Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death/Invasio — Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death( Blu Ray & DVD)
First up we have 1973’s Cries of Ecstasy, Blows of Death, and this is a real oddity- blending together soft-focus soft-core action, marauding biker gangs, Kung Fu fighting, a couple of scenes of dramatic overacting, and a few fairly unpleasant rape scenes. The films based in the year 2037- when the earth has turned into a desert, and most of film focuses in on two inflatable bio-dooms that sits aside a huge & ugly looking pipeline, which runs down from barren mountains down into a stark desert valley. Adding to the tonal inconsistency of the film we get a schizophrenic soundtrack- that quite often doesn’t fit the mood on screen- this moves from the opening bleak & doomed Throbbing Gristle like atmospherics, onto to the bright & melodic classical waltzes, through to the brooding-to-violently sinister vibes of Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Béla Bartók- which of course famously got used to great effect in Kubrick’s The Shining. Adding another bizarre twist to the proceedings- is when characters are outside the bio-domes they wear flowing yellow caftans & gas masks. I can’t imagine how this film would have gone down with the grindhouse denizens who were after just some plan flesh ‘n’ fumble, as the film often shifts tone from fleshy/ light -to-grim/ bleak. Anyway, it’s certainly a distinctive & odd addition to the 70’s sexploitation cannon.
Next, we have Invasion Of The Love Drones from 1977- this is particularly corny, though still fairly quirky alien invasion movie. It sees a white penis shaped alien rocket hovering outside earth’s atmosphere- this beams aboard a man from his bathroom, implants a drone, gives him a tacky robot voice- then drops him back on earth. He duly makes love to his partner, but when he cums- he turns into a fluorescent bright white alien mannequin with bug eyes, and thus his partner becomes a drone too. The pair start making more & more drones, and what unfolds is a mostly extremely campy & silly slice of soft-core sexploitation. The cardboard & tin foil set for the spacecraft is particularly amusing- this also features studded leather belt topless dancers with metallic shades on, and towards the end, a white tribally painted women with metal domes over her breasts. On the whole, it’s an enjoyable enough hours worth of 70’s camp-ness..
Lastly on the Blu Ray only we get Double-D Experiment- it’s unclear what year it’s from, but of the three films it’s in the worse state picture wise, been very grainy & pocked marked. The film tells of Doctor Dildo(!) who comes out in a rash whenever he’s in contact with a woman- so he decides to make his own women in a Dr. Frankstein manner. Of the three films, this is certainly the lesser - as it often drops into long drifts of trying to funny dialogue, shots of banks of flashing lights, and some truly awful acting- even by exploitation standards. There are a few more quirky & bizarre touches through-out the film, as well as the ever-present unfunny sexualized humor. I guess it does fit in with the other two films here, but I did find it a chore to get through it’s just under an hour run time- so really best to see it as what it is, a bonus film.
It’s great to see the Something Weird brand reappearing again- as they always had a penchant for uncovering such oddity & obscurities from exploitation past- I very much look forward to seeing what the future volumes of the Racy Reels series offer-up. And if you’re a fan of odd & campy 70’s sexploitation this release really is a no-brainer!.