PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Euro-sleaze. Exploitation. Cheesy European action flicks from the 80’s. Whatever you call it, or whatever category you want to lump it into—gimmie more! Back in the golden age of home video, trash was king! Jiggling femme fatales, roided out commandos in tropic jungles, Nazis, crooked cops, all of these and more were staples of this particular niche. So it was with an enthusiastic smile that I dug into Full Moon’s inaugural collection of these forgotten gems: The Eurocine Collection: Vol. 1.
Synopsis
“In the early days of VHS, Charles Band’s Wizard Video blazed trails, importing strange, unusual and exciting international horror, action and exploitation for the rental market, some for the very first time in North America. Many of these weird and wonderful titles were licensed from iconic French genre film studio Eurocine, including key pictures from directors like Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Jose Luis Merino and more.”
First off, I’m not going to bore you with my deep thoughts on all of these films, because hey, time is money. But rest assured, there are enough really interesting films, from some familiar Euro-sleaze stalwarts, to keep you entertained as Hell!
Angel of Death is Jess Frano’s (Vampyros Lesbos) most ambitious foray into the “Nazi” sub-genre. A gripping tale of two Nazi hunters on the trail of Josef Mengele in the jungles of Uruguay. This was a project that Franco apparently abandoned before finishing and the producers enlisted Italian schlockmeister Andrea Bianchi (Burial Ground) to finish the film. Hot, sweaty, and a lot of fun, this one alone is worth the dive!
Downtown Heat. Franco again, this time with his longtime muse, and eventual wife, Lina Romay (Rolls Royce Baby) in tow for a jazz-filled, gritty crime thriller. Punk rock lesbians, roving vigilantes, and a drug cartel make this one of the legendary director’s crazier efforts. Proceed with caution and an open mind.
With a surprisingly stellar cast that includes: Mark Hamill (Star Wars), and Christopher Lee (do I really need to list his films?? Really??), Night of the Eagles is Franco’s attempt at a WWII drama. Much less sleazy and exploitative than his larger body of work, Night of the Eagles boasts excellent production values and a decent budget to go with the A-List cast. A surprisingly mature and subdued film from someone who is known for the diametric opposite.
Plot? What plot?? Panther Squad features the buxom legend Sybil Danning (Chained Heat) in the requisite tiny leather outfit, leading a squad of female mercenaries to rescue an astronaut held captive by a group of environmental terrorists! And really, can you get more Reagan era 1980’s than that?? Helmed by Pierre Chevalier, (House of Cruel Dolls), this bonkers action film is light on writing, but is elevated by the exceptional cast, who bring a lot more to the table than T and A.
South American political upheaval is the setting for Franco’s Countdown to Esmeralda Bay. A local priest leads the rebels against the corrupt El Presidente and his American arms dealer crony (George Kennedy; Cool Hand Luke) in this South of the Border potboiler. Lina Romay also pops up again, as she frequently does in Franco’s work, contributing even more heat to this little-seen gem, with a surprisingly powerful message.
Rounding out the collection is Mania Killer, the story of a group of angry pimps (yes, you read that right…) throwing in with a vengeful boyfriend, to take down a murderous religious cult. This one features a triumvirate of 70s-80s exploitation stars: Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Pt. 2), Robert Ginty (The Exterminator), and Chuck Conners (Tourist Trap) chewing up the scenery in this sordid shocker that’s sure to keep you guessing as to what’s next.
The transfers on all the films are definitely up to snuff on these Blu-rays, many of them for the first time, and uncut. All the discs are neatly packaged in a multi-disc case, housed within a mock “big box” VHS case with vintage Wizard Video branding. Nestled inside are index-sized cards for each film, featuring poster art on one side, and a brief synopsis/description on the other side. Pretty cool stuff when the norm for some sets like this is just a standard multi-box. Extras are non-existent, but with films like these, there probably wasn’t a lot of BTS stuff shot anyway, these were made fast and loose to get them to market quickly.
The Eurocine Collection Vol. 1 offers an exciting look into a little-seen corner of Jess Franco’s body of work and gives a glimpse of other noteworthy genre names working outside of the “horror” constraints. Hot, sweaty, and gangster-as-fuck, all of these films offer hours of entertainment to fans of the video store boom era, and scholars of Franco looking to fill in some blanks, in a neat, fun package that looks killer in any collection. Gimmie MORE!
The Eurocine Collection Volume 1 is available now from fine physical media retailers.
