A bearded tale - Nasty 80's Hong Kong, Part 2

Gather around children and I'll tell you the tale of an evening of smoking, palms sweating and lack of sleep;

Like my first journey for rare and obscure Hong Kong movies, and the coming journey's, I've dreaded the hunt for days in and days out. The tension is thick in the air and I can hardly concentrate. This journey began very quietly. I hoped that no one else had picked up the scent on this one, and I was thinking and hoping so for almost 7 days. And I was somewhat right, because I don't think many people noticed that this beauty was in Cyberspace. I know about one guy who's gonna be all; ''Who'da thunk it?''

The days passed on like crazy and no one had made any effort of obtaining this rarity. Was I gonna be this lucky? Only me? No I wasn't. 4 Hours left and a bid was made, but I didn't stress to much, 7 days and only 1 bid was more then I could ever hope for! The hours went and the time was closing in, my hands where sweating and I felt the need for a cigarette. I wanted a beer so bad, but the thought about 3 hours of sleep being enough, so 3 hours of drunken sleeping would be too much, so I put my head out the window to have a cigarette! I needed something to calm my nerves.

Two more bids where made when I popped my head back in, and then another one few seconds later, it was retracted a minutes later. Peeew, one less isn't much, but it's ten times better then one more.

Only few seconds left and I'm shaking, sweating and screaming for mercy.

It ended just as I hoped.

Can you guess what I'm the proud owner of? Bet you can't:




















I got the Ocean Shores tape of BRUTAL SORCERY!!!

And guess what? I got it for $20!!

Everyone must have been asleep last night! Hmm ... yeah, that makes sense.

Zimatar trailer

I want it! But you can't have 'em all. At least I have seen the trailer and now I'm sharing it with you guys. I got it from my Japanese ZUMA VHS:



















What Jack wrote on his blog, and what I should have written is that Zimatar can only be found on a very very rare Japanese VHS, the same goes for ZUMA (Jack, the lucky bastard owns the ZIMATAR tape). But I posted this 3 hours before I was suppose to be at work and hadn't slept a minute. So I apologize for my laziness and thank Jack for posting my trailer and for this scan of the Japanese ZIMITAR VHS:




















Enjoy the glory that is ZIMATAR:



[Click on scans for large size]

ZUMA!

Wow. Just wow! Right off the bat I'm loving this movie, the music, the setting and just the complete atmosphere of everything I'm seeing. The thing is that it's actually creepy at times, which is something you wouldn't expect from this kind of worldweird flick! And when it's suppose to be a dark horror movie, it is a very dark horror movie. The snakes around ZUMA's neck work surprisingly well!

The only bad thing is that I hate the last part of the movie. It's very dialogue based and I think it's more on the story of Zuma and such, but the Japanese VHS is in Filipino language with Japanese subs - So it's not easy to follow the last hour or so, and this just makes the movie too long. But I enjoyed it so much and loved it so much that it doesn't affect my viewing of it.

At one point I was all; ''Fuck Jason, fuck Freddy, Fuck Michael - ALL HAIL ZUMA''. But this was during the dark shots at the beginning of the movie. Out in the light he sort of got a little to superhero'ish!

But FUCK - see ZUMA! The only English "version" that exists is an English dubbed trailer for the film which, incidentally, is on the Japanese ZIMATAR tape (The Japanese Zuma tape contains the trailer for Zimatar).

There is also a sequal; ANAK NI ZUMA (aka Zuma 2: Hell Serpent), which is only available on VCD

"Pay her! I said pay her! Or I’ll beat your car, punk."

I have to admit that there where some very high expectations when I sat down yesterday to watch RAMBU, or THE INTRUDER as the real title is. I love Indonesian flicks and I love silly and crazy batshit Indo flicks! So RAMBU seemed right up my ally. Right away the movie starts out with poor dubbing and some hilarious dialogue, and it's actually one of the most entertaining openings ever, and my attention is all on Rambu - The tennis ball wielding badass. Yes, Rambu doesn't get his weapons until later –


















[Swedish VHS]

- He's all about beating up, it's when they push him to the limit that killing is involved. Rambu is slow at times, but crazy dialogue and bad dubbing picks it up, and a showdown of bikes versus trykes is one of the highlights and one of the most memorable fight scenes ever captured on film!

I've had the Swedish VHS for a long time, (not the one above, mine has just and ugly yellow cover with a black and white photo of RAMBU) and I don't know why, but it's always the best movies that takes me the longest to watch. Why these movies even are in my ''to-watch-pile'' I'll never understand.

RAMBU is great fun and nothing you should take serious. Just have a beer and relax.

Peter O'Brian is currently working as a English teacher in Indonesia - Ian F got ahold of Peter O'Brian, and Jack posted it all on his blog.

The Bearded Treasure Chest of Horror

Have a look at this nice collectible! A screen used mask - What movie do you think it's from... Well, it's from PLANET TERROR, the second ''part'' of GRINDHOUSE.

And while I was digging trough an old magazine pile many months ago I found this issue of FANGORIA (#261):

And what did I find? Is the suspense killing you? I found this picture:

My mask featured in FANGORIA! I also checked my PLANET TERROR DVD, and saw the mask many many times, but I didn't take any screenshots. So you'll just have to trust me.

Also read my GRINDHOUSE review. The only sober review on this blog.

[Click on pictures and scans for large size]

SPECIAL SILENCERS (1979)

''Special Silencers are large red pills, obtained from a forest dwelling mystic, which aid in meditation. However, if used by the untrained they cause a huge tree to grow in the stomach, and burst its way through the skin. The pills fall into the wrong hands and you can imagine the damage they will cause in the little Indonesian village''


















Could a movie seem anymore awesome? This is one of the first movies I'm actually considering buying on DVD-r straight away instead of waiting for a VHS to come along!

There is a clip/trailer on youtube, but it's scrambled. I'll post it anyway:




Thanks to djponey at Cinehound Forum for the scan and thanks to Jack for mailing it to me.

[Click on picture for scan]

SUCCUBARE (1981)

I had the opportunity of getting this VHS, but I blew it. Enjoy the cover and a few clips!

Looks good, right?

Captain Berlin Vs. Hitler

Captain Berlin Vs. Hitler just had it's international premier, so I just thought I would remind you all. Looking forward to this one!

























Jörg Buttgereit is by far one of my favourite directors. Nekromantik is a trash masterpiece!

Captain Berlin Vs. Hitler is based on a stageplay by Jörg Buttgereit.

''The disembodied brain of Hitler and Dracula threaten to destroy all that is good in the world, but standing in their way is "the one and only German super hero: Captain Berlin!"

Kelepce - Turkish DIRTY HARRY

I knew there was a Turkish Jaws, Rambo, Death Wish, James Bond and god knows what else - and today I discovered Turkish DIRTY HARRY!

DAYI CEMIL - KELEPCE ( TURKISH DIRTY HARRY ) Trailer

Greek VHS cover of KELEPCE! Just shout it out! KELEPCE! Feels good doesn't it?

GHOST OF GUTS EATER

Well, after my previous post and after doing some research I finally found this again:
























Ah, such a beauty. This is the Thai poster which was on the web many months ago, but suddenly disappeared, and now I found it again! An old art school buddy of mine made me a DVD cover based on this poster, for my DVD-r which I was going to get from Jack. Haven't seen it yet Jack! Nah, I know you probably have a lot of DVD-r to ship around the world.

If you haven't read it, then here is my journey to find the holy grail.

But enjoy the glory that is GHOST OF GUTS EATER!

[Click on picture for large size]

Flying head with intestines dangling underneath

I feel that this genre needs some ''background information'', so I ripped this right off Wikipedia:

The Penanggalan or `Hantu Penanggal` is a peculiar variation of the vampire myth that apparently began in the Malay Peninsula. See also the Manananggal, a similar creature of Filipino folklore. "Penanggal" or "Penanggalan"' literally means "detach", "to detach", "remove" or "to remove". Both terms—Manananggal and Penanggal—may carry the same meaning due to both languages being grouped or having a common root under the Austronesian language family, though the two creatures are culturally distinct in appearance and behavior.
The Balinesse of Indonesia also have myth of a similar creature with almost exact features called "Leak".

According to the folklore of that region, the Penanggalan is a detached female head that is capable of flying about on its own. As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night.

Due to the common theme of Penanggal being the result of active use of black magic or supernatural means, a Penanggal cannot be readily classified as a classical undead being. The creature is, for all intent and purposes, a living human being during daytime (much like the Japanese Rokurokubi) or at any time when it does not detach itself from its body.

In Malaysian folklore, a Penanggal may be either a beautiful old or young woman who obtained her beauty through the active use of black magic, supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means which are most commonly described in local folklores to be dark or demonic in nature. Another cause where one becomes a Penanggal in Malaysian folklore is due to the result of a powerful curse or the actions of a demonic force, although this method is less common than the active use of black magic abovementioned.

The Penanggalan is usually a female midwife who has made a pact with the devil to gain supernatural powers. It is said that the midwife has broken a stipulation in the pact not to eat meat for 40 days; having broken the pact she has been forever cursed to become a bloodsucking vampire/demon.

The midwife keeps a vat of vinegar in her house. After detaching her head and flying around in the night looking for blood the Penanggalan will come home and immerse her entrails in the vat of vinegar in order to shrink them for easy entry back into her body.

Unlike Manananggal, all Penanggal are females and there is no variation in Malaysian folklore to suggest a Penanggal to be male. Another notable difference between a Penanggal and Manananggal is that a Penanggal detaches only her head with her lungs, stomach and intestines attached while leaving the body in a pre-prepared container filled with vinegar to preserve the body against rapid decomposition. Additionally, unlike the Manananggal which uses a proboscis-like tongue, a Penanggal is commonly depicted as having fangs. The number of fangs varies from one region to another, ranging from two like the Western vampire to a mouthful of fangs.

I usually don't to this, I like writing everything myself, but I didn't bother with changing the text and or right a completely new one. But this is a very interesting read, and definately worth reading if you are into or want to know more about the Flying head with intestines dangling underneath genre.

I'm just stealing today! Here is a list of Flying head with intestines dangling underneath movies. This list is incomplete, but it's a good start, most of these you won't even find:

Ang Manananggal - Philippines, 1927 - Joe Nepumuceno
Manananggal vs. Mangkukulam - Philippines, 196? - Consuelo P. Osorio
Krasue Sao - Thailand, 1973 - S. Naowaratch
Fei taugh moneuh / The Witch with Flying Head - China, circa 1977 - Wo Liang-sing
Drakula Tok - Thailand, 1979 - Lor Tok (Poster #3 below)
Krasue - Thailand, 1982 - dir: ?
Mo / Boxer's Omen - Hong Kong, 1983 - Kwei Chih-hung
Itthirit Nammanphrai - Thailand, 1984 - dir: ? (Poster #2 below)
Shakle, Rattle and Roll - Philippines, 1984 - dir: ? (sketch: Manananggal)
Mistik / Le'ak / Mystic in Bali - Indonesia, 1987 - H. Tjut Djalil
Oil of Eternal Life, Thailand, circa 1987 - dir: ?
Krasue Gad Pop - Thailand, 1990 - Phlaawut
Krasue Sing- Thailand, 1990 - dir: ?
Krasue Grahailuead - Thailand, 1995 - Sang-Tawan (Poster #1 below)
Manananggal in Maynila - Philippines, 1997 - Mario O'Hara
Tamnan Krasue / Demonic Beauty - Cambodia/Thailand, 2002 - Bin Banluerit
Krasue Valentine - Thailand, 2006 - Yuthlert Sippapak
Gong Tau / An Oriental Black Magic - Hong Kong, 2007 - Herman Yau
Chao Pous Keng Kang / Grandson's Snake Child/Snake's Love - Cambodia, 200? - Fai Saman
Burn the Witch ! / Plerng Ches Arb - Cambodia, circa 2004
Arb / Nieng Arb ("Vampire") - Cambodia, 2004 - Kam Chanty
Krasue / Erotic Thai Ghost Story - Thailand, ???? - John Wren

Thanks to Sweeney Todd from Cinehound forum for posting this list.

[Click on pictures for large size]

The Incredible Melting Man

Enjoy this TV spot of The Incredible Melting Man, not so incredible, but a fun movie:

Japanese 1Sheet

French 1Sheet

German 1Sheet

US 1Sheet & Daybill

An American Werewolf in London

I've been having a ''American Werewolf in London'' craze the last couple of days. The more I think about it I just fall more and more in love with the movie. So I'm been searching the whole web for some goodies. I found some very nice, but some goodies I can't afford. Or, well ... I bought the Thai poster (a few posts ago), which is a fucking beauty! But here is another beauty that I wouldn't mind owning:

''This is an original production made Nazi demon helmet from John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (1981). The helmet is made from thick fiberglass and is a custom design, though based loosely on German WW2 helmets. It was originally conceived that all of the Nazi demons would wear helmets, so four were created. This is one of the original four, though it was never seen on screen. The helmet is finished with a camo paintjob, and a leather chinstrap. The prop is presented in a custom-made acrylic display case, with a removable lid that features beveled edges. The display is finished with a custom laser-cut mat board at the base, featuring the film's logo and stills depicting the helmet. The display measures 18" x 15" x 14". ''

I could afford it, but I'm not interested in spending $3,995.00 if it's not screen used

THE DEATHHEAD VIRGIN

Damn, this isn't mine yet! There was an auction last night on eBay, but it went for much more then I had hoped for!

The Greek VHS went for $112.50! Not that I haven't spent more or equal to that on a VHS before, BUT I just couldn't do it this time. Guess I'll just have to wait for another opportunity! When there where 50 seconds left it was still at $20, and just as I said ''I'll be surprised if this only goes for $20'' it skyrocketed up to 70 then 112. For a second there I was foolish enough to even think - ''Will I get this for $20?''

Oh, well.

Here is the Dutch VHS (I think), 1sheet poster and Mexican lobby card:

[Click on pictures for large size]

Thai Poster Galore!!

I like buying movie posters from time to time, mostly rare and from foreign countries, but I have yet to own Thai movie posters, and I just wondered why the hell that is!? Just look at the fucking things - they are amazing:

An American Werewolf In London

Attack of the Mushroom People

Conquest

Evil Dead 2

Fake Ghost Catchers

From Beyond

Magic of the Universe

Masters of the Universe

Men From the Gutter

Star Crash

The Brood

The Evil

The Last Hunter

The Last Judgement

The Witch














The Witch

Tiger Joe

Turkey Shoot

Zombie Holocaust

[Click on pictures for large size]