A Frank Review of Low Budget Exploitation

42nd Street Forever Vol. 1 (2005) & 2 (2006):
What Is It? Two hours of trailers for grindhouse fare from the 50's-80's. Quite a mixed bag, but you just know these coming attractions are better than most of the films they promote, and the cream does rise.
Should I See It? Yeah.

RANDOM TRAILER for "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die:"


The Beast Within (1982):
The Short Version? Werepubescence
What Is It? Horror
Who Is In It? Ronny Cox
Should I See It? No.

So okay, a woman gets raped by a werewolf-a-ma-bob, and the resultant son gets hair on more than his palms late into puberty. If that sounds like the kind of move that requires liberal use of the fast-forward button to you, then your hearing is just fine. There's a few ridiculous kills and some general sickness, but its rather dull and terribly silly otherwise.

TRAILER for "The Beast Within":


The Candy Snatchers (1973):
The Short Version? Ransom, sans Mel Gibson and any redeeming qualities.
What Is It? Dramedy.
Who Is In It? Nobody.
Should I See It? Maybe.

Three hoods kidnap a schoolgirl and bury her alive in anticipation of a ransom that isn't exactly forthcoming. Works best when it shoots for the blackest of comedy, but falters whenever things get especially sordid. That's explored further in interviews with the starlets of the film, one a defender, and one still haunted by the work.

NSFW NUDITY-- TRAILER for "The Candy Snatchers:"


Trailer Trash (2007, 2-Disc Series):
The Short Version? Cheap Trailers
What Is It? Horror/Comedy.
Who Is In It? Misty Mundae. A.J. Khan.
Should I See It? Maybe.

This is a lengthy collection (advertised at over 5 hours) of trailers for various extra low budget productions of the direct-to-video "quality." The first disc focuses on splatter, and is an utter waste of time, as the level of schlock is about equal to what high schoolers would come up with if given a weekend with a camcorder. I "enjoyed" the second disc much more, as it leaned more toward the sexploitation end of the spectrum. The erotic spoofs failed to live up to either term, although I've seen some of the Misty Mundae/Darien Caine/AJ Khan stuff at full length, and they're not all bad. Better were the horror hybrids, and most of the Joe Sarno/vintage 60's Euro-sleaze material was swell.

RANDOM TRAILER ("Shock-O-Rama," slightly NSFW):