The Shock-O-Rama Poster Show 2021 #1

Welcome to 2021 and a new year of cool, vintage movie posters (hopefully). Jeepers, I am already starting the year off with three or four titles I am very excited about. (Psst! They are towards the bottom.) I don't expect to buy much this year, actually. I know I say that all of the time, but this year I will have all sorts of crazy medical expenses and a move (California to Washington--sometime this coming fall).  I can't afford much... EEEK! I shouldn't have bought these. (Yes, I should have. I NEEDED them, right?) Anyway, take a look or don't.

Oh! It looks like the Shock-O-Rama Poster Show is about to begin. Grab a seat and here we go-go...

TENEMENT (aka GAME OF SURVIVAL):

I already have a copy of this...but it and the one below were "free" with another purchase. This is a video one sheet...and it has been re-titled from the theatrical release as GAME OF SURVIVAL.  Grindhouse legend Roberta Findlay directed this sleaze epic. It was released not so long ago on BluRay with the combined title TENEMENT: GAME OF SURVIVAL. Rolled tri-fold.

THE INCREDIBLE TORTURE SHOW (aka BLOODSUCKING FREAKS):

Another freebie I already have...but I will gladly take another copy. This is the original release poster for the infamous BLOODSUCKING FREAKS, a pretty grim low-budget sickie shocker from the 70s that the folks at Troma bought and rechristened with the better (and more exploitative) moniker. The poster shows it was rated X...but it was for violence, not porn. 

GOLIATH AND THE GIANTS (Italian 2 foglio re-release):

Although I dig (most of) the old gladiator/peplum/"Hercules"-type films from the late-50's/early 60's, I pretty much have all of the ones I want. I only display my horror stuff and am kind of done collecting these. I would have passed on this had it not been so cheap (maybe $7, I think?). Eh? Why not? Sold.

BARRACUDA (French large):

I have one of these already, but I paid a lot more for that one than this one. I love my JAWS knockoffs and there is another grande-sized poster like this on eBay for more than $800! Yikes! So...why not a spare? I never got to see JAWS in its initial release (nor JAWS 2 --but I did see them in their re-releases in the early 80s). BARRACUDA came out in 1978 and it was the first JAWS-like movie I got to see. Sure, the film was NOT great, but at the time, I'd take what I could get.

ERASERHEAD (Italian 2 foglio 2017 re-release):

Although I'd much rather have a US one sheet for this, I don't think one sheets for ERASERHEAD actually exist. Even though this is Italian and a re-release, it still features the famed photo of Jack Nance in David Lynch's disturbing debut feature film. 

VOODOO BLACK EXORCIST:

I know this is an UGLY poster. It's an even WORSE movie. I've been hunting this movie poster down for YEARS. While I paid more for it than I would have liked to, I have bid higher (and lost) for the poster in the past. What's the deal-i-o? This is actually a  Spanish movie from 1975 that has been dubbed and retitled to not only exploit the then-recent hit THE EXORCIST, but also play up the popular horror blaxploitation market of the era. The mummy of a voodoo priest is brought back to life on a cruise ship. It sounds interesting but is total crap and utterly forgettable (scoring a whopping 2.5 stars out of 10 on IMDB.com). But as a collector of schlock and blaxploitation horror posters, I had to have this. 

FROGS (Italian 2 Foglio):

Ooooo... I have been after the Italian poster for FROGS for a long time. Hot diggity! Such amazing horror art of nature gone amuck ,.,.with lizards, spiders, a snake...and, ironically, not a single frog anywhere to be seen. ("Rane" is Italian for "frogs," so I am guessing by retaining the FROGS title, Italian movie goers could have had no idea frogs were even in the movie.)

QUEEN OF BLOOD:

This was an unexpected pick up that I am o' so delighted to have scored. This poster is GORGEOUS (as most of AIP's horror/sci fi posters were back in the day...). The film is set in the near future (1990! Zowie!) when Earth makes contact with an alien race. Basil Rathbone, John Saxon and Dennis Hopper star. Wild, out of this world action with a green alien "vampire." (Is that giving anything away?) EEK!

SPOOK CHASERS:

I have a few Bowery Boys posters, starting with THE BOWERY BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS (of course). After that find, I became aware of this title---and have been after it since. SPOOK CHASERS? How could I NOT want it? I've been outbid on it left and right. I spotted this one on eBay. Hmm. I watched it for weeks...possibly months. Compared to others I'd missed out on, it was a fair price...and it looked to be in pretty good condition. Plus it was from a dealer I had purchased from in the past. I don't know why I was dragging my feet...but I finally bit the bullet and bought it. Whoo hoo!

THE HORROR SHOW:

I spent more on this than I would have liked--but it was worth it. I've seen this poster in the past, but usually in another language. However, this was in English and a one-sheet size. I've never seen this documentary and I never knew it existed until I first saw the poster. This poster seems to be hard to find, as well (Or maybe I've just been unlucky in tracking one down?). But just look at the poster....ZOWIE! It features a horror smorgasbord of horror figures from throughout film history. How could I pass this up? IMDB says this was a TV movie---so, of course, any one sheet would be hard to track down. (This is clearly an international one sheet for foreign theatrical distribution---hence the lack of a rating.)

Okay, kids...that's it for this time. Hopefully there was a title or two you enjoyed getting a gander at. Ugh... I've got to get to bed. 

Cheers and...