Population One

 

Population 1 Directed by Rene Daalder (1986).

 When I saw this for the first time I was riddled with Covid. I was stoned on gummies and drunk on thera-flu. If you can find this gem (Daily Motion perhaps?), I suggest you watch it heavily under the influence. This bitch gets trippy in thee best way! Population One stars Screamers front maniac Tomata Du Plenty. If you are unfamiliar with The Screamers, they were early innovators of synth punk. They expressed their art on stage mainly and never released anything (I just listened to the demo on bandcamp so there)!

Sheela Edwards my new crush!

A black and white nuclear wasteland music video ignites the flame of this Rene Daalder directed flick. Daalder made Massacre At Central High (1976) as well, which I highly recommend. 

The first song is funky no wave. Tomata plays the last known survivor of a nuclear holocaust. Population 1 has one of the most entertaining credit sequences that sets up the trajectory of the film. Sometimes Duplenty reminds me of Bruce Mcculloch on the Kids in the Hall. I wonder if this video had an effect on their comedy, who knows if they ever saw this! The Screamers and Tomatu were light years ahead of their time. This project was done as sort of a freeform live album on film.

Haunted bathroom appliances float around plus there’s a saxophone playing. Tomata tells lies as Polaroids snap pics and his nose grows longer like Pinocchio. The Goth siren Sheela Edwards sings a sax fueled tune about being a "Jazz Vampire". If it wasn't already apparent this is kind of a musical, so brace yourself.

Ahh the stench of punk royalty!

 We later see JV dancing with El Duce sans Mentors disguise. Duce was in Tomatu’s band before he started The Mentors. There are so many wild cameos like Vampira, Penelope Houston (singer of punk legends The Avengers), the giant from Twin Peaks, a child version of famed musician and scientologist Beck Hansen.

I invited all my famous pals over to watch me fart in the tub

This is the kind of cult movie Night Flight used to show but I’m not aware if it ever aired on the USA Network back in the day. Sheela Edwards aka Jazz Vampire is one of my favorite characters, sorry Tomata! 

I like how this and The Screamers art was meant to fizzle out and leave a lasting impression for those that witnessed it. I guess in this way they're creating edge-lords and internet trolls which is unfortunate. Still their music influenced so many keyboard synth driven queer core bands.

I heart micro-dosing

During one scene where The Screamers frontman wobbles around the house as they play footage from Bloodfeast (1960). We see a young pudgy version of El Duce with blonde hair and his girlfriend Marisol. 

eyes down here,over there,whatevs!

Some of the theatrics remind me of a Christopher Guest parody film. Sheela Edwards sing/screams I Wanna Hurt! She has a chipped tooth and looks stunning! There’s a mutant titty faced creature that reminded me of Bad Biology (2008). It all ends in a patriotic hail of gun blasts. This movie pops up on streamers every once in awhile but it remains unreleased which is a shame. I'd like to see Kino restore this one on blu-ray, it fits in with their catalog.

Sadly Tomatu Duplenty passed away from cancer at the age of 52. I urge you to seek this one out and their music, they were a vital force in punk rock history. I’d like to see Kino release this on a restored blu-ray.

Diabolical Dr. Z

 

Diabolical Dr. Z. (Miss Muerte) Directed by Jess Franco (1966).

For this reviewer, Jess Franco films are like a mind field. As discussed at length before I lean towards Jean Rollins work but lately I’ve been able to find Franco’s exceptional movies and it's changed my opinion lately, so I am tackling this classic. 

Diabolical Dr. Z is a trailer from Mad Ron’s Prevues From Hell that I always would put on VHS mixtapes for friends and penpals of mine back in the 90s-00s. It starts off w Dr. Zimmer and his daughters electrocuting and sticking long needles into the face of an escaped convict. The dialogue is mostly dubbed English but sometimes switches to French but I’m guessing the original language is Spanish. Dr. Z is seen by the United Nations as an old fool and looney tune. He mentions Dr. Orloff, which is one of my least favorite movies by Jess Franco and yet its all related. Howard Vernon (JF’s good luck charm) is in the meeting as they all shout insults at the Doctor, these tongue lashings cause him to pass-out in his wheelchair. 

Franco's good luck charm

The rich tones of B&W are attractive throughout the film. There’s a wild cabaret show with Miss Death (or Miss Muerte, the original title) who slithers around a mannequin and tacky spiderweb with jarring freakout music. If that’s the talent in this nightclub then what's the food like? They leave soon after so we don’t get to find out! 

Dr. Z’s daughter runs down her supposed friend with a sports car and stages it to look like a fiery fatal accident! The blonde daughter’s face is all scarred up which makes her evil, sadistic or both.There’s a scary surgical room with screeching animals and forlorn jazz music. 

Acupuncture what's that?

I’m taking a guess because Franco has made and remade the face transplantation subplot numerous times and wait a minute, that’s whats about to happen again!

Faceless (1988) to me is Franco's face transplant masterpiece that’s sleazy as hell. This is the primitive beginnings of that trope. Miss Death is offered by Dr. Z’s secretary to sign a contract but it’s a trap and she is injected with sleepy drugs. Later on she is made to help bring other victims to the gas chamber! 

ahhh! relaxing

This is before Franco would appear in his own work or use his wife Lina Romay, who was usually completely nude parading around foggy locations. So this is a bit more tame than his later trash. Vernon's character makes out with Miss Death on a train and gets tossed out. There’s a pretty wafer thin script happening but it never gets dull enough to make you want to bail. The last 23 mins add a gaggle of wacky Brit comedy style actors as the police. This didn’t really work for me.It gets very foggy and atmospheric. Had I seen this before Awful Dr. Orloff i may have thought of Jess Franco in higher terms! This is a fascinating slog through a primitive Eurotrash treat. FOR FRANCO-FILES ONLY, HARD TO BELIEVE I DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP ONCE.

I just inhaled 7 cappuccinos

Face the death breath of Dr. Z!

Autopsy

 

Autopsia (Autopsy) Directed by Juan Logar (1973).

Autopsy aka Toe Tag Joe was one of the trickiest VHS tapes to find, that is until my bestie Skunkape discovered it taped beneath a bail of dank Hubba Bubba and it slithered its way toward my Roku. It didn't even show up Tubi and that's where most Cult Exploits can be streamed!

Yes it was dreadful, we both watched it and can attest that it was so not worth all the effort but we review sometimes as a dire warning! 

If you saw famous footage of Vietnam plus Faces of Death (1978) and thought if only those two were not only fused together but had some tacked on melodramatic, existential inane dialogue that would also help to create an entire viewpoint on the duality of mankind.And if you can find it, this movie was made for such a sick individual.In the catalog Chas described it as a "strangely moving, troubling film". I actually liked the other Autopsy (1975) with Mimsy Farmer much more than this.

not appearing in THIS Autopsy

Skunkape and I both hated this film so there you go! It has Jack Taylor from Pieces (1982) and Jess Franco’s work. There’s no Jacopetti or Prosperi/ Godfather’s of Mondo involvement so I can’t blame Italians for this dreck, I have to accuse Spain of such a heavy guilt trip this time! 

The main character for some reason craves to see a genuine autopsy and that’s basically the money shot of this opus. The poor soul who donated their body so their brain could legally be removed and displayed on screen should’ve read the fine print. Or maybe it was a homeless man who was desperate, at any rate the whole affair is a major bummer and doesn’t justify the weird narrative the film makers have to illustrate. It’s an anti-war message handled very haphazardly and sloppy just like your typical schlocky Mondo junk. 

Fisher Price journalism

This Spanish journalist who’s dubbed into English is played by Juan Luis Galiardo, he interviews anyone they can find about the subject of Death. 

Fire my agent for this piece of shit!

Jack Taylor plays the dude who gets to saw through the Steak-umm meat (which is where they obtain that cut of cheaply priced grocery store offal)! If someone made a film like this now what war atrocities would they pontificate over? Post 9/11 the war seems to have moved from outside lands to within and now that Fascist Christian nationalism, supreme ignorance and greed is trendy, this will most likely cave in our own Democracy which we have taken for granted and even worse, assigned billionaire Nazis to restructure what remains for only the wealthy. 

Fellini who?

Gallardo and two other actresses have appeared in Paul Naschy’s films besides this. Skip it and the next four years (unless T—p becomes Emperor Lard-Poutine) in that case just lobotomize me now!

This aint no Carcass album cover!

I bet on the Yeti in that Paul Naschy flick and lost!