Deucember 2021
Day 26
Contraband (Fulci / 1980)
OK crime film with Fulci overdone gore effects thrown in which don’t really enhance it for my money. Decent film though and nice Naples setting.
Deucember 2021
Day 27
King Boxer (Jeong / 1972)
Fell 4 short of completing Deucember sadly but finished on a high with the first disc in the new Arrow Shawscope box set and a classic Chopsockey flick. With Lo Lieh in top form and Ironside showing up repeatedly if only in musical quote form this is one of the Shaw Brothers best and a great start to the box set(which is sumptuous by the way).
Happy new year everyone. Here’s to a better 2022!
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Deucember '22 comin up fast!
Make sure to follow GCDb on Instagram for my own posts. Should be a fun time!
Cheers,
Pete
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Got tons of shit lined up for Deucember 
we could just call this topic deucember then we can continue it each year
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Get ready for #Deucember , four weeks of exploitation movie goodness - a community celebration of the finest grindhouse cult and international cult films! Watch, share, appreciate. Learn more about it here > Deucember - The Grindhouse Cinema Database
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we’re headin back to the grindhouse for 31 days of movie madness! 
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How do I get to the Deucember forum? I seem to keep getting directed to the Grindhouse Cinema Database page with the long list of movies, but I can’t get any further?
At the moment, the GCDb has no message boards. If you use the hashtag on the social media channel of your choice, it will be found, but you can also just post in this thread, which is also what I will do.
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Cool. Thanks!
My #Deucember entry 1: THE SEX OF ANGELS (Ugo Liberatore)
https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/The_Sex_of_Angels
Interesting semi-experimental coming of age drama beautifully restored by Malombra Films. Not the sexploitation romp it pretends to be but still interesting.
My review:
https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/The_Sex_of_Angels_BluRay_review
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Film #1: Story of a Junkie - First viewing - A cinema verite style film about a heroin junkie set against the backdrop of early 80s NYCs lower east side. Very gritty and dark cautionary tale about life on the edge. After you watch it, you def wont want to do heroin. 
The main actor died in the early 1990s, reportedly from AIDS, which he contracted through intravenous drug use. Played at The Liberty in 1987.
Film geek note: The lead actor John Spacely/Gringo had a tiny cameo in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours at the punk club. I just checked it out and I saw him!
Film #2: Fist of Fury Pt. 2 - For my money, one of the best Brucesploitation kung fu films/sequels to his own movies. Bruce Li and Lo Lieh star in it. Id do a podcast episode on this one cuz its awesome imo. Played at Cine 42 in 1979.
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Film #3: Corruption - My favorite non-Hammer Peter Cushing horror film. My full review is at GCDB. Played at The Lyric in 1968 with Payment in Blood.
Film #4: Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS: First viewing (I had only seen clips) of this 70s nazisploitation/sexploitation film. As offensive as it is, I thought it was a well made, nicely paced, low budget shocker (filmed at the abandoned Hogans Heroes set). Filled with lots of eroticism and sadism. Very bloody/gory, sick and perfect for the crazy crowds at a NYC grindhouse. Played the Apollo in 1975.
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My #Deucember entry no. 2: THE LAST HOUSE ON THE BEACH (Franco Prosperi)
The Last House on the Beach - The Grindhouse Cinema Database
This is what I’m talking about! Watched this from the German BluRay. Excellent little sleaze fest with a great cast. Delivers plenty of grindhouse to get me into full Deucember mode, other than my 1st entry which wasn’t as sexploitation as one might assume (see review). This one is more like it… recommended. Not sure if I like what they did with the AC/DC song, but hey…
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Film #5: Man From Deep River - First viewing - To me this movie seemed like A Man Called Horse but set in modern times with a Southeast Asian tribe instead of Native Americans. Ivan Rassimov is the Richard Harris of the film. He is initiated into the tribe over the course of the film and finds love with a native girl. There is a little bit of nastiness (monkey beheading/brain snacking, cannibalism). Its like a lighter adventure themed precursor to the more hardcore Cannibal jungle films that would come later. Umberto Lenzis movies are always well made. Played the Times Square in 1980.
Film #6: Dont Answer The Phone - First viewing- Id describe this film as the West Coast version of Maniac (1980) i.e. warm, bright, sunny Los Angeles vs cold, dark, grimy NYC. I think both are really good character study type films about psychopaths. This one isnt as gory and has a police procedural aspect added in. But Nicholas Worth (any Darkman fans out there?) is ultra creepy and good in his role as the killer. Theres also comedy laced throughout the film. Played the Harris in 1980.
Film geek note: Johnny Firecloud himself Victor Mohica has a funny cameo in the film as a drug dealer.
So far no duds in my Deucember picks.
Revengeamatic double bill
Film #7 - The Exterminator - rewatch -This film was one I first saw way back in the mid 80s, rented it on VHS with Exterminator 2. Its a classic revengeamatic. Another film like Rolling Thunder and First Blood about a Vietnam vet turned vigilante. No character study shenanigans or navel gazing going on here, just pure Death Wish style brutal revenge on the street scum (which I actually prefer in these kinds of movies). 40 years later I think it still holds up nicely. Played at the Liberty in 1980.
Look for some nice shots of 42nd St theaters in this too.
Film #8 - Trackdown - rewatch - Jim Mitchum (son of Bob) teams up with Erik Estrada and Cathy Lee Crosby to find his missing sister who moved to Los Angeles after leaving her dull Montana farm life behind. A very enjoyable revengeamatic action film where the simple, good hearted country boy comes to the big city and just shitkicks everyones ass to get to the bottom of things. Youll notice Erik Estrada’s charm is on 11 in this movie. Dudes so likable and cool. I was thinking: Wow I wish I could be like that! 
The year after he would star on CHIPS and thats when little me became aware of him since I watched almost every episode until it went off the air. (Fun Fact: When I was around 8 I got a CHIPs helmet/badge/bike light for my birthday). Played at the Anco in 1976
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My #Deucember entry no. 3: COFFIN FROM HONG KONG (Manfred R. Köhler)
Coffin from Hongkong - The Grindhouse Cinema Database
Not sure if it properly qualifies, but still. I love these cheesy 60s German Eurospy flicks where they take lame excuses for screenplays and set them in “exotic” locations to deliver perfect cliche escapism for the travel-starved postwar audiences. The dialogue is a riot (watched the German dub) and nothing makes much sense but hey, it’s a lot of fun and games. The German BluRay doesn’t deliver much in terms of transfer but has the English dub on board as well.
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Film #9 - Mister Scarface - rewatch - One of my favorite polizios directed by maestro Fernando DiLeo. My Full review is at GCDB. Video Archives pod did a fun episode on it btw. Played at the Harris in 1979
Film #10 - Almost Human - rewatch - If you thought Tomas Milian was a loony tune in The Tough Ones, wait til you see him in this! Total wackadoo!! He starts off the movie getting booted out of a gang of robbers for screwing things up during a bank heist, so he starts his own gang and just proceeds to lose his marbles in his big bold Milian way. This guy is truly out to lunch! Him and his thugs kidnap a girl and he just shoots, ok more like MASSACRES anyone at the slightest provocation. These guys dont carry little handguns either, theyre using sub machine guns! Henry Silva plays the police inspector whos on the case and he takes no shit in his iconic style (awesome/funny) yelling at people, noone screams F*** YOU!! like Hank (RIP) etc. This is a classic of the genre (directed by the great Umberto Lenzi aka Bert), just no holds barred criminals on the run, wreaking havoc with Tomas chewing up every scene like a psychotic but disturbingly charismatic beaver. Played at the Times Square in 1980.
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Ozploitation double bill
Film #11 - Thirst - First viewing - A woman whos a direct descendant of Elizabeth Báthory is kidnapped and brought into a cult that believes drinking blood will retain youth and strength and blah blah blah. I didnt care for this one. I usually know after 10 minutes if Im into a movie or not. I thought the premise was dumb and the overall direction/acting was uninteresting. Wow shes drinking a cup of blood and look shes taking a shower in blood, now shes eating a bloody drumstick. Zzzzz. Dud #1 of the fest. Played the Selwyn in 1981.
Film #12 - Man From Hong Kong - rewatch - One of my fave Ozploitation action films. Jimmy Wang Yu is HK Inspector Fang Seng Ling who travels down under to bring back a criminal (Sammo Hung) thats transporting drugs. When the courier is executed before they leave/he can talk, Fang must find out whos behind it, turns out to be James Bond er George Lazenby as Jack Wilton, feared underworld boss. So his mission begins. This movie is jam packed with awesome stunts, wacky humor (“Asian Flu” etc), kung fu fights, romantic montages, building climbing/ziplining, explosions, car chases, more kung fu, hang gliding, explosions, and some extra kung fu if you need it. A classic! Also fun to see Hugh Keays Byrne known for his crazy characters like in Stone and Mad Max, playing a seemingly normal cop. Played the Empire in 1979.
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Film #13 - Bamboo Gods & Iron Men - rewatch - This is a film I first discovered back when we started the GCDB. James Iglehart stars as Cal Jefferson a pro boxer/newlywed on his honeymoon in Southeast Asia who unknowingly comes into the possession of a priceless ancient buddha statuette containing a mysterious substance which acts as a macguffin for the story. Of course an underworld figure is out to retrieve the buddha at all costs and sends his men to get it. Cal also gets assistance from a mute kung fu expert (the legendary Chiquito) he rescued from drowning. A lighthearted Philippino produced action film with zany humor and oddball antics I consider a gem of the 70s AIP exploitation library. Played the Empire in 1979.
Film #14 - Death Force aka Fighting Mad - first viewing - Three Vietnam vets are selling gold bars on the black market before returning home to the USA. One of the men convinces the other to betray/kill off James Igleharts character, leaving him for dead…only he survives and is trained in the samurai arts by old Japanese WW2 soldiers living on a remote island. Once trained he sets out for revenge on his ex buddies who have started an underworld biz in LA. An enjoyable 70s action revengeamatic film from Cirio Santiago. Co-starring Leon Isaac Kennedy and real life wife Jayne Kennedy. Played at the Times Square in 1978.