The Rider of The Skulls(1965) aka El charro de las Calaveras

Directed by Alfredo Salazar(The Aztec Mummy Against the Humanoid Robot(1958)(writer), The Aztec Mummy(1957)(writer),Devil Doll Men(1961)(writer))

Starring Dagoberto Rodriguez(Blue Demon contra cerebros infernales(1968), Santo contra los zombies(1962)), David Silva(The Holy Mountain(1973),Sisters of Satan(1978)) and Alicia Caro(100 Cries of Terror(1965))

It's been a long time since I've covered Mexican cinema. Specifically the broke-ass, Universal monster rip-offs that were prevalent during the 50's and 60's. Sure, I would rather watch a luchador movie, anytime and anywhere, but sitting down with microbudget monster movies is always worth the 90 minutes or less out of my day.

Today, I took some afternoon time to watch The Rider of the Skulls(1965), a film that not only has c-grade rip-off monsters, but also incorporates Mexican cinemas favorite element, A masked hero. Unlike Zorro, El Charro de las Calaveras wears a mask that is more akin to a burka and chooses to use his "fight" for justice to fight supernatural creatures instead of banditos. I know now the real scourge of the Mexican countryside are plaid-wearing werewolves. The movie brings us through three distinct stories that easily could have been the pilot episodes for a television show, albeit a really bad one. The werewolf I previously mentioned, Charro also ends up going head to head with a vampire and a headless horsemen. Throw in a crazy witch and a prophesizing zombie for good measure, and there you have it, a classic Mesoamerican western.

Does it sound ridiculous enough for you yet? If not, let me telll you about Charro's rather unorthodox approach to fighting beasties. In most movies, we see monster hunters use the conventional weapons such as silver bullets and wooden stakes. Not Charro, nosiree!! Charro carries a gun, and a machete as well, sometimes using them. But his preferred means of eliminating the forces of evil is punching the shit outta them,with the occasional judo throw tossed in. Who fucking knew that would work? Let's add in that he keeps the company of an alcoholic retard and two young, orphan boys and the weirdness just hits astronomical proportions.

Despite the really, really bad special effects and completely ridiculous storyline, I found myself loving this film. Partly for the very reasons I just mentioned. Okay..it's for most of it. Charro is nonstop laughs and something that should never be contained. Show it at parties, bars, wedding funerals, it is good for all occassions and everyone should see it.

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Manchurian Avenger(1985)

As a genre movie buff, I am always game to watch a film that doesn't stay within the confines of a single style. Who wouldn't be, it's not like being a trash cinema purist is going to get you anywhere in life besides negative Twitter feedback, if that. So when I first heard of the film Shanghai Joe, a mixed bag kung-fu/spaghetti western, there were no if-ands-or buts that it was something I had to get my hands on. To tell you the truth, if you throw martial arts into any type of film I will probably want to watch it. Unfortunately the copy I procured of Shanghai Joe had a one or two minute delay in the sound, and there is no way in Hell I can watch something like that. So I threw it in the garbage, annoyed and defeated.

Not too long ago I came across yet another cross-genre film of the same variety. Since I am easy to please I figured I might as well give it a shot. Besides the lead actor looks like an Asian Charles Bronson, so I figured it had to be awesome, Right?

Not quite.

Manchurian Avenger(1985) kicks off with Joe, a Chinese "immigrant" heading back to the land of his upbringing. Not that we actually know where Joe is headed back from. Is it China? Is it Frisco? Nobody really knows, probably not even Joe himself. All we know is that he looks like Bronson and doesn't really use his mouth to talk much. He says it all with fists and feet. After a couple of skirmishes with racist whites and Mexican bandits, the latter which results in Joe making a friend, Joe comes back home to find out that the uncle who raised him has been killed, and his "cousin" is bedridden after an improper stomping by a gang of racist white thugs. Despite the crackerness of these dirty thugs, it just so happens they happened to be employed by a local Chinese "Warlord" who happens to go by the name Cheng. Not only does Cheng have most of the townsfolk living in fear, but he is also responsible for the death of Joe's uncle in a quest for hidden gold. By the time Cheng is introduced, Joe has already fought his way, mustache and all, through dozens of crackers and bandidos. How hard can an old Chinese guy be to destroy. You see, Cheng has a secret weapon, and it's magic. Not only is he a wizard but he also employs "The Four Winds", who I can only guess are supposed to be ancient Chinese spirits who live in a western cave. Chinese Spirits who also happen to be multicultural. Apparently the Heavenly Dynasty is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Yay affirmative action!!

I didn't hate Manchurian Avenger but I didn't exactly love it. Let's just say I'm not going to pressure anybody into watching it in the near future, if at all. It is what it is, which is a low-budget, American-made martial arts flick. I'm pretty sure the only reason that it wasn't a full on kung-fu/wuxia movie is probably due to a lack of Asian actors in that part of Colorado during the early 80's. Through in a bunch of whites and latinos while filming in the Western US, and you got yourself a cross-genre spectacular, even if it wasn't. The effort was made, but I don't think there really was any pay-off to Avenger, at least from what I can see on the IMDB page. From the looks of it, the director and writer never made another attempt at filmmaking, which is kind of sad, because this movie wasn't horrible. Sure it takes a special kind of person to find enjoyment in this shit, but it could have been worse. The action was a bit lagging and could have been a lot more prevalent to make up for the lack of acting ability present. The martial arts scenes were actually pretty solid, unfortunately only a couple of the actors possessed actual skills, which probably accounts for the lack of enough fight sequences.

But again, what do you expect out of a kung-fu flick directed and produced by a couple of whiteboys from Colorado? It may not have been perfect for a martial arts connoisseur such as my self, but I can honestly say a good attempt was made. It's just too damn bad the filmmakers gave up after there first try.

Big Screen Big Apple- The Good,The Bad,The Weird(2008) Wed. Mar. 2 at 6pm,9pm

I've been itching to see the Korean spaghetti western The Good, The Bad, The Weird(2008) for a couple years. Now that it's hitting the big screen at BAM Rose to help finish of the Severely Damaged: The Cinema of Kim Jee-woon series, it looks like I won't have to suffer through a dvd on a 22 inch screen.

BAMcinématek says - "Kim Jee-woon makes his case as one of Korea’s most entertaining filmmakers with this spectacular Korean spaghetti western. Visually audacious and with a heart attack-inducing pace, Kim’s film needs to be seen on the big screen for its beautiful widescreen visuals and stylish action set-pieces. This tale about three Korean desperados in 1940s Manchuria out to steal a treasure map while on the run from the Japanese army and Chinese gangsters is possibly the most fun you’ll ever have watching a movie."

Wednesday March 2nd @ 6pm 7 9pm BAM Rose Cinemas 30 Lafayette Avenue Brooklyn general admission is $12