As I mentioned in my review of Famous T & A, many studios created compilation tapes to stock video stores. They were cheap to produce, gave audiences exactly what they wanted, and always made a profit. Charles Band and Ken Dixon had already made two compilation tapes, including 1982’s The Best of Sex and Violence. They got B-movie icons like John Carradine and Sybil Danning to deliver wry commentary over the clips shown. Band and Dixon hired Cassandra Peterson, who exploded in popularity as the horror hostess Elvira, for their next tape. They also brought Forrest J. Ackerman, the founding editor/writer of Famous Monsters of Filmland, to write Peterson’s quips. While the other compilations focused on violence or nudity, this one focused primarily on blood and guts. In 1983, Charles Band released the compilation tape Filmgore through his Wizard Video label.
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Synopsis
The Mistress of the Dark, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), hosts this gallery of gore, offering her snide quips and “valuable assets.” First on the chopping block is Herschell Gordon Lewis’ 1963 splatterfest, Blood Feast, about an Egyptian caterer who’s a cannibal. Next, we get two of the most highly regarded 70s shockers, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Driller Killer. Then, we move on to Drive-In Massacre, Ted V. Mikels’ The Astro Zombies, and Carnival of Blood. We’re also treated to low-budget movies like Dr. Jekyll’s Dungeon of Death and Fiend, from Don Dohler of Nightbeast infamy. After this, we return to HG Lewis with what he’s considered his best film, 1964’s Two Thousand Maniacs! The collection ends with the notorious 1975 stinker Snuff, a pre-existing no-budget shocker re-edited with a gory ending. With Elvira as your guide, check out some of the goriest scenes that Hollywood has to offer.
Review
Compared to the earlier comp tapes, Filmgore is better than Famous T & A but worse than Sex and Violence. What makes this one more enjoyable is Cassandra Peterson, who’s entertaining as always as Elvira. She delivers each line with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek and has fun commenting on the movies. Also, while the other compilations were either trailers or random clips, this one offers the cliff notes of several films. Admittedly, this does lessen the impact of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre but prevents you from suffering through Snuff. Then again, spotlighting all the bloody scenes might also entice people to seek out the full movies. It’s similar to modern movie reviewers on YouTube, where people more or less condense a film to explain the plot. These comp tapes were ahead of their time, or I’m giving them too much credit.
In terms of actual production, this is as cheap as you can get: one set, one actress, and one camera. The quips written by Forrest J. Ackerman aren’t the most clever, but they’re fun in a cheesy way. Cassandra Peterson is at least given more to do here than Sybil Danning, who looked confused the whole time. Some of the films chosen don’t feel like they belong, like The Astro Zombies, which isn’t all that bloody. The same thing could apply to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but at least the violence felt gruesome. At around 90 minutes, this compilation goes by fairly quickly and delivers on what it promises. There are better comp tapes out there, but this is a decent one to watch. Overall, Filmgore does what it sets out to do, but don’t expect anything of substance.
Buy Filmgore on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3J3VTjD.
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