Cinema
Blood Simple: Herschell Gordon Lewis and the Cinema of Pure Visceral Fact
A branch of the glorious garbage that I am not so much a fan of, but you can't deny that it is influential. The Gore Merchants really pushed the boundaries of propriety
Cinema
Say It Loud: Blaxploitation and the Cinema That Couldn't Be Ignored
I am going to admit that I missed this genre. Oh, I heard about it, but it wasn't my jam. Now, I am totally diggin' it.
Cinema
Asphalt and Attitude: The Drive-In Roughie and the Cinema That Played After Dark
As we plumb the depths of trash cinema, there is a whole raft of "made for Drive-in" films that defined a generation, and so many back seat necking sessions. This is near and dear to my Gen-X heart
Cinema
The Wrong Side of the Street: Poverty Row Noir and the Beauty of Having Nothing to Lose
Noir is a deep genre, and while it is by definition gritty, there is a sub-class that truly embodies the grittiness, and the ethos. Poverty Row is an apt description.
Cinema
Things from Somewhere Else: The 1950s Creature Feature and the Anxiety It Was Selling
Enlargement, rubber suits, mediocre plots, the creatures and SciFi schlock delights, and creates angst that aligned with public concerns of the era
Cinema
The Man Who Made Everything: Roger Corman and American International Pictures
More on the trash cinema ecosystem: The man that is the epicenter of the phenomena and the AIP studio that defined the genre
Newsletter
Glorious Garbage: A Defense of the Films Nobody Was Supposed to Take Seriously
There's a genre of film that arose in the early 1950's and evolved into several threads, but it has some common themes: Cheap to produce, frough edges, and more than a little sleaze. Delightful.