Wasted Weekend - 9.24.21

 Hello friends. Between work and travel I haven't had a lot of time to blog but I'm back and there were a few things bouncing around streaming that I thought I might draw your eyeballs to. I've already kicked off my HoopTober challenge but am still finding time to watch non-spooky movies as well. I've got a mix of things to talk about so whether you're looking for things for your own October viewing or fitting in some non-horror viewing before the big binge, I hope to have you covered.

Do you like screaming? Do you like machine gun fire? How about the combination of screaming and machine gun fire? If the answer is "yes" then please let me direct you to Bruno Mattei's Rambo-sploitation duo Strike Commando and Strike Commando 2 . Severin released discs for these a little while ago and I do love Italians running around the Philippines blowing stuff up. Sure the actor playing the lead changes between films but that's probably the least crazy thing on offer from the fertile minds of Mattei and co-writer/nonsense master Claudio Fargasso. These films don't have the sci-fi angle of the Mattei helmed Robowar but promise similar dumb-but-fun good times. Both of these are currently streaming on Tubi and Prime

I had the good fortune to catch a screening of Frederic Hobbs' Godmonster of Indian Flats recently and it was exactly the kind of hyper-regional, scrappy, low-budget American exploitation movie I've grown to love over the years. Unfortunately I missed out on Hobbs' somewhat more obscure film from the same year (1973) Alabama's Ghost. The tale of a nightclub janitor who stumbles on the personal effects of a powerful magician and uses them to become a popular nightclub celebrity. Of course dabbling with the dark arts comes with a price and Alabama finds himself entangled with voodoo, a vampire cult, and an elephant for some reason. I don't believe this has gotten a release since VHS but a rip of that tape is currently streaming on Prime if you're down for some regional zaniness.

Speaking of regional zaniness, on the opposite coast from Hobbs low budget filmmaker and playwright Andy Milligan was churning out frequently sadistic sex and gore packed weirdness including 1970s Torture Dungeon. My own experience with Milligan is limited to Fleshpot on 42nd Street which I really liked so I would definitely be curious to see his take on a period piece. Torture Dungeon interestingly enough seems to draw a lot of comparisons to Game of Thrones due to it's royal intrigue and...well...torture and stuff. Check it out on Tubi

I realize I'm not keeping things too classy in this week's installment but for those of you who want "professionally" made movies for some reason I noticed that Guillermo del Toro's masterful ghost story The Devil's Backbone is currently on Prime. Seriously, if you haven't seen The Devil's Backbone or like me haven't seen it in some time - check it out - it will make for great October viewing and won't cause your friends and relatives to ask you if it's a "real" movie like some of these other suggestions.

That's what I've got this week, go watch a movie already!