X-Ray (1981; Boaz Davidson)

Back in the good old days, this slasher entry from Cannon (produced by head honchos, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus) was released on an MGM-UA big box VHS with the more familiar title, Hospital Massacre, which at least sounds more fun than the film really is. The Scream Factory DVD-BD combo pack (which pairs this with Schizoid, another Cannon slasher from the day) carries it under the title X-Ray- referring to a pivotal piece of its meagre plot, in which Susan Jeremy (Barbi Benton) is mysteriously kept at the hospital, over an x-ray which alleges she has a terminal condition, while some maniac in a surgical mask slices and dices all the staff on the floor around her. 

 

So Sad About Gloria (1973; Harry Thomason)

One of most interesting "where are they now" stories from the days of regional films involves director and producer Harry Thomason, who would produce such successful TV series as Designing Women and Evening Shade, and contribute to Bill Clinton's election campaign. He had paid his dues in the previous decade with a quartet of drive-in genre pictures made in his native Arkansas, including the horror anthology Encounter With The Unknown (1973); the 1975 rural comedy The Great Lester Boggs (of which I may be its one admirer); and the delightful 1950s sci-fi homage The Day It Came To Earth (1977). Of these, perhaps So Sad About Gloria is the most sentimental, character-driven and competently acted (if because it features some Hollywood talent... not to take away from the busy local players who appear in many of these films).  

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961; Coleman Francis)

Everything you have read about Beast Of Yucca Flats is true. It really is one of the worst films ever made. Or, are we missing the point? Surely no one would aspire to make something this terrible, or is this film an intentional gob of spit in the face of Tinseltown?

 

Slipstream (1973; David Acomba)

"The prairie knows nothing but the wind; it's raptured by its breeze and ridden by its storm"

Reclusive DJ Mike Mallard (Luke Askew) hosts a radio show whose on-air soundscapes of unusual music, sprinkled with poetic narration, has developed a mystique among his young counterculture audience of listeners that is entranced enough by this mystery to seek him out in person.  The enigmatic aura is furthered with Mallard's broadcast emanating from a secluded farmhouse. This successful gimmick was dreamed up by his producer Alec Braverman (Eli Rill) to develop a following of listeners, yet the brooding disc jockey has tired of the gimmicks and continues to explore artistic purity on the airwaves, while receiving pressure from his boss to play more conventional, commercial music.

Bikini Drive-In (1995; Fred Olen Ray)

A well-remembered T&A favourite from the days of late night cable, Bikini Drive-In remains one of the most durable titles from the prolific Fred Olen Ray, whose low-budget exploitation films were plentiful on rental shelves and specialty channels during the heyday of the video age.  His movies are especially known for generous showcases of old and new favourite B-movie personalities. As per its namesake, Bikini Drive-In, features many veterans from ye olde drive-in, as well as scream queens and familiar Cinemax personalities of its time.