a few days ago i sent gina myers a list of 12 recommended exploitation films. after sending the list i thought i've not posted a list of movies in quite a while and i think this one is pretty okay so i asked gina if it was cool that i post it here. i've written about a few of these films before. but as we are midway thru summer and i've not written about summer films, or the deep pleasures of watching movies when the heat and light are so intense that the best way to deal with it is to hole up, draw the shades, turn on the a.c. and watch movies. with that in mind i thought that this list can function as a list of summer flicks too. these movies are not placed in an order of a top 12. but they are some of my favorites, period. so here goes.

'the bird with the crystal plummage' (1970) dir by dario argento

this is an early argento release, one of his best, where he steps into the fertile ground of the giallo tradition. giallos [translation in english, yellow] were, as you probably already know, lurid, sleazy thrillers that took their cue and also their name from the pulp fiction published in postwar italy with yellow covers. the movies often invoked sex, violence and a single killer who usually wore black gloves and killed by elaborate means, rarely with a gun. the camera followed the killer as we view his/her actions thru their own eyes. argento is a master filmmaker and even tho there are scores of cheap, goofy and plain-ass bad giallos, this is one of the best.

'lifeforce' (1985) dir by tobe hooper

this film, a sci-fi outing by hooper, is a bit of a mess. a group of astronauts discover a craft with a frozen body. they take the body back to london and all hell breaks loose. this was a big budget production but you wouldn't know it from watching it. highly recommended.

'gone in 60 seconds' (1974) dir by h.b. halicki

this is the shit, classic drive-in fare, which is where i saw it as a pup. one of the cars used in the film was used a prop located at the refreshment stand and man was it beat to death! halicki was a former stunt driver and made this film using the skills he knew best. the ending is a sheer balls-to-the-wall 30 minute plus chase scene. except no substitutes, such as the anemic remake starring nicolas cage. by the end you'll be breathless.

'assault on precinct 13' (1976) dir by john carpenter

john carpenter made this action flick before he lensed 'halloween' and it details carpenter's gifts as a filmmaker for this is flick made with a paltry budget about the size of lunch money and yet the action and the set and even the premise is displays a wealth of talent. fashioned after an old western, complete with cowboy code and all, this movie freaked me out as a kid because the gang that attacks the police station were silent, still and deadly. also remade 20 plus years later, which signifies that a bigger budget and a-list stars is no guarantee of a masterpiece.

'another state of mind' (1982) dir by peter stuart and adam small

this documentary chronicles the better youth organization's 1982 summer tour featuring the hardcore bands youth brigade and social distortion, in addition to minor threat. an incredible feat that was doomed to fail for social d is/was known as heavy drug users while the better youth organization advocated the straight edge [no drinking, drugs, lying and sometimes even no sex] punk rock lifestyle. utterly kick-ass rock&roll at its grittiest.

'munchies' (1987) dir by bettina hirsch

this roger corman produced trash vehicle was mainly to capitalize on the 'gremlins' and 'critters' franchise. the only known actor is harvey korman. yet i have what might be an unhealthy fondness for the film. stupid, goofy and a waste of time, the film is livened up by the presence nadine van der velde, an actress who didn't do very many movies at all. perhaps i'm simply biased for i had a huge crush on her just from this film alone.

'exit the dragon / enter the tiger' (1976) dir by tso nam lee

the shaw bros were to kung fu flicks produced in the '70s what harvey weinstein is to indie cinema today and the shaws knew their audiences well. hence, after the death of bruce lee, 'the dragon' of the title, they introduced a shitload of actors each bearing some form of the name lee. so this movies stars bruce li as a disciple of the late lee searching for lee's killers. hong kong kung fu cinema doesn't get any crazier and sillier than this.

'what have you done to solange?' (1972) dir by massimo dallamano

another prime giallo photographed by the notorious joe d'amato [aristide massaccesi (and if you do any research on him and interested in seeing any of his work i have a copy of his most vile of films 'emmanualle in america' but that is more a warning then a recommendation, i kid you not)] and sumptiously scored by ennio morriccone. i won't say too much about this movie except that it is fantastic.

'beach blanket bingo' (1965) dir by william asher

what is summer without the beach movies? this flick is one of my favorites of the bunch. perhaps beach movies are an acquired taste, or maybe evidence of my own de-evolution. at any rate, frankie and annette, buster keaton, don rickles and paul lynde all at the beach doing what i'm not sure since these movies were never made with a plot in mind. but fun all the same, like eating a big bag of chips and washing it down with several cans of old 8 malt liquor, you'll feel like hell afterward, but man does it satisfy as you pig out.

'basket case' (1981) dir by frank helenlotter

you've heard the word 'grindhouse' when talking about exploitation cinema, well this movie comes directly from the grindhouse era of filmmaking. you can almost smell the crack and puke in the air as you experience this gory trek of a young man who was crudely separated from his siamese twin and now wants revenge on the surgeons and nurses who commited the deed. depraved and wonderful.

'grizzly' (1976) dir by william girdler

girdler was a brilliant hack who made cheap exploitation films that rose to the level of high camp. this flick is a total 'jaws' rip-off except that the monster in this case is a grizzly bear. don't let that description warn you away from this movie because it is one of his better efforts and i have the highest regard for girdler who died in 1978 at age 30 while scouting locations in the philippines.

'diabolical doctor z' (1965) dir by jess franco

love him or hate him franco was capable of making the odd good movie and this one is very good indeed. i'll not say too much about this film but let it envelope and surprise you. i hadn't considered my self a huge franco fan but when i look thru my dvd collection i'm surprised by how many franco flicks i have. he's the most represented filmmaker in my collection beside gore maestro lucio fulci.