The Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection (The Gore Gore Girls / A Taste of Blood / She-Devils on Wheels / The Gruesome Twosome / The Wizard of Gore / Something Weird)

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous!
Review: In 1963 Herschell Gordon Lewis, an independent filmmaker known for making limited release "cutie" pictures, changed forever the face of American cinema when he released "Blood Feast." This film, as low budget as you could possibly get, ushered in the era of the gore film. While it would be quite some time before Hollywood caught on to the fact that certain segments of the movie going public hungered for films containing nauseating scenes of explicit violence, H.G. Lewis took one look at the receipts for "Blood Feast" and decided he better quickly make another movie similar to this one. What followed was a series of gruesome zero budget shockers, films like "The Wizard of Gore," "A Taste of Blood," "2000 Maniacs," "Color Me Blood Red," and "The Gruesome Twosome." Lewis lensed the downright offensive "The Gore-Gore Girls" before retiring from the film business in 1972 in order to devote his time to the advertising industry. It wasn't until 2002 that the director returned to form with "Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat," a movie which proved beyond a doubt that the Godfather of Gore still has what it takes to gross out an audience. It's elevates the soul to see something as audacious as a "Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection" hit stores. They even threw in a couple of Hersch's non-gore flicks for good measure.

I just can't get over a Lewis boxed set. First up is Lewis's ghastliest film, "The Gore-Gore Girls," a movie so repulsive that one must see it to believe it. What's the plot, you ask? What are you, somebody who needs a coherent plot? Well, there is a plot here if you look hard enough. Some nut's been going around dispatching the female employees at the local "men's clubs," so a newspaper hires crack detective Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) to investigate the crimes. A ditzy local reporter, Nancy Weston, tags along and generally gets in the way whenever see can. You won't care about the plot when the gore starts rolling in. Lewis gives us a scene where a gal bobs for French fries, a hot iron applied to something other than clothing, and the grisly capper involving two types of milk. A head scene that rivals the atrocity we saw in "Toxic Avenger" makes an appearance, in case you were wondering. Whew! If you get through this movie intact, give yourself a pat on the back! Heck, if you can get through the cheesy canned jazz soundtrack, you'll be a winner in life. Look for Henny Youngman playing sleazy club owner Marzdone Mobilie, as well as Ray Sager from "The Wizard of Gore" hamming it up as a sniffling bartender.

Speaking of "The Wizard of Gore," this cinematic nightmare shows up in the set as well. Montag the Magician (Ray Sager) puts on a heck of show when he hypnotizes his audience and then proceeds to massacre a volunteer from the crowd in stomach churning close up. The tricks include a sword swallowing bit, a punch press, and the old railroad spike through the head gag that's so popular at kiddie birthday parties. No one sees what Montag is up to-they're hypnotized, remember-until the victim falls to pieces after the show. A suspicious feminist talk show host eventually catches on to the wizard's foul deeds and, with the help of her boyfriend, attempts to bring the malevolent magician to justice. The conclusion of the film is memorable only because it actually makes the viewer think, a rarity in the world of Herschell Gordon Lewis films. "The Wizard of Gore" is probably my favorite Lewis gore film, so it's nice to see it again here. The acting is as wooden as it could possibly get, the effects are dirt cheap, and there are more continuity errors than you can shake a stick at, but it's all done in good fun. You'll love it. Really!

"A Taste of Blood" and "The Gruesome Twosome" represent lesser H.G. Lewis productions (!). The former is the director's take on the vampire genre, as a chipper business chap named John Stone receives two mysterious bottles of wine from a recently deceased relative. Turns out that the stuff is blood from a vampire, which means by the time Stone finishes off the bottles, he becomes a walking Dracula. His wife Helen knows something is wrong, but can do little to stop the unfolding disaster. Not much gore in this one, but it is one of Lewis's better works in terms of cinematography and even (gasp) acting. "The Gruesome Twosome" also boasts a good actress in the form of Mrs. Pringle, a chirpy dame who runs a wig shop out of her house. Local college girls go there to buy hairpieces but never leave thanks to Pringle's demented son Rodney, a goofy looking miscreant who supplies mother with the raw material to make new wigs (think about it for a second and you'll get the idea). I got a kick out of the film, especially the cheesy dance number and Pringle's pet, the ever silent Napoleon.

"Something Weird" and "She-Devils on Wheels," I hate to say, constitute two entries in Lewis's non-gore canon. Both movies attempted to cash in on popular themes during their respective times. "Something Weird" came out when movies dealing with psychedelic themes were all the rage, and "She Devils on Wheels" emerged because of the biker film craze. Sorry, Hersch, but I can't abide these two atrocities. It's disappointing to see them here. The omission of "Blood Feast" and "2000 Maniacs" from this box set is a big, BIG problem. They should have tossed out "Something Weird" and "She Devils" and just made it a gore collection. Still, I'll take what I can get, and a Lewis boxed set is a delicious dream. Here's to hoping another one emerges in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous!
Review: In 1963 Herschell Gordon Lewis, an independent filmmaker known for making limited release "cutie" pictures, changed forever the face of American cinema when he released "Blood Feast." This film, as low budget as you could possibly get, ushered in the era of the gore film. While it would be quite some time before Hollywood caught on to the fact that certain segments of the movie going public hungered for films containing nauseating scenes of explicit violence, H.G. Lewis took one look at the receipts for "Blood Feast" and decided he better quickly make another movie similar to this one. What followed was a series of gruesome zero budget shockers, films like "The Wizard of Gore," "A Taste of Blood," "2000 Maniacs," "Color Me Blood Red," and "The Gruesome Twosome." Lewis lensed the downright offensive "The Gore-Gore Girls" before retiring from the film business in 1972 in order to devote his time to the advertising industry. It wasn't until 2002 that the director returned to form with "Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat," a movie which proved beyond a doubt that the Godfather of Gore still has what it takes to gross out an audience. It's elevates the soul to see something as audacious as a "Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection" hit stores. They even threw in a couple of Hersch's non-gore flicks for good measure.

I just can't get over a Lewis boxed set. First up is Lewis's ghastliest film, "The Gore-Gore Girls," a movie so repulsive that one must see it to believe it. What's the plot, you ask? What are you, somebody who needs a coherent plot? Well, there is a plot here if you look hard enough. Some nut's been going around dispatching the female employees at the local "men's clubs," so a newspaper hires crack detective Abraham Gentry (Frank Kress) to investigate the crimes. A ditzy local reporter, Nancy Weston, tags along and generally gets in the way whenever see can. You won't care about the plot when the gore starts rolling in. Lewis gives us a scene where a gal bobs for French fries, a hot iron applied to something other than clothing, and the grisly capper involving two types of milk. A head scene that rivals the atrocity we saw in "Toxic Avenger" makes an appearance, in case you were wondering. Whew! If you get through this movie intact, give yourself a pat on the back! Heck, if you can get through the cheesy canned jazz soundtrack, you'll be a winner in life. Look for Henny Youngman playing sleazy club owner Marzdone Mobilie, as well as Ray Sager from "The Wizard of Gore" hamming it up as a sniffling bartender.

Speaking of "The Wizard of Gore," this cinematic nightmare shows up in the set as well. Montag the Magician (Ray Sager) puts on a heck of show when he hypnotizes his audience and then proceeds to massacre a volunteer from the crowd in stomach churning close up. The tricks include a sword swallowing bit, a punch press, and the old railroad spike through the head gag that's so popular at kiddie birthday parties. No one sees what Montag is up to-they're hypnotized, remember-until the victim falls to pieces after the show. A suspicious feminist talk show host eventually catches on to the wizard's foul deeds and, with the help of her boyfriend, attempts to bring the malevolent magician to justice. The conclusion of the film is memorable only because it actually makes the viewer think, a rarity in the world of Herschell Gordon Lewis films. "The Wizard of Gore" is probably my favorite Lewis gore film, so it's nice to see it again here. The acting is as wooden as it could possibly get, the effects are dirt cheap, and there are more continuity errors than you can shake a stick at, but it's all done in good fun. You'll love it. Really!

"A Taste of Blood" and "The Gruesome Twosome" represent lesser H.G. Lewis productions (!). The former is the director's take on the vampire genre, as a chipper business chap named John Stone receives two mysterious bottles of wine from a recently deceased relative. Turns out that the stuff is blood from a vampire, which means by the time Stone finishes off the bottles, he becomes a walking Dracula. His wife Helen knows something is wrong, but can do little to stop the unfolding disaster. Not much gore in this one, but it is one of Lewis's better works in terms of cinematography and even (gasp) acting. "The Gruesome Twosome" also boasts a good actress in the form of Mrs. Pringle, a chirpy dame who runs a wig shop out of her house. Local college girls go there to buy hairpieces but never leave thanks to Pringle's demented son Rodney, a goofy looking miscreant who supplies mother with the raw material to make new wigs (think about it for a second and you'll get the idea). I got a kick out of the film, especially the cheesy dance number and Pringle's pet, the ever silent Napoleon.

"Something Weird" and "She-Devils on Wheels," I hate to say, constitute two entries in Lewis's non-gore canon. Both movies attempted to cash in on popular themes during their respective times. "Something Weird" came out when movies dealing with psychedelic themes were all the rage, and "She Devils on Wheels" emerged because of the biker film craze. Sorry, Hersch, but I can't abide these two atrocities. It's disappointing to see them here. The omission of "Blood Feast" and "2000 Maniacs" from this box set is a big, BIG problem. They should have tossed out "Something Weird" and "She Devils" and just made it a gore collection. Still, I'll take what I can get, and a Lewis boxed set is a delicious dream. Here's to hoping another one emerges in the future.