Mondo Round-Up: Goodbye 2013

Holidays like New Years can have a lot of mixed emotions. For some, it's an exciting time for an alcohol and stupid party hat induced revery. For others, it's the lingering reminder of all the stuff you wanted to, maybe even vowed, to accomplish that never happened. Call it ghosts of holiday resolutions. It used to be one of the most dreaded of holidays for me, but over the past few years, that anxious knot has dwindled down to more of a thoughtful observation and a low burning sensation that inevitably bleeds into ambition. “Failure” is the best opportunity to recycle the past and focus on the fresh, pristine white page in front of you.

For me, this has been an amazing year of seeds planted. Some big projects were put on hold, but potential bigger ones have started to take shape. All the 2012 superstitious fears are laid to waste as life keeps on and on again with the big message here is to never let fear rule you. Remember kids, the worst strain of regret is for the things you never did. And before I devolve into doing some hideous karaoke version of the Butthole Surfers “Sweat Loaf,” here is a Mondo Link round-up for your reading and visual pleasure! 

Happy New Years and let's make every moment smoke and sparkle in 2014!

 Movie Morlocks Tribute to Jess Franco

Beyond Blood Feast: The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis

Mondo Round-UP: Who the Fuck is Madison? Edition 

The Candy Web & William Castle Tribute!

Rupert Pupkin Speaks: Underrated Dramas & Underrated Horror

Lost Art of Flying Saucer Rock &Roll: Ghastly Love of Johnny X

Wet Nights on Neon Grounds: BillMilling's Oriental Blue

Paracinema's Notes from the Backroom

Fish Heads & Meat Babies: The MusicVideos of Barnes & Barnes

Mondo Round-UP: The Fan Continuum

The beast that is fandom can be a three-headed monster. It's one a lot of us have in our hearts, too. Feeling fascination and passion for art is nothing to be ashamed of. Naturally, it is one of the purest things that fuels one to create, whether it is writing, painting, etc etc. Where things can get sticky is when the ugliest of the three-heads emerges; the fan ownership.

I'm sure you have seen this pop up on assorted message boards and social media sites like Tumblr, YouTube and Facebook. Someone posts a clip from a movie or concert and then instantly gets irate if someone else posts the same clip. All this despite the fact that person #1 didn't direct, shoot, produce or star in said clip. I've even seen some “fans” go so far to put ugly, cumbersome watermarks on videos that they basically got from someone else. Which is even more ridiculous when you get into the whole bootleg realm.

Entitlement isn't always just for the fans. With writers and journalists, the pissing contest can extend to subject matter, as if only one person can cover one specific thing. How boring would that be? Information is for the masses and I am more than happy to wave my proletariat flag on that. If anything, I love seeing other writers tackle films that I have written about. Case in point, the always fabulous and ultra-bright Gore Gore Girl's meticulously thoughtful write-up of Radley Metzger's “BarbaraBroadcast.” Seeing a good writer explore any subject is a joy and anyone that gets territorial in a huffy, petty way is tantamount to a small-peckered man buying a Hummer. If you're confident with your ability, then you have nothing to worry about. Any artist/writer that feels threatened by another really needs to examine their own emotions of self-worth. After all, the outside world makes it hard enough on the expressive, so the time is nigh for artists to put aside the small-minded bullshit and support each other. Save the nastiness for the printed page, canvas, sound, stage and screen.

As for the fans, if one really wants to feel true ownership of something, then create your own art. It's relaxing, restorative and will make you look less like an entitled wanker.

 Going back to “Barbara Broadcast,” it is the perfect film to start off the new monthly feature, Notes from the Back Room, over at Paracinema. There's a legion of titles that went through my head to start off these proceedings, but between Distribpix's recent super-lush release and an A+ cast that includes C.J. Laing, Wade Nichols, Bobby Astyr, Michael Gaunt and Annette Haven, the choice was obvious. (By the way, if you're Radley Metzger/Henry Paris admirer, you can also read my pieces on Camille 2000, Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, Naked Came the Stranger and Opening of Misty Beethoven.)

If you're feeling some Halloween withdrawal, check out my review of the gonzoid-monster kid underground film, “Geek Maggot Bingo” over at Dangerous Minds. This could possibly be the most overlooked and unappreciated film in the Nick Zedd filmography, so throw on your K-Tel “Haunted Hits” compilation and your “Zacherley for President” button and enjoy the show.

Weekly Mondo Round-Up: The Angst Edition

The nature of transgressive cinema has shifted over the years, ranging from the early days of adult cinema to the underground post-punk film scene in the 1980's. Over the past decade, the term has been switched over more to the horror genre, often dealing with an assortment of titles that have been filed under the “torture porn” moniker. (A term itself that has some issues, since the images that come to my mind involve either leather, chains and greased up car batteries or sitting through the IQ-hating “Debbie Does Dallas.”)

With films like “Hostel” and more recently, “A Serbian Film,” being hotly contested, the whole matter has pushed fans and writers alike to ask, “How far can too far go?” My question, though, is what will be the new definition of “transgressive cinema?” In this day and age of, to quote a pretty good Jane's Addiction album title, nothing's shocking, what new frontiers of transgression are there to pursue?

The only path to really pursue at this juncture is, in my opinion, is to be pure DIY. Trying to ape someone else or worse, one up them, is a losing game. Aping puts you at the risk of looking like a pale imitator and one-upping is impossible in this age of war and POW video footage all over the net. So the only truly shocking option is to just do your own thing. After all, while original ideas might be hard to come by, original approach is always possible. Creative transgression is ready for a new landscape, one that will not be defined by certain acts, but instead a harder to pinpoint approach and atmosphere. Of course, it is all a wait and see sort of affair.

Speaking of wait and see, there is an upcoming Kickstarter coming up for “German Angst,” an anthology film featuring work by famed cult director Jorg Buttgereit (“Nekromanatic,” “Schramm,” “Captain Berlin”), Andreas Mitchell (“Tears of Kali”) and Michal Kosakowski (“Zero Killed.”) The trio of shorts will involve stories ranging from mind altering drugs, sex clubs and neo Nazis. The biggest news out of all this is that “German Angst” will be the first new material from Buttgereit after several years out of the filmmaking game. The project sounds highly promising, with their Kickstarter page going live in the next few days, so keep on the lookout. 

October is a great month for newness, since the latest print issue of Paracinema is out and it has been well worth the wait. There are some terrific articles featured, including pieces on everything from the aforementioned “A Serbian Film” to “Penitentiary III” to the later years of action heroes and even racial politics in post-Reagan teacher features. There's enough wit, humor and film smarts to make even the most jaded fringe-cineaste smile. On top of all that, it also has my own article on Stephen Sayadian's “Nightdreams” and “Dr. Caligari,” so if you're a juice dog then you know you gotta giddy-up on that action.

If creatures like vampires are more your thing, then you can get into the Halloween mood and listen to me speaking (aka ranting and rambling) with the great Frank Cotolo on his podcast The Cotolo Chronicles. This past Thursday we talked about the king vampire himself, Dracula and his many incarnations. Listen and thrill and put on your favorite plastic black cape and enjoy!

There will be more things to keep you entertained in the near future, say stay tuned cats and kittens!

You can also find me on Twitter, Tumblr & Pinterest. 

Weekly Mondo Round-Up: The Firecracker Edition

 It's post-Fourth of July here in the States but you would not know that around my neighborhood. Lots of noise, smoke and glitter. No mangled bodyparts just yet, but the evening is still young. Earlier today, after stumbling upon a small Farmer's market in a nearby berg, I was reminded of the last time we visited such a thing. There was a local group of hipster-y, psuedo-folk-jug fellows playing, all covers of course. Nothing inherently wrong with that, especially since covers are the groundwork a lot of bands use to build their chops, but I realized that if you're the kind of group that can instantly play “Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard” or whatever that hideous Paul Simon song is, then I instantly never want to hear you again. Imagine hearing someone covering some Coltrane, Les Baxter or Killing Joke? Now, that would be sweet. But good lord, no Paul Simon or any other pap that makes middle-upper class middle-aged white people feel comfortable. The ultimate credo of any artist should never ever be “give the people what they want.” Nay, give them what they deserve. That? Is true love. 

 On a far happier and rewarding note, the latest issue of Paracinema is now available for pre-order. In addition to featuring articles covering everything from the great David Patrick Kelly to action film heroes, it will also have my compare/contrasting article on Stephen Sayadian's two equally brilliant films, “Nightdreams” and “Dr. Caligari.” If you haven't seen these films, then do yourself a favor and seek them out immediately. Sayadian is one of the most standout directors to have emerged in the last thirty years, so it was a pleasure getting to explore these two semi-twin works. For the converted and uninitiated alike, you can check out my friend David Arrate's tribute on his Tumblr, My Kind of Story or view the clip below. If these things don't convince you, especially the dancing toast, then you've got ice in your veins, baby. 

One album that has been getting a lot of play this week in Casa Mondo has been Fallen Angels. This is a band that is ripe for some proper rediscovery. Led by Knox, who also founded the legendary punk group The Vibrators, and featuring the entire rhythm section of Hanoi Rocks (Razzle, Sami Yaffa and Nasty Suicide), Fallen Angels were a terrific, trash-rock band that managed to incorporate some emotional gravitas sans the usual gouda baked overdramatics. From the same family tree that begat the New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers, Hanoi Rocks (naturally) and Lords of the New Church, Fallen Angels, especially that killer first album, deserves to be placed next to its more well known brethren. 

Currently working on contributions for both Rupert Pupkin Speaks and the upcoming, William CastleBlog-A-Thon, as well as the usual article work. Wonderful things are afoot.

You can also find me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest & Google+.