Celluloid
Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)
Review by Jude
Felton
Maybe I am
along on this, or maybe not, but if I buy a new Blu-ray or DVD (sorry, I don’t
rent anymore) I get royally pissed if the disc has no trailers, or previews if
you prefer. You know the sort of discs I mean; they go straight to the menu
page, or worse still auto-play. Sorry, but that shit doesn’t wash with me; I
want trailers, and not just one or two. Give me a good 15 or 20 minutes worth
of forthcoming attractions, and then I am ready for the main event. Back in the
days of VHS you’d see trailers for all manner of films; good, bad and downright
horrendous. Celluloid Bloodbath is a celebration of these prevues.
Not so long
ago I watched, and reviewed, the behemoth that was 42nd Street
Forever, from Synapse. It’s a hell of a disc, and I highly recommend it to all,
but at around 3 hours it numbs the ass a little. Plus, it mixes up the genres
and sub-genres giving the viewer a well-rounded view of sleaze and just about
every ‘ploitation’ style of film.
With
Celluloid Bloodbath, which is the belated follow-up to Mad Ron’s Prevues from
Hell (1987), we get 60 odd trailers in around an hour and a half, and all are
very much in the horror camp. Sure, there’s exploitation, Sci-Fi and Giallo’s,
but they are all very much in the horror side of things, and quite honestly it
is great fun to watch. However, rather than just sit through a barrel-load of
previews, with nowt else, we also have a host or three. Our tour guides for
this journey are Joe Zaso and Raine Brown, along with Happy Goldsplatt the
zombie. Also, joining these three is a whole host of other folk from around the
horror scene. The likes of Linnea Quigley and William Forsythe, and many others,
all pop up to add there tuppence worth, and it makes for a well-rounded viewing
experience.
The trailers
contained on this DVD range from the well-known films of the genre, such as The
Exorcist, Suspiria and Cannibal Holocaust, to some really bloody obscure stuff.
There are trailers for films on here, such as Beast of the Yellow Night, that I
had no idea even existed, and whilst the trailers are all good fun, I’m not so
sure I want to check out the actual film!
That’s part
of the joy of this collection though; you get all the good stuff but none of
the filler and it fairly flies by. The overall look of the film is one of a
low-budget affair, one that fits the subject matter, and has a wonderfully
gritty and beaten-up look to it. This is a step back in time to when trailers
were fun, hell, they were a blast, they threw all manner of bullshit into the
previews with claims to be the scariest, most outrageous or whatever films.
Film these days are carefully marketed, with test audiences (yes, even horror
films) and very specific advertising strategies.
Not these bad boys; you want
to see these films, well, some of them, but they are a joy to watch.
Watching
films should be about being entertained, about enjoying yourself, giving
yourself a break from the everyday bullshit we all have to deal with, and these
prevues exemplify this. Sure, I like a serious thought-provoking film, more
often than you would think, but at the end of the day it will always boil down
to whether I enjoyed the film or not. Is it good or bad? Who gives a shit? One
person’s good is another’s bad, but fun is fun, however you slice it.
Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell embraces the fun, and in turn wants you to fully embrace it as well. So, grab yourself a copy of this DVD, a case of beer and get young friends around, then sit back and enjoy the madness!
Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell is available on DVD from Virgil Films.
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