Fantastic Fest 2010

I’m glad nobody told Filipino B-movie god Eddie Romero that he should really have a budget if he wanted to make a movie about an island full of monstrous half-human, half-animal beasts. Then we’d be deprived of the spectacle of the ghetto goat-boy, the badly-conceived bat man or the embarrassed-looking panther woman (played by Pam Grier!). Also, Romero probably would have done something foolish with that extra money like hiring somebody other than John Ashley for the lead role. Ashley had parlayed a semi-successful stateside career as a teen actor and rockabilly singer into what passed for super-stardom in the Philippines, where he produced and starred in countless action and monster films as “the white guy”. He’s generally pretty bad, but he will start growing on you after a while, like an exotic island fungus. The whole film exudes an ambiance of sleazy tropical languor that’s quite appealing in its humid way. (Lars)

Woochi is a cocky but undisciplined wizard who stops at nothing to become a powerful sorcerer. But when he’s summoned into modern times to thwart the villains that have escaped to the future, he’s a little more interested in sight-seeing and womanizing than battling evil.

One of the very best films directed by Roger Corman, X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES helped solidify his reputation in the U.S. and abroad as a vital, intelligent film-maker and not just a creator of cheap drive-in fare. Above all else, Corman's movies are designed to turn a profit, and in virtually every case they have, but there wouldn't be a long-lasting, devoted Corman cult if they were merely crass commercial product, devoid of ideas. His best films work equally well with sensation-seeking teenagers and those with a more refined palate. Case in point: X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES, a film lauded by serious cinephiles from Austin to Paris. Roger Corman is justly proud of it as an exceptional piece of work that explores important ideas and has a tremendous impact as pure cinema. X tells the story of scientist Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) who develops a method for improving eyesight. But without funding for proper research he is compelled to test it on himself. Soon he finds he has such acute vision that he can actually see through things - women's clothing for instance. When, through an unfortunate chain of events, the doctor is forced to go underground his powers become both his salvation and a kind of torture. He uses his powers to heal the sick but as his power grows stronger he sees into death itself. He goes to Vegas and becomes a wiz at blackjack but his vision now penetrates the darkness of the human soul and he is transformed by the experience. He has seen too much. This was all very heavy stuff for the drive-ins, but it worked. Special praise is due Ray Milland, who gives a beautifully paced and nuanced performance in a very difficult role. When we asked Roger Corman if we could screen this film he was ecstatic, it is one of the two or three films that he is most proud of.

Zombie Roadkill follows a group of college kids driving on an unfamiliar winding road through a national park. They are heading for a weekend away at a national park. Unfortunately these protected woods are alive with the undead: wronged woodland creatures that have been reanimated as vengeful, murderous zombies!