By: Heather Seebach

On Sunday, May 5th, Exhumed Films hosted their third eX-Fest at the International House of Philadelphia. Typically, eX-Fest is a 12-hour horror movie marathon but this year's was dedicated to exploitation/grindhouse films. I was fortunate enough to attend this magical event and have brought you my re-cap! Here is a rundown of the films that played and my quick thoughts on each:

Sunday in the Country (1974)

aka V engeance is Mine

This surprising thriller comes from the by-gone days of film when old men were total badasses. Ernest Borgnine plays a kindly old farmer living with his grand-daughter who is forced to defend his home from intruders. One of those intruders is Michael J. Pollard who gives a hilariously over-the-top villain performance. It was pretty odd and amusiwatching Herman from Scrooged try to rape bitches.

Radioactive Dreams (1985)





I n this post- apocalyptic 80s gem ,

Michael Dudikoff and John Stockwell star as private dete ctive-wanna bes fittingly named Phillip and Marlow (get it?!). Stuck in a fallout shelter since childhood, they emerge in the distant future of 2010 (ha) and become mixed up with dangerous villains. Think S am Raimi's Crimewave meets Max Max. It is full of 80s music, cheese, and an impressive giant mechanical rat.

Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)





Molly is a devoted aunt and barmaid, but also a batshit crazy killer of men in her free time. Her sailor daddy fucked her up pretty badly as a kid , and now she imagines the handsome men on TV look like h er father and then proceeds to murd er them. And for some reason she is obsessed with shaving them. Its a co rny old movie but has some hilariously bizarre moments, like th is creepy tattoo artist.





Vigilante (1983)

Robert Forster and Fred Williamson star in this r e venge thriller from William Lustig. Their town is overrun by criminals and the police force is u seless. When Forster's character loses a family member to violence, he takes the law into his own hands. Probably the best film sh own at eX-Fest (though not the m ost entertain ing), Vigilante also has appearances from Woody Strode and the Maniac himself, Joe Spinell.

Lightning Swords of Death (1972)

aka Shogun Assassin 2 aka Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

This is the third installment in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, but technically the seco nd Sh ogun Assassin. Confused yet? Doesn 't matter because Lightning Swords of Death is more of

Ogami Itto kicking ass and taking heads. I'm not a hug e fan of martial arts movies unless they're completely insane, so this one moved a bit slowly for my tastes, but when the arterial blood started spraying, I was so there. It's easy to see where Tarantino pulled some of his inspiration for Kill Bill.

Get Down and Boogie (1975)

aka Darktown Strutters

By far, this was the most ba tshit bonke rs entry of the fest (though the final feature i s a close second). This wild blax plo itation comedy is a bout motorcycle-riding gang of black ladies who , while searching for a member's missing mother, uncover a bizarre conspiracy with a local C olonel Sanders -type entrepreneur. Parts of this movie made me feel like I was legitimately going insane ( like in the bad g uy's ho use). I can' t even describe this movie any further, just watch it. Seriously. One of th e weirdest, funniest things you'll ever see.

Pick-Up Summer (1980)

aka Pinball Summer

This Canadian sex romp w as my l east favorite of the marathon. Maybe t hat's because I'm just not a fan of s ex comedies in general (I can see boobs anytime I want, sorry), or maybe it 's because i t was the second-to-last movi e and I needed sleep. Whatever the case, if you like 80s sex com edies - or just T&A - you'll probably dig this.





Gums (1976)