Christmas Time...It's Here Again!

Have you listened to the December Podcast yet????

Special guest “The Russ” (Erin Russ) talks about her starring role in PorkChop! Your favorite Christmas Horror movie and More! Hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele and William Hellfire!



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Alternative Cinema Podcast 33 / December 2011

Alternative Cinema Podcast 33 / December 2011
Show Notes by Douglas Waltz

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We plunge right in to the Christmas extravaganza with a trippy, echoey beginning before special guest – Erin Russ informs us this is episode 33 (and not 32!)

Michael Raso has his Polaroid ProCam loaded with expired film along with William Hellfire, John Fedele and the aforementioned Erin Russ, who will be referred to as “The Russ” from here on out.


"The Russ" shot with the Polaroid Pro Cam

Since we have The Russ you know that The Russ Shuffle by The Smooth Sailors can’t be far behind!


The Russ Shuffle by Film Photography Project


John Fedele was a little late so Michael took it as a sign for an impromptu photo shoot with The Russ.


Above:

The Russ brought Michael a CD of demented Christmas music which leads us into a trailer for the newly released Porkchop.



The big news of the month is that Michael has connected with his childhood sweetheart. Seems she dumped him in 1985 at The Dairy Queen when he told her he was going to a Fangoria convention to meet Tom Savini instead of spending time with her. Twenty-six years later all wounds have healed and through the magic of The Facebook.


above: Tom Savini (Who is Tom Savini)

Seduction Cinema will be taking over Showtime soon with the triple threat of Playmate of the Apes, BatBabe and SpiderBabe with Showtime’s Sexy Spoofs.

The VHS release of The Basement garnered mention in both The New York Times and G4.

The Monster Channel is also being invaded by Camp Motion Pictures with the upcoming showings of;
Video Violence 1 & 2
Cannibal Campout
Woodchipper Massacre
Splatter Farm
Beauty Queen Massacre
And, of course, The Basement

Check out http://www.100ymm.com/ for more information.

Director Richard Griffin got to have two theatrical showings of his newest film, Exhumed, and Paige Davis was there for a report from the premiere.

Henrique Couto gets a mention for his new Christmas album, Yule Be Sorry which can be had over at ukeordie.com.

Mr. Hellfire was extremely excited to hear about the new film, Sweet Prudence and The Erotic Adventures of Bigfoot.

We got letters from Ramundo, Ryan Johnson, Tony who won the AC Magazine contest, but Michael never sent out, James, who wants to know if the guys want to review his movie, Hack Job and Thomas who also has a film to review called Weed Wolf. William heard there was a Bigfoot in it so he’s all for it.

The Russ covers the film Where The Dead Go To Die

The Evan City Chapel which appears in the classic film, Night of the Living Dead is in disrepair and horror fans are trying to save it from destruction. Check out http://www.fixthechapel.com/ to see what you can do to help.

William mentions a handful of Code Red titles for perfect Christmas presents (available from Alternative Cinema.)
Soul Survivor
Messiah
And Beyond The Door.

Porkchop is finally released and for all fans of The Russ, she will indeed be topless. The Russ is also in the newest issue of Girls and Corpses. She even has a brief Q&A in the magazine which she reads for us.

This leads us into a huge review of the 1966 classic The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t that everyone watched. It even made The Russ cry.



Not to be outdone, William gives us Werewolf of Woodstock with Kevin Tighe as the main monster, Andrew Stevens as a hippy and Belinda Balaski who even wrote to The Russ about how much fun it was to make the film.



William regales us with a band called Happy Flower and their psychedelic noise/sound.



Followed up by The Golden Turkey Awards album with the season Appropriate, Hurray For Santy Claus from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.



William gives a rundown of the 24 hour Exhumed Film Festival where The Russ caught up on mass quantities of sleep.

Finally, Mike mentions Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol and we end the holiday podcast with the song ‘We’re Despicable’ from the film.

Everyone have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we’ll see you next year!

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA PODCAST / Episode 32 - November, 2011

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA PODCAST
Episode 32 - November, 2011

The ultimate internet radio show for indie underground film fans and filmmakers alike! Thanksgiving Horrors! VHS Goes to Camp! The Thing 2011! New DVD Releases! Near-Death and the Ultimate Poop Story! Hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele and William Hellfire!

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Show Notes by Douglas Waltz



The AC Podcast returns with one of my favorite quotes from John Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s Mike, John and William with November’s AC Podcast!



The winner of the Erin Russ contest is David Montgomery.

Letters are read from our faithful listeners. Trent from Kent, ‘Scotch’ Anderson wrote in this month.



Speaking of “Scotch,” the first important news of the month is the soon to be unleashed on the world, Playmate Of The Apes…The Comic Book!

Michael, William and The Russ went to see The Thing prequel. Thumbs down from Michael, but William has certain things (pun intended) that he likes from the film. They do both agree that it seems bland and one dimensional in comparison to Carpenter’s 1982 film. This leads to discussion of other recent remakes like Funny Games and Let The Right One In.


above: "The Russ," Willam Hellfire and Michael Raso en route to "The Thing" prequel.

The Fall 2011 Catalog update is out and available by request. Mike runs down a bunch of the new titles in the update. The catalog is discussed in painstaking detail.

The guys discuss trying to finish and release Grizzly 2.



They received a letter from the original president of Camp Video. He is happy that someone is still releasing films under the name and passes the torch.



Paige Davis does an interview at Nighthawk Cinema where they did a VHS viewing of Video Violence and The Basement.



John and Mike share stories of vehicular disasters that may include alcohol. It quickly devolves into William’s tale of pooping his pants. Much laughter ensues.

William does reviews of Cuckoo Clocks From Hell, Happy Life and the band Scratch Acid.



William mentions horror films with a Thanksgiving bent. Home Sweet Home with Body by Jake is mentioned.

Mike gives us a taste of what December will bring to the Alternative Cinema Podcast including the release of Porkchop with Erin Russ.

Mike talks about his recent purchase of the Beach Boys Smile Sessions CDs.



A general call for letters about your favorite Christmas horror film is made before the guys hit the road for another month.

http://www.alternativecinema.com/

Alternative Cinema Podcast #31 - October 2011 Show Notes!

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Show notes by Douglas Waltz

Along with the regulars, Michael Raso, William Hellfire and John Fedele we have the special guest star, Erin Russ as the AC podcast explores all things Erin Russ.

Image above: Super Ghoulish guest Erin Russ photographed by Michael Raso

Halloween is upon us and the AC Podcast shows it’s true colors with sound bites from “Famous Monsters Speaks,” the likes of Bela Lugosi, Grandpa Munster with a taste of the tune ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Nouvelle Vague to get the show off to the right start.



Pre-Show activity includes Michael loading up his Polaroid Spectra camera and John Fedele presents Michael with a Two Guys Tee-Shirt!



above: Erin Russ shot with a Polaroid Spectra camera. Below: Two Guys department store posted by John from Flickr.



Erin presents the new releases from AlternativeCinema.com :

Sept. 27th The Sex Merchants
Nov. 8th Lustful Illusions
Dec 6th Porkchop and Zombie Allegiance
Jan. 17th Platinum Pussycat/Sexploiters Double Feature
Jan. 24th Sexually Deranged and Stiffed




The new Alternative Cinema Catalog Update is now available. E-mail us ( AlternativeCinemaPodcast@gmail.com )for a PDF!

Cinema Wasteland is coming Sept. 30th – Oct. 2nd with Director Henrique Couto managing the Alternative Cinema booth. Some of the guests include Gunnar Hansen, Frank Henenlotter and Ginger Lynn Allen.

Alternative Cinema will also be at the New York Comic Con - New York Oct. 13th – 16th.

We'll be at Chiller Theater! This Chiller be will mark the last East Coast appearance of Elvira.



All things Erin Russ!

Erin tells the tale of how she met William on MySpace(!) that led her to moving to New Jersey.


above: Erin in makeup for an Alternative Cinema cover photo shoot.

Erin discusses her photo shoots for covers for Alternative Cinema. She also appeared the short film, Devil Sister which was her first film.



Erin stars in "Porkchop" and discusses working on the production. Porkchop is about a bunch of high school students who decide to camp at Camp Wood. Little do they realize that a madman with a pig mask is waiting for them. Porkchop stars Erin Russ and Ruby LaRocca .



The "Erin Russ" photo shoots for Girls and Corpses is discussed. Michael Raso shot the images and opted for using Kodachrome film instead of digital photography for the shoot.



Erin Russ personally made a "Mixed CD" called the "Devil Sister's Halloween Horror Show" and is giving it away. Tune in to the podcast to find out how to win!



Next Up is the Center Stage Review of The Basement, the 1989 Super 8 gore feature that has never been released...til now!. The Basement tells the tale of four characters who are confronted by a creature who shows each of them a vision of their own personal Hell. The box set includes four more shot on video films as well as the option to watch The Basement on a blood red VHS tape!



William brought John some VHS presents to bring home; The Meat Eater, Silent Madness and The Weirdo by Andy Milligan.

The Russ Shuffle by Film Photography Project

Lastly, the gang discusses the new song by The Smoove Sailors recorded especially for this podcast - The Erin Russ Shuffle!!!

That's it til next month!

Alternative Cinema - What's New!?

Alternative Cinema is happy to announce the following new DVD releases this week!

THE BASEMENT (1989)
THE 5-FILM RETRO ‘80s HORROR COLLECTION (3 DVD + VHS SET)



We've waited 22 years for this release! 5 Films in a VHS Big Box for an amazinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif $24.99 at Alternative Cinema. Get it here!

The Ultimate Gift to Fans of 1980’s DIY Horror Cinema! VHS / DVD 5-Film Collection in an Exclusive VHS Collector’s Package that Includes Classic Early 1980’s Home Video VHS “Big Box” Packaging! Also Includes the Never-Before-Released 8mm feature, The Basement, on DVD…and VHS!

Available for the first time on VHS and DVD, The Basement is the lost 1989 Super 8 anthology feature film directed by Timothy O’Rawe (Ghoul School). Restored by director of photography Michael Raso in 2010, The Basement is a shining example of 80’s DIY cinema inspired by Amicus Films’ Tales from the Crypt and featuring elaborate special make-up and creature effects by Scott Hart.

The Basement (1989) - Directed by Tim O’Rawe. Four strangers are summoned to the basement of an abandoned house by a mysterious entity known only as The Sentinel. One after another, they are forced to witness heinous deeds they have yet to commit – and which will damn them for all eternity.

Swimming Pool - An unfaithful woman disposes of the evidence with a little help from a demonic water spirit.

Trick or Treat - Classic monsters exact revenge on a bitter man who refuses to honor Halloween.

Zombie Movie - Cocaine, hookers and reanimated corpses wreak havoc on the set of an independent film.

Home Sweet Home - A young man questions his sanity after purchasing a house where torture and mass murder were committed 6 years before.

The Basement Retro ‘80s Horror Collection also includes cult classic DIY films:

Captives – Available for the first time on DVD, Captives is director Gary Cohen’s follow-up to his incredibly successful SOV horror films Video Violence and Video Violence 2. Taken hostage by three violently deranged criminals, a woman fights back to save her baby and mother-in-law’s lives in this gritty and suspenseful crime drama.

Video Violence - In this gore-soaked cult classic, a young couple opens a video store in a small town populated by violence-addicted amateur filmmakers, lead by the demented Howard and Eli.

Video Violence 2 - The sequel to the Video Violence finds Howard and Eli pirating a cable TV channel for the purpose of furthering their brand of homegrown depravity, madness and murder.

Cannibal Campout - Deranged orphans torture, mutilate and murder innocent campers in this DIY classic from Jon McBride.

1987, 1988, 1989 / 548 mins. / Horror / Color and B&W / Not Rated / 4x3 / Region 0 / NTSC / English / Stereo



SPECIAL FEATURES:
- The Basement on VHS Cassette
- The Basement Commentary
- The Basement Outtakes
- The Basement New Segment
- Vengeance short film
- Say No To Drugs short film
- Meadowlands Showcase Segment: Halloween Take Over
- Meadowlands Showcase Segment: Long Road to Karaoke
- Meadowlands Showcase Segment: Long is the Night
- Video Violence 1&2 Commentaries
- Cannibal Campout Commentary
- Captives Commentary
- Interview with Video Violence Director Gary Cohen
- Camp Motion Picture Vault

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BEYOND THE DUNWICH HORROR / PRETTY DEAD THINGS HORROR DOUBLE FEATURE 2-DVD SET

Two Astonishing Tales of Terror From Beyond the Grave

Get it HERE for $14.99 on DVD!

Beyond the Dunwich Horror - A Modern Vision of Ancient Evil

Kenny Crawford arrives in Dunwich after hearing that his brother Andrew has been admitted to a psychiatric ward, and is suspected in a string of disappearances in the town. As he investigates the mystery surrounding his brother’s incarceration, he uncovers evidence of a sinister and dangerous plot…as an ancient evil awakens from its slumber…featuring Lynn Lowry (The Crazies, I Drink Your Blood)

Pretty Dead Things - Death Never Looked This Good

Adult film star Jennifer Bond has everything a girl could want: looks, power, a fabulously dangerously sexy boyfriend…and immortality due to the fact she was transformed into a vampire circa 1979. But as her 50th birthday draws near, she returns to the town she left in search of the love of her life, the aging porn director John Welles. Unfortunately, one of her travelling companions and former co-star takes a shine to one of their midnight snacks, a pizza delivery boy, and she creates a new vampire with a taste for bloody revenge! As the four ex-porn stars ravage the town as part of their nightly fun, the pizza boy hooks up with the beleaguered mayor and the Moral Majority to stomp out the dangerously porn star-vampire menace.



________________________________________________________________

42nd Street Pete's BUSTY BABE BONANZA 2-DVD SET

It’s a Full House! DVD only $14.99 HERE!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Hosted by Grindhouse personality 42nd Street Pete, Busty Babe Bonanza presents over three hours of scintillating sexploitation! This vintage 28-loop collection showcases classic Erotica from the 1950s through the 1970s, and features busty starlets Uschi Digard, Candy Samples and Arline Hunter in hard-to-find loops Dr. Probe and the infamous “Marilyn Monroe” short, Apple Knockers and a Coke.

Loops included are:
Geisha Girls, Bunny Waters, Girls Who Talk to Goats, Frisco Girls, Apple Knockers and a Coke, Classy, Uschi, Patricia, Big Hair Hijinx, Triple Climax Orgy, Kitty V, Sherri Quinn, Kalantan – Lia – Jerrima, Dr. Probe, Chastity Belt, Mistress Uschi, Mistress of the Ropes, Cherry Cheeks, Take Down and Tap Out, Open Evenings, Nudist Camp, Naturally Yours, Carol Baker, Ruby Hughes and Friend, Wild Honey, Kiko, Helen Russo, Spanks May I Have Another

1950s – 1970s / 235 mins. / Erotica / Color and B&W / Not Rated / 4x3 / Region 0 / English



SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Color Booklet Featuring Liner Notes by Grindhouse Personality and Program Host 42nd Street Pete
- Secret Key Trailer Vault

__________________________________________________________________



Don't forget to tune in to the Alternative Cinema Internet Radio Show! Where else can you hear about backstage antics with Brian Wilson!!!???

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Join the AC Podcast October 1 when Michael, William and John are joined by the undead Erin Russ. She's so cool that she has her own theme!



The Russ Shuffle by Film Photography Project



Don't miss a dead beat! Visit often:
http://www.alternativecinema.com

Alternative Cinema Expands Warehouse!

The Alternative Cinema warehouse expansion will cause interruption to our phone service from Tuesday September 5th through Wednesday September 7th.





above: Jeff inspects shelving that will hold new products delivered to Alternative Cinema

AC on-line ordering will not be interrupted.
http://www.alternativecinema.com/





AC catalog manager Justin Wingenfeld handling the fork lift in the massive product movement. It is estimated that Ac warehouses 200,000 DVDs.

Sledgehammer - AC Center Stage Review

Review by William Hellfire

When asked what David A. Prior's inspiration was in shooting Sledgehammer he said plainly 'the horror movies of the time, I don't even remember 'em it's so long ago…ah...Jason.."...Sledgehammer was not a work of an inspired horror film enthusiast, just a guy who wanted to become a filmmaker and learn while doing it. This was considered nothing more than 'product' for it’s distributors and for the first wave of potential fans who rented it, it must have been a shock to the system as shot on video releases were unheard of at the time of its release. \



Having myself come from the world of shot on video low-budget and micro-budget films, Sledgehammer was still a shock to MY system as it was lensed in 1983 and I had never seen anything quite that dated shot on video. The film itself is a mad train wreck padded with slow motion, repetitive bland interior scenery (I.E. living room, hallway, kitchen, bedroom repeat!) shot with a dreamy blurred filter starring a male stripper/model as the hero and a sledgehammer-wielding snuffalufigus ghost as the killer who switches back and forth from child form to grown up form. In one memorable scene he even GROWS before our very eyes from child to adult. The plot is loose, the pacing clunky, the character interactions awkward (and sometimes even gross). Add in seemingly arbitrary supernatural elements and it makes for a surreal experience.



Bad is the new good, we have made cinefile sport out of limited films who’s intentions are pure and end results were none the less bananas! As horror film fanatics we have seen all the greats, unearthed the cult faves, and now the only way to satiate our lust for ‘80s horror is revisit the bottom feeders, search for the forgotten, the odd balls and the awful. Movies rushed into production to cash in on the video craze, some of them are snooze fests, low-budget rip-offs of commercial genre pictures and some are small screen gems in their own unique way as is SLEDGEHAMMER!!!!



Some of the gore effects are truly gruesome, especially a grey matter exposing sledge to the back of the head head, but the choreography of the kills are amateur and awkward; usually the drama and suspense added only by slow motion playback. (The 80 minute run time would be much shorter if a third of the film was played at the actual speed.) The food fight scene is actually more revolting than most the kills and fortunately plays out in real time.

That all aside this is an entertaining movie if for no other reason than it is completely foreign to the senses and presents a brand new experience and look into the early years of no budget filmmaking. The score is a well done synth drone a la carpenter and makes up for the grating obnoxious characters and their poorly delivered, chuckle inducing dialogue.



The DVD presentation and extras are really the star of the show. Intervision's presentation holds true to the retro enthusiast vibe and compliments this shot on video feature with a few great intuitive and entertaining extras as well as amazing trailers for more ‘80s shot on video movies: “Things”, “A Night to Dismember”, and “The Secret Life of Jeffery Dahmer”. Even Intervision’s logo is made to resemble the authentic ‘80s video graphics as well as its synth sting accompaniment. The logo seems to have been laid off to VHS and re-encoded to giving it an authentic VHS feel. Nice job guys, really dig the style and all the love you put into this release.

Alternative Cinema Podcast #30 / September 2011 – Show Notes

Notes by Douglas Waltz

The Alternative Cinema Podcast!
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The 30th episode of the AC Podcast starts off with a cut from Satan’s Pilgrims album Creature Features.






Your hosts Michael Raso, John Fedele and Bill Hellfire hit the ground running with a Polaroid Spectra camera full of expired film to document the show.



With all the new listeners and letters, Mike is really happy to be there. So happy that he mentions a new purchase - Brian Wilson Reimagining Gershwin CD. That leads into a tale of Mike and John, along with Mike Weiss getting to meet Brian Wilson at Carnegie Hall.


John Fedele meets Brian Wilson!




The guys run down places where Alternative Cinema will be making personal appearances.

Nighthawk Cinema will have a screening of Video Violence with director Gary Cohen on hand for a prescreening Q&A.



The New York Comic Con in October October 13th – 16th
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/
Buffalo Screams Horror Festival October 26th -30th
Buffalo, NY

ChillerTheatre Expo October 28th – 30th
http://www.chillertheatre.com/

Mike also gives us a heads up that the October AC Podcast will be The Erin Russ Podcast!



Listener letters are followed up by Bill bringing a new twist to the hillbilly horror that the guys are so fond of.

The less traveled path of …sasquatch rape!



With films like Night of the Demon and Demon Warp, Bill gives full reviews of both films and mentions a new release, Letters From The Big Man that deals with sasquatch love.



Bill also brings in one of his VHS treasures. A big box copy of Godzilla vs. Megalon.





The hillbilly discussion continues as Bill mentions Slashed Dreams a.k.a. Sunburst from 1974 starring an extremely young Robert Englund.



And just when you think the reviews are over, Bill talks about the Intervision release of the classic 80’s shot on video horror classic, Sledge Hammer. With all the extras, Bill’s review makes this sound like a must buy for any fan of the genre.





Bill brings up two artists in the music scene that he recommends highly. The group Graveyard from Sweden and Silverfish



Silverfish “Crazy”




Les Baxter

John discusses music with recent purchases of Les Baxter film soundtracks. They discuss all the Corman films as well as other low budget horror films that Baxter contributed to.

With that they wrap up the show with a tune from the film, Horror Express.

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“Horror Express” coming to DVD this year from Severin Films!

Write to the Alternative Cinema Podcast
AlternativeCinemaPodcast@gmail.com

Don't forget...get yer DVDs at AlternativeCinema.com!

See ya next month!

Alternative Cinema Internet Radio - March 2011

Filmmakers Chris LaMartina’s latest feature “Witch’s Brew” and Clint Kelly discusses the story behind releasing the 1980s shot-on-video feature “Sledge Hammer” on DVD.

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above: NEW YEAR'S EXECUTIONS


above: PRESIDENT'S DAY 2: THE EVISCERATION PROCLAIMATION

Check out all the vids on Chris LaMartina’s The Lost Trailer Park YouTube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/thelosttrailerpark#p/u




Clint Kelly talks about “Generation Z” and “Sledge Hammer” in this video from August 2010



Did you know?

Alternative Cinema prints an old-timey catalog for all the horror and exploitation DVDs they offer. Titles from Shock-O-Rama, Blue Underground, Camp Motion Pictures, Synapse Film, Seduction Cinema, Retro-Seduction and more.

Get yours...it's FREE.
e-mail us! Send us your address and tell us a little about yourself. A catalog will be on its way to you!
AlternativeCinema (at) gmail.com

AC Home Page
http://www.alternativecinema.com

Alternative Cinema Podcast - Episode 23 - February 1, 2011

The Alternative Cinema Podcast celebrates the release of the Jacob Ennis gore-fest “Red River,” the sleaze report on the new 1970s After Hours Cinema releases, Mike White’s Impossibly Funky book and dirty paperback books from the 70s.

Stream, Download or iTunes links:
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Alternative Cinema celebrates the release of Jacob Ennis' new gore-fest RED RIVER!



RED RIVER is available on DVD today!Buy it at Alternative Cinema.

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An AC podcast listener turned us on to Kerry Decker's NIGHT LIFE - The latest in VHS technology! Totally awesome!



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Did you know that Alternative Cinema prints a DVD catalog featuring over 1000 titles? It's free...get yours!

Send an e-mail to AlternativeCinemaPodcast (at) gmail.com
Send us your address and a little bit about you and your love of Indie films. We'll get a catalog out you you!