Description
Title: Season of Betrayal (1966)
Alternate Title: Uragiri no kisetsu
Genre: Drama
Plot Synopsis: A press photographer returns to Japan from the Vietnam War after losing his friend and fellow photographer on the battlefield. Haunted by his experiences, he becomes entangled in a series of deceptions and double-crosses, where war crimes are reenacted in Tokyo bedrooms as S/M scenarios. The film explores themes of trauma, exploitation, and the blurred lines between reality and delusion.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Atsushi Yamatoya
- Producer: Kōji Wakamatsu
- Writers: Atsushi Yamatoya, Yōzō Tanaka
- Cast:
- Yuzo Tachikawa
- Shuri Taniguchi
- Hatsuo Yamaya
- Miharu Shima
- Mikio Terashima
IMDb Link: Season of Betrayal (1966)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
Daniel – ★★★☆☆ “Season of Betrayal is the first film directed by Atsushi Yamatoya. While perhaps most famous for collaborating with Seijun Suzuki and co-writing Branded to Kill, Yamatoya was also a close collaborator with Koji Wakamatsu and Masao Adachi. Wakamatsu produced Season of Betrayal through his own company and was involved in the planning and filming of it.”
-
honkeur – ★★★★☆ “Extremely unpleasant but impressive film. A Japanese war photographer returns from the Vietnam War traumatized, and in the course of a nearly-incoherent plot built of confusing deceptions and double-crosses, war crimes are reenacted in Tokyo bedrooms as S/M scenarios. Savant sleazemeister Koji Wakamatsu has a credit as Producer, and the typical signature Wakamatsu qualities are here: bleakness, shoestring budget, gratuitous s&x and brutal violence between extremely distressed individuals.”
-
hotsake – ★½☆☆☆ “Wakamatsu’s films are really hit or miss for me and this was a big miss.”
Meta Description: “Season of Betrayal” (1966), directed by Atsushi Yamatoya, is a Japanese drama that follows a war photographer’s return from Vietnam. Haunted by his past, he becomes entangled in a web of deception and reenacted war crimes, exploring themes of trauma and exploitation.
Title: Grand Guignol (1987)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Plot Synopsis: Baptiste, the director of a struggling theater troupe, specializes in Grand Guignol—macabre horror plays filled with gore and shock. His wife, Sarah, weary of his morbid obsessions and the troupe’s unstable environment, decides to leave him in search of a more conventional life. However, she soon discovers that the real world is just as bizarre and phantasmagorical as the plays her husband directs, leading her to reconsider her departure. The film explores themes of reality versus illusion, the allure of the grotesque, and the complexities of personal relationships within the theatrical world.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Jean Marbœuf
- Writer: Jean Marbœuf
- Cast:
- Caroline Cellier as Sarah
- Guy Marchand as Baptiste
- Michel Galabru as Charlie
- Marie Dubois as Germaine
- Jean-Claude Brialy as M. Albert
IMDb Link: Grand Guignol (1987)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
- man_in_bath – ★★★☆☆ “Sarah, the wife of a theater director, decides to leave her mutt of a husband because she is tired of his morbid fantasies…”
Meta Description: “Grand Guignol” (1987), directed by Jean Marbœuf, is a French comedy-drama-horror film that follows Sarah, the wife of a theater director specializing in macabre plays, as she grapples with the bizarre realities of life both on and off the stage.
Title: The Body Shop (1972)
Alternate Title: Doctor Gore
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Plot Synopsis:
Dr. Don Brandon, a plastic surgeon and mad scientist, is devastated by the tragic loss of his wife, Anitra. Determined to bring her back, he enlists the help of his hunchbacked assistant, Greg, to experiment with re-animation. Using hypnosis, Dr. Brandon lures young women to his lab, harvesting their body parts to reconstruct his beloved Anitra. As his obsession grows, the doctor’s methods become increasingly gruesome, leading to a macabre quest for resurrection.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: J.G. Patterson Jr.
- Writer: J.G. Patterson Jr.
- Cast:
- J.G. Patterson Jr. as Dr. Don Brandon
- Jenny Driggers as Anitra
- Roy Mehaffey as Greg
- Linda Faile as Girl in the Trunk
- Jan Benfield as Pam
IMDb Link:
The Body Shop (1972)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
HalloweenHenry – ★★★☆☆
“You know you’re in for a treat when the special introduction warns, ‘Don’t look for highly sophisticated filmmaking here.’ All fans of bizarre and awful cinema should add this flick to their watchlist.” -
Josh Lewis – ★★☆☆☆
“A very strange, inept, and gory ’70s grindhouse ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ riff made for what appears to be zero dollars. Despite the gross premise, it lacks the weirdo ambition or imagination to elevate its basic technical deficiencies.” -
Bleeding Skull – ★★★☆☆
“A vanity project from H.G. Lewis protégé J.G. ‘Pat’ Patterson, this is a splatter-filled reimagining of ‘The Brain That Wouldn’t Die’—just with more comb-overs, faux-artsy interludes, and early experimental electronica.”
Meta Description:
“The Body Shop” (1972), directed by J.G. Patterson Jr., is a horror sci-fi film about Dr. Don Brandon, a grief-stricken plastic surgeon who, after losing his wife, Anitra, embarks on a gruesome quest to reassemble her using body parts from unsuspecting victims.
Title: Dr. Minx (1975)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot Synopsis: Dr. Carol Evans, a small-town physician, conspires with her lover, Gus, to murder her wealthy husband for his inheritance. When Gus begins blackmailing her for a share of the money, Carol seduces a young patient, Brian, hoping to enlist his help in eliminating Gus. As their plan unfolds, Carol becomes entangled in a web of deceit, murder, and suspicion, leading to unexpected consequences.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Howard Avedis
- Writer: Howard Avedis
- Cast:
- Edy Williams as Dr. Carol Evans
- Randy Boone as Brian Thomas
- Harvey Jason as David Brown
- William Smith as Gus Dolan
- Marlene Schmidt as Harriet Thomas
IMDb Link: Dr. Minx (1975)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
Stefano Monteforte – ★★☆☆☆ “Russ Meyer’s former wife Edy Williams plays a small-town physician named Dr. Evans in this sexploitation-drama that’s ineffective as either.”
-
Curtis – ★½☆☆☆ “Dr. Minx is the tale of Dr. Carol Evans who, while getting rid of her blackmailing boyfriend, encounters two ‘kids’ injured in a bike accident.”
-
Daniel Zynda – ★☆☆☆☆ “The story is boring and outdated: Carol recently got rid of her husband with the help of her lover to get his money. But now her lover wants to blackmail her.”
Meta Description: “Dr. Minx” (1975), directed by Howard Avedis, is a comedy-drama that follows Dr. Carol Evans, a physician who, after conspiring to murder her husband for his fortune, becomes entangled in blackmail and further deceit.
Title: Junior (1985)
Alternate Titles: A Cut Above, Hot Water
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Plot Synopsis: After their release from prison, K.C. and Jo, two former female convicts, seek a fresh start by establishing a marina on a lake in rural Texas. Their plans are disrupted by hostile locals who resent outsiders, particularly a disturbed redneck named Junior. Encouraged by his equally unhinged mother, Junior embarks on a campaign of terror against the women, leading to escalating confrontations and a fight for survival.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Jim Hanley
- Writers: Don Carmody, John Maxwell
- Cast:
- Suzanne DeLaurentiis as K.C.
- Linda Singer as Jo
- Jeremy Ratchford as Junior
- Michael McKeever as Bud
- Ken Roberts as Sheriff
IMDb Link: Junior (1985)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
VIVE_le_FILTH – ★★★☆☆ “Just’a good ol’ boys never meanin’ no harm. … well apart from this time!”
-
Sofa Sinema – ★★★★☆ “The uncut version is wonderfully irresponsible, wildly unpredictable, and gloriously eighties.”
-
Dennis Vehlen – ★★★★☆ “An unpredictable video store gem somewhere between 80s comedy and sick backwoods horror that’s overdue to get rediscovered.”
Meta Description: “Junior” (1985) is a horror-thriller directed by Jim Hanley. The film follows K.C. and Jo, two ex-convicts aiming to start anew by building a marina in rural Texas, only to face violent opposition from a deranged local named Junior and his mother.
Title: Jungle Warriors (1984)
Alternate Title: Euer Weg führt durch die Hölle
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Plot Synopsis: A group of American fashion models travels to a South American country for a photo shoot. Their plane is shot down over the jungle by a drug lord’s private army, led by Cesar Santiago. Captured and imprisoned, the models endure various ordeals. Simultaneously, Mafia representatives arrive to negotiate a drug deal with Santiago. The models seize an opportunity to fight back, leading to a violent confrontation. The film explores themes of survival, resilience, and the clash between innocence and corruption.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Ernst Ritter von Theumer
- Writers: Ernst Ritter von Theumer, Robert Collector
- Cast:
- Nina van Pallandt as Joanna Quinn
- Paul L. Smith as Cesar Santiago
- John Vernon as Vito Mastranga
- Alex Cord as Nick Spilotro
IMDb Link: Jungle Warriors (1984)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
Lou (rhymes with wow!) – ★★★☆☆ “Sure, I get it; watching a bunch of supermodels take down their abusive captors is super satisfying. I love revenge movies and I will never grow tired of them.”
-
Mark Tinta – ★★☆☆☆ “A group of fashion models get caught in the middle of a war between a Mexican drug lord and some scheming Mafiosi during a south of the border shoot in this trashy ’80s video store fixture.”
-
Paul D – ★★★☆☆ “While the Italians were obsessed with re-enacting the Vietnam War or warning us of the dangers of getting eaten by cannibals, the Germans decided to get in on the action too.”
Meta Description: “Jungle Warriors” (1984), directed by Ernst Ritter von Theumer, is an action-adventure drama that follows a group of American fashion models who, after being shot down over a South American jungle, are captured by a drug lord’s army. Facing harrowing challenges, they fight for survival against their captors.
