minute before getting whacked with a bowling pin.
This is probably the best of the three in the box set for two reasons;
One, it's the one with the CD in it with the groovy soundtrack.
Two, the interview with Joe D'Amato is wonderful. It's just a bunch of guys sitting around shooting the shit over beers with Joe and asking him questions in an informal setting. Great stuff and probably the highlight of the entire box set.

GHOUL SCHOOL SUPER BLOODY SPLATTER UNIVERSITY EDITION

1990
90 Minutes
Directed by Timothy O'Rawe
DVD Provided by Camp Motion Pictures www.campmotionpictures.com

Bless Camp Motion Pictures. They have managed to stir up all that crap from the 80's that I truly adored. From things like VIDEO VIOLENCE to SPLATTER FARM. Now we get what may be the biggest package of stuff from Camp Motion Pictures with the release of GHOUL SCHOOL:Super Bloody Splatter University Edition.
Sure, the basic premise is paper thin. Two loser crooks let toxic waste loose in a school and if it gets you you turn into the walking dead, hungry for flesh. There are lots of over the top gore effects and the whole thing is played more for laughs than scares, but it works for what it is. Camp Motion Pictures lays on the extras with the following;
Ghoul School feature film
Original Fundraising Promo
Making of Ghoul School
DVD cover photo shoot
Three, count 'em three commentaries
Say No To Drugs (1987 student gore film)
Halloween Tale (1987 fundraising film)
Halloween Tale bloopers
Halloween Takeover (1989 local cable TV show)
Dead Weight (1990 unreleased featurette)
That is a lot of product for such a goofy flick. Definitely worth getting your hands on.

12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST

2005
Comedy
89 Minutes
Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
DVD Provided by Tartan Films www.tartanvideousa.com

16 years after the Revolution and just days before Christmas, a local television station in Bucharest has invited several guests to share their moments of glory, as they allegedly stormed city hall, chanting “down with Ceasescu!,” before Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife fled the presidential palace by helicopter so many years ago.
An alcoholic history teacher and a lonely retiree, who moonlights as Santa, are forced to answer questions from dubious viewers who aren’t overly convinced that the Revolution ever took place in their city.
This is sharp biting satire that is flawless in execution and style. If you can appreciate a truly unique comedy then this is one that you would want to see without a doubt.

RED ROAD

2006
Thriller
113 Minutes
Directed by Andrea Arnold
DVD Provided by Tartan Films www.tartanvideousa.com

Jackie is a CCTV operator. She watches over her little corner of the world and is happy with her lot in life. Then a man from her past comes in view of her camera view and she never wants to see him again, but she must.
RED ROAD works because it unfolds in front of you without giving you any backstory. You figure out what is going on as the story unfolds. A very satisfying film that makes you think. Definitely a film worth watching

JAPON

2002
Drama
126 Minutes
Directed by Carlos Reygadas
DVD provided by Tartan Films www.tartanvideousa.com

A man leaves Mexico City to go to a remote part of the countryside to prepare for his death by suicide. He finds a place to stay with an old Indian woman overlooking a canyon. The rawness of the surrounding natural beauty coupled with the old woman and her seemingly infinite humanity bring him from the dullness imposed on him through civilization to a new awakening for life.
For a first film this is nothing short of a major accomplishment. Director Reygadas gives us the wild beauty of a desolate place that is teeming with nature. He shows us that it's the little things in life that give it meaning to each and every one of us. This is a beautiful film that should be seen by everyone.

DEXTER CONTEST WINNERS!!!

Thanks to the good folks at Showtime we have wonderful prizes to give away for our DEXTER contest. The response was quite nice and here are the three winners;

First up is Corrie Petersen of Kalamazoo, Michigan who writes;

My personal favorite serial killer is The Zodiac Killer. He was one of the best to plan out his kills and keep the cops guessing. I especially enjoyed the taunts and encrypted letters he sent to the newspapers and the fact that his kills were laid out mathematically. To me this makes him a genius. He wasn't a slave to his killing methods and didn't follow ritualistic patterns that could make him easier to find. Also, the fact that he was never caught, even though he provided clues for the cops to figure out, makes him one of the best.

Corrie wins a box set of Dexter Season 1 along with the soundtrack from the series and a I Love Dexter button. Good job Corrie.

Second prize goes to Michael Legge of Mendon, Massachusetts who gives us this account;

My favorite serial killer is Dennis Rader, The BTK. He's my favorite because he is the exact opposite of what the glamorization of serial killers has done to the American psyche. He was an insignificant, sniveling little coward who preyed on women for the power it gave him. He was an unattractive slug who was a religious hypocrite, depending on his seemingly harmless exterior to take the lives of innocent people just for his own sick gratification. Other than a pedophile, there is nothing lower than a serial killer, and Rader is a prime example of how low humanity can sink.

Creepy stuff there, Michael. Michael gets a Season One Box set of Dexter from the good folks at Showtime.

Our final entry is the oddest one. We received an odd email from someone calling himself AlexanderGeorge. He gets a free I Love Dexter button for his simplistic entry of;

MANSON RULES!!!

Thanks AlexanderGeorge for the succinct response.

There ya go folks. Another great contest from the folks at Penguin Comics in conjunction with Showtime. Keep an eye out for our next contest sometime in November.