The Mighty Peking Man aka Goliathon (1977, Meng Hua Ho)

"A couple of hunters decide to try and capture a legendary giant ape and bring him to Hong Kong."

I saw this movie about 5 years ago when I decided to rent it just because it was released by Rolling Thunder Pictures and it had a really cool cover. I watched it and hated it. Well, I didn't really hate it but I just didn't find anything worth liking in the movie and even though it was a giant monster movie I thought it was boring.

Now that some years have passed and I have watched more movies I was anticipating seeing this on the big screen and seeing if my feelings towards the movie would change. They did but not by much. I still don't like it all too much and I still fail to belong to the small cult that love it. I did however find it more enjoyable now but still cant applaud it.

Why I still don't like it is because this is a King Kong rip off. This is why I just don't like it. It's literally like a warped scene by scene copy of King Kong. The only difference being that instead of stop motion animation or animatronics we get a man in a suit. We also get a jungle woman who loves the giant ape and spends the whole film half naked. It's not as cool as it sounds.

There is not much more to say. Its fun at times and the final showdown between the ape and Hong Kong is pretty tame compared to other kaiju films. The film does however have a sense of coolness to it all and is fun to watch at least once but I still cant find myself to love it or even like it too much.

- **1/2

Fight for your Life (1977, Robert A. Endelson)

Fight for your Life (1977, Robert A. Endelson)

"This is the story of three escaped convicts who take a middle-class Black family hostage for a relentless nightmare of racist humiliation, sexual violence and extreme vengeance."

While reading up on this film I read that it is flat out banned in Britain it almost caused riots where it was shown. Most of the time when I read facts like this or "it made people faint!" I always take it as an exaggerated comment. After seeing this film I really do believe the comment. I still can not believe that this film exists and that it was in one time in theaters.

Fight for your Life is hands down the most politically incorrect film I have ever seen and on top of that it's one of the most offensive films I have ever seen. Having said that this film is incredible. It's beyond insane and it's beyond intense. It really qualifies as one of those films that you have to see to believe.

Where to begin with this one.....William Sanderson gives one hell of a performance as the lead convict. He plays the most racist character I have ever seen and will ever see. Every racist remark you can think of he says and every racist thing that you think a person can do he does. He is also over the top in every single way. This is a trademark in these exploitation films but it works in this one given that the film breaks any and all boundaries. So the over the top acting fits right in place.

What else is in this film other than this beyond racist character? Everything. Seriously. Everything. There is a certain death that is just crazy. There is rape. Oh and of course there is some revenge. It's got everything and it pushes everything to an uncomfortable boundary. It might offend most people and some people will find it horrible. I found it amazing.

This is hands down the best exploitation film I have seen. If you are into these kind of films you have to check this one out. It really is insane.

- Ridiculously Awesome

The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1977, Charles B. Pierce)

"Set in the late 40's the residents of Texarkana, Texas are left terrorized by a mysterious hooded killer who is stalking victims during the evening and leaving the local police at a loss"

This is a "told exactly how it happened!" type of film. Sort of like an episode of Unexplained Mysteries or America's Most Wanted. It even has the pointless narrator that tells you everything you are already seeing. This is supposed to give the film a realistic and very creepy vibe. Instead it comes off as annoying.

The other thing this film has that is annoying but also awkward and hilarious is the killer. The poster has a picture of him but it doesn't do this guy justice. I wish I could find a still picture of him in the film. He is a creepy killer for sure, but that hood that he wears adds a lot of unintentional laughs at times. The thing about this hood is that it makes the killer not breath. So, we are treated to a handful of scenes of the killer running and then stopping to breath because of this hood and yes, the cloth does go inside his mouth every time he breathes.

The other thing this killer adds to the film is the most ridiculous murder ever in a film. He has just tackled a girl who has just left her school prom where she was playing the trombone. So, he has just gotten the girl finally after running after her. He drags her to a tree and ties her up with some rope. He then takes out his knife and ties it around the end of the trombone. He then pretends he is playing the trombone and every time he pushes that trombone thing it stabs her. This is awkward because not only does the killer do this but he also does a pretend trombone sound with his mouth. Once again, yes...the cloth does go inside his mouth every time.

Even though the film has these odd scenes it still manages to be kind of creepy and add a lot of curiosity to the viewer. We actually really want to know who this killer is. Sadly though, when the film is not following the killer or the police trying to figure who he is we are treated to a couple of horrible comedy scenes. Yup, this serial killer film has a lot of "ahhhhh shucks!" type of scenes.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown is not a great film or even a good film. It is however an entertaining film. I bet this film was chilling and disturbing when it was first released.

- **

Rolling Thunder (1977, John Flynn)

"Major Charles Rane comes back from the war and is given a number of gifts from his hometown because he is a war hero. Some greedy thugs decide that they want to steal a number of silver dollars from him. In the process they also manage to kill his wife and son and destroy his hand. The Major wants revenge so he enlists the help of his war buddy Johnny to meet the thugs in a final showdown"

This is one of most intense films ever. Everything is so dark and gritty in this film that you really get a feeling that you are about to go on a dark journey within the first 10 minutes. The film only gets darker, more intense, and even more insane as it all builds up to its amazing climax. This is an amazing revenge flick.

The other thing worth mentioning is that this film is written by Paul Schrader. This is the great man who wrote Taxi Driver. This film feels like a companion piece to Taxi Driver. They both share a complex character who might be insane and they are both very dark inner journeys into these characters lives. They also both end with an extreme explosion of violence. Rolling Thunder may not be as great as Taxi Driver but it sure is great.

Charles Rane goes down as one of the most memorable characters in film. He seems to be a distant brother of Travis Bickle. He is an antihero to the extreme and literally insane. No one in the film and no one in the audience knows what Charles Rane will do next. You can't help but cheer for him but you can't help but hate him to a certain point because he is so fucked up in the head. How fucked up? Well, he loses his hand in a garbage disposal just because he learned to love pain after Vietnam. A complex character if there ever was one.

There is nothing else to say. The film is great. The film is balls to the wall. The film is one that will never leave you. The film is one that will leave you with a big smile on your face at the end. I can see why Tarantino says that this is one of his top ten favorite film.

It's also a HUGE shame that it has yet to come out on dvd. It's even a bigger shame because Tarantino named his video releasing company "Rolling Thunder Pictures" and yet never released Rolling Thunder. Hopefully the film will pop out on dvd one day with a commentary track by Schrader and one by Tarantino.

- ****

The Van (1977, Sam Grossman)

"Bobby is a shy Los Angeles teenager who buys a sleek chevy van for himself to impress, pick up, and seduce various teenage girls to spruce up his dull life while trying to get money by drag racing other vans to finance operating it."

You ever see a film that has something in it that is so out dated that you can't help but laugh at it? Normally these type of things pop up a lot in films from the 70's and 80's. Wither it be the clothes,the hair, the style, the humor, the language. Now, imagine if all of these things were combined in one gigantic out dated film. This is The Van, one of funniest "so bad it's amazing" films I have ever seen and will ever see.

The Van is about a lame guy who is somehow considered cool around town. He becomes amazing, and I really do mean AMAZING, around town when he gets his "kick ass rockin' custom van" All the guys want to race him and all the girls want to bang him. All because of this custom van. How custom is this van? Well, it has a waterbed,mirrors,a table, a "party cup holder", a "killer 8 track", shag carpets, shag carpets on the wall, and even a toaster. This is the most kick ass van ever and everyone in town knows it.

Theres not much else to this film. It really is about a guy and his amazing custom van for one hour and a half. Every single scene in this film is hilarious. My favorite scenes are when Bobby tries to pick up some girls. His pick up line is "You see that cool van out there? Yeah, it's mine. So, you wanna go smoke a joint in the back of it" Bobby then smokes a joint with the girl. Some "groovy tunes" kick in and Bobby bangs the girl. Oh, the girls ALWAYS make sure to say that the van is amazing in the middle of sex. Yup, this movie is seriously beyond awesome. Another favorite scene of mine is when Bobby goes to the beach with his pals. On the beach are a lot of other custom vans parked. Once again some groovy tunes kick in and a montage begins of Bobby being in awe of these vans.

The Van is in the category of "so bad it's amazing" It really is a bad film. Heck, it's beyond bad but it has enough cheese and unintentional humor that makes it become a fun film to watch. After watching it you will feel like wearing some cut off shorts and buying your own rockin' van to bang girls in. It will also make you want to find out who owned a custom van in the 70's that way you can punch them right in the face.

- Ridiculously Awesome