when WHITE ZOMBIE EFFECTIVELY IMPLODED in 1998, it left a SIZABLE VOID in the MUSIC INDUSTRY and METAL COMMUNITY given how SINGULAR their PHANTASMAGORIC SOUND was, which included EVERYTHING from INDUSTRIAL PERCUSSION, CLASSIC HORRO FILM SAMPLES and EXPERIMENTAL, NEXT-LEVEL METAL GROOVES courtesy of GUITARIST J YEUNGER and DRUMMER JOHN TEMPESTA.  it was like cross between the more AGGRESSIVE ELEMENTS of PANTERA, MINISTRY and SOUNDGARDEN with an ADDED CARNIVAL BARKER all rolled into one.  i dont believe it is a CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT that the two most ASTONISHINGLY BRUTAL GROOVE METAL RELEASES of that DECADE where VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER (ATCO, 1992) and ASTRO-CREEP: 2000 (GEFFEN, 1995), both TERRY DATE PRODUCTIONS i might add.  okay, maybe i should have included SEPULTURA's ROOTS (ROADRUNNER, 1996) as well, but you get the IDEA.

so when i learned that WHITE ZOMBIE FRONTMAN ROB ZOMBIE was moving forward with a NEW SOLO EFFORT, i was more than a bit SKEPTICAL given the HEIGHTS of the BAND he just recently DEPARTED.  TEMPESTA stayed in the FOLD, but YEUNGER was LEFT OUT and in MY MIND his ICONIC RIFFS were as much a STAPLE of WHITE ZOMBIE's SOUND as the SINGER's TRADEMARK muffled "yeahs" were.  thats why i was pleasantly SURPRISED when HELLBILLY DELUXE (GEFFEN, 1998) was released because ZOMBIE somehow managed to keep all the CORE ELEMENTS that made WHITE ZOMBIE GREAT while SIMPLIFYING and STREAMLINING the SOUND just a bit.  with POWERFUL TRACKS like "MEET THE CREEPER," "DEMONOID PHENOMENON," "SUPERBEAST," "DRAGULA" and "LIVING DEAD GIRL," i see it as the more POP VERSION of ASTRO-CREEP: 2000, which is not necessarily a NEGATIVE THING by any stretch of the IMAGINATION.  it prove once and for all that ZOMBIE was the SONIC as well as VISUAL DIRECTOR of his PREVIOUS BAND and that his CAREER TRAJECTORY continued UNABATED.

i lucked out since i got to witness ZOMBIE LIVE during this ERA at OZZFEST 99 when he was very much still in his "MORE IS MORE" ETHOS with regard to STAGE DESIGN and PYRO.  it was pretty CRAZY because ZOMBIE was the TOP-BILLED ACT on an ABSOLUTELY LOADED LINE-UP (SLAYER, DEFTONES, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, PRIMUS, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY and STATIC-X) that was HEADLINED by BLACK SABBATH, and yet he blew up more SHIT than ANYONE.  try and figure that one out.  how did SHARON OSBOURNE allow that to happen?  i had like center 6th row seats or SOMETHING INSANE so that SHOW made a HUGE IMPACT on me, just the SENSORY OVERLOAD of it all with SCANTILY-CLAD GO-GO DANCERS, EXPLODING TRASHCANS, LIT-UP 666 SIGNS, JUMBO SCREENS with RUSS MEYER CLIPS, GUITARS with FLAMETHROWERS ATTACHED and so on. 

just a GREAT TIME.

and the MUSIC VIDEOS are a PRECURSOR to ZOMBIE's itch for directing ACTUAL HORROR FILMS he'd written that would be SATIATED in less than a DECADE starting with HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (LIONS GATE, 2003).  these INGENIOUS MUSIC VIDEOS reference EVERYTHING from CLASSIC HORROR and EXPLOITATION FILMS like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (MGM, 1972), THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (DECLA-FILM, 1920), ILSA: SHE-WOLF OF THE SS (CINEPIX, 1975), THE PHANTOM CREEPS (UNIVERSAL, 1939) among other MUCH-BELOVED POP CULTURE ODDITIES like RAT FINK, THE MUNSTERS (CBS, 1964-66) and WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PARAMOUNT, 1971).

MY WORRIES were ABATED and its become CLEAR in the YEARS since that HELLBILLY DELUXE is arguably the DEFINITIVE RELEASE by ZOMBIE alongside his FORMER BAND's FINAL ALBUM in ASTRO-CREEP: 2000.  either one is well worth checking out.

as a film minor in college, i came to learn and explore EXPLOITATION FILMS via DIRECTORS from the 1960s and 70s like RUSS MEYER (FASER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!), JOHN WATERS (PINK FLAMINGOS, FEMALE TROUBLE) and JACK HILL (COFFY, FOXY BROWN, SPIDER BABY) among others.  i paid particular attention to most every genre with the exception of one: HORROR.  which is probably why i was a late bloomer to the FOUNDATIONAL cinematic work of WILLIAM CASTLE and his REVOLUTIONARY MARKETING and GIMMICK-LADEN PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS in support of such throughout the 1950s and 60s.  more MASTER PROMOTIONAL MANIPULATOR and CARNIVAL-BARKING SALESMAN than FILM AUTEUR, the life of CASTLE is lovingly recounted and contextualized by his peers, coworkers, followers and family in the recent documentary SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY (AUTOMAT, 2007).

for those that are UNFAMILIAR with the term, EXPLOITATION FILMS were B-MOVIE MOTION PICTURES brazenly devised in order to take advantage of an ongoing trend or current event with often SENSATIONALIZED PLOTS and absolutely SHAMELESS use of GIMMICKRY.  back in the day films were often showcased as DOUBLE FEATURES, with the FEATURE FILM being the big-actor, WELL-PRODUCED MARQUEE FILM and the B-MOVIE a more EXPLOITATIVE, CHEAPER, often LESS SOPHISTICATED film shown as an opener.  there are so many sub-genres of such that have arisen since the 1950s that include everything form SEXPLOITATION, BLAXPLOITATION, SURFER FILMS, BIKER MOVIES, THRILLERS, WOMEN-PRISON-FILMS and so on.  although not widely considered as such these days due to their perennial popularity, HORROR FILMS is itself an EXPLOITATION sub-genre. their HOOK or GIMMICK is that they are going after a demographic that specifically seeks the experience of being FRIGHTENED.  and CASTLE, much like ALFRED HITCHCOCK (whose FILMS are often tagged with the more ESTEEMED title of SUSPENSE), recognized such early on in the game.  it should be noted that the EXPLOITATION tag is not a DEROGATORY epithet by an stretch of the imagination, as JOHN WATERS even explains in the FILM, as all FILMS are in essence EXPLOITATIVE in some regard.

CASTLE was born in NEW YORK CITY but became an OPHAN during his adolescence, which undoubtedly affected his sense of IDENTITY for the rest of his life, especially with regards to the DEVASTATING potential for loss with regards to success and family.  his need for attention, validation and glamour found him interested in THEATER and he fought and crawled his way into working on BROADWAY as a STAGE MANAGER where he became a peer of ORSON WELLES.  through the WELLES connection he was given a venue outside of the city where he put on a play he devised for a recently arrived GERMAN actress.  this actress was called back to GERMANY shortly before WWII and CASTLE manipulated the PRESS twice to PROMOTE his production.  the first was that he told them (falsely) that he wrote a letter to ADOLF HITLER stating that he would not allow his star to return home and the second was that he told the PRESS that he would not stop production in the face of recent NAZI graffiti plastered all over the front of the THEATER (apparently done by CASTLE himself).  the PROPAGANDANDIZED PUBLICITY drew ENORMOUS crowds to the largely LACKLUSTER production.  this ability to manipulate the PRESS was CASTLE's ace in the hole as a PRODUCER and served him well throughout his later FILM CAREER and is a major part of his continued LEGACY.

​upon arrival in LOS ANGELES, CASTLE worked under the wing of the universally REVILED, FEARED and RESPECTED head of COLUMBIA PICTURES, HARRY COHN.  he worked his way up to B-MOVIE DIRECTOR where he specialized in making ON-BUDGET, ON-SCHEDULE FILMS of DUBIOUS quality that made MONEY.  such a BANKABLE reputation as an EFFICIENT OPERATOR is not a negative in the least, but is what you want in a B-MOVIE DIRECTORS from the studio's perspective.  under the STUDIO SYSTEM, proven DIRECTORS that could flourish given LIMITED BUDGETS worked their way up to making FEATURES.  CASTLE was so good at it that he basically stayed at that level.  during this period he found and bought the rights to a PROPERTY he thought would help him transition to FEATURES, a MYSTERY PULP novel by RAYMOND SHERWOOD KING entitled IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE (ACE BOOKS, 1938).  unfortunately COHN optioned it from CASTLE and made it the next RITA HAYWORTH-fronted WELLES project THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (COLUMBIA, 1947), now very much considered a FILM NOIR classic.  eventually he left the studio and went INDEPENDENT and made a two LEGENDARY HORROR FILMS, MACABRE (WILLIAM CASTLE PRODUCTIONS, 1958) and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (WILLIAM CASTLE PRODUCTIONS, 1959) that garnered him fame and FINANCIAL SUCCESS before COLUMBIA PICTURES came back and backed his work thereafter.

the reason this COLLABORATIVE arrangement with COLUMBIA PICTURES worked was that as PRODUCER, SCREENWRITER and DIRECTOR of his own FILMS, CASTLE controlled his productions and made everything on a SHOESTRING BUDGET and devised a series of GIMMICKY promotional campaigns aimed at kids that reaped in a FINANCIAL WINDFALL.  these GIMMICKS included buzzers on seats (THE TINGLER), INSURANCE POLICIES collectible upon DEATH by next of kin from FRIGHT in THEATER (MACABRE), INFLATABLE SKELETONS flying in on wires across MOVIE SCREENS (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL), MONEY-BACK GUARANTEES and so on.  it was a DIFFERENT era in the 1950s that basically ended with the collective loss of national innocence when JFK was ASSASSINATED in 1963.  shit got real then and CASTLE did other things to DIMINISHING RETURNS throughout the 60s.  in the late 1960s he found another PROPERTY that he bought the rights to that he hoped to utilize as a potential VEHICLE for another attempt to transition to FEATURES as a DIRECTOR but was again conned by PARAMOUNT PICTURES this time into relinquishing ROSEMARY'S BABY (PARAMOUNT, 1968) to ROMAN POLANSKI where he stayed on as a PRODUCER.  this was basically his last hurrah as the 1970s found SLASHER B-MOVIES come into fashion that were more EXPLICIT and BRUTAL in nature to his decidedly OUTMODED HORROR FILMS of the 1950s and early 1960s.

his CINEMATIC LEGACY is one of innovation in terms of bridging the fourth wall with his audience and providing a SHOWMAN's GOOD-NATURED human touch to his productions.  both JOHN WATERS and ROGER CORMAN participated in this documentary and attest to the power of such PROMOTIONAL TACTICS in their own work.  the TRAGEDY of it all is that CASTLE had a deep need to prove himself worthy of LOVE and AFFECTION and those GIMMICKS were utilized long after his name became recognized on the MARQUEE and were unneeded.  the potential for the loss of such ADORATION by his audience and his family alike was the REAL FEAR that drove and defined his life.  the documentary is a testament that such worry was UNWARRANTED given the ENDURING APPEAL and influence of his FILMS on a whole swath of FILM IRECTORS raised on EXPLOITATION FILMS from throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s of which his name is undoubtedly at the vanguard of.

that CASTLE DIED not knowing such LOVE and AFFECTION existed on his behalf is much SCARIER than any haunted house or VOLATILE axe-wielding psychopath.

seriously, who doesn't love PAM GRIER?

in my opinion the BLAXPLOITATION films she starred during the 1970s (FOXY BROWN, SHEBA BABY) showcase the real american nightmare, empowered sexually liberated minority women who take charge and buck the power structures that hold their community back, structural racism and drug lords be damned.

my favorite of these films is director JACK HILL's genre-defining masterwork COFFY (AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL, 1973), which carries an almost LADY SNOWBLOOD-esque revenge plot  as GRIER's protagonist seeks to kill a drug kingpin for allowing heroin to ruin her neighborhood and kill her younger sister.  she does this by going deep undercover as a working girl and establishing relationships with all the inside players before making her move.  GRIER is a tour-de-force whose character displays an emotional trajectory that allows the audience to understand her pain and how such governs her means of devouring her competitors through seduction.  like a righteous femme fatale only in a very different political, cultural and racial context.

i find this film endlessly fascinating for its scope at addressing a contemporary societal ill when such was ignored or demonized in the wider WHITE media and political classes.  i think QUENTIN TARANTINO must have felt similarly when he cast GRIER in JACKIE BROWN (MIRAMAX, 1997) over 20 years later in an update of her character of sorts.  again, GRIER hasn't missed a step, only this time its corruption on a higher political level.

COFFY is worth your time.  it is absolutely required viewing for anyone interested in cinema, period.

i am a total fanboy of DIVINE and JOHN WATERS.  

i mean really.  if you check out any of their trashy EXPLOITATION filmography from the 1970s, movies like PINK FLAMINGOS (DREAMLAND, 1972) and DESPERATE LIVING (DREAMLAND, 1977) or even more obscure earlier fare like MULTIPLE MANIACS (DREAMLAND, 1970) and MONDO TRASHO (DREAMLAND, 1969) you will not be disappointed.

my favorite out of the bunch is FEMALE TROUBLE (DREAMLAND, 1974) which depicts the life of a BALTIMORE teenager seeking attention throughout her life and ultimately commits murder for the sole motivation of becoming notorious.  

for me this film is a bitter take on TABLOID culture in much the same way as BILLY WILDER's ACE IN THE HOLE (PARAMOUNT, 1951) eviscerated yellow journalism a generation before.  WATERS saw the future of the AMERICAN SOUL and the lowest common denominator in cultural terms as the concept of infamy being a goal in and of itself predates today's online social media culture where people are famous for being famous and being "on brand."  DIVINE is psychotic as all hell in this film and the DREAMLAND cast, as always, keep the film grounded in its debased underbelly like a more deranged and conked-out alternate versions of ANDY WARHOL's superstars.

the look, the acting, the humor and the caustic message about the nature of the media and the vacuous nature of seeking fame in this film is all textbook JOHN WATERS and is why FEMALE TROUBLE has been a touchstone of my movie-viewing habits since my teen years.

this film is required viewing in my opinion.

who doesnt love EXPLOITATION films? 

i for one always appreciated their directness in selling you the base, lowest-common denominator entertainment based on sex, race and other issues deemed to taboo to be touched upon by the prudish gatekeepers of modern culture.  RUSS MEYER's landmark FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (RM FILMS, 1965) is an iconic underground film that follows three go-go dancers on a murder and kidnapping spree through the deserts of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

this film has influenced countless films in its wake, most notably those where women use their appearances to switch the tables on gender roles and exploit their oppressors in the process.  this plot is still mined to this day as seen most recently in HUSTLERS with JENNIFER LOPEZ and CARDI B, where MANHATTAN strippers exploit their WALL STREET patrons in the wake of the market collapse of 2008.  it begs the question of who is exploiting who?

awesome, totally underrated film that everyone should view.  can't say that for the rest of MEYER's output.