2010s
Plot: can Anna save Christmas from the maws of the living dead? Is it possible to re-enact an earlier movie almost verbatim, spice it up just enough with that original touch that only great directors possess, and pass it off as something new? Apparently, the answer to that is: yes,
2000s
Plot: clumsy student meets a girl who might, or might not, be a cyborg. The early 2000s were a particular rich time for epic romances of various kind, especially in the Asian regions. Bollywood had the Shah Rukh Khan spectacular Om Shanti Om (2007), in Japan there was the modern
2010s
Plot: homeless girl runs afoul of escaped masked serial murderer. At the crossroads of Albert Pyun, Andy Sidaris, and Jim Wynorski lies the ever-expanding cinematic oeuvre of Rene Perez. Perez has been writing, producing and editing his own low budget features since 2010 and shows no signs of slowing down
1980s
Plot: journalist and mercenary take down corrupt South American dictator. Of all the talentless hacks working the Italian exploitation circuit from the 60s to 80s shlockmeister Alfonso Brescia by far was the most seasoned and mercenary. Over a three-decade career Brescia built a reputation on doing it quicker and cheaper
2010s
Plot: cityslickers check in at Mortlake – they won’t be checking out. It took Alex Chandon a decade to get the follow-up his rightly infamous Cradle Of Fear (2001) off the ground. His 2001 offering was a critical darling but audience reaction was mixed under the kindest of circumstances. In
2020s
Plot: troubled Vietnam vet turns vigilante to restore order in his city. Just two years ago French indie filmmaker Benjamin Combes made the coolest retro 80s action movie. That was Commando Ninja (2018) and it was lensed over a two-year period on a modest €35,000 budget. A 70-minute love
2010s
Plot: novelist vows to end government and corporate corruption. Staggeringly incompetent on just about every level, impenetrable for the uninitiated, jarringly disjointed for the bad cinema aficionado, and incomprehensible for everybody else Fateful Findings is Neil Breen’s undiluted masterpiece. Breen flabbergasted the world with Double Down (2005) and I
1990s
Plot: a nuclear trigger is stolen. LETHAL Ladies are on the case. After the strange detours and diversions that were the more adventure-oriented Savage Beach (1989) and the incredibly cynical Do Or Die (1991) Hawaiian low-budget action king Andy Sidaris restored the franchise to its former glory with Hard Hunted.
2010s
Plot: one woman dares stand up against the tyrannical oppressor. About the last place where you’d expect to see a Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) knock-off would be Mainland China. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. If anything, Mainland China has usurped the throne of Italy, Indonesia,
1990s
Plot: sculptress and soldier defend themselves from homicidal cyborg. Richard Stanley’s feature debut arrived with quite a bit of buzz in the advance press. “Ferocious, stylish, and hallucinatory,” wrote Clive Barker. “As terrifying as Alien,” gushed US Magazine and Fangoria boldly claimed it was, “the best science-fiction horror film
2010s
Plot: two friends reconnect and engage in a passionate, steamy affair. Historically there are two ways for directors to get their foot in the door. That’s either by doing a horror (typically a slasher because of how cost efficient they tend to be) or a raunchy comedy. Miguel Chávez
1990s
Plot: 10 million dollars, 1000 guns, 100 criminals, 1 winner. Even the marginally talented occassionally catch lightning in a bottle. Case in point: Albert Pyun and his Mean Guns. In an attempt to imitate Quentin Tarantino he, either by design or by complete accident, stumbled onto a good idea. Pyun