Repugnant Review: Hanna D, The Girl From Vondel Park (1984) – Axel Burger

What\’s up you Repugnant motherfuckers, enjoying the fall already? Whats a better way to ring in October than watching some sleazy, trashy, and depraved cinema. I found one you sickos might enjoy, and it\’s called \”Hanna D, The Girl From Vondel Park, directed by sleaze maestro Axel Burger (real name Rino DiSilvestro) and according to the DVD box, this film was saved from a bankruptcy auction in Rome. Thank fuck this film was found, because Severin Films took this nearly forgotten movie and restored it for our viewing pleasure. Hanna D is a brutal exploitation film following the torment of a young girl after she becomes a prostitute to support her drunken mother. This is what I call \”An Extreme Morality Tale\”, because it really reminded me of those anti-drug films from the 30\’s and 40\’s. Like \”Reefer Madness\” or \”Marihuana\”, but on bath salts.

The first thing I found particularly distressing right off the bat was that you didn\’t know how old Hanna was. The actress who played Hanna, Ann Gisel Glass, looked like she could of been 16, or 17, and seeing someone so sweet and innocent shoot up dope and fuck guys for money, it makes you squirm a bit. There are also very cringe-worthy scenes of drug use through out the entire film. It\’s almost too realistic, and considering how gritty the film was to begin with I wouldn\’t doubt a single moment that the filmmaker of this film cast real junkies and whores for this movie. It\’s a very brutal portrayal of a sweet soul cast out on the street, but it\’s also one of the most honest I feel. There are some pretty over the top moments in this film, but the story itself is fairly believable. There was one scene in particular though, that really made me jump and chuckle \”Holy Fuck!\”, and I just can\’t ruin it for you, but it does involve a hookers asshole and a vial of dope… use your imagination.

I really enjoyed the cinematography in Hanna D. It just had some of those gorgeous \”giallo\” shots and angles that really caught my eye. The acting, as far as most sleaze pictures I\’ve seen, was among the best I have seen. Ann Gisel Glass portrayed Hanna D beautifully, and Karin Schubert as her drunken mother was nearly perfect. I honestly felt bad for these characters, and what\’s better than actually getting into a film as nasty as this one. The exploitation elements just smack you in the face, but it\’s lined with some pretty deep drama, great acting, and fantastic cinematography. A great shocker overall and definitely one of my favorite exploitation films now. Like I mentioned before, you can pick up this film at Severin Films (I\’ll post a link below), and if you\’re interested, pick it up!

BUY THIS MOVIE AT THE SEVERIN FILMS WEBSITE

Repugnant Review: A Dirty Shame (2004) – John Waters

Another list buy from good old Jelly\’s. I\’ve seen all of John Water\’s films up to this point, minus this gem. Supposedly the Netflix version was cut, so I said \”fuck that\”, went out, and spent $12 on a USED copy. That\’s dedication, because I had no idea if it was going to suck or not. I\’ve seen mixed reviews everywhere, but coming from someone who loves such films PINK FLAMINGOS and well, ALL OF JOHN WATERS OTHER MOVIES (Cecil B. Demented… not so much). What seems like a stream of softer mainstream successes, this really looks like John Waters going back to his earlier, much more filthier work. Great cast from what I see, Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, Chris Isaak, Johnny Knoxville (not so great). I was pretty damn excited, and you know what I got? A decent laugh. I liked it.

When I say I liked it, I mean \”I liked it\”. It\’s not outrageously hilarious, but it was funny, and there were a lot of raunchy moments that had me giggling like a dork. The film is mostly based around Sylvia Stickles (Tracey Ullman), an uptight prude mother who, after heading her head, becomes a full blown sex addict, and opens up to the towns most depraved citizens. All of the humor and just feeling of the movie seemed a bit dated, as if John was actually filming a big budget movie back in the 60\’s with the same people, but tamed down a bit. It\’s a bit silly, over being raunchy and chocking. I don\’t hate it, but it kind of felt like a half assed version of one of his earlier films. I found most of the minor characters to be the most hilarious, like the \”Bear Family\”, a group of hairy gay guys who live next door, \”Fat Fuck Frank\” who is obsessed with Sylvia\’s daughter, Caprice, aka Ursula Utters (Selma Blair), it was just a perfect hodgepodge of great characters, which John Waters seems to nail every time with his movies.

It\’s a pretty fun film, and if you\’re into silly and raunchy comedies, I think you\’ll get a kick out of it. I\’m not too sure about the NC-17 rating though, because I\’ve definitely seen worse with a lesser rating. If you want to get to know more of John Waters earlier work I highly suggest Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. Amazing pieces of filthy greatness. This most certainly won\’t be the last of John Waters on this blog. Stay Tuned!

MULTIPLE MANIACS: The Re-release of John Waters Second Filth Masterpiece

John Waters, the master of filth and sleaze, is getting help from Criterion and Janus Films to re-release his second feature film, Multiple Maniacs. The 1970 obscure classic is centered around Divine, and her side show circus of freaks and sickos. The show, also know as \”Lady Devine\’s Cavalcade of Perversions\”, is more of a set up to kidnap and kill anyone who attends the show, and going from town to town spreading filth where they go. I\’m honestly excited with this, because I already own and have seen it a couple times. Even last week I re-watched it after hearing about this re-release, and getting myself amped up to see a great restored version of this movie. The VHS copy I have isn\’t terrible, but the video and sound quality is so dated, and nearly impossible to watch on a flatscreen. Luckily I had a little shitty tube tv with a built in VCR in my closet… how wonderful.

Multiple Maniacs, much like the movies to follow after, is a ridiculously silly and shocking film which pokes fun at the prudes and hippies of that time. Anything gross you can think of to piss off the light-hearted, John Waters does. I remember my first time watching it, and one of the carnival freaks in the movie was called \”The Puke Eater\”, he just sat on the floor and ate a big pail of vomit. I was totally disgusted, but at the same time it was hilarious, especially picturing myself showing this movie to my friends and family. It does it\’s job of shocking you, but it\’s also very funny, and another thing I\’d like to add is that this movie was pure anarchy. John Waters really knew how to stick it to the man with his films, whether there was a message or not. Shocking people and pissing them off has got to be a great feeling, especially with such a crazy film such as Multiple Maniacs.

I\’m not even sure what to say about the film without spoiling anything, because it\’s just one of those movies you want to make people see. I guess you\’ll have to wait until the movie is re-released. The only thing is that I haven\’t seen a release date yet, for the theatrical release, and the blu-ray. If you\’re ansty, you could probably find a copy of it on ebay for a decent price, or if you\’re lucky like me, you\’ll find it in some rundown Savers for twenty five cents. This movie is not for the faint of hearts, but if you\’re already into his other films, especially Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, you\’ll most certainly like it.

– Jake

JANUS FILMS

John Waters/Dreamland

REPUGNANT REVIEW: GUINEA PIG 2 – FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD (Hideshi Hino)

What more can I say, that already hasn\’t been said before. The infamous second installment in the Guinea Pig films, Flower of Flesh and Blood, is one of the most violent movies I\’ve ever seen. The violence and gore were just out of control this time around, and the special effects just blew my mind. Absolutely gruesome. This is much much better than the first one, and this one also kind of had a story, which was nice for a change. Flower of Flesh and Blood is written, directed, and acted out by Hideshi Hono, the horror manga artist I previously discussed yesterday. Hideshi plays a samurai, who stalks, drugs, and butchers women in incredibly nasty ways. I honestly enjoyed this a lot, so let\’s get into some of the reasons why I find this film to be worthy of your precious time.

First and foremost, since we are talking about Guinea Pig, the special effects are incredible. I mean, for those who have seen super gory splatter films, these will definitely look fake, but they are so well done. There is actually one effect that made me cringe, and it\’s when the Samurai uses a chisel and hammer to cut through the woman\’s shoulder. The sound effects were disgusting, and really added to the gore. This would be one hell of a movie to show people who are into special effects and make up. If Charlie Sheen thought this was genuine, then they did a great fucking job. I\’ll actually be posting an article next about the whole Charlie Sheen mess, but let\’s carry on.

I liked the fact that this movie kind of had a story. A Samurai who tortures and dismembers women, DONE. This movie definitely has more to it, and I mean besides the gore and violence, Flower of Flesh and Blood had a silly but memorable character, I thought it was filmed and edited very well, the sets were nice, and this is overall a decent flick. I would absolutely throw this on for my buddies, kick back, and chill. The only thing that sucked for me was that i couldn\’t find a version of this movie with any subtitles, so the dialogue was completely lost in translation. I think I got what was going on though. This one just really got me excited for what\’s to come with \”HE NEVER DIES\” and \”MERMAID IN A MANHOLE\” (another film written and directed by Hideshi Hino).

For those interested in checking out GUINEA PIG 2 – FLOWER OF FLESH AND BLOOD, I\’ll post the video link blow, since I found it on Youtube. Let me know what you think, and get ready for more Guinea Pig related shit all week at THE REPUGNANT PLAYHOUSE! ENJOY!

-Jake