Phil reviews HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE (2010) from Something Weird Video-January 5, 2012

Demented Southern town folks killing off Northern visitors for revenge. Highway roaming she-devils looking for fun and fights. Nubile nudie cuties parading around in the buff. Bored suburban teenagers looking for kicks. A sadistic cater sacrificing young women to an Egyptian goddess. These depraved, sick, and perverted images are considered to be some of the most important and most iconic images to be captured ever in cinema's rich history. Ranging from the sublime to the subversive, the bloody to the sexy, one man dared to venture where other filmmakers never dreamed of, and as a result, has left us some of the greatest horror and exploitation films ever made. Now Mike Vraney and his company Something Weird Video has paid tribute to this iconic filmmaker with this, their first ever documentary feature film. Directed by Jimmy Maslon and Frank Henenlotter, SWV's  HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE shines the spotlight on this beloved and often overlooked pioneer filmmaker and his contributions to the world of cinema.

The documentary chronicles the film career of the man known as "The Godfather of Gore." From his humble beginnings teaching English and Humanities at Mississippi State which he later evolved into the advertisement business. When Lewis bought a half interest into a small, cheap movie studio in Chicago, he started Mid-Continent Films which produced two films: THE PRIMETIME and LIVING VENUS, which was his feature film debut as a director. It was during the making of THE PRIMETIME he met exploitation pioneer David F. Friedman, who helped Lewis distribute LIVING VENUS. With the release of Russ Meyers' THE IMMORAL MR. TEAS, the next film Lewis and Friedman made was the nudie cutie called THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY PIERRE. After a couple of years making these nudie cuties and nudest camp films, Lewis came up with a completely different idea for a movie. A type of movie that the major movie studios wouldn't or couldn't make, but theater owners could make money at the boxoffice. Thus in the year 1963 BLOOD FEAST was made, and everything would never be the same again.

The other half of the documentary focuses of Lewis' partnership with Friedman as he created what has been called THE BLOOD TRILOGY which consisted of BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, and COLOR ME BLOOD RED (which takes up most of the middle of the documentary). These films introduced that famous four-letter word now forever associated with horror: GORE. The world of horror would never look the same thanks to Lewis and Friedman. After the completion of THE BLOOD TRILOGY, Lewis parted ways with Friedman and began to make a plethora of films within the exploitation genre such as MOONSHINE MOUNTAIN, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT, SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS, and SOMETHING WEIRD (which Vraney named his company after). Soon he returned to the horror genre with A TASTE OF BLOOD, THE WIZARD OF GORE, THE GRUESOME TWOSOME, and THE GORE GORE GIRLS, which was Lewis' swan song. After that film's release, he became one of the leaders in the field of Direct Marketing advertising (Lewis would return to the director's chair with the 2002 sequel BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT).

Maslon and Henenlotter really packed the film with some great, informative, and funny interviews from people like John Waters, Joe Bob Briggs, Connie Mason, Mal Arnold, Jim Dennett and others, and by Henenloter himself. All these stories and opinions give the film life and also give praise to Lewis, to which this reviewer thinks is long overdue. These two directors threw everything in this film, including the kitchen sink! Also the on camera interviews with Lewis were just fascinating; detailing how he made a lot of his films, where he shot it, how he got the money, and how he made his gore-soaked films. Another great source of information came from Friedman, who shared his memories of the good 'ol days of exploitation filmmaking. Sadly, this documentary was one the last films he ever appeared in (he'll also be appearing in Henenlotter's upcoming SWV documentary THAT'S SEXPLOITATION). On February 14, 2011 Friedman passed away at the age of 87.

The DVD comes packed with over an hour of deleted scenes (which could almost make up another film!), a rare Lewis short film entitled HOT NIGHT AT THE GO-GO-LOUNGE, a gallery of Lewis exploitation art, and an extensive Lewis trailer reel!

Something Weird Video's HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is required viewing and a must-own for every single horror fan out there. The film serves as introduction to people who may have never seen any of Lewis' films while simultaneously satisfies his fans with an in depth biography of the man who invented a whole new film genre. Highly recommended!!

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is available on the Something Weird Video website. To purchase a copy, please visit www.somethingweird.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews FRANKENHOOKER (1990) on Blu-Ray from Synapse Films-December 18, 2011

So for my very first review for The Midnight Horror Sinema Show, I chose a recently released cult classic that I haven't seen for a while, but when I saw it on Blu-Ray, I knew I had to get it. And I am very glad that I did! From director Frank Henenlotter comes his infamous cult film FRANKENHOOKER!

The film's about a medical student dropout named Jeffery Franken (James Lorinz) whose fiancée Elizabeth Shelly (Patty Mullen) is accidentally killed in a tragic lawnmower accident. The only thing he could save of her was her head. Determined to bring her back, Jeffery ventures out to the red light district in New York City and lures several prostitutes back to his seedy hotel room to pick out body parts for his Elizabeth. Things go horribly wrong when the prostitutes mistake Jeffery's vile of explosive superdrug for rock cocaine and they begin to smoke it, leading them to all simultaneously explode. Jeffery returns to his garage lab and, using all the dead prostitute pieces, rebuilds his fiancée, but it backfires as the resurrected Elizabeth know thinks she's a hooker.

Henenlotter directed the film and co-wrote it with Robert Martin. Henenlotter originally met with producer James Glickenhaus to pitch his film INSECT CITY. Glickenhaus passed on the project but asked him what else he had. Believe it or not, Henenlotter made up the plot for the film on the spot! Glickenhaus loved the idea and gave it the go ahead (along with BASKET CASE 3). The film was originally released on June 1, 1990 with a budget of $2,500,000, but the film only grossed $205,068. However the film was given a new lease on life on VHS, thanks to a clever and effective cover box gimmick: when the subway lamp post was pressed by a customer, the box spoke back with the line, "Wanna date?" It also didn't hurt that actor Bill Murray gave it a great review, "If you see one movie this year, it should be FRANKENHOOKER." The film has been released in edited and uncut versions for years, which leads us to the Blu-Ray release.

Synapse Films has done a great job with this release, which is the uncut version of the film. The transfer looks incredible, considering how old the film is. The colors are bright, the picture quality is sharp and crisp, and the detail is amazing! You can see everything from the blades of grass to the dirty NYC sidewalks. For the special features, there's an audio commentary with Henenlotter and Make-Up Effects Designer Gabe Bartalos, A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth: Interview with Patty Mullen featurette, A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects of Frankenhooker documentary, Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker featurette, Jennifer Delora's Frankenhooker Photo Scrapbook featurette, and the film's original theatrical trailer.

FRANKENHOOKER is more comedy than horror, but it is a true cult classic, brimming with hilarious one-liners, a mad scientist, exploding hookers, death by lawnmower, and the amazing Patty Mullen who gives one of the best performances ever captured on celluloid. This is what I call "The perfect cult film." This Blu-Ray makes the perfect Christmas gift, so make sure you buy one for each member of your family! And have fun watching it on Christmas morning!

FRANKENHOOKER Blu-Ray is currently available at your local retailer and also on the Synapse Films website. To purchase a copy, visit http://synapse-films.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!