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THE SCHLOCK PIT

From the Files of Schlock & Awe

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The Schlock Pit

An orphanage for the bastard children of genre filmmaking, with extra special emphasis on the direct-to-video and late night TV classics of the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s.

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We’re sad to learn of Nikki Fritz’s death, the actress having lost her lengthy battle with cancer. Frequently described as one of the true “Queens of Cinemax”, Fritz appeared in a wealth of deliciously eccentric B-movies and softcore programmers throughout the ‘90s and early ‘00s including — but not limited to — David DeCoteau’s Beach Babes From Beyond (1993), the Roger Corman-produced Burial of the Rats (1995), the red-hot Sinful Obsession (1999) (pictured), and a whole slew of Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski flicks such as Attack of the 60 Foot Centrefold (1995), Bikini Drive-In (1995), Crash Point Zero (2001), and The Bare Wench Series. She lit up the screen each time. Though Fritz had since abandoned acting to pursue other interests, it’s always been a joy seeing her repeatedly pop up in the movies we’ve been writing about for Schlock & Awe. Great to look at and incredibly funny, we thought she was brilliant. Our condolences to Ms. Fritz’s family, friends, and loved ones #NikkiFritz #RIPNikkiFritz #SchlockAndAwe #SchlockAndAweHOF

Hey friends, here's a heads-up to say that our website The Schlock Pit (clickable link in profile) has had a makeover, and we're gradually uploading a stack of work that falls outside the parameters of our forthcoming book, 'Schlock & Awe: 2001 Forgotten Films of the '90s Rental Realm'. Aside from new articles (Matty has put up pieces on RAPTOR and CONTAMINATED MAN already), you'll find an archive of our podcasts, a showcase of all the work we've done so far for @88_films, and some assorted pieces of work from the last six years. Go take a look, and once again thanks for your support ❤ #SchlockAndAwe #TheSchlockPit #NaturalSelection #DaveWain #MattyBudrewicz #VHS #DTV #DavidDeCoteau #FredOlenRay #JimWynorski #CharlesBand #SamIrvin #JSCardone

“The script I handed Promark was edgy, reasonably smart and often funny” recalled scripter Dan Duling to the esteemed author MJ Simpson, “but after six painful months of meetings and eleven rewrites later, it was rendered more and more toothless”. Indeed, while Duling could easily have had La Jetée at the forefront of is mind when he set out to write this picture, the finished movie not only falls way short of what influenced it, but even its peers of the period, namely the dimension-bending DTV’er, Crossworlds. Aaron (C. Thomas Howell) and Adrienne (Jennifer Rubin) have their wedding ceremony unceremoniously hijacked by moody-looking Malakai (Billy Wirth), who leaves the hubby for dead, but kidnaps the wife. Prior to this, the opening sequence clumsily attempts a little background by telling us that he’s just escaped from a parallel universe with the intent on bringing Adrienne back with him, while Merkham (Judge Reinhold, although Malcolm McDowell was first choice) – a tracker from the same world is hot on his trail and doing everything he can to prevent that happening, beginning with reanimating Aaron. The resurrection process is by far the coolest part of LAST LIVES (1997), with Howell’s character armed with a forearm full of regenerating bracelets that bring him back to life after he’s met a variety of grisly deaths. We’d also be inclined to cite the (distinctly overlong) car chase that runs through the entire middle act as a positive, even if the bland surroundings of North Carolina do little to add any texture to it. It’s here that director Worth Keeter is clearly most comfortable; explosions and flipping cars are catnip to someone with his background in genre features, although cerebral science-fiction is clearly a step too far #LastLives #WorthKeeter #CThomasHowell #JenniferRubin #JudgeReinhold #VHS #DTV #SchlockAndAwe

Luke (Ron Marquette) has recently got out of the joint, and he’s now pulling pints in the scruffy confines of the Hell Hole alongside his buddy Leo (a quirky cameo for Mark Dacascos). He’s happily hooked up with girlfriend Kirsten (Dedee Pfeiffer), but the unexpected arrival of his former flame Saundra (Carol Alt), an inevitable one night stand, and the subsequent discovery of her husband’s body in the deep freeze, soon destroys the likelihood of a fresh start. The prospect of combining the plentiful abilities of director Tibor Takacs (The Gate, I, Madman) and screenwriter Steven Iyama (Last Call) would naturally give rise to a degree of anticipation for this neo-noir. Regrettably, DEADLY PAST (1995) never gets out of second gear, while the picture itself soon became overshadowed by the tragic real-life events that ensued after it had wrapped. Marquette, a British model born Ronald Macklain Marqua, emerged from his bedroom on September 27th, 1994 and without saying a word he put a pistol in his mouth and committed suicide in front of Dedee Pfeifer, his girlfriend who he’d met on the set of Tabacs’ film. A rising star who’d received good notices only the year before in Bryan Singer’s Public Access, he was on the cusp on stardom. Deadly Past might not be the epitaph he might have wished for, but Marquette’s quality shines through the languid pace and flavourless atmosphere of a disappointing picture #DeadlyPast #TiborTakacs #RonMarquette #DedeePfeiffer #VHS #DTV #SchlockAndAwe

After spending the last few months tangling with all kinds of giant, mutated beasties, we’ve dramatically reduced the size of the monsters in the latest episode of our DTV creature feature podcast, Natural Selection. We’ve got THEY NEST (2000) and THEY CRAWL (2001) up for discussion: a pair of cockroach-strewn creepers of wildly varying quality ▶️ CLICKABLE LINK IN PROFILE! ◀️ #NaturalSelectionCF #SchlockAndAweNS #TheyNest #TheyCrawl #CreepyCrawlers #KushnerLocke #ElloryElkayem #CineTel #horror #horrorfilm #instahorror #CreatureFeature #Podcast

Although they hit pay dirt with Dumb and Dumber and the family fare that followed, MPCA (aka Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler) chalked up a diverse and high-quality roster of direct-to-video movies throughout the ‘90s, to which a partnership with Playboy proved the most intriguing. Midnight Blue may rank as the best movie from this brief dalliance, but that shouldn’t discount the sheer curiosity value of COVER ME (1995). Shot in tandem with Blue Heat — an interactive video game that was billed as ‘the first erotic CD-ROM to feature high quality graphics and gameplay’ — Michael Schroeder’s film follows Holly Jacobson (Courtney Taylor): a detective who’s been kicked off the force after a racially sensitive shooting, but who finds herself with a lifeline back to the badge if she agrees to go undercover as a model for an erotic magazine in order to catch a serial killer. Bursting with acting royalty like Corbin Bernsen, Elliott Gould and Paul Sorvino, you spend most of the running time of Cover Me waiting for the inner masterpiece to break free of its shackles, especially with Schroeder at the helm (he gifted us delights like Dead On: Relentess II). Granted, Courtney Taylor is absolute dynamite as Jacobson, but the thread about her affair with colleague Sgt. Colter (a miscast Rick Rossovich) is a far too frequent distraction, diminishing what could have been a well-crafted serial killer flick that features a particularly compelling slaughterer (Stephen Nichols) #CoverMe #MichaelSchroeder #RickRossovich #CourtneyTaylor #PaulSorvino #ElliottGould #CorbinBernsen #VHS #DTV #SchlockAndAwe

New writing from Matty Budrewicz & Dave Wain accompanies selected Blu-ray releases from 88 Films

OUT NOW! It Came from the Video Aisle! By Dave Jay, William Wilson, Torsten Dewi, Matty Budrewicz & Dave Wain

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Recent Posts

RIP: Nikki Fritz (1968 – 2020)
Ruminatin’ on Raptor (2001)
Hurt = Bad, Thrills = Good: The Contaminated Man (2000)
The Bones of It: Skeletons (1997) in Conversation with David DeCoteau
Let’s Talk About The Mangler (1995)

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