ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

This haunted holiday season is alive and kicking as the Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF) kills it with another year of hellacious cinematic treats! BAFF is brought to you by Festival Director, Kool Kat Blake Myers and Event Director, Kool Kat Luke Godfrey and a helluva killer team of mad scientists working behind the scenes. Gore it up with five blood-filled days (November 13-17) of film terror, including 8 features, 51 short independent horror films from around the globe, and two extra special events, bringing its sinister shenanigans for a fourth year to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

BAFF kicks off Wed. Nov. 13, at 8pm, with the ever-popular BAFF Sinema Challenge, giving local filmmakers the opportunity to bring to life a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and films are screened on the festival’s opening night. The contest is judged by co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and “Archer” animation director and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Marcus Rosentrater.

Thursday night kicks off with Shorts Program #1: First Shovel in the Grave is always the best!, which includes Ujicha’s [Director of BAFF 2018’s VIOLENCE VOYAGER] TEMPURA (Japan) about man’s best friend; David Bornstein’s UNHOLY MOLE, where selling one’s soul for guacamole is where it’s at; German Sancho’s FEARS (Spain), delving into a little girl’s frightening world; Miao’s I LEARNED TO DRIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD (China) and so many more! The Opening Night Feature is Michael Laicini and David Amito’s ANTRUM: THE DEADLIEST MOVIE EVER MADE (2018), a film about a cursed ‘70s film that finally has come to light. Watch if you dare!

Tricks ‘n’ treats abound as Friday brings you Shorts Program #2: Grave worm’s Finest, which includes Tyler Martin’s creepy crawly short, HATCH (USA); Jeon Jinkyu’s THE DEATH VENDOR (Korea), with death for sale; get exorcised with Steven Stull’s D IS FOR DEMON (USA); fight for your life with Kate Trefry’s HOW TO BE ALONE (USA) and more! Stick around for the 8pm Feature as punk mutants take on Vietnam vets in Joe Begos’s VFW (2019), preceded by James Sizemore and Tim Reis’s psychedelic short, BUDFOOT (USA/Local), shot at Kool Kat Shane Morton’s Silver Scream FX Lab! And of course no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a few horror classics, and ATLRetro loves all the special events chosen this year, including a special screening of Andrew Lemen’s 2005 silent film, THE CALL OF CTHULHU with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a special midnight grind-house screening of Ben Winston’s ‘70s-esque biker flick HELL BOUND (2018)!

The heads just keep rolling as Saturday brings you Shorts Program #3: Who Said Robbing Graves Wasn’t Fun! including Neal O’Bryan and Chad Thurman’s tasty TOE (USA); Jill Gevargizian getting twisted with ONE LAST MEAL (USA); Trevor Mirosh’s intergalactic EXHIBIT MAN (Canada); Tony Reames terrorizing the babysitter with PLAYTIME’S OVER (USA/Local); Stacey Palmer’s toothy gore, TOOTHACHE (USA/Local) and more followed by a 4pm Feature, dishing out sex education at its most sinister with Keola Racela’s PORNO (USA), preceded by Elwood Quincy Walker’s KISSED (USA). At 6pm, BAFF brings you Shorts Program #4: Dig the Grave Deep So They Can’t Crawl Out, featuring some #METOO horror with Yfke van Berkelaer’s LILI (Netherlands); Mia’kate Russel’s MAGGIE MAY (Australia); Ferris Wheels and strange creatures with Carlos Baena’s LA NORIA (Spain); Tomi Malkki’s SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET (Finland) and more! At 8pm get ready for another hellacious Feature with Brett and Drew Pierce’s boy vs. 1000-year old witch, THE WRETCHED (USA), preceded by Rich Ragsdale’s THE LOOP (USA)! And to top off the evening, BAFF offers a special treat at 10pm with a screening of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz’s splatter classic, THE TOXIC AVENGER (1984), hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening! Last but not least is a midnight screening of local Tony Reams’ (et al) DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (USA).

For those early birds, Sunday kicks off with a 12pm feature of Kool Kat Bret Wood’s THOSE WHO DESERVE TO DIE (2019) [keep your eyes peeled for our Kool Kat of the Week, Producer Kendall Keeling coming soon], preceded by Joshua Giuliano’s IN SOUND WE LIVE FOREVER (USA), followed by a 2pm Feature screening of Sandy K. Boon’s documentary, J.R. “BOB” DOBBS AND THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIOUS (USA), exploring the phenomenon of two self-proclaimed weirdos from Ft. Worth who created their own cult following, preceded by Alastar Train’s ALL STRETCHED OUT (UK). At 4pm, BAFF treats you to another feature with Kool Kat Daniel Griffith’s creaturific documentary, MARK OF THE BEAST: THE LEGACY OF THE UNIVERSAL WEREWOLF (USA/Local), preceded by Josh Gould’s MEAT WAGON (USA). Shorts Program #5: The Toll of the Death Bell promises a monstrous good time with screenings of David Oesch and Remo Rickenbacher’s DEAD ANIMALS (Switzerland); Dante Vescio and Rodrigo Gaasparini’s DEAD TEENAGER SÉANCE (Brazil); Charles de Lauzirika’s LOVE BITE (USA), and more! And finally, the closing ceremonies and awards show begins at 8pm!

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program block tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit the website here. And view the official 2019 BAFF bumper here.

The World Famous Drive-Invasion 2014; Turner Field Green Lot (521 Capitol Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312); Saturday, September 6; Gates open @ 10 a.m.; Admission $25 per person with car or $12.50 walk-up/no car ($26 through Ticketmaster).

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

You can’t keep some things down. When it turned out that the conversion to studio-controlled digital projectors made it impossible for the Starlight Drive-In to continue hosting the annual Drive-Invasion, things looked bleak for a while. But thanks to the tireless efforts of some of Atlanta’s finest, Drive-Invasion has found a new home: Turner Field. They’ll be setting up in Turner Field’s Green Lot and among the attractions you will find a 1000-foot grilling area, Jim Stacy’s Food Truck Midway (serving up a wide array of local culinary delights curated by Pallookaville’s own Mr. Stacy), the Silverscreen Gasoline Car Show (featuring the Discovery Channel CAFÉ RACER host and custom car celebrity, Atlanta’s own Bryan Fuller), an artists’ market, a kids’ play zone and two music stages.

Music-wise, you can expect an ear-filling variety of bands designed for maximum enjoyment before the sun goes down. You want some retro surf-rock action? Step right up and enjoy the sounds of Mystery Men?, Andrew & the Disapyramids (featuring ATLRetro Kool Kat Joshua Longino), and a tribute to the legendary Penetrators. You need some country-fried tastiness? Move it on over to the honky-tonkin’ tunes of Ghost Riders Car Club (featuring Kool Kat Spike Fullerton) and Cletis & His City Cousins (featuring Kool Kat Cletis Reid) . In the mood for some frenzied beat action? Get in the garage with The Brimstones, Rocket 350 and Jimmy & the Teasers. And for straight-up adrenaline-pumping rock and roll, blast off to Bigfoot (featuring Kool Kat Jett Bryant), Dusty Booze & the Baby Haters, Gargantua and The Biters.

But all that is prelude. They call this Drive-Invasion for a reason: drive-in movies. And they’re celebrating the end of the summer with a trio of beach party horror flicks that will keep the mood rocking until the last frame unspools across the screen: THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH, JAWS and MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND.

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH (1964); Dir. Del Tenney; Starring John Scott, Alice Lyon and Allan Laurel; Trailer here.

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH answers the question “why only have one Creature from the Black Lagoon, when you can have a whole gang of them?” It tells a story old as time: when radioactive waste is dumped into the ocean, it creates a whole mess of monsters who then rise from the depths to kill innocent teens. It’s then up to young Hank and concerned father Dr. Gavin to find a way to stop the rampaging amphibious creatures. Imagine if HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (1996) came out in 1964, and replace the gore and nudity with dancing and stomping beach music (provided by the Del-Aires, with half of their songs and all of the film’s score written by future porn legend Zebedy Colt!). HORROR zips along breezily thanks to director Del Tenney’s sure hand, and thanks to him keeping his tongue firmly planted in cheek. It’s not quite a send-up, but more a lighthearted take on teen horror and beach party flicks, much like INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957).

JAWS (1975); Dir. Steven Spielberg; Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw; based on a novel by Peter Benchley; john oath Trailer here.

Then there’s JAWS. What can one say about this movie? When I was a tyke, it was so effective that even this unabashed horror movie fanatic—as committed then as I am today—believed that there were sharks hiding under my bed. (And yes, I fully grasped the logical problem in that scenario.) JAWS established Steven Spielberg as a Big-Time Director after years of working in TV and smaller-budgeted films like THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974). It also singlehandedly created the modern summer “blockbuster” phenomenon (and simultaneously marked the end of the “New Hollywood” period of the late 1960s and early ‘70s), and its style and craftsmanship has exerted a lasting influence far beyond its immediate impact. It is, in many ways, a nearly perfect movie. Pitch-perfect performances from Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw are wed to dialogue so fresh that it’s still being quoted, imitated and parodied nearly 40 years after the film’s release. Add to that Spielberg’s precise direction, one of John Williams’ best scores and Verna Field’s expert editing, which work together to create an escalating tension that reaches peaks high enough to make you completely ignore the badly malfunctioning mechanical shark.

MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (1968); Dir. Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon; Starring John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn and Ronald Remy; Trailer (featuring narration from the legendary Brother Theodore) here.

Rounding out the program is MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, probably the pinnacle of writer/producer/director Eddie Romero’s Philippine-lensed series of “Blood Island” movies. And while that may sound like a pretty small category for a film to qualify as “the best,” keep in mind that there are something like 10 of them (six in the series, and four tangentially related). In this entry, John Ashley—the co-star of multiple AIP “Beach Party” flicks—stars as a pathologist who turns up at Blood Island to study the health of the natives, only to find mysterious deaths linked to the appearance of what appears to be green blood. Throw in Angelique Pettyjohn, heaps of nudity and gore, some of the most ludicrous pseudo-science ever spouted in a movie script and a rampaging monster that must be seen to be believed, and you have what amounts to one of the most definitive drive-in movies ever created. While it may never be regarded as a cinematic classic, it is an experience that I wholeheartedly suggest you undertake. It’s not for nothing that Eddie Romero was named the National Artist of the Philippines in 2003.

And let me take this time to warn you: to survive your exposure to the energies of MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND and to ward off contagion in the days after Drive-Invasion, you must prepare yourself by taking the Oath of the Green Blood, which will ensure that you will never become a green-blooded monster. Vials of Doctor Lorca’s Green Blood Potion will be available to the first 1000 visitors who stop by the Drive-Invasion booth or Professor Morté’s Silver Scream Spookshow booth. Remember: stay safe. Protection is prevention.

Aleck Bennett is a writer, blogger, pug warden, pop culture enthusiast, raconteur and bon vivant from the greater Atlanta area. Visit his blog at doctorsardonicus.wordpress.com