For Valentine’s Day I recommended films of high artistic content that pertained to the lofty emotion of love. This installment, I am asking you to shed your coat of political correctness, relax your discernment in taste, and take in a couple exploitation movies that will surely prove to be closet favorites.
Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill
Russ Meyer, an auteur in trash cinema, had a simple formula: “Big Bosoms and Square Jaws;” his own words, and the befitting title of a biography about him.
In his 1966 classic, Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill three cleavage, revealing go-go dancers set off on a terror spree through the California desert. Their need for speed and thrills lead to a young man’s murder and the abduction of his girlfriend. On the run, the dancers end up at a desert ranch inhabited by a father and his two sons. This strange isolated family is sure to give you the creeps, much in the way that Tobe Hooper exemplified almost a decade later, in his Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Faster Pussycat is honed to greatness by utilizing fast sports cars, a superb soundtrack by the Bostweeds, and an innuendo peppered dialogue delivered brazenly by power hungry and villainous women. Russ starts the movie with these words: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence, the word, and the act.” Fellow king of distasteful films, John Waters said, “Beyond a doubt, the best movie ever made, it is quite possibly better than any film that will be made in the future.”
Crippled Masters
My next pick is a cult classic that may require you to dull your sensibilities even further. Crippled Masters is a Kung Fu movie from an era where bad English dubs were commonplace and only added to their B movie appeal. In this story, an evil lord has the first character’s arms chopped off and banished from the compound to lead a life of tragedy. Ironically, the individual that oversees the amputation also falls into disfavor and is punished by having his legs crippled. Hard feelings aside, the two men team up to train with a mentor. The movie climaxes when the impaired fighters literally join together to become one. You will surely end up referring to this movie as a guilty pleasure.
Until next time, I hope you have a great viewing experience. Comments are welcome at cinespire@gmail.com.
