A weekly look by Scrappybilly at TCM Underground which airs every Sunday at around 2 AM EST and focuses on weird and cult classic titles
Portrait of Jason is a movie with motives I find to be a bit troubling, but I can’t deny its power. The documentary’s subject, Jason Holliday, a gay black man, a larger-than-life figure, drinks, pops pills and regales the camera … Continue reading TCM Underground: Portrait of Jason (1967)
Macon County Line was one of many movies at the time that had claimed to be based on a true story to attract audiences, but was never based in anything factual. It’s about two brothers, Chris and Wayne Dixon (played … Continue reading TCM Underground: Macon County Line (1974)
This week on TCM Underground, we travel to the 1950s and 1960s in Japan and get treated to a double feature that goes against the norm and invites us to a frank discussion on sexuality. Both films go into explicit … Continue reading TCM Underground: Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) and Crazed Fruit (1956)
This week’s TCM Underground double feature’s theme is on a pair of rip-offs that followed in the very, very successful wake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Anatomy of a Psycho (1961) Not content with borrowing just one part of its title from … Continue reading TCM Underground: Anatomy of a Psycho (1961) and Homicidal (1961)
Today, I bring you a very special TCM Underground write-up. Not only was this one of my favorite double-features since I started doing this feature months ago, in just a few short hours I’m flying to Las Vegas and I’m … Continue reading TCM Underground: Alone in the Dark (1982) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
When you see that a movie is a Golan-Globus Production in its opening credits, you have no idea what you’re in for. The people behind the Cannon Group were certainly… ambitious. They had a few winners, they had a few … Continue reading TCM Underground: Hercules (1983)
Night of the Strangler (1972) A young girl returns home to New Orleans to the only family she has left, two brothers, Dan (James Ralston) and Vance (Micky Dolenz of The Monkees), to tell them that she’s dropping out of … Continue reading TCM Underground: Night of the Strangler (1972) and The Strangler (1964)
Walkabout (1971) Ever since I started writing these TCM Underground reviews, I’ve seen a lot of movies I never would have ordinarily seen on my own. Walkabout, Nicolas Roeg’s Australian Outback survival movie is like the quintessential movie I never would … Continue reading TCM Underground: Walkabout (1971)
Secret Ceremony (1968) Hey, it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these! It’s been 31 Days of Oscar and then last week TCM Underground switched days but didn’t announce it until the day after–so I missed out … Continue reading TCM Underground: Secret Ceremony (1968) and Night Watch (1973)
Razorback doesn’t fuck around. It begins straight away. There’s no nonsense to it. It establishes the mood of the film with some dutch-angled shots of a dirty, dusty Australian outback. A grandfather, Jake Cullen (Bill Kerr), puts his grandson to … Continue reading TCM Underground: Razorback (1984) and Tentacles (1977)
The Night Visitor (1971) Max Von Sydow plays Salem, an innocent man framed for a murder he didn’t commit. He was a man with demons–he drank too much–but he was a patsy for a murder when someone saw too much, … Continue reading TCM Underground: The Night Visitor (1971) and Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
The Mack (1973) Beginning in the middle of a shootout with the cops, Goldie (Max Julien) crashes his car and is apprehended–but not immediately, the crooked detectives bitch about how much paperwork is involved when they have to call an … Continue reading TCM Underground: The Mack (1973) and Super Fly (1972)
Never Too Young to Die (1986) If you’ve ever wanted to see John Stamos share a sex scene with Vanity (the Prince protege) in a movie where Gene Simmons plays a hermaphroditic villain, with lots of chases, gunfights and silliness, … Continue reading TCM Underground: Never Too Young to Die (1986) and Gymkata (1985)
Hey, I’m back! I took last week off for the holidays to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He Knows You’re Alone (1980) He Knows You’re Alone is probably best known for having a small, bit role by a then-unknown … Continue reading TCM Underground: He Knows You’re Alone (1980) and Don’t Open the Door! (1974)
The Twilight People (1972) The Twilight People represents something of a missed opportunity. I mean, a Philippines-shot exploitation version of The Island of Doctor Moreau directed by Eddie Romero of Black Mama White Mama and Pam Grier in the cast as … Continue reading TCM Underground: The Twilight People (1972) and Island of Lost Souls (1932)
Private Parts (1972) Private Parts is like if Roman Polanski’s Repulsion had been directed by John Waters. Young Cheryl (Ayn Ruymen) gets into a fight with her roommate after apparently watching her and her boyfriend have sex, steals some money from … Continue reading TCM Underground: Private Parts (1972) and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989)
Dudes (1987) As thoroughly as I’ve enjoyed writing these reviews for the weekly offerings of TCM Underground, the whole time I’ve been waiting for a double feature as batshit, off-the-wall crazy as this week’s. This week’s double feature encapsulates everything … Continue reading TCM Underground: Dudes (1987) and Border Radio (1987)
Wild Seed (1965) This week’s TCM Underground write-up features two Michael Parks movies, back-to-back and are, perhaps not coincidentally, his first and second features after a long stint with television. Wild Seed is his first, and he stars in the … Continue reading TCM Underground: Wild Seed (1965) and Bus Riley’s Back in Town (1965)
Black Mama White Mama (1973) I tend to love exploitation films because they’re, if anything else, honest about themselves. Some exploitation films have important things to say, but they know what they are: Trash. And they’re proud of it. There’s … Continue reading TCM Underground: Black Mama White Mama (1973) and Hit Man (1972)
I’m not big on the fantasy genre, as a general rule, and it’s not anything to do with the movies or stories themselves, it’s just not my cup of tea. It never has been and it just never will be, … Continue reading TCM Underground: Red Sonja (1985)
I’m very excited about this week’s double feature, courtesy of TCM Underground. Both films, Deadly Friend and Swamp Thing, are directed by Wes Craven and are both films I remember from way back as a wee lad growing up and … Continue reading TCM Underground: Deadly Friend (1986) and Swamp Thing (1982)
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