FEROZZ: THE WILD RED RIDING HOOD (Jorge Molina/Costa Rica-Cuba)A Jorge Molina filmScreenplay: Alain Jimenez, Jorge Molina & Edgar Soberon Torchia, based upon Charles Perrault: Little Red Riding HoodCast: Dayana Legra, Roberto Perdomo, Ana Silva Machado, Francisco Garcia, Raul Capote, Waldo Franco, Rosalia Roque, BelkisEstenozRunning time: 72 min.Gr<strong>and</strong>mother is a real pain in the ass. She’s always giving her daughter-in-lawDolores a hart time, even getting her son Lucio to rape her on the dining table . All ofthis in front of Mir<strong>and</strong>a, her gr<strong>and</strong>daughter, <strong>and</strong> retarded Dully, the incestuous sideeffectof Lucio mistaking his mother for his wife. Two years later, Lucio has kicked thebucket, Gr<strong>and</strong>mother has been exiled to a hut in the middle of the jungle <strong>and</strong> Dolorescan finally live in peace with daughter Mir<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong> uncle Innocencio; the only otherpsychologically stable family member, if we leave his Satan worship aside. Time goesby peacefully. Dully relieves himself on a regular basis in front of bathing nymphets<strong>and</strong> Mir<strong>and</strong>a secretly cultivates her nymphomaniac neurosis. Then Dolores decides tosend her to Gr<strong>and</strong>mother’s place with a basket full of food. Mir<strong>and</strong>a unwillingly donsher red hot riding hood <strong>and</strong> sets off alone in the forest.If Charles Perrault had read Nabokov’s Lolita before writing his Red Riding Hood, theodds are that Jorge Molina <strong>and</strong> he would have been as thick as thieves! Molina, acinema teacher in Cuba <strong>and</strong> diehard fan of horror flicks, injects this universal tale with a severe dose ofsymbolism <strong>and</strong> eroticism which would have surely pleased Walerian Borowczyk, the legendary x- ratedmovie troublemaker. With Ferozz he has created a fierce <strong>and</strong> disturbing piece of art.HELL DRIVER (Yoshihiro Nishimura/Japan)A Yoshihiro Nishimura filmScreenplay: Daichi Nagisa & Yoshihiro NishimuraCast: Asami, Yukihide Benny, Norman Engl<strong>and</strong>, Yasuhiko Fukuda, Yumiko Hara, Cay Izumi, Kentaro Kishi, Mizuki Kuzumi, Maki Mizui,Yui Murata, Kazuki Namioka, Eihi Shiina, Shijimi, Gadarukanaru Taka, Demo Tanaka, Minoru TorihadaRunning time: 106 min.An alien-spawned, mysterious mist blankets the northern half of Japan, transformingthose who inhale it into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies hell-bent on devouring thesurviving human population. Plunged into chaos, Japan is torn in two – the southernhalf of the country, where the populace remains untouched by the deadly gas, livesbehind a heavily-fortified wall, while the northern half is a lawless, zombie-infectedwastel<strong>and</strong>. Political forces are locked in a stalemate over whether the living deadshould remain protected as family members or exterminated like a plague. Theeconomy withers away, <strong>and</strong> all hope seems lost for the people <strong>and</strong> the nation ofJapan. Hope arrives in the form of Kika, a beautiful high school girl armed with achainsaw sword powered by an artificial heart. Recruited by the government, Kikaleads a ragtag group of desperados on a secret mission into the zombie-infectedwilds to exterminate zombie queen Rikka <strong>and</strong> put an end to the plague of the livingdead. But the road is fraught with a thriving zombie culture that, with its own designs on the living half ofJapan, refuses to lay down <strong>and</strong> die.Anybody who’s familiar with the movies of special effects wizard <strong>and</strong> splatter godfather Yoshihiro Nishimura,will not be surprised when we say that the above synopsis is merely the beginning of the movie. Nishimuraastounded everybody in 2008 with Tokyo Gore Police <strong>and</strong> is almost solely responsible for all the bloody sfxmayhem in the genre (Machine Girl, Robogeisha, Hard Revenge Millie…). Last year, we had a bloody goodriot with Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl. But this year Nishimura himself will introduce us to his mostambitious project to date. Helldriver is a non-stop splatter opera, a true endurance test for the senses, withrecord breaking quantities of blood, flying limbs <strong>and</strong> legions of zombies.42
HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR (Jun Tsugita/Japan)A Jun Tsugita filmScreenplay : Jun TsugitaCast : Asami, Mint Sizuki, Saori HaraRunning time: 82 minAfter some solid baseball training, Toshida <strong>and</strong> Uno drag their recently engaged friendNakazu to one of the many brothels in Japan disguised as massage parlors. Nakazuhas never paid for sex, nor does he intend to begin with it before his betrothed will puta permanent lock on his pants. His friends should have listened to him, because thisparticular house of ill repute in which they find themselves has made a pact with thedevil. The girls specialize in sexually torturing their unfortunate clients. And theirimagination truly knows no bounds. A vagina with razor-sharp teeth, the sushi-penisspecial <strong>and</strong> a samurai sword are one of the many means with which they separateman from his only best friend. Luckily Nakazu has chosen a prostitute with aconscience. But will this be enough to escape from the Horny House of Horror ?Many Japanese film directors (Takasi Miike to name just one) learned the tricks of their trade on the set of a“pinku” aka a Japanese softporn movie. It has even saved many from dying of poverty during hard times !Now young talent Jun Tsugita surprises us with the very first pinku horror. Horny House of Horror is definitelynot advised to men with castration anxiety, because the extremely graphic special effects are courtesy of theomnipresent Yoshihiro Nishimura (Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl, Helldriver, Mutant Girls Squad).Shamelessly funny <strong>and</strong> horribly titillating Midnight Movie fare !KARATE ROBO ZABORGAR (Noboru Iguchi/Japan)A Noboru Iguchi filmScreenplay:Cast: Itsuji Itao, Asami, Akira Emoto, Yasuhisa Furuhara, Yuya Ishikawa, Hiroaki Murakami, Yui Murata, Sakichi Sato , Aimi Satsukawa,Kentaro Shimazu, Naoto Takenaka, Demo Tanaka, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Mami YamasakiRunning time: 101 min.Secret police office Daimon inherits a mighty robot warrior named “Zaborgar”from his father, a scientist killed by Sigma, an evil organization bent on worlddomination. Realizing Zaborgar’s potential, Daimon vows to use the robot as aforce for good in the fight against Sigma. During the course of their adventures,Daimon meets <strong>and</strong> falls in love with a beautiful female cyborg named Ms. Borg.Unfortunately, Ms. Borg becomes an enemy of both Daimon <strong>and</strong> Zaborgar, adevelopment that creates a deep rift between the crime fighting pair. Just whenthings couldn't get any worse, Daimon discovers that his own department at thepolice force has lost its will to fight for righteousness. Disappointed with life,Daimon quits crime fighting, drops out of society, <strong>and</strong> becomes a recluse. Butyears later, as Sigma makes its final move to take control of the nations of theEarth, there is no one but Daimon <strong>and</strong> Zaborgar to st<strong>and</strong> in their way. Making theirreturn in true 1970s Japanese “tokusatsu” hero style, Daimon <strong>and</strong> Zaborgarreunite to suppress the forces of evil once <strong>and</strong> for all!Director Noboru – The Machine Girl – Iguchi recreates the Japanese TV super hero from the seventies,surfing with obvious delight between some crazy special effects – helped by a very comfortable budget – <strong>and</strong>a tacky retro look.43