Sleazoid Express: A Mind-Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square

December is Trash Cinema Month at the PorPor Books Blog

Book Review: 'Sleazoid Express: A Mind-Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square'

by Bill Landis and Michelle Clifford

 

In 1999 Bill Landis and his wife Michelle Clifford returned to zine publishing with the stapled, 8 x 11 inch zine Metasex. 

 

Landis had by that time attained a quasi-mythological status both among trash film fiends and highbrow culture, no mean feat. That momentum led to the publication in 2002 of the trade paperback 'Sleazoid Express: A Mind-Twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square.'

'Sleazoid' (Fireside / Simon and Schuster, New York) is 315 pages in length and a well-produced book, with a large, easy-on-the-eye font. There are full- and half-page black-and-white stills, and scans of old advertisements, scattered throughout the text. 

 

The book's chapters are organized around theaters made famous in the 42nd street grindhouses during the 'Deuce' days of the 1970s and 1980s. Each theater is associated with reviews and reminiscences concerning a particular genre of exploitation films; thus it is that (for example) the Rialto is the home base for memorable horror films like Blood Feast, I Drink Your Blood, Last House on the Left, etc.

One thing about the Landis & Clifford exposition on the grindhouse features: they disclose spoilers ! Readers may want to keep this in mind.......... 

Save for occasional quirks (the use of the Latin noun 'ipsissimis,'which apparently means someone who is at the peak of their profession) the prose in 'Sleazoid Express' is straightforward and intended for a generalist audience. But then, Landis never was reverential towards the highbrow / academic style of film criticism.

The text of the book adheres to the mixture of ironic humor and insight that exemplifies Landis's approach to film commentary:

 

New Line Cinema got accustomed to bad taste through distributing John Waters's work, so it didn't balk at releasing the freak-exploitation movie The Crippled Masters (1981) starring grown-up Thalidomide babies who were born with flippers instead of arms.

 

(A trailer for the film can be seen here.)

Reading this 2002 book leads to all manner of revelations about trash cinema; don't be at all surprised if you finish a chapter with a list of far-out films that you need to look up. And frequently, I found myself laughing out loud at Landis's remarks about trash films and the places where he saw them. That's Sleazoid, for you.....!

It's hard to finish reading 'Sleazoid Express' without feeling some regret over Landis's early demise. But 'Express' does stand as the keystone of a career that brought a new level of appreciation and expertise to the cavalcade of underground and exploitation cinema. This book is a must-have for all aficionados of trash cinema, especially with copies in good condition available for only $22 at your most prominent online book retailer.