CBS LATE MOVIE: The Manitou (1978)
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Manitou was on the CBS Late Movie on May 11 and August 29, 1984. “Evil does not die…it waits…to be reborn…” Yet sadly, this would be the last movie for William Girdler, who died in a helicopter crash while scouting locations for his next movie. It’s a shame because Girdler had a talent for […]
CBS LATE MOVIE: The Initiation of Sarah (1978)
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Initiation of Sarah was on the CBS Late Movie on January 1 and July 7, 1982. Originally airing on February 6, 1978, this movie reminds me of a very important lesson: the occult was everywhere in the 1970s, and it was ready to mess up your life. The film opens with Sarah (Kay Lenz, House), […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Stingray (1978)
When you talk about late 70s regional drive-in cinema, Stingray is an absolute slice of Midwest exploitation action that demands respect. Directed by Southern Illinois University film professor Richard Taylor, this isn’t just another post-Smokey and the Bandit gearhead flick—it’s a gritty, weird, relentlessly paced indie bullet-and-asphalt thriller that somehow bridges the gap between pure […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Starcrash (1978)
After the Star Wars became an international sensation, Luigi Cozzi (the batshit insane Hercules movies with Lou Ferrigno, Contamination and more) was able to round up a decent budget to make a film called Empire of the Stars, which eventually became this film. Cozzi battled against food poisoning of the cast and crew and even a Communist worker revolt which led to the […]
Cat In the Cage (1978)
California wine heir Bruce Khan (Behrouz Vossoughi, the Marlon Brando of Iran) returns home from a mental ward to a wealthy family estate under siege by greed and suspicion. He immediately clashes with his new, much younger stepmother Susan (Sybil Danning)—his mother’s former nurse—whom Bruce suspects of having a hand in his mother’s death. Susan […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Snake In the Eagle’s Shadow (1978)
Before 1978, the Hong Kong martial arts scene was stuck in a rut, trying to clone the fierce, stone-faced tragedy of Bruce Lee. Enter Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, the brilliant directorial debut of Yuen Woo-ping. This is the absolute masterpiece that shattered the mold, introduced the world to slapstick kung-fu comedy and turned a […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Supersoul Brother (1978)
Also known as The Six Thousand Dollar N*****r, this is a regional Miami superhero crime comedy directed by Rene Martinez Jr. (The Guy from Harlem, Road of Death). Two criminals — Bob (Benny Latimore) and Jim (Lee Cross) — pay Dr. Dippy (Peter Conrad) six grand to create a superhero formula. You may think that such […]
Sizzlin’ Summer of Subterranean Psychotronica 2026: The Foreigner (1978)
Week 9 (Aug 16 – 22) – Cinema of Transgression: “none shall emerge unscathed” -Nick Zedd The film follows Max Menace (Eric Mitchell, a foundational figure of the No Wave cinema movement), a mysterious, bleached-blond European secret agent who touches down in New York City wearing a sharp white suit and black tie for a job that no […]
Sybil Danning’s Adventure Video: Blood & Guts (1978)
The story follows a small-time wrestling troupe scraping by in dingy basements and grotty local venues under the guidance of promoter Red Henkel (Henry Beckman, The Brood). The undisputed star of the outfit is veteran grappler Danny “Dandy Dan” O’Neil (William Smith, who seems born for this), an aging, hard-drinking, muscle-kissing narcissist wearing a blond […]
WEIRD WEDNESDAY: The Silent Partner (1978)
Based on the Anders Bodelsen novel Think of a Number, this Daryl Duke-directed (The Thorn Birds) and Curtis Hanson-written (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, L.A. Confidential, Sweet Kill) film was an early Carolco film and also one of the earliest films to take advantage of Canada’s Capital Cost Allowance incentive plan, which gave production companies tax inducements […]
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