Horror Year Book interviews William Lustig (CEO Blue Underground)

A Blue Underground fan pointed me to these interviews on youtube, and viola!
Here you have the boss, the main man, cult film director William Lustig being interviewed by Molly Celaschi for horroryearbook.com. So get the facts from the source Bill himself!

Amazon Jail

Deep in the Amazon jungle, a group of nubile naifs are trapped in a primitive prison by whip-cracking white slavers who aren't above sampling the merchandise themselves. But these hothouse flowers aren't about to be plucked, and the girls go native - only to fall into the hands of a perverted priest whose followers just love a woman in war paint! Caught between brutal bounty hunters and the holy man's horny henchmen, it's a battle of wits, weapons, and feminine wiles as the desperate damsels trade it all to escape this poison paradise alive!

Director Oswaldo De Oliveira (BARE BEHIND BARS) brings us this exotic twist on the woman-in-prison genre, with salacious sleazeballs Sergio Hingst (AWAKENING OF THE BEAST) and Joao Paulo Ramalho (PERVERSION, HELLISH FLESH) pursuing some of Brazil's sexiest starlets through scene after scene of primal passion and sadistic violence, culminating in an all-out orgy deep in the deadly Green Inferno.


WOW! fun movie! Girls are lured to the cage with promises of employment as Travel Agents. They are then sold in batches to buyers from the States. One girl manages to seduce the young nephew of the main slaver, and secures his promise to help the girls escape. However, escape is only the first step in truly being safe. There is of course, the jungle and the wacky goldminers, and random junglists to deal with!

I liked it. The "orgy" scenes have cool music, with a lone conga player providing the music for the girls to dance to. The captive girls are in a lot of body paint and dont seem to hate the whole idea of being sold, at points, as they are promised rich patrons and lots of money and jewels. And we all know that women respond favorably to being kidnapped and then sold for sex. Or at least some of the captives in the movie seem to think its a good idea, and a better job offer than Travel Agent.
This leads so a schism in the ranks of girls, pro escape vs content with their lot, and they have sexy shower fights to establish which idea will prevail in the cage.

Its fun, tongue in cheek, full of ridiculousness, and bouncing boobies covered in festive "Amazonian" paint jobs. Thus, i recomend it for viewing! I laughed. However, there is no way you could make a movie like this nowadays. Youd get crucified.
So heres to a cool, fun movie that shows how absurd we can all be.

Conquest

Totally Uncut And Uncensored!
At the height of the Sword & Sorcery craze, Maestro Of Gore Lucio Fulci (ZOMBIE) attacked the genre like no filmmaker had ever done before. Jorge Rivero (RIO LOBO), Andrea Occhipinti (NEW YORK RIPPER) and the luscious Sabrina Sellers (WHITE CANNIBAL QUEEN) star in this surreal epic of brain-bashing barbarians and breast-baring maidens, filled with eye-popping cinematography, jaw-dropping violence and a pounding score by Claudio Simonetti of Goblin.

For more than 20 years, Fulci fans have only experienced this bizarre shocker via shoddy VHS tapes. CONQUEST has now been fully restored from pristine vault elements and is proudly presented in totally uncensored gore-spurting splendor!

Ok, I love movies like this. Full of swords and magic and what not. This one was fun to watch, especially the leg bone nunchuk scenes. HA! good stuff. The bad guys in this are some sort of wookie looking dog people led by a nekkid lady who wears a full head mask/helmet & has visions of a faceless hero shooting her with a bow and arrow that is made out of pure energy. Needless to say she freaks out and sends her minions out to capture, kill, maim and otherwise annoy our heroes. There is alot of brain smashing in this one and a bit of spiritual cannibalism thrown in for good measure. Its a fun movie, and i enjoyed it.

Venus in Furs

"It all began last year near Istambul, on the shore of the Black Sea, or at least I think it did"

is the line that starts Jess Franco's Venus in Furs.

The movie never really grabbed me. what can i say? Something about the pace.
However thats not to imply that it wasnt worth a watch. The music alone
is worth its weight in gold, and is essential to the plot as well. You see,
Jim (the main character whose opening line is above) is a Jazz trumpet player.
He plays small clubs all over the world. (nice gig, Jim!) After witnessing a rather
surprising murder in club, he becomes obsessed with the reappearance of the victim
who seems to have something of a thing for him. But wait! she's dead! thinks poor Jim. I saw her body wash up on a beach in Istambul! then how is she walking into this posh private party I'm gigging at in Rio during Carnival? And thus begins Jims
engulfment in the mystery that is Wanda (the Venus in Furs herself)
the scenes of carnival are awesome, and the music scene the of the club shots and private parties were really cool to watch. The music was done by Manfred Mann, and evey now and again they unleash the title track, sung by Jim's very talented vocalist / lover. But really. what the hells going on? is she dead or not? Jim doesnt really seem to care. The girl is too hot for him to worry about these little details. Or maybe the problem is realllllly with Jim himself?
All in all, I can see this movie being enjoyed best as a sort of background to a party. Allowing people to fade in and out of it as they wish. The scenes are visually very appealing and some of the early special effects would add that "60's acid flashback" vibe to any room. Yeah. I have to say this one is more ambient than engrossing as a story. But a very cool and jazzy atmosphere full of 60's fashions, and exotic cities, a dash of skin and the confusion of a man.

Justine de Sade

Director Claude Pierson's adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's
catalog of hedonistic horrors stars Marco Perrin (ARMY OF SHADOWS),
the lovely Alice Arno (FEMALE VAMPIRE) and her real-life sister
Chantal Broquet (GOLDEN TEMPLE AMAZONS).
This scandalous spectacle has been widely censored, banned,
and virtually unseen in the United States - until now,
as JUSTINE DE SADE arrives fully restored and uncut on DVD
for the first time ever!




THIS IS A MUST SEE MOVIE! I have never seen anything like it!
Its horrible! yet i couldnt help but laugh at this poor girls
trials. It seems our heroine (or victim in this case) just cant
get her feet under her for more than 3 seconds before the next
band of dastardly hedonists gets her in their clutches.
"Vigorously, du Bois, Vigorously!" is my new favorite line from
a film. When that gem was unleashed, I almost choked from laughing.
AND the language is some of the most eloquent and flowery justification
of self indulgence Ive ever come across. They make what they do to her
sound like kindness, like its for her own good, like if she would only
see the truth they could save her. See, through each kidnapping, job working
for a perverted rich household, etc etc, Therese begs that her honor be
respected, as she is a very moral girl. Some of them actually do, sorta.
The rest just take what they will, over her protests. OK this movie is BOUND
to offend a large number of people who encounter it for the first time.
However, if you are into cult films, you couldnt do better than this one!
I laughed and laughed. Admittedly upfront, frank, and very sexual people
of great (if momentary) power vs the moral fiber of a "poor orphan girl
already well aquainted with adversity." Set in France (with all censored scenes
restored with subtitles) the costumes are hilarious and the actors carry this
movie off perfectly. This movie clearly deserves its status as a cult favorite.
not for kids tho! or prudes. This is a sexy comedy full of naked bodies, and adult situations. anyways! I loved it. Had a blast watching it, and cant recommend it enough for the next time you are in the mood for a farcical romp through
the Marquis de Sade's unique humor. oh man! that poor girl!

La Scorta

Winner Of Five Italian Oscars
Including Best Director - Ricky Tognazzi


Sicily, 1992: When a high-profile judge and his bodyguard
are brutally murdered, four reluctant young cops are
assigned as 'La Scorta' - Italian for 'the escorts' - to
protect the replacement prosecutor from Mafia assassins.
But in a country where high level corruption and sudden
violence are a way of life, the squad quickly find themselves
outnumbered, outgunned and desperately out of time. Even if
they can survive the daily threat of car bombs and ambushes,
will personal conflicts and backroom betrayals blow apart the
nation's most unlikely team of heroes?

Claudio Amendola (in his breakout performance) and Enrico Lo Verso star in this white-knuckle thriller from writer/director Ricky Tognazzi featuring a pounding score by Ennio Morricone and based on a true story of uncommon courage.


WOW

This one was a gritty sort of
"damned if you do, damned if you dont" type of movie.
Even the good guys were bad guys. But thats politics no?

The scenery of this movie was great. Lots of driving through twisty, turny, narrow roads. Some really cool aerial views of the route the bodyguards negotiated through the city. Movies like this make me wonder what the point of the justice systems really is. Because according to this movie, it has very little to do with the law.

AND the main guy kept remindingme of Tony Danza, which was kinda cool.

Daughters of Darkness

Recently I completed my latest assignment for Blue Underground (it only took a year!) and now have a bit of free time so I've picked up a stack, and selected Harry Kumel's Daughters of Darkness to be the first BU release to post on this blog. So away we go!


The film is very mod, with opulent sets(mostly hotel interior)and paced perfectly to match the innate sense of mystery that makes the story flow as lush as it is.

A Young newly wed couple, stay over in a posh hotel. Where they meet none other than Countess Elizabeth Bathory and her secretary, the lovely Ilona. The Countess seems to have some sort of agenda for being in town, and poor Ilona lets us know that she is horridly unhappy with her lot in life. The pair engage in a seduction of the young newlyweds, thus unleashing a bloodbath of passionate errors and saphic vampirism, which of course, is the entire reason to watch the movie! The character of the countess is played by Delphine Seyrig, who has mastered the use of the noble need to never raise ones voice, and to maintain a smile, even while burying the bodies. Now I dont want to give too much away in these little reviews, so let me just say that i enjoyed this film and was shocked into caring what the hell was going on with the characters. While its not exactly the type of movie that people seem to be getting from Hollywood these days, it is certainly very enjoyable, and sort of made me want to attend a nice dinner party.