There once was a time when cable stations would run cult exploitation films in the late night slot. Over the decades, the cable stations have dropped such programming in favor of running Hollywood blockbusters in the night owl hours. Rarely does a movie watcher have to ponder what’s USA running at 3 a.m. in the old Up All Night or Night Flight slot. The fan who enjoyed the obscure charms have had to resort to DVDs. Cult Movie Marathon Volume One and Two provides eight movies for those who don’t want to endure an Adam Sandler flick during a bout of insomnia.
Cult Movie Marathon Volume One packs bees, bands, escapees and roller derby. Invasion of the Bee Girls is classic cult about science and the hive mentality. Scientists at a remote California lab are dropping dead from sex. What could possibly be killing them? How about their female co-workers who have been transformed into bee girls? The movie has a quite a few familiar faces including Victoria Vetri (When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth), Anitra Ford (The Big Bird Cage) and William Smith (Hawaii Five-O). The Devil’s 8 busts convicts out of jail. Why? So a federal agent can join up with them and infiltrate a dangerous moonshine gang. Is this really a smart plan? Vicious Lips is a strange film that has an all-girl band from space wanting to play on Earth. This is as bizarre as it sounds. Unholy Rollers takes us back to the glory days of roller derby. Caudia Jennings (Gatorbait) is a feisty gal who storms off her job and onto the track. She quickly becomes a star in the circuit. However her independent streak gets her in trouble with the bosses. Can she learn to play nicely with others? The bad news is that they had to replace a few of the songs. But the price is right on the collection to not feel like anything is really missing.
Cult Movie Marathon Volume Two brings together bikers, women in prison and talking body parts. Angels From Hell is a classic American International flick about the outlaw motorcycle club lifestyle. A Vietnam Vet (Tom Stern) wants to reunite with his old club back in Bakersfield. Turns out his old riding partners are part of a new gang. He’s not going to let someone rule his gang so I major fight breaks out. Stern gets extra violent to regain control. This even get nastier when a biker gets messed up by a cop. There’s a meanness to this biker flick. Chatterbox! is about a woman who dreams of using her unusual talent to make her famous. A hairdresser (Candice Rialson) discovers she can talk out of her pants. How far can she go with her ability? Rip Taylor is the massive star as her boss. The Naked Cage is the classic good girl finds herself behind bars. In this case Sharon Shattuck gets taken hostage by her ex-husband during a crime spree. She gets busted when he gets caught. She finds life behind bars very complicated with a lot of people pulling her in various directions. There’s even a prostitution ring operating under the warden’s control. It’s all the debauchery craved from the genre. Savage Island is a movie that splices highlights out of two Italian women behind bars flicks. The big bonus is new footage of Linda Blair (The Exorcist). The film is a glorious mess since the three different films aren’t seamless.
Cult Movie Marathon Volume One and Two is a fine way to catch up on the oddities that need to haunt your TV set overnight. Unholy Rollers, Invasion of the Bee Girls and The Naked Cage are the cream of the cult. Chatterbox! will leave you talking.
The video is a grab bag of aspect ratios. Volume One has anamorphic widescreen transfers. Angels From Hell is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The other three films are full frame transfers. The audio for all the films are Dolby Digital Mono. Things sound fine for the various movies.
No bonus features.
Cult Movie Marathon Volume One and Two are two fun collections that provide the kind of movies no longer found on the cable box. Unholy Rollers is the reason to soak in the marathon. Claudia Jennings gives one of her best performances as the roller derby queen who refuses to be tamed.
Shout! Factory presents Cult Movie Marathon Volume One and Two. Starring: Anitra Ford, Claudia Jennings, Linda Blair, William Smith. Each Volume Contents: Four movies on 2 DVDs. Rating: R. Released: December 10, 2013.
