Wes and Sara created an excellent photo op on the stage outside of the concession building. It included an 8 foot tall King Kong and Godzilla, the latter of whom breathed smoke and roared, and an excellent backdrop featuring artwork by Andrew Kern.
The stage also lit up at night with a red glow that made it look like the city was on fire.
We were given hints on what each of the movies would be.
Film #1 is a shocking Asian horror flick.
Film #2 is a rare 80's punk / new wave raver.
Film #3 features female barbarian badassery.
On Friday night, we learned that the third film of the night was going to be replaced due to an issue with obtaining the 35mm print, but the replacement would also be a barbarian film. And, of course, all three movies would be shown from original 35mm prints.
I was joined in the front row by my friends Zack (and his pup Elvira) and Johnny. Our friend Wayne stopped by in a getup that included a hot dog hat, a hamburger shirt, and baked bean socks with his trademark fish flip flops to show us his idea for a special concession item for the weekend.
AGFA always shows a lot of wild trailers and bumps at the Triple Ripper, including the bizarre Jaws 2 trailer that was hacked at some point by a random projectionist. I recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube at Triple Ripper II, so I didn't bother to film it again this year. I did take a few pictures though that I've cropped and organized above. The ones that caught my eye were a commercial for Chuck Wagon dog food for a promotion in which you could win your dog's weight in gold, a trailer for America 3000 which I own on VHS, and another trailer for a movie for a 1990 film called A Nymphoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell which is a title that just begs to be seen.
One of the 35mm bumps was a commercial from the early 80's for a waterpark called Wet N Wild Waterworld in Anthony, TX. This caught my eye for a few reasons. First of all, this place is still in business today. It's about 20 miles north of El Paso where I spent a few months when I was working for Nestle. Second, a part of the commercial shows the arcade where you can see a Pac Man and Tempest cabinet with a Mata Hari pinball machine in the background. Last but not least, I saw a digitized version of this same exact commercial while I was browsing on eBay for 35mm prints. In fact, the seller still has it available as of the time of this write up.
Seems like a pretty cool place.
Anyway, onto the movies.
The first film was a truly bizarre Hong Kongwuxia flick from 1982 called Human Lanterns. It's the story of a twisted lantern maker who works in secret to fan the flames of a feud between two martial arts experts while he captures the women in their lives to acquire the key ingredient in his award winning lanterns. This was absolutely twisted from start to finish, and it might be the best movie that I've ever seen at an AGFA event. It's definitely not for everybody, but if you're a fan of kung fu and Silence Of The Lambs, this is one you need to see.
There was a 35mm screening of The Flowers between the first and second films of the night. This is a rare Dutch animated short from 1967 by Rupert van der Linden. It's a surreal and beautiful cartoon. I wasn't able to find a video of it anywhere online, so this might have been the only opportunity that I'll ever have to see it.
The second feature length feature of the night was a 1982 British concert film called Urgh! A Music War. Seeing this on 35mm at the Mahoning was a pretty special experience. I have pretty eclectic tastes in music but if I had to pick a single genre and period to call my favorite, it would be late 70's and early 80's new wave, which is exactly what this was.
The final movie of the night was the 1982 Lucio Fulci dark fantasy film Conquest. This spot was originally meant to be for the 1984 Italian post-apocalyptic film She, but there was some issue with the print that caused it to be replaced.
I was getting a pretty drowsy by this point of the night, so I can't really give you much of an opinion or details on the plot other than to say that it's kind of a sci-fi/barbarian flick. I'm going to have to circle back and check this out another time.
And that's a wrap on the AGFA Triple Ripper IV. I've been to all four of these, and the only one that I think was better than this year's event was the first one from 2022. All three of the films were enjoyable, and there were thankfully no uncomfortable movies like we had in the first film of last year's Triple Ripper. I kind of like the mystery format that they did this year, and I hope they keep it going in 2026.
Something Weird Video is a Seattle-based film distributor responsible for preserving countless numbers of exploitation films that probably would have been lost without their efforts.
Colonel and Sanders were both on the lot in the hours before the gates opened.
They apparently like rice and corn. Gene and I fed them, and they took it right out of our hand.
I was not the only person wearing a Crazy Eddie shirt in the front row.
My outfit did not match some other folks in the front row who came dressed as Big Shim from She Mob.
The last song before showtime was a tribute to the great Rebekah Del Rio who passed away twelve days ago at age 57. She was a guest of the Mahoning at the first Wild World Of David Lynch weekend in 2021, and a friend of projectionists Rob and Krista. Since it was the 4th of July, Krista gave us sparklers to light up during this final song which was a recording of Ms. Del Rio singing The Star Spangled Banner from her appearance in the 2006 film Southland Tales.
There were dozens of awesome trailers shown throughout the night. I didn't record all of them on video, but I took photos of the title cards to remember what trailers were shown so that I could look up the movies later. I didn't catch all of them, but the video above is a slideshow of most of the title cards from the trailers.
I did have to catch the second half of this trailer for the 1972 Orgy Of The Living Dead triple feature, which consisted of The Murder Clinic from 1966 (aka: Revenge Of The Living Dead), Kill Baby Kill from 1966 (aka: Curse Of The Living Dead), and Malenka The Vampire's Niece from 1969 (aka: Fangs Of The Living Dead). The triple feature was promoted with a guarantee from the producers that they would pay for any psychiatric care, or internment in an asylum, if you go mad from watching these films.
There's also a trailer for The Corpse Grinders, which moviegoers had to sign a Certificate Of Assurance that they wouldn't sue the theater "in the event of a coronary, insanity, or death suffered during and/or following" the screening. I saw this movie at Schlock-O-Rama VIII last year. It's a pretty good 70's schlocky horror flick, and I think you're pretty safe from suffering any ill effects.
Both of the movies that we got to see on Friday night were projected from the only 35mm prints of these films that are known to exist in the world today.
The first movie of the night was the 1966 film Teenage Gang Debs, and it's a contender for the cheesiest movie that I've ever seen on the big screen at the Mahoning, and its tied with Teen Witch for having the cheesiest soundtrack with two absolute bangers: Black Belt and Don't Make Me Mad. Even if you don't want to watch the whole movie, I implore you to watch the song and dance scenes. The level of cringe is off the charts.
This is the story of a teenage girl named Terry who moves with her family from Manhattan to a neighborhood that is the turf of a street gang called The Rebels. Terry weasels her way into the gang by hooking up with its leader (and getting his current "deb" kicked out of the gang), then orchestrating his murder by another gang member who she hooks up with who then assumes leadership of the gang. Her manipulative behavior of The Rebels and of rival gangs lead to several acts of violence, which are frequently interrupted by bizarre song and dance numbers, until the rest of the debs in the gang finally grow tired of her crap and take action against her.
Teenage Gang Debs is a fun movie to watch, but it by no means a good movie. It reminded me a bit of a lower budget and tamed down version of Switchblade Sisters. If you're into weird movies like I am, this is a must-watch, but it's not the kind of thing that folks who stick to mainstream movies are going to enjoy. It's available to stream on Tubi.
The second half of the Something Weird double feature was a cult classic from 1968 called She Mob. This movie lived up to the pre-show hype and then some! It starts off with the most ridiculous sex scene in the history of cinema between a gigolo named Tony and his wealthy patron Brenda. Seriously... you have to see this. Even if you have no intention of watching the rest of the movie, this scene is so absurd that no words could do it justice. He's essentially humping her shins in a bathtub while she makes sounds like a jungle animal, and it is hysterically funny.
The next scene takes us to the hideout of a criminal mastermind named Big Shim and her gang. Big Shim is instantly one of my favorite characters in movie history. She's a tough bitch who wears a spike pointed bra and says "I'll show you that my tits are as hard as my heart" before pulling a man towards her to use the bra to stab him in the chest. I mean... how the hell can you not want to see that!
Big Shim has three members in her gang: Baby, Twig, and Sweetie. Shim broke all three of them out of prison. Baby has become her sex slave, but the other two have grumbled to their leader that they are starved for male attention.
Shim knows Tony and calls him to come over to provide his services, but Tony foolishly lets it slip that he is staying with a wealthy woman. This gives Shim the idea to hold him hostage until Brenda pays a ransom of $100k. Unfortunately for Shim, Brenda decides to hire "Sweety East, Girl Detective" to get her man back.
This is a 60's low budget masterpiece! If you're into bizarre movies, I'd recommend that you put She Mob at the top of your list of must-see films.
And that's a wrap on what I hope will be the first annual Something Weird night at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. This night was right up there with Schlock-O-Rama IX as one of the most fun events of the season so far. Lisa Petrucci was in attendance and she seemed to have a great time. I hope she comes back next year and that this becomes a regular part of an AGFA weekend on the lot.
Schlock-O-Rama is a celebration of films that were primarily shown in small independent theaters and drive-in theaters when they were first released. The genre of these films include horror, sci-fi, action, kung fu, and exploitation films that have become synonymous with the drive-in theater experience in the second half of the 20th century.
This is the story of the evil monk Kah (Chan Shen) who travels to Transylvania in the early 1800's to summon Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson) to travel to China with him to restore the Seven Golden Vampires to power. He agrees, but Dracula must posses Kah's body to leave his castle and travel, so Chan Shen plays the role of Dracula throughout most of the film. The plot jumps a hundred years to find Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) with his son Leyland (Robin Stewart) at Chungking University where he's giving a lecture on the Seven Golden Vampires and the village that they control. After the lecture, he is approached by Hsi Ching (David Chiang) who is the grandson of a farmer who killed one of the Seven Golden Vampires. Ching confirms the location of the village and asks Van Helsing to accompany his brothers and his sister on a mission to the village to defeat the rest of the vampires. A wealthy widow named Vanessa Buren (Julie Ege), who's life was saved by the Hsi family, agrees to finance their journey on the condition that she accompany the group, and off they go to engage in a kung-fu war with the vampires.
This film was an excellent way to kick off the weekend. It's a lot of fun, and it defines what Shlock-O-Rama is all about. It found its way to the United States in 1979 where it was shown mostly in grindhouse and drive-in theaters and has gone on to become a cult classic. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't able to find it streaming anywhere at the moment, but if you like horror and kung fu, this is one to keep your eyes open for.
Next up was the 1976 blaxploitation horror film Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde, which was re-released in the United States under the alternate title Decision For Doom. This is the story of Dr. Henry Pride (Bernie Casey), who is an African American doctor who is working on experimental medication that can restore a damaged liver. He tests the medication on himself which results in his transformation into a violent white man with superhuman strength.
I have conflicted feelings when it comes to the blaxploitation genre. There are a few of them that I just can't get behind; specifically the ones that lean into negative stereotypes. The example that immediately comes to mind is Super Soul Brother, which I saw at the Mahoning last year for AGFA Triple Ripper III. This film has virtually no African American characters that aren't portrayed in an ignorant manner so it's not funny or interesting to me in the slightest. It's just blatantly racist crap that they were able to get away with because the actors are black. On the other hand, there are blaxploitation flicks like Blacula and Abby that are fantastic.
I'm happy to say that Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde falls in the Blacula camp. It's an excellent flick that adds an interesting twist on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story. Bernie Casey delivers a great performance as both halves of his personality. The NFL veteran has an impressive resume in Hollywood. I know him best for his roles as U.N. Jefferson in Revenge Of The Nerds, and Bill & Ted's history teacher Mr. Ryan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. It's available to stream on Tubi, and I highly recommend it if you want to dive into the genre.
Friday night's third film was a black and white Italian horror that premiered in 1960 as Seddok: L'erede di Satana, which translates to Seddok: The Heir of Satan. The movie was re-titled Atom Age Vampire when it was dubbed into English and released in the United States three years later, which is an odd choice since the movie has nothing to do with vampires. Now that I come to think of it, the "Atom Age" part of the title doesn't make much sense either.
The first two minutes of the movie are a breakup scene. Pierre is about to ship out to sea, and he breaks up with his girlfriend Jeanette because she won't quit her job as an entertainer. The research that I've done online say that she's a stripper, but there's nothing in the American cut of this film which makes that clear. Jeanette drives away in tears and swerved off of an embankment to avoid hitting another car. The accident leaves her with a massive scar on half of her face and neck. Jeanette is tricked by a woman named Monique to leave the hospital and to go to Professor Alberto Levin's home so that he can treat her with his miracle serum called Derma 28 which can restore her beauty. The treatment works and Alberto becomes obsessed with her. It turns out that the effects of Derma 28 are short lived, and Alberto finds that he must kill other women to obtain the glands that he needs to continue producing Derma 28 for Jeanette.
The whole movie plays out like an old soap opera with melodramatic dialogue from nearly everyone in the cast. It's not the kind of movie that I'd recommend to most modern horror fans, but it's exactly the kind of film that I like to see at Schlock-O-Rama. It's a fun, schlocky flick short runtime and it's in a style that adds variety to the event. This one's also on Tubi if you're curious.
The final movie of the first night of Schlock-O-Rama IX was the 1971 horror / biker flick Werewolves On Wheels. This is the story of a biker gang called The Devil's Advocates who are taken in by a group of people who appear to be monks. The monks give food to the bikers, but we soon learn that these monks aren't what they seem to be and their motives are sinister. The title does give away some of the plot, but it takes more twists and turns than I expected. Check it out on Tubi.
This was a great way to cap off Friday night, and I'm happy to say that I was able to stay awake for the whole thing. I had to nap earlier in the day and watch most of this film standing in front of my car to keep from nodding off, but I made it. The movie ended almost exactly at 4:00 am and I had just enough left in me to drive home and collapse in bed.
The movies started a little earlier in the evening on Saturday since it ran so late the night before. However, as you can see from the title card for The Devil's Rain, it was dark enough to project a bright and vivid picture.
The Devil's Rain was the movie that I was looking forward to seeing the most this weekend. My friend Mike saw it before, and he sold it to me as a film where you get to see Ernest Borgnine melting for ten minutes. He wasn't exaggerating one bit. Cary had to run to the restroom, but she didn't want to miss the end of the film. After about five minutes of the scene in question, she said "Oh fuck, just die already". Mike chuckled and let her know that the scene was only at the halfway point.
This movie is memorable for several reasons other than the long and drawn out fate of Jonathan Corbis and his followers. The production team hired the founder of The Church of Satan, Anton LaVey to serve as the technical advisor for the film. He and his partner Diane appear in the film as well. This film also marks the big screen debut of John Travolta who played a member of Corbis' Satanic cult in a minor role. Actress Joan Prather, who played Julie Preston, introduced Travolta to Scientology during filming.
In addition to Borgnine, Travolta, and Prather, the film features the great William Shatner as Mark Preston, a Christian man who is forced to become a member of the Corbis cult, and Eddie Albert as a psychic researcher. Albert is probably best remembered for his starring role as Oliver Douglas in the classic series Green Acres. The film also features Ida Lupino, who has the distinction of being the only woman to direct an episode of The Twilight Zone (The Masks) and the only Twilight Zone director who also starred in an episode (The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine).
Like most of the films shown on Friday night, The Devil's Rain is available to stream on Tubi, and I highly recommend it to any fan of horror movies. It's a wild ride!
Saturday night's second movie was Greydon Clark's 1977 horror sexploitation flick Satan's Cheerleaders. There's far less nudity in this film than you might be expecting from the title, but
this film is still the very definition of 70's schlock. Most of the acting is terrible and the story is ludicrous, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch! It's the story of a high school cheerleading squad and their good-natured but absolutely clueless coach. The ladies are kidnapped by a Satanic cult led by a Sheriff and his wife in the hopes that they can use one of them as a virgin sacrifice, but things don't go according to plan. Check it out on Tubi.
Next up was the 1982 horror sequel Piranha II: The Spawning. This movie is technically the directorial debut of James Cameron, but it's been widely reported that he worked for only two weeks on the film before he either quit or was fired, depending on which side of the story you hear. In either case, the producers kept his name on the film as its director, much to The Terminator director's dismay.
My wife was familiar with this film because she watched it with her grandmother when she was a little girl. She accurately described this movie to me by saying "this time, they can fly". That pretty much says it all. The movie is pure schlocky goodness from start to finish, featuring man-eating fish who were described by Tim Healey's book The World's Worst Movies as "haddock with dentures".
This is one of only two films from Schlock-O-Rama IX that isn't currently available on Tubi. You can rent it from a few streaming services though, and it's fairly inexpensive and easy to find on DVD or Bluray. It's so stupid fun that I'd consider it to be a must-watch.
The final film of Schlock-O-Rama this year was the 1979 independent horror film Bog, starring the great Aldo Ray. It's a creature feature about a prehistoric sea creature that lives in a rural blog. It begins to feed on fishermen and anyone else who comes into its territory.
If I were to rank all of the films of Schlock-O-Rama IX from favorite to least favorite, this one would be at the bottom of my list. Most of the first three quarters of the film are people having conversations about the bog monster either in offices or on the telephone (or both). It's still fun to watch and a worthy inclusion in the lineup for this weekend though. You can check it out on Tubi.
Like the first night, I was able to stay awake for all four films. I think I may have drifted off for about five minutes during Piranha II, but that's it. Saturday night ended after 3:00 am, and I'm happy to have made it through all eight films.
And that's a wrap on Schlock-O-Rama IX. This continues to be one of my favorite, if not my very favorite weekend on the Mahoning calendar. It's either this or VHS fest, both of which feature films that have a similar vibe to them. If you can only make it to the Mahoning for one weekend a year and you want a true drive-in experience, this is the event that I'd recommend that you attend. It's the closest any of us are likely to ever get to a true drive-in experience from the second half of the 20th century.
