February 5, 2013

Filthy Review: 'Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell'


Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)

Review by Jude Felton

Maybe I am along on this, or maybe not, but if I buy a new Blu-ray or DVD (sorry, I don’t rent anymore) I get royally pissed if the disc has no trailers, or previews if you prefer. You know the sort of discs I mean; they go straight to the menu page, or worse still auto-play. Sorry, but that shit doesn’t wash with me; I want trailers, and not just one or two. Give me a good 15 or 20 minutes worth of forthcoming attractions, and then I am ready for the main event. Back in the days of VHS you’d see trailers for all manner of films; good, bad and downright horrendous. Celluloid Bloodbath is a celebration of these prevues.


Not so long ago I watched, and reviewed, the behemoth that was 42nd Street Forever, from Synapse. It’s a hell of a disc, and I highly recommend it to all, but at around 3 hours it numbs the ass a little. Plus, it mixes up the genres and sub-genres giving the viewer a well-rounded view of sleaze and just about every ‘ploitation’ style of film.


With Celluloid Bloodbath, which is the belated follow-up to Mad Ron’s Prevues from Hell (1987), we get 60 odd trailers in around an hour and a half, and all are very much in the horror camp. Sure, there’s exploitation, Sci-Fi and Giallo’s, but they are all very much in the horror side of things, and quite honestly it is great fun to watch. However, rather than just sit through a barrel-load of previews, with nowt else, we also have a host or three. Our tour guides for this journey are Joe Zaso and Raine Brown, along with Happy Goldsplatt the zombie. Also, joining these three is a whole host of other folk from around the horror scene. The likes of Linnea Quigley and William Forsythe, and many others, all pop up to add there tuppence worth, and it makes for a well-rounded viewing experience.

The trailers contained on this DVD range from the well-known films of the genre, such as The Exorcist, Suspiria and Cannibal Holocaust, to some really bloody obscure stuff. There are trailers for films on here, such as Beast of the Yellow Night, that I had no idea even existed, and whilst the trailers are all good fun, I’m not so sure I want to check out the actual film!


That’s part of the joy of this collection though; you get all the good stuff but none of the filler and it fairly flies by. The overall look of the film is one of a low-budget affair, one that fits the subject matter, and has a wonderfully gritty and beaten-up look to it. This is a step back in time to when trailers were fun, hell, they were a blast, they threw all manner of bullshit into the previews with claims to be the scariest, most outrageous or whatever films. Film these days are carefully marketed, with test audiences (yes, even horror films) and very specific advertising strategies. 


Not these bad boys; you want to see these films, well, some of them, but they are a joy to watch.
Watching films should be about being entertained, about enjoying yourself, giving yourself a break from the everyday bullshit we all have to deal with, and these prevues exemplify this. Sure, I like a serious thought-provoking film, more often than you would think, but at the end of the day it will always boil down to whether I enjoyed the film or not. Is it good or bad? Who gives a shit? One person’s good is another’s bad, but fun is fun, however you slice it.


Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell embraces the fun, and in turn wants you to fully embrace it as well. So, grab yourself a copy of this DVD, a case of beer and get young friends around, then sit back and enjoy the madness!

Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell is available on DVD from Virgil Films.





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