Ahhh, the fresh beginnings of 2012. A brand spankin’ new year with so much hope and potential! Well, unless this sucker turns out to be the last. Hence, why the gang here at The Trash Cinema Collective made sure to kick this year off right with a blazingly dark and sexy spread by one of our favorite up and coming models and aspiring writers: Whitlee Sabbath Flinn! A spread inspired by Fight Song era Marilyn Manson? Seems rather apropos to this connoisseur of filth. An enormous fan of horror, deviously alluring and a close personal friend of ours here at The Collective, Whitlee seems like the perfect way to get what could our last year on Earth off on just the right note. Be sure to check out her sites and let Whitlee know what you think of her set! Stay Trashy, Gang! – Root
Whitlee, tell us a little about your personal philosophy regarding Trash Horror Films:
“I’m a huge horror fan in general, although I’m a very picky, harsh critic when it comes to any movie I watch, great trash films are very dear to my heart! There’s something so special about combining great horror, with the hilarious comedy of everything that’s going on in the film just being ridiculous! It’s that this-is-so-bad-that-it’s-good-feeling that pumps me up every time I watch a new low budget horror film. Laughing while I’m disgusted is my favorite part. I’ll never forget the first time I watched “Dead Alive”, giggling madly as “Mom” popped the boil on her face, and the blood squirted right into the custard that was eaten without hesitation, but also being completely disgusted by the idea; that’s what makes trash horror great for me! Films like The Evil Dead, The Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Dead Alive, and Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series are examples of trashy horror films that I will love forever!”- Whitlee
Have you ever been the victim of an obscene phone call? To be honest, I never have. But, then again, I am a rather beefy guy in his late 20′s and I’m probably the last person on prospective pervert’s hit list. Honestly, I would probably end up on a pervert watch list before I was ever a victim of such shenanigans, but I digress. IF I ever were ever the victim of an obscene caller I’m sure I would be fascinated to hear the life story of the person whispering dirty, lustful phrases into my ear while the sound of lubed up wang-doodle stroking slaps about faintly in he background over the phone line. Forget the story of Martin Luther King Jr. or Abraham Lincoln, tell me the story of this heavy breathing, faceless, sexual deviant!
Our film begins with Robert (David Book) rolling out of bed, checking the time, and then going to his apartment window to peep on the couple in the building right across from him. The lovers engages in some hardcore 70′s sex, with pounds of heavy pubic coverage, odd usage of hair during oral sex where the guy rubs his shaggy head of hair against his lover’s muff in what comes off looking more like a blind man having lost his way to the vagina than resembling anything even remotely erotic, and a sudden INTENSE difference in this guys erection size. My only guess is that someone slid a stunt cock in there at one point or another… Robert watches, chaffs the carrot, and becomes obsessed…
Over the course of the film we learn Robert harbors incestuous feelings for his Mother and sister . He thinks back to two memories in particular while in the company of a very bored prostitute with intense grandma hair. One features his sister, who catches him peeping, and then allows him to fondle her while asking him if he thinks she’s attractive and if he likes her “tits”. The other is of his topless mother, (again) catching him peeping, who berates him, topless, as he stares at her “cratch” and impressively proportioned boobs that bounce around freely as she shakes her finger at him hollering “You’re a bad boy! What am I going to do?” The answer? Repeat those two lines for ten minutes while remaining topless and allowing your son to continue to ogle your lady flesh. It’s excitement by repetition for young Robert and it seems to have left a lasting impression.
The bulk of the film is made up of Robert fooling around with prostitutes and harassing his voluptuous red-headed neighbor Carol (Monique Starr) via uninspired sleazy talk over the phone. It’s never really made clear as to why he latches onto this neighbor, which could have easily been justified in the story if she even remotely resembled the Mother or Sister he lusted over in flashback, but that’s apparently not the case here. It seems he is only obsessed with her because…she’s there and answers the phone. The creators of the film obviously spent a little bit of time trying to create a somewhat realistic, believable, character out of Robert but some of the dots just don’t connect.
By film’s end Robert manages to con his way into Carol’s life through feigned car troubles, a lunch date and then offering to come over to protect her from the terrible voice on the phone. It’s “Night Callers” central relationship/plot point, and one that was in dire need of more attention within the story. But, I guess that’s the short fall of most pornographic films that strive to meld with another genre. The story has to be put on hold repeatedly in order for a scene of intense genital penetration and cock gobbling may be inserted. (pun intended?) The central growing relationship between Robert and Carol is mostly left by the way side with little development and depressingly falls back on the old thriller convention of the damsel in distress being dumb as a sack of used prophylactics. It makes no sense that Robert can weasel his way into Carol’s life with with such incredible ease! Especially when she’s in such a huff over the Night Caller.
Night Caller does offer up some cool surprises, my favorite of which is a little diversion, where we are introduced to a blonde, husky- voiced character named Helen, whom Robert has called in he hopes of overhearing some good jerk-off material. Helen is framed in a very tight close-up of her face as the scene commences only to pull back and reveal that Helen is, in fact, a man in drag, and is getting head from a female dressed up as a man. It’s the most intriguing and inventive scene of a film filled with rather generic material. It continues into a relatively well shot sex scene and ends with dual money shots (!!!) as Helen cums not once, but twice, in a period of about 3 minutes. Not only this, but Helen’s partner, after a lengthy period of tit fucking, holds Helen’s cock in her hand and takes the first of his load up her nose (on accident) and then aims Helen’s tool right at her eye and takes his second blast of chunky dick snot (which looks to be the bulk) right in her eyes! It’s a painful (and hilarious) moment for the viewer and it must have been pretty tough for actress Laura Bond as well, whose expression is one of annoyance, agony and “Fuck, why did I just point this thing right at my eyes?” I guess when you’re suffocating on a porn load that just shot up your nasal cavity, you aren’t thinking clearly anymore.
My biggest gripe with this film is the damn score by Richard Silsby. I’m not sure what they were thinking but it the score consists of droning noises and repetitive minor chords that give every single sex scene a sad, creepy, monotonous tone. I understand, this is a sad kind of thriller, but for crying out loud nothing makes a fuck scene more boring than this crap! Give it a listen and I am sure you’ll agree. One interesting thing I noticed was how one of the riffs in the score sounded remarkably similar to the JAWS theme…
The story of Night Caller isn’t exactly a pleasant one and the whole thing will leave most viewers feeling sad, scared and dirty in a way they had no intended. It’s kind of like Taxi Driver if it were all a bout a chronic masterbator who wanted to fuck his Mom and ended up living out a rape fantasy rather than “saving” a young Jodie Foster. Despite the shortcomings in the script, score and cinematography, Night Caller tries hard to deliver more than just your run of the mill porn film. It’s certainly different and presents some bold and intriguing ideas that are sure to hit a few nerves and make more than couple viewers squirm in their seats.
Night Caller was a film made early in the cannon of both writer Dean Rogers and legendary porn director Anthony Spinelli. Testing the waters here, the two would go on to create such classics as “Nothing to Hide”, “Skin on Skin”, “Talk Dirty to Me” and “Revenge of the Pussy Suckers from Mars”. Spinelli had over one hundred films to his credit before passing away in May of 2000 at the age of 73. The man’s legacy speaks for itself.
Night Caller is a greasy, creeper of a flick. Certainly not for the casual purveyor for Trash and Sleaze Cinema. However, if you are looking for one dark, oddball XXX film that will have you feeling filthy in no time, I cannot recommend Night Caller enough!
Hey Gang! Yesterday I spent a good portion of my waking hours sorting through tons of creepy, sexy, strange music so I could put together a list of songs for my favorite night of the year, Halloween. I began compiling and typing and about 5 hours later I had to cut myself off because the list had suddenly become a small novel.
So, I figured for the sake of all my fellow Collectors I would go ahead and cull the heard and select a handful of favorites fro you to peruse. And NO, there will be no HALLOWEEN BY THE MISFITS or BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD BY BAUSHAUS! I am trying to spotlight some often overlooked songs on the eternal Halloween jukebox.
And, please, by all means, list some of your favorite Halloween songs in the comments! Enjoy!
Ah, nothing says it’s time for Halloween like the Sister’s Wiggin rock trio, The Shaggs, singing the praises of our favorite holiday! Really, just one listen to this sucker and you will be convinced, yes, it’s Halloween.
Favorite Lyrics: All the kids are happy and gay. There doesn;t seem to be a cloud in their way. But when it’s over. and they’ve had all their fun, they’ll wish that Halloween had just begun.
word.
For those who know me this should come as no surprise. I am an avid fan of Queens of the Stone Age and this track. ‘Burn the Witch’ off their album Lullabies to Paralyze is a perfect blend of Halloween spirit and the bands typical Devil may care swagger. Perfect opener for your Halloween debauchery.
Favorite Lyrics: Fan the flames with a little lie, then turn your cheek, until the fire dies
The skin it peels, like the truth, away. What it was I will never say…
Meant as a satire of Bob Geldof’s “Do They Know it’s Christmas”, “Do They Know It’s Halloween” begs American’s to save the country from the horror that is…Halloween. Track features such artists as Beck, Roky Erickson, Karen O, Fiest, Sonic Youth and Arcade Fire. Simply put, this song is epic.
Favorite Lyrics: ‘Fools! You think you can stop Hallowe’en?’ ‘The world can’t hear your useless plea!’
‘It’s too late! Our orange and black plague will soon consume them all!’ ‘Then everyone will understand the true meaning of Hallowe’en…’
Looking to turn your Halloween soiree in a shit kicking, badass ruckus? Look no further than the twisted musings of Haunted Garage! They;re sick, they’re vile. and their music is custom made for late night Halloween horror.
Favorite Lyrics: Just call me Satan in the morning, just suck my dick before you leave me.
Taking things into a darker direction, VAST’s “Pretty When You Cry” , every time I listen to, just makes me feel a littler drty, A little violated. Maybe its because it reminds me of the video? Perhaps the lyrics that sound like a sociopath who likes to cut up young girls justifying his actions, or the dark, moody, hypnotic music? Perhaps a combination of all three? Either way, the song is one of the catchiest songs possibly about manipulating a murdering women ever made. Which is quite the feat.
Favorite Lyrics: You’re made of my rib, oh baby, you’re made of my sin. And I can’t tell where your lust ends and where your love begins…
Okay, yeah, I realize Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a bit poppy but there are few bands around singing really good danceable rock music about decapitation.
Favorite Lyrics:Off, off, off, with your head. Dance, dance, dance, ’til you’re dead.
If you’re chasing trouble on Halloween might as well make this your soundtrack. Because there’s nothing like causing mayhem while shaking your ass to the beat.
Favorite Lyrics: I’m gonna browse for a woman who can help me chase the devil. Yeah, I’m gonna chase the devil tonight. GET DOWN!
A bit of a stalker song but it’s got a cool hook and a very creepy vibe to it. Which makes sense.
Favorite Lyrics: I know you’re probably getting ready for bed. Beautiful woman, get out of my head. I’m so tired of the same old crud. Sweet baby, I need fresh blood.
One of my favorite tracks off The Raveonettes’ album “Lust, Lust, Lust”, “Dead Sound” is a sad song that is really upbeat. It may not explicitly be about anything Halloween related but the overall feel of the the song and the repeated line “Dead Sound…Dead Sound” makes it work on a Halloween playlist. Morose, chilly, up-tempo and simply a great track. Other stuff to check out by The Raveonettes for you Halloween playlist: Attack of the Ghost Riders, Do You Believe Her, Bowels of the Beast, My boyfriend’s Back and Beat City
Favorite Lyrics: And now you go through a million girls snd try to pick what’s right. When nigtfall comes and you’re still alone do you feel it deep inside?
Oooh, Nick Cave, there are few artists that I listen to more often once autumn rolls into town. This has been a Halloween favorite of mine since as far back as I can recall. Nick singing the classic” Up Jumped the Devil”, a cautionary tale about where you’ll end up if you are up to the Devil’s business. Which, I am certain to be up to this Halloween…
Favorite Lyrics: O poor heart, I was doomed from the start. Doomed to play the villians part. I was the baddest Johnny in the apple cart. My blood was blacker than the chambers of a dead nun’s heart.
Well, there are a few of my selections for this year’s festivities. I hope you enjoyed at least one or two of them. Be sure to add them to your playlist this Halloween just in case I drop by unannounced having transformed into a werewolf. Now, please, share some of your favorites with The Collective! Happy Halloween, Gang!
Hey Gang, The Primal Root here, and I am incredibly proud and honored to present to you our Devil Girl for the Month of July, Noel! She has delivered us an exceptionally, bloody, sexy, demonic set entitled, “Deadly Sins”. Noel’s a good fiend of ours here at the Trash Cinema Collective and I hope my fellow Collectors out there will give her the enthusiastic and warm welcome she so deserves. Enjoy and Stay Trashy!
Here’s what Noel had to say about her Devil Girl of the Month spread:
I’d always wanted to shoot in this dank, old, haunted attic that a friend of mine owned. There were always creepy sounds coming from it, and stuff would be moved the next day. Finally I just decided I HAD to do a scary set up there, and what better than a carnivorous demon? “Deadly Sins” is a demon set that was both fun yet terrifying to shoot. I kept hitting random cold spots in the attic (despite it being summer outside), and some of the photos didn’t come up on the computer because they were corrupted. Despite the creepiness, it was a very fun experience. – Noel
Man, do I love a good ghost story. I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to ghost stories, haunted houses and supernatural tales in general, but that does not mean the idea of ghosts doesn’t creep me out. This is why I am so saddened that there are so few GREAT haunted house tales at the googaplex anymore.
They are a rarity.
Which is why I had moderately high hopes for Insidious, the latest film from director James Wan (First Red Flag) the director behind the original Saw and the still born Dead Silence. It is also from the producers of Paranormal Activity (Second Red Flag) . But, hey, the early reviews said it was something pretty spooky and the trailers had me curious so I figured I’d give it a go. So, my date and I curled up in our seats and waited for the scares.
"I am scared."
The story concerns a young married couple and their three youngsters who are living in an old, creaky, fire hazard home that’s obviously haunted from the second you lay your eyes on it. It’s also about twelve stories tall. The Dad (Patrick Wilson) is a school teacher who is never home and leaves his lovely songwriting, baby making, wife (Rose Byrne) home alone to deal with the supernatural happening. Early on their young son, (Ty Simpkins) falls down a ladder in the attic after his negligent parents allow him to wonder off in their death trap of a house. Of course, the kid goes into a pseudo coma that cannot be diagnosed and the haunting gets more severe. So they more to nice, boring, modern house…
And shit gets even worse.
The family calls in some paranormal investigators, psychics in gas masks and the whole things plays out like a pitch to Universal Halloween Horror Nights.
"I am concerned."
To my amazement the first half of this film did an okay job of delivering some genuine intrigue and a handful of jolts. But even as these scares were being delivered I couldn’t help but feel like there were gaping holes in the story here. Like there are entire reels missing from the story. The character development is left at establishing how everyone is related and their method of income. There’s really nothing else there for us to hold onto as far as knowing these characters. The exist, they are scared, and that’s all you need to know. And Dad’s a teacher. Okay, let’s move on.
There’s also a great example of missing film when Patrick Wilson sits on the front steps of the house with Rose Byrne as she voices her concern over the supernatural presence in their house. She tells stories of all these creepy things that have happened to her while Patrick Wilson is away at work…things we as an audience never saw. Why are you telling us about the creepy events when you could be, you know, SHOWING us these things? Isn’t that one of the first rules of screenwriting? Don’t tell us. Show us.
BUTT SEX!
But, overlooking these short falls, the movie does excel in creating some excellent nightmare imagery. This is when ‘Insidious’ really cooks. When Rose Byrne goes to take out the trash and her record changes to a different song and as she looks in the window she sees a small figure dancing to the music a couple rooms away. Or when Patrick Wilson’s Mom, Barbara Hershey, describes a nightmare she had where she encounters a dark presence in their son’s room. All these images and the way they are filmed and presented feel exactly how nightmares do and it’s chilling stuff.
Sadly, the film faulters in it’s final act when ‘Insidious’ shows it’s cards. Patrick Wilson goes tot he other side and we are shown WAY too much of that supernatural world these creatures inhabit. Some things are so much more horrifying when left to the imagination. As Dad faces off against the Darth Maul looking, hoof footed menace who loves tip toeing through the tulips, you get the distinct feeling the flick has completely jumped the shark. My date actually mentioned how much the second half felt like an ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ episode, and she was spot on. It’s as if James Wan wrote his ass into a corner and took the lazy way out. Rather than paying things off with scares it transforms into a snooze fest as the audience begins looking at their watches wondering when it will all come to an end.
How the audience looked during the second half od Insidious.
The filmmaker tries to pull off a twist ending like his previous films, but anyone who is aware of his penchant for ham handed twists will see this one coming a mile away, and it’s a face palmer of a way to end things. What started out modestly interesting ends in a flash of empty spook house tactics that are somewhat fun to look at but don’t really work when it comes to tapping into the psychology of those watching hoping to go home hoping for that thrill of the ghost story to still be with them when they turn out the light to go to bed…
So, here’s the deal. You receive a box from an elegant older gentleman with a half eaten face who decides to play Deal or No Deal. Ready to hear the conundrum? Okay, you have a little gadget with a seductive, bright red, candy like button on the top of it. Press that button and you receive One Million Dollars in cold hard cash but some poor schmuck you’ve never laid eyes on will die because of your short sighted greedy stupidity. If you don’t press it…well, yeah, nothing happens. You get 24 hours to chew on that before the game show buzzer from hell is picked up and taken away forever.
Stimpy facing this same predicament back in the day.
This is the situation Norma (Ms. Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James “Cyclops” Marsden) find themselves in back in 1976. Norma is a mild mannered disfigured school teacher whose gnarled foot she displays to her curious class in an early fetishistic scene. Her hubby Arthur works for NASA designing lenses for the Viking 1 which sends images back to Earth from the surface of Mars which brings the question of life on other planets into the equation.
"Think we'll be able to afford something to wash the blood off our hands?"
Even before the button is even pressed ( I am not spoiling anything. This happens in the first 15-20 minutes) the Lewis families’ world is filled the the proverbial Richard Kelly strange shit and once pressed the strange shit gets magnified. People keep getting nose bleeds, there are suburban zombies, water portals (a recurring Kelly favorite) kidnappings, loss of senses, unexplained murder, huge leaps of logic, and the NSA. The late night gang who listens to George Noory on Coast to Coast AM will eat this stuff up with a knife and fork!
And as any rational human being would have guessed there are some dire consequences for this decision. The decision to end one human being’s life for simple monetary gain sets off a chain reaction leading to far more difficult decisions.
The Box is filled with interesting ideas that don’t seem to congeal into a solid, finished piece. Like Kelly’s debut film, Donnie Darko, the film has all the logic of a fever dream. This is the kind of stuff I love, honestly. When a film isn’t afraid to not make sense or explain itself or to hand itself over in a neat little package. The Box is not that kinda movie. It’s not easy.
Cameron Diaz lost without a map in The Box
It’s beautifully shot, expertly composed, unabashedly bizarre, and even well acted. Well, with the exception of Cameron Diaz, who is the canker soar on the gum line of this movie. Really, the film kept me interested as it hurled one idea after the another at me but every time Cameron Diaz showed her dopey face I was pulled right out of the film. Her acting is high school drama class caliber and is embarrassing to watch. She tries, you can see her straining to be credible, but her emotions just come off as completely false. Even in her most dramatic scenes you just can’t believe her. She needs to stick to Ashton Kutcher comedies.
James Marsden is in The Box
Luckily, she has a damn fine supporting cast backing her up in the form of the dishearteningly underrated James “Cyclops” Marsden who gives a believable and well composed performance as the better half of the married couple. But the man who steals the show is the ever brilliant Frank Langella as the horribly scarred mystery man, Arlington Steward. This could easily have been a one note performance if handled by any other actor but Langella gives this character ominous overtones while also, somehow, being empathetic. There is a humanity behind all the formality and matter-of -factness.
"Hello, I am Frank Langella. I am here to make your movie good."
Sure, The Box is weird, crazy and off kilter. It’s moody, mellow dramatic and prone to flights of fancy. But at the end of the day it’s a brain teasing mystery. Ad if there’s one thing I love it’s a mystery. I am proud that Richard Kelly stays true to what he wants his work to be and refuses to make his films easily digestible. The Box could easily be seen as a metaphor for mankind’s relationship to God or as a fable of man’s inhumanity towards man, or even simply a film about alien invasion. They are all good theories but there are no clear answers here.
The Box is a strange, pretty package filled with some sci-fi paradox’s. It is not a good film but it certainly an interesting one. At the end of the day it plays like David Lynch Lite.
Stay Trashy,
-The Primal Root
Gillian Jacobs plays Dana the babysitter in The Box. Hot and a sense of humor!
Now, please, share some of your favorites with The Collective! Happy Halloween, Gang!
