Heads Up, Ears Down

This blog accurately identifies depictions of violence and cruelty toward animals in films. The purpose is to provide viewers with a reliable guide so that such depictions do not come as unwelcome surprises. Films will be accurately notated, providing a time cue for each incident along with a concise description of the scene and perhaps relevant context surrounding the incident. In order to serve as a useful reference tool, films having no depictions of violence to animals will be included, with an indication that there are no such scenes. This is confirmation that the films have been watched with the stated purpose in mind.


Note that the word depictions figures prominently in the objective. It is a travesty that discussions about cruelty in film usually are derailed by the largely unrelated assertion that no animals really were hurt (true only in some films, dependent upon many factors), and that all this concern is just over a simulation. Not the point, whether true or false. We do not smugly dismiss depictions of five-year-olds being raped because those scenes are only simulations. No, we are appalled that such images are even staged, and we are appropriately horrified that the notion now has been planted into the minds of the weak and cruel.


Depictions of violence or harm to animals are assessed in keeping with our dominant culture, with physical abuse, harmful neglect, and similar mistreatment serving as a base line. This blog does not address extended issues of animal welfare, and as such does not identify scenes of people eating meat or mules pulling plows. The goal is to itemize images that might cause a disturbance in a compassionate household.


These notes provide a heads-up but do not necessarily discourage watching a film because of depicted cruelty. Consuming a piece of art does not make you a supporter of the ideas presented. Your ethical self is created by your public rhetoric and your private actions, not by your willingness to sit through a filmed act of violence.

Storefront Theatre Collection Volume 2: All Night at the Bizarre Art Theatre

Storefront Theatre Collection Vol 2: All Night at the Bizarre Art Theatre. Various directors, 1971-1977.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome 3-DVD box set #141, released 2016. English language. Collective runtime approximately 740 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals in any of the films.

This collection of 1970s films simulates spending all night (over 12 hours) at Pittsburgh’s Bizarre Art Theatre. The 12 feature titles are:

The Geek (director unknown, approx. 56 minutes).
Six young and poorly prepared anthropologists go in search of Big Foot. They find a homeless man in a black acrylic fur jogging suit who back-hands one of the men and molests two of the girls. The two just-raped girls help the humiliated man limp back to camp. 1/5❤

Hotter Than Hell (Al Mamar, approx. 70 minutes).
Two young devils are sent up to earth by Papa Satan to see if humanity is depraved. They find some homely girls who make them decide Yes by hell’s apparently low standards. 1/5❤

House of De Sade (Joe Davian, approx. 58 minutes).
Here we have the common setup of strangers invited for an evening in a haunted house, improved this time because the guests decide to walk around naked or in sexy undies. The action is interesting despite some unattractive talent. 2.5/5❤

The Sorceress (Louis Alexander [as Jon Bal], approx. 59 minutes).
A woman pretending to be a palm reader entices people to disclose their fantasies, which she then induces through trance. Surprisingly decent acting, especially from the female lead. 4/5❤

The Scorpion (Cult of the Scorpion) (director unknown, approx. 64 minutes). 
Makes you appreciate that most people keep their hideous bodies covered in clothing, both in films and in real life. Egads. 0/5❤

Dr. Sexual & Mr. Hyde (Anthony Brzezinski,, approx. 64 minutes)
Badly made, mildly entertaining. 2/5❤

The Rites of Uranus (director unknown, approx. 59 minutes)
Here’s a good one, managing to be both completely ridiculous and very sexy. Scenes of monk-robed “Uranites” standing around an altar chanting nonsense from a barely off-screen cue card are hilarious, but the action scenes are frequent, good, and novel, especially the blonde girl instructing an initiate. 5/5❤

Waltz of the Bat (Rick Beaty [as Steve Brown], approx. 71 minutes)
Another good one!  The action is so-so, but the charmingly naive concept, silly plot, and self-consciously ridiculous costumes add up to a big win. 4/5❤

Come Deadly (Gil Kenston, approx. 61 minutes)
A watchable, low-intrigue murder mystery in which a detective “investigates” victims’ friends. 2/5❤

Mania (director unknown, approx. 56 minutes)
A cute Japanese chick accidentally gets sent to the Home for Girls with Ugly Hair. A psychotic murderer corrects this problem. 2/5❤

Daughters of Darkness (director unknown, approx. 62 minutes)
Very good. This film should be famous. Anthropologically significant elements include: a buffet of unusual posters and period artwork decorating the walls; body art unlike anything I’ve seen prior to 2000 or so; ambitious special effects including steadfast use of a fog machine that clearly was a bad idea; a complicated and unresolved ‘Good vs. Evil’ plot, and the most attractive women I’ve seen in a super-low-budget film. 5/5❤

The Unholy Child (Jim Turner, approx. 57 minutes)
Very similar to Daughters of Darkness in design and directing, but slightly less impressive. Probably by the same director. 4/5❤



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