It’s Grindhouse Night at the New Beverly tonight, the first of their two can’t-miss programs for the month of June, and keeping true to my threats, I’ll be there tonight to experience a screening of David Gregory’s Plague Town (2008), a reportedly terrifying throwback to the gritty vibe of many ‘70s horror classics which is now also available on DVD and Blu-ray from Dark Sky Films. Plague Town is coupled (if that’s the best term) with the re-emergence of a notorious New Beverly Grindhouse hit originally shown there a couple of years ago. It’s The Sinful Dwarf (1973), and although you can pick up a keen new DVD edition from Severin Films, New Beverly grindhouse guru Brian Quinn explains why your own personal copy, while perhaps providing pride of ownership, can never replace seeing it in a theater:
“Following Plague Town will be the return of a film that even the most hardened and jaded exploitation fans were shocked, amazed and scarred by in its previous Grindhouse screening two years ago. The Sinful Dwarf is a film that lives up to the warning "you'll want to take a shower after this one," and needs to be experienced sitting with an audience in a darkened theater as the well-worn 1970's print unspools before your unbelieving eyes. Who can resist a film with the tagline "A young bride...left alone to the lewd passions of an evil dwarf"? We certainly can't, and neither could the brave folks at Severin Films who recently released the film on an unsuspecting public in a beautiful new DVD edition. If you were at our previous screening of the film you know what to expect, so bring a couple of friends to experience it for the first time... though some of them may reconsider that friendship afterwards!”Now, there’s a come-on worthy of David F. Friedman! Brian had me at “scarred”! I’ll file a quick update tonight or tomorrow, once the nightmares cease.
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I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on Plague Town. I thought it was dull. A good idea that never takes flight. 80 + minutes is a good running time for this kind of horror, but I think PT coulda benefited from being about 60-70 minutes. The low-budget action and make-up pulled me in at first, but...
ReplyDeleteI just added The Sinful Dwarf to the queue, though I admit I probably shouldn't have.
ReplyDeleteFox, Bill: I'll have more to say on both movies later in the day (must work today to make up for playing last night!), but I will say I rather liked Plague Town's low-key approach. And it must be hinted that The Sinful Dwarf is in no way a good movie, but it fulfills the peculiar standards of the grindhouse classic admirably. Brian's description above says it all very well, and I'm not sure what there is to add, but I will try. My mind is still reeling. It is one of the most genuinely sleazy and demented movies I've ever seen, and I'm so glad I got to see it in a theater with a scuzzy print!
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