Cinema Sewer Volume 4 drops you into the grindhouse

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      Wanna take one in the face for the movies? 

      Artist, writer, publisher and general sleaze visionary Robin Bougie is launching volume four of his globally loved sleaze anthology Cinema Sewer at the Main Street video store They Live on Saturday (August 17), along with the third volume of his Retard-O-Tron video mixtape series (the first since 2008).

      Bougie has added some 80 original pages to the latest CS collection (covering issues 21-23 of the zine).

      It's the usual feast, including articles on tragic Disney child actor Bobby Driscoll, Japanese gonzo porn star Sonan, the sudden death of blaxploitation, Ted Bundy's "confessions", dozens of reviews of films like Neon Nights, Don't Deliver Us from Evil, The Ironmaster, A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine ("the Citizen Kane of sexploitation flicks") and... oh, God, just too much to take in at first, really.  

      Some of the more arcane grindhouse and 'sploitation info is amazing. There's a fascinating piece on the 1975 film Abduction, based on a porno novel that predicted the Patty Heart kidnapping in freakishly accurate detail.

      And we haven't even mentioned the magnificently filthy illustrations by Bougie and his co-contributors. Robert Dayton's piece on the 1993 turkey Get Even: Road to Revenge is especially good; ditto a feature by David Hinds on Brazil's vile, sub-porno Boca do Lixo film movement.

      Bougie told the Straight that he's seen a marked growth in the appetite for crazy-ass grindhouse movies since he began producing Cinema Sewer in '97. 

      "I've had people tell me that they enjoy reading about some of these movies more than seeing them," he noted. "Reading my writing about the film and tracking down the people that made them, interviewing them, finding out information and factoids; it's more of a complete experience. That's a nice compliment."

      In the case of Retard-O-Tron III, reading about it isn't enough, not if it's even half as offensive as the first two. At this point, there's only a 50-50 chance that it'll be screened at the launch.

      "Oh, man, it's a hot mess. It's for extreme tastes only, for sure," said Bougie, who curates the collection with his editor, Roelewapper.

      "Look forward to a lot of bodily secretions of all manner. One of the great things about it is the juxtaposition in editing, so a lot of the time you think you're seeing something way dirtier than you are, and then in the next clip you're seeing something way dirtier than you were expecting. It's like getting into the boxing ring and getting punched in the face repeatedly by your entertainment. If that sounds appealing to you, then Retard-O-Tron is your DVD series, and part three is the best one so far." 

      Comments

      6 Comments

      A. MacInnis

      Aug 16, 2013 at 2:05pm

      ...so you're saying Retard-O-Tron is NOT safe for the girlfriend?

      RUK

      Aug 17, 2013 at 12:20pm

      I'm going!

      Neon Nights, huh? My cousin Dave and I rented that in 1983 or something. Looking forward to the review.

      A. MacInnis

      Aug 18, 2013 at 8:55am

      Good lord. I watched fifteen minutes of Retard-0-Tron III last night. It's pretty entertaining! Robin assures me "it's for closers" but so far it's not so insane. Unless you count a pornstarlet beatboxing into a mike with her asshole, edited to appear as if she's on Britain's Got Talent (by the way, is that called "buttboxing?" Is there a name for this pastime?). I am compelled and set at ease. I was kind of afraid...

      Maybe he starts it off easy, though?

      Ron Y

      Aug 18, 2013 at 7:37pm

      Am happily in possession of new CS and R-o-T...haven't consumed either yet...waiting for the kids to go to bed. But it is the summer, they don't go to bed.

      A. MacInnis

      Aug 19, 2013 at 1:00pm

      I am keen to see the rest of R-0-T too, but I think I need to wait until it's movie night with a buddy of mine... Same guy I sprung The Human Centipede on... He's kind of forgiven/ forgotten that one so I think it's time...

      Trivially, who the heck leaves negative votes for innocuous comments like these? I don't get it...

      Ron Y

      Aug 22, 2013 at 9:54pm

      Oh my god, Human Centipede.

      You know, I think I prefer reading about these things and appreciating that they are allowed to exist in a free society, rather than actually watching them. Christ. It's on Netflix!

      A., have you tried Salo? How about Cannibal Holocaust? The box cover, alone, gave me nightmares.

      I have to say, I make everyone watch Ichi The Killer - now that is one hella good movie.