The second of nine films made by director Jess Franco and writer-producer Harry Alan Towers over the course of only two years, The Girl from Rio is their jazzy, featherweight riff on the spy-fi genre, a heady blend of international intrigue and semi-science-fictional elements, popular (especially in Europe) in the wake of the James Bond films. It’s also a sequel of sorts to Towers’s earlier film The Million Eyes of Sumuru, directed by Lindsay Shonteff, based on the exploits of the Sax Rohmer super-villainess. Though in this film, for some inexplicable reason, the character is regularly referred to as Sunanda (obviously and not very convincingly dubbed in post) and listed in the credits as Sumitra. Blame it on Rio!
Like many a Franco film, The Girl from Rio opens with a protracted erotic dance routine: Clad only in a webbed body stocking, Yana (Beni Cardoso) does her number for a recumbent man,...
Like many a Franco film, The Girl from Rio opens with a protracted erotic dance routine: Clad only in a webbed body stocking, Yana (Beni Cardoso) does her number for a recumbent man,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Kino Lorber And Giant Pictures Melt Minds With New Free Streaming AVOD Channel “Kino Cult” Bringing The Midnight Movie Experience Home: "Kino Lorber is excited to announce that they have partnered with Giant Pictures to launch Kino Cult, the new free ad-supported streaming destination for genre lovers of horror and cult films. Featuring hundreds of hours of curated, theatrically released films all in High Definition, with new titles added monthly, Kino Cult launches widely in the U.S. and Canada on October 1, 2021 across web, mobile devices and connected TVs, with VOD apps on all major devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google TV, iOS, Android, and more. From the art house to the haunted house, the channel will dive deep into unapologetically weird genre cinema, blending recent art house discoveries fresh from cinemas with high quality restorations of notorious grindhouse gems.
Kino Lorber brings 40 years of experience as...
Kino Lorber brings 40 years of experience as...
- 10/1/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
With the Halloween season finally upon us, that we’ve got a ton of horror and sci-fi titles headed our way via VOD and various digital platforms throughout the month of October. Things kick off with the 1992 horror comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which hits Digital HD for the first time ever on October 2nd. The very next day, Cult of Chucky, Super Dark Times, The Forlorned, and Realive all make their respective debuts, and just a few days later the holiday horror flick Better Watch Out arrives on October 6th.
October 10th is another busy day, with the digital releases of Wish Upon, Dementia 13, The 13th Friday, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Wes Craven’s cult classic Summer of Fear, and for those looking to spend their Friday the 13th at home, you’ve got M.F.A., Brawl in Cell Block 99, and the Psycho-themed documentary 78/52 to look forward to.
October 10th is another busy day, with the digital releases of Wish Upon, Dementia 13, The 13th Friday, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Wes Craven’s cult classic Summer of Fear, and for those looking to spend their Friday the 13th at home, you’ve got M.F.A., Brawl in Cell Block 99, and the Psycho-themed documentary 78/52 to look forward to.
- 10/1/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Horror film writer and filmmaker Chris Alexander returns behind the camera with the third film in his vampire Irina saga, Blood Dynasty, and you can now watch the hypnotically haunting trailer for the new movie ahead of its release this Halloween from Castle Films.
"Blood Dynasty was written and directed by Chris Alexander (Queen of Blood, Blood For Irina) and features a cast of upcoming talented actors including Shauna Henry, Cheryl Singleton, Holly Riot and Andre Becker.
Castle Films will be releasing Blood Dynasty on VOD and Digital HD on October 31, 2017.
Synopsis: Blood Dynasty is the third in Alexander’s “Irina” vampire film cycle, that began with 2012’s award winning Blood for Irina and continued in 2014’s Queen of Blood. The character of Irina – inspired in part by Lina Romay’s character in Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco’s Female Vampire – is once more reborn, rising from the sea to bring...
"Blood Dynasty was written and directed by Chris Alexander (Queen of Blood, Blood For Irina) and features a cast of upcoming talented actors including Shauna Henry, Cheryl Singleton, Holly Riot and Andre Becker.
Castle Films will be releasing Blood Dynasty on VOD and Digital HD on October 31, 2017.
Synopsis: Blood Dynasty is the third in Alexander’s “Irina” vampire film cycle, that began with 2012’s award winning Blood for Irina and continued in 2014’s Queen of Blood. The character of Irina – inspired in part by Lina Romay’s character in Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco’s Female Vampire – is once more reborn, rising from the sea to bring...
- 9/12/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Apr 28, 2017
Lucio Fulci, Frankenhooker and more in our round up of new horror Blu-rays and DVDs...
So, what’s your personal idea of hell? For this writer, it would almost certainly involve being chained down in the audience of an eternal live filming of Loose Women as Donald Trump waves a slice of tiger bread, forever just out of reach. Yours is likely to be similar, though it would have to be pretty grim indeed to come anywhere near Lucio Fulci’s 1981 career-best infernal vision and perhaps the definitive (obviously other than Little Nicky) cinematic depiction of eternal damnation, The Beyond.
See related Better Call Saul season 3 episode 3 review: Sunk Costs Better Call Saul season 3 episode 2 review: Witness Better Call Saul season 3 episode 1 review: Mabel
The Italian gore icon behind such genre classics as Zombie Flesh Eaters and The House By The Cemetery offers ostensibly a zombie film set in...
Lucio Fulci, Frankenhooker and more in our round up of new horror Blu-rays and DVDs...
So, what’s your personal idea of hell? For this writer, it would almost certainly involve being chained down in the audience of an eternal live filming of Loose Women as Donald Trump waves a slice of tiger bread, forever just out of reach. Yours is likely to be similar, though it would have to be pretty grim indeed to come anywhere near Lucio Fulci’s 1981 career-best infernal vision and perhaps the definitive (obviously other than Little Nicky) cinematic depiction of eternal damnation, The Beyond.
See related Better Call Saul season 3 episode 3 review: Sunk Costs Better Call Saul season 3 episode 2 review: Witness Better Call Saul season 3 episode 1 review: Mabel
The Italian gore icon behind such genre classics as Zombie Flesh Eaters and The House By The Cemetery offers ostensibly a zombie film set in...
- 3/20/2017
- Den of Geek
Screenbound’s two brand new Euro cult film labels, Maison Rouge – which will specialise in Euro sleaze and Black House Films, which will focus on Euro Horror. The label has already launched with two releases: Jess Franco’s Female Vampire (aka Bare Breasted Countess) and Helga: She Wolf of Stilberg, released this week.
The next release, on Screenbound’s Black House label, is the zombie classic Zombie Lake from French horror maestro Jean Rollin – which is released on DVD on 20th March.
Thanks to Screenbound we have three copies of Zombie Lake and three copies of Helga: She Wolf of Stilberg to giveaway on DVD. To win a copy of each, just answer the following question:
The next release on the Black House label is Paul Naschy’s Crimson, but by what other name is the film known? Is it:
a) The Man With the Severed Head
b) The Man With the Golden Arm...
The next release, on Screenbound’s Black House label, is the zombie classic Zombie Lake from French horror maestro Jean Rollin – which is released on DVD on 20th March.
Thanks to Screenbound we have three copies of Zombie Lake and three copies of Helga: She Wolf of Stilberg to giveaway on DVD. To win a copy of each, just answer the following question:
The next release on the Black House label is Paul Naschy’s Crimson, but by what other name is the film known? Is it:
a) The Man With the Severed Head
b) The Man With the Golden Arm...
- 3/17/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stars: Lina Romay, Jack Taylor, Alice Arno, Monica Swinn, Jess Franco, Luis Barboo, Jean-Pierre Bouyxou, Raymond Hardy, Anna Watican | Written and Directed by Jess Franco
Countess Irina Karlstein (Lina Romay) is as beautiful as she is deadly. She is a bloodthirsty vampire of course. However, unlike most who have fallen foul to the curse, she doesn’t revel in her acts of fatal lust. Her hunger for genuine love is just as strong as the hunger for the bloody stuff (as well as some of the other bodily fluids available.). Her quest for both finds her returning to her ancestral home. Unfortunately, her insatiable hunger claims many victims. From her gardener (Roger Germanes) to the local dominatrix (Monica Swinn), no one is safe. With an inquisitive forensic pathologist by the name of Dr. Roberts (Jess Franco himself) and his blind sidekick Dr. Orloff (Jean-Pierre Bouyxou) on her case, you’d...
Countess Irina Karlstein (Lina Romay) is as beautiful as she is deadly. She is a bloodthirsty vampire of course. However, unlike most who have fallen foul to the curse, she doesn’t revel in her acts of fatal lust. Her hunger for genuine love is just as strong as the hunger for the bloody stuff (as well as some of the other bodily fluids available.). Her quest for both finds her returning to her ancestral home. Unfortunately, her insatiable hunger claims many victims. From her gardener (Roger Germanes) to the local dominatrix (Monica Swinn), no one is safe. With an inquisitive forensic pathologist by the name of Dr. Roberts (Jess Franco himself) and his blind sidekick Dr. Orloff (Jean-Pierre Bouyxou) on her case, you’d...
- 3/3/2017
- by Mondo Squallido
- Nerdly
Tuesday, November 8th is a big day for politics, but on the home entertainment side of things, it’s a relatively quiet week for Blu-ray and DVD releases, as we have only a few bright spots to look forward to. Scream Factory has given Don Coscarelli’s modern classic Bubba Ho-Tep the Collector’s Edition treatment, and for you cult cinema fans out there, both The Initiation and Night Has a Thousand Desires receive a much-needed HD upgrade as well.
Other notable releases for this Tuesday include Halloweed, Bleed, Amigo Undead, and Gorgasm.
Bubba Ho-Tep: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) "gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date", (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis", in this "zinger-filled crowd-pleaser", (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, John Dies At The End)! When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home,...
Other notable releases for this Tuesday include Halloweed, Bleed, Amigo Undead, and Gorgasm.
Bubba Ho-Tep: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) "gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date", (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis", in this "zinger-filled crowd-pleaser", (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, John Dies At The End)! When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home,...
- 11/8/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Editor’s Note: After a two-week vacation break, we are back with an expanded selection to catch up on what we missed! Enjoy below.
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
13th (Ava DuVernay)
Humanity gave birth to inequality. The American experience is rooted in institutionalized racial inequity. Our forefathers came to this nation either by choice or by force. Once here, this distinction coalesced into a convoluted caste system driven by notions of survival and supremacy,...
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
13th (Ava DuVernay)
Humanity gave birth to inequality. The American experience is rooted in institutionalized racial inequity. Our forefathers came to this nation either by choice or by force. Once here, this distinction coalesced into a convoluted caste system driven by notions of survival and supremacy,...
- 10/21/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Vocal surrealist Jenny Hval launches tour and release Jess Franco-inspired video. Norwegian artist Jenny Hval is one our favorite recording artists, a cinematically-informed avant garde artist who uses her voice as an instrument, as a tool to affect, assault and paint some of the most abstract and alluring aural landscapes we’ve ever heard. And the…
The post Norwegian Artist Jenny Hval Releases “Female Vampire” Video; Announces Tour Dates appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Norwegian Artist Jenny Hval Releases “Female Vampire” Video; Announces Tour Dates appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 6/21/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Innovative artist Jenny Hval channels Jess Franco with new track “Female Vampire”. We’re huge fans of experimental Norwegian vocalist/songwriter/performance artist Jenny Hval. She’s one of the most innovative creators alive. A dynamic performer who sculpts the most challenging, dark, beautiful of bizarre cinematic music. You can this writer’s interview with Hval from last year, here.…
The post Norwegian Artist Jenny Hval Releases Jess Franco-Inspired Single ‘Female Vampire’ appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Norwegian Artist Jenny Hval Releases Jess Franco-Inspired Single ‘Female Vampire’ appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 5/25/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Back in 2012, I reviewed a Jess Franco film on Blu-ray from Redemption Films (Female Vampire) and marveled at the fact that this director, one of cinema's most enduring cult icons, was being rediscovered and given the HD treatment. At the time, it was the first Us Blu-ray release of the director's work, though far from his most accessible or qualitatively his best film. Fast forward to today, three and a half years later, and Franco's oeuvre is surprisingly well represented both in the Us and abroad, thanks to the efforts of labels like Kino/Redemption, Blue Underground, and Severin Films. That last label is especially committed to bringing Franco's work to Blu-ray and their latest effort, the Christopher Lee starrer Count Dracula, is yet another...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/20/2016
- Screen Anarchy
An ongoing series looking at fantastic prologues from classic and contemporary horror movies. There are many love stories born and nurtured in the world of cinema and many, nay most, never make it to the finish line. It’s the nature of the business, where mentor meets muse and mates connect based on a common language…
The post The Greatest Opening Scenes in Horror History: 1973’s Female Vampire (Nsfw!) appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post The Greatest Opening Scenes in Horror History: 1973’s Female Vampire (Nsfw!) appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 2/22/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
The wait is almost over, Ultimate Night of the Living Dead #3 issues will be released on February 24th. Also in this round-up: details on The X-Files UFO event, Shudder's partnership with Sundance Film Festival, two Doctor Who Blu-rays, Yoga Hosers comic, and House Shark.
Ultimate Night of the Living Dead #3: "For those of you that have been looking for our 3rd issues, your patience will be rewarded. Issue 3 Super Packs and individual titles will be released on February 24th, 2016.
Follow as Evans County continues to fall into the grips of an undead invasion. See the invasion from 10 different perspectives.
Sh*t’s about to get real."
---------
The X-Files UFO: "It’s an Out-Of-This-World X-Files Experience That Fans Won’t Want to Miss
Come See the UFO Today in Los Angeles At The Grove (189 Grove Dr., La) from 8:00 Am – 10:00 Pm
Share your Pictures on Your Favorite...
Ultimate Night of the Living Dead #3: "For those of you that have been looking for our 3rd issues, your patience will be rewarded. Issue 3 Super Packs and individual titles will be released on February 24th, 2016.
Follow as Evans County continues to fall into the grips of an undead invasion. See the invasion from 10 different perspectives.
Sh*t’s about to get real."
---------
The X-Files UFO: "It’s an Out-Of-This-World X-Files Experience That Fans Won’t Want to Miss
Come See the UFO Today in Los Angeles At The Grove (189 Grove Dr., La) from 8:00 Am – 10:00 Pm
Share your Pictures on Your Favorite...
- 1/23/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein
Written and directed by Jesús Franco
Spain/France, 1972
Since May of this year, I have embarked on an ongoing exploration into the cinema of Jesús Franco. After first viewing Justine (also known as Deadly Sanctuary), one of seven Franco films released in 1969 (his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013), I sought out more of what this infamous Spanish auteur had to offer. Like Justine, some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining: The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966), Vampyros Lesbos (1971), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973), Female Vampire and Women Behind Bars (both 1975), and Bloody Moon (1981). Others, however, have been downright atrocious: Emmanuelle Exposed (1982) and Red Silk (1999), one of the worst films I have ever seen.
The latest addition to what is now a 25-films-and-counting “Summer of Jesús Franco” is The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, available on a new Blu-ray edition from Redemption Films, which has released several other Franco titles.
Written and directed by Jesús Franco
Spain/France, 1972
Since May of this year, I have embarked on an ongoing exploration into the cinema of Jesús Franco. After first viewing Justine (also known as Deadly Sanctuary), one of seven Franco films released in 1969 (his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013), I sought out more of what this infamous Spanish auteur had to offer. Like Justine, some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining: The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966), Vampyros Lesbos (1971), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973), Female Vampire and Women Behind Bars (both 1975), and Bloody Moon (1981). Others, however, have been downright atrocious: Emmanuelle Exposed (1982) and Red Silk (1999), one of the worst films I have ever seen.
The latest addition to what is now a 25-films-and-counting “Summer of Jesús Franco” is The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, available on a new Blu-ray edition from Redemption Films, which has released several other Franco titles.
- 8/4/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
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