Welcome to the second installment of Punk Movie Night, which is of course MaximumRockNRoll's new underground video/film column. There was a good response after the first column, both for the filmakers and myself. We still need more entries however. So if you are a filmaker, send me your work so I can review it and help to get the word out about your film. If you are an aspiring filmaker, then get to work. Send all relevant material to: Jay Dead, PMB 419, 1442A Walnut Street, Berkeley, California 94709. From now on you will be able to find all of my past columns at www.wethepunx.com, but don't get too happy because there is after all only one, so far. This month's column, and all future columns, will feature top five lists from some of our featured filmakers, as well as some tips on how to get your work seen. So, let's go. Turn the ringer off on your phone, close all of the curtains, ball-gag your infants, position the forty between your thighs, and let the fun begin!

This tape features three different films by the legendary New york underground filmaker, including some of his most recent work. There is of course the film ECTASY IN ENTROPY, as well as WHY DO YOU EXIST, and TOM THUMB. ECTASY IN ENTROPY reminded me alot of a totally underground version of a Keneth Anger film (Yes, even more underground). The lighting and art direction are pretty lush for a Nick Zedd film, but even that sort of visual imagery can't soften Zedd's vison completely. I have to admit that it took me a couple of viewings of this film before I really discovered it's groove, for lack of a better term. The one constant I discovered in all the viewings was the undeniable presense his actors had on screen, including none other than Annie Sprinkle. In WHY DO YOU EXIST, Zedd combines some of the best elements of Andy Warhol and Richard Kern's (Who Zedd refers to as Nazi Dick) work, along with Zedd's own twsited touches of perversion, and the all important food fetish. His actors are glamorous in the same way Divine was, and they perform for their screen tests as if Zedd had them under some sort of subversive hypnotic trance. TOM THUMB is Zedd's most recent film, and it uses digital technology, which is something I was very excited about. TOM THUMB stars Nick Zedd's son, and is as the title suggests a story about little Tom Thumb. This time he's not in the land of the giants, but in a digital landscape that is filled with wormholes, and inhabited by mutant amputees, one of which is played by Zedd himself. This film actually opens this tape, and it's a perfect prelude for a video that is a must see for any underground film fan. (Penetration Films, PO BOX 1589, NYC, NY 10009)

1. BORN OF THE WIND (Mike Kuchar, 1963) A lonely mad scientist creates a mate for himself and, needless to say, things don't go as expected. Great atmosphere, high melodrama and a very creative sequence of a face melting. Bob Cowan is fantastic as the scientist. He has the expressiveness of a silent film star. Mike Kuchar's movies always have a sympathetic quality unique and refreshing in this jaded age of ironic detachment.
2. TINSEL TOWN (George Kuchar, 1999) A tawdry depiction of Hollywood's decayed depravity thrust into the viewer's face with seedy abandon! One of George Kuchar's class pictures shot mostly on digital video, I think. The colors are bright and rich. Like most of his movies, you don't know what's going to happen next. There's a lot to it - kinky rubdowns, vampires, wrestling intrigue, a lusty mother throwing herself at her starlet daughter's suitors, and great party scenes. As always, George Kuchar proves creativity
is much more important than a budget.
3. GENOCIDE HIGHWAY (Josh Allen, Aaron Lapage, 1992) There must have been something in the air at the time. I saw this a few months before the release of Reservoir Dogs and I swear it seemed like the tone and certain plot elements of Highway were hijacked by Dogs. But I'm sure it wasn't. The sound effects kill me - tiny snub-nosed pistols sound like gigantic cannons. I sell this movie on my website and the director didn't understand why I
wanted to do that.
4. MULTIPLE MANIACS (John Waters, 1969) Water's last truly underground
movie has all the Dreamlanders and a great scene where Divine desperately hangs on to his wig while a giant lobster rapes him. A lot of Catholic residue is exorcised in a lesbian sex scene which takes place in a church. Watch a rosary go where God never intended. With special appearances by Jesus and the Infant of Prague. None of Waters' other movies have such strong (and lovingly blasphemous) religious overtones.
5. JESUS CHRIST SNUFF MACHINE (No director credit, 199?) Speaking of blasphemy, Jesus kicks ass in this movie, wearing a black leather jacket and a goatee. John Kennedy was the anti-Christ and Jesus put the bullet in his skull, not Lee Harvey. The ex-President's decaying body's been kept alive in some house owned by twin sisters that look like men in bad wigs and mumus and Jesus must put an end to the madness. No dialogue, just an eerie soundtrack that fits the images hauntingly. The shaky hand-held camera work adds to the hallucinatory feel and I love the scene where jell-o's fed to the corpse-like Kennedy.

It's a lot like band's getting gigs. There are some encouraging venues for underground movies all over the U.S. - Artists' Television Access, Film Arts Foundation, Pacific Film Archive are three in the Bay Area. You can send them stuff and maybe they'll play it. You can also organize screenings at some of these venues and set up a tour throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, whatever. There are lots of resources to check out on the web. The Flicker
homepage (http://www.sirius.com/~sstark/) is particularly good. They have a great links page. Put together a snappy little press kit and send stuff out. Someone will play it.
Also, you can book your own venue. There are plenty of halls, churches, and auditoriums to rent out all over the place and it's surprising how reasonable some of their rates can be. If you charge a few bucks for entry you can cover your expenses. Get the word out like crazy - hype your movie, alert the presses and someone might come and write about your event. Publicity is an important tool for getting a movie seen. If you turn your event into a benefit you'll probably get more publicity and you'd be doing something nice for the community.
Public Access cable stations are also good. Many of them have alternative cinema shows that are dying for for some content. Chances are they'll play your stuff on TV. I've gotten good response from this. Discover your local Public Access station and send them some of your stuff. There are also a bunch of them all over the country soliciting content, so take advantage of an oppurtunity for national exposure.
There are lots of sites that screen movies all over the web. It's not the same as seeing a movie on a big screen, but it will get your movie out to more people. Different sites have different sensibilities, so check out a bunch of them and see which ones you like.

This column is already bringing you and I just the kind of d.i.y. quality of filmaking we crave, especially after getting home from a VERBAL ABUSE show, pouring with sweat, and way too fucking amped up to even attempt to lay your head down on a pillow. AMERIKILL is shot entirely on video, which isn't all that inappropriate for this no budget, basically plotless exploration of what would happen if you took the cast from "Geeks And Freaks," and made them wear wallet chains and black converse high tops, then attempted to shoot a slasher flick that's more informed by John Waters than John Carpenter.
Basically, you've got this crew of ultra suburban punks, but instead of wasting their time in lame bands or editing some redundant zine, these punks are all working on their own individual horror films(videos). There is some implied jealousy, and a conflict or two between actors and filmaker, but when a mysterious masked killer begins to take out the punks, and a couple of cheerleaders, one by one, there really isn't a pattern or any kind of formula to figure out. AMERIKILL is more about dialogue(suprise), and hilarious POV shots from dying deers, dogs, and the only good eye left for a girl who has just fallen face first onto a sharp branch, puncturing her other eye. I should also mention that the editing is very good here, better than alot of films with much higher budgets (or even a budget) than AMERIKILL. The film opens with an ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE song, which is a cool start for any film. (Send $13 postage paid, 28th Street Productions,1416 Lincoln Woods Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228 - Make checks payable to: Chris LaMartina)

1. CRINOLINE HEAD - A slasher movie by a friend of mine in South Carolina.
2. DARKNESS - An underground vampire flick classic stuff.
3. DEAD NEXT DOOR - One of the best zombie flicks of all time.
4. REDNECK ZOMBIES - Funny as shit undead flick, shot here in Maryland.
5. SCREENKILL - Locally filmed serial killer/snuff film yarn. I met the
director the other day.

1. Four-walled. I rented out a local theatre, and had them show AMERIKILL.
I told everyone I knew about it.
2. I sent tapes to distros, directors (people like me, who want to help out).
3. I started a website, and put it on messageboards w/links to it
4. You can go to conventions, and sell copies

This video attempts to document a handful of the many punk bands Japan has to offer these days. There have been some great Japanese punk/hardcore bands over the years, and personally I would have loved the chance to see, possibly, the next TEENGENRATE, GASOLINE, ASSFORT, CROW, GAUZE, or CORRUPTED. Unfortunately, that didn't happen this time, but there were some decent enough bands on TREMOR ON THE WESTERN FRONT. The bands on this video are emulating the London punk scene from the years 1977-1980, literally. You got a band that resembles and sounds an awful lot like the CLASH, a Oi! band, an EXPLOITED band, and even a STIFF LITTLE FINGERS band. It's not horrible, and I was pretty entertained through most of this tape. It's just that I was in the mood to be blown away, but realistically, how often does that happen in one's life? Some of the bands making appearnces on TREMOR ON THE WESTERN FRONT are: THE CREED, FIRST ALERT, CLAMPDOWN, RADIO SHANGHAI, and THE GRIFFIN.
(MCR Company, 157 Kamiagu Maizuru Kyoto, 624-0913, JAPAN)
Before I sign off for this month, I wanted to remind you all to check out the documenatry about the early career of John Waters entitled DIVINE TRASH. It's available now on video at most independently owned video stores, and if it isn't then you should definitely request that your store order one. Cheers!