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in the late 1950's and 1960's a motley crew of independent film producers pumped up double bills with sinister mayhem and horror. whether the venue was a run-down movie palace, a musty neighborhood theatre or a drive-in under the stars, kids, teenagers on dates, and outcasts found themselves receptive to the promise of witnessing the unveiling of macabre secrets, nearly forbidden, it seemed, because of the bloody gruesomeness of lascivious sexuality hinted at by the colorful posters and ballyhoo. for the young, horror films were a psychic, if bizarre glimpse into the still-mysterious world of adulthood; for the rest of the audience, these films provided a jolting break from the predictable and the mundane.
beast from the haunted cave:
gold thieves hiding in a wilderness cabin encounter a spider-like monster. the "beast from haunted cave" owes its existence to a world war 2 action film about german paratroopers. producer/director roger corman was making plans to film "ski troop attack" in the winter wonderland of the black hills of south dakota and, in order to get the most product bang out of his limited budget buck, decided to produce with brother gene, another film at the same time, utilizing much of the same cast and crew. screenwriter chuck griffith received an assignment from corman to come up with a script that copied their previous "naked paradise" (1957), this time substituting a blizzard for a storm. corman added: "oh, and add a monster."
1960 (64min.) black & white movie
starring: michael forest, sheila carol, frank wolff
directed by: monte hellmann
the brain that wouldn't die:
a brilliant surgeon keeps the decapitated head of his fiancee alive after an auto accident while he searches for a suitably stacked body into which to transplant the head.
thirteen days is all it took director joseph green to make this wild and sleazy tale that became an undisputed cult classic that no true lover of trash cinema can afford to miss.
1962 (92min.) black & white movie
starring: herv evers, virginia leith, leslie daniel
directed by: joseph green
Frank Wolff