Grindhouse: BIFF-style

By: Mackenzie Lambert

For those not in the know, the term "Grindhouse" was once the name used for small theaters that showcased movies the major studios wouldn't touch. The films were typically extremely violent and heavy on sexuality. This past Saturday, it was an unpredictable day at the Grindhouse for the Buffalo International Film Festival. At 2pm, North Park on Hertel Avenue showed Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, while later on that night at 10pm, The Screening Room showed a triple feature of films made right here in Buffalo by homegrown filmmakers. Both occasions were not for the squeamish.

The presentation of The Evil Dead at North Park was something special. Not only were people treated to a 35mm print made from Sam Raimi's personal collection, but Bob Murawski of Grindhouse Releasing supplemented the film with an 11-minute trailer reel of other releases. The reel featured horrific mainstays such as Herschell Gordon Lewis' Gruesome Twosome (with signature disclaimer by William Kerwin), Ruggero Deodato's unmerciful Cannibal Holocaust, Mario Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve (the inspiration for Friday the 13th), Wes Craven's bleak The Hills Have Eyes, and the chainsaw-giallo, Pieces.

There were two trailers that warranted special attention. One was Mad Doctor of Blood Island. Both Fulci's Zombie and Marino Girolami's Doctor Butcher MD bear a striking resemblance. The other was Duke Mitchell's long lost mafiasploitation, Gone with the Pope. Having seen the trailers for the film months ago, there was a purple-tone to the color of the trailer. After going through restoration by Murawski, it has the sheen and grit of higher-budget films like The French Connection.

In between the trailers was an advertisement for a likely-now closed barbecue restaurant. Ironically, this ad, with its unappetizing food, was placed befittingly (though unwittingly) between the trailers for Cannibal Holocaust and Mad Doctor of Blood Island. At the end of the reel was a PSA supporting free television programming which portrayed cable as a money-grabbing monster. That PSA received bigger applause than the entire contents of the trailer reel.

I am one of those Evil Dead fans that started with Army of Darkness, then saw Evil Dead 2, ending my experience with the original Evil Dead. I came to the realization that Ash is to Jason as Scotty is to Mrs. Voorhees. People think of Ash as the hero of his series, and Jason as the killer in his own series. And, just like Mrs. Voorhees is the original killer in the first Friday the 13th, Scotty was the original hero in the first Evil Dead. Seeing Ash as utterly useless for two-thirds of the first movie was a bit of a shock to me. Especially when I see him now playing such great anti-heroes on Burn Notice and Bubba Ho-Tepp.

Its hard not to think of Evil Dead as merely being a cult classic. That is an applicable label here in the U.S., but in England it was a smash-success and one of the films at the center of the infamous Video Nasty controversy. In the U.K., it was the only movie to have been released on video and in theaters at the same time, thanks to Palace Pictures. Palace Pictures co-founder Stephen Woolley rationalized that video audiences and theater audiences were so different at that time that it was the best thing to do. It became the smash hit of 1983 in the U.K.

Meanwhile, its reputation steadily grew here in the US. One of its biggest supporters was Stephen King who was quoted on the poster for The Evil Dead: "The most ferociously original horror film I have ever seen." Since then, the film's success has allowed its key participants - like Raimi and Campbell  - to expand into other creative areas. Even the people with bit parts and crew contributions like Ted Raimi, Scott Spiegel, Joel Cohen and John Cameron were able to expand into the film business.

If you're looking for a plot summary, go to Wikipedia. Of all the screenings for the BIFF, Evil Dead had the the biggest turnout yet, which I feel further illustrates how much the city hungers for counter-cultural screenings as was seen with Tommy Wiseau's The Room, covered previously here on BR by Joseph Didomizio.

Later that night at The Screening Room, there was a special Made in Buffalo triple feature. In attendance was Buffalo filmmaker Jay Mager and his Buffa-Low Budget posse. Edward Summer announced that these were the only local films submitted to the festival. Someone who would not take advantage of having their work exposed to at least 11,000 people through social networking is beyond my comprehension.

Opening the trio of films was the comedy short, Million Dollar Dog. It was a cinematized joke. It had its build-up and its climatic punchline. Other than some rough editing, it did its job in entertaining the audience for its five-minute running time.

It was followed up by horror short, The Pigman, the first of two features by Jay Mager shown that night. The Pigman is a mixed documentary with third-person camera storytelling. The film concerns the urban myth of a sadistic serial killer (name one that wasn't!) that may or may not be real. A cameraman (Dan Loughry), a struggling writer (David Cohen), and their girlfriends (Jennifer Bihl & Sherri Harrington) go out to find the Pigman. They end up getting more than they bargained for.

Plot-wise, it's a 70's style slasher (i.e. Last House on the Left, Driller Killer) but with a real kicker of an ending. If it wasn't for the clever ending, I would have passed it off as the repetitive nihilistic thriller that comes out every couple of months by the big studios. For being low-budget, the make-up by Zombified Studios was quite convincing. While the blurb on the back of the screener case compares the film to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the look of a killer wearing a pig's head immediately recalls Vincent Smith from Motel Hell and Piggsy from the PS2 video game, Manhunt.

The final film of the night was Jay Mager's Born to Die, a movie that lives up to its name if there ever was one. This movie centers on a group of hired killer bikers with their own set of trials and tribulations. The plot structure is very much like that of Pulp Fiction, with chapters focusing on narratives involving the members of this gang. Anyone expecting the feel-good movie of the year was in for a disappointment.

But the film has an enthusiasm to it that mirrors the biker films of Roger Corman and the Anthony Cardoza-produced, Ross Hagen vehicle, The Hellcats. It was clear that the cast and crew knew they were making a movie that wasn't socially poignant, politically incorrect, and was shockingly violent. They were having fun, despite the bleak-spirit which was quickly dissipated with the humorous end credit outtakes.

There were some standout actors that are local staples in the Buffalo film scene. Chris Wroblewski, with his handlebar mustache, immediately made me think of wrestler Al Snow. Seeing Michael O'Hear as The Asian was like seeing Christopher Lee play Fu Manchu--it is out of place, yet adds to the low-budget charm of the film. Jennifer Bihl's turn as the Black Widow may very well be the cutest hired killer ever on film.

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Mackenzie Lambert is a Buffalo-based columnist. He has been featured in such publications as Penny Blood and Pantechnicon. He is also a movie columnist for The Men's Room Today (www.themensroomtoday.com).