Part documentary, part early form of mockumentary, I Am Curious (Yellow) was part of the emerging new wave of Swedish cinema in the late 1960s. Originally conceived as a 3 and a half-hour epic, the film was split into two companion films named Yellow and Blue, after the colours of the Swedish flag.

The film tells the story of Lena, as she goes on a journey of self discovery, followed by a film crew. With the director Sjöman documenting himself, documenting Lena. Lena builds an archive of her life, and her discoveries, as the film explores social and political themes of the period. Blurring the lines between fact and the fictional life of Lena, through interviews with people on the streets, and even an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while he was on a visit to Sweden. 

The film's frank portrayal  of Lena's sex life caused controversy on the film's release. With graphic nudity and simulated sexual intercourse and oral sex, the film came to the attention of the censors.  

Women are not film-makers you'd usually associate with the slasher movie genre. But The Slumber Party Massacre was written by Rita Mae Brown, and directed by Amy Holden Jones. The movie was originally written as and intended to be a parody of the rising popularity of the genre, in the late 70s and early 80s. However it was made as a straight genre piece, and as such straddles a black comedy line. With some of the original humour still shining through, as well as the unintended humour of clunky script and bad b-movie acting.

The movie (being an intended parody) follows the slasher genre formula. High school girls, played by 20-somethings, with plenty of shower scene nudity. (At only 8 minutes in!) An escaped serial killer with a love of power tools. Except, unlike most slasher movies, we know who the killer is and what he looks like in this movie. But you do get a series of set-piece deaths, that sway wildly between gore spectacles and over-the-top hilarity. It's cheap, it's tacky, and it has "massacre" in the title. Perfect slasher stuff!

Part from its infamy as one of the must see movies of the slasher genre of the period, for any die-hard fans, The Slumber Party Massacre has little more going for it. Coming out of Roger Corman's stable of New World Pictures, which gave many of Hollywood's top film-makers their first break. Amy Jones would go on to write the screenplays for Mystic Pizza (1988), and was a writer on the Beethoven series of movies. She is said to have given up an editing job of E.T. to direct The Slumber Party Massacre.

Purported to be the world's first sex doll, is said to be the creation of Nazi scientists in 1941. Borghild, was a sex doll or "gynoid", developed as a "female hygiene project" to stop soldiers on the front having sex with prostitutes. It was believed that the project was developed by Himmler, and approved by Hitler, to give inflatable sex dolls to the troops, that they could carry in their back-packs. 

The project was pushed forward by an ambitious Danish doctor, called Hannussen. He wanted to create a doll with an ”artifial face of lust”, for the soldiers.

A total of fifty dolls were supposedly ordered for use in Jersey by officials, but the purported project was cancelled by Himmler after two years, after soldiers refused to carry them due to the fear of embarrassment if they were captured and one was found in their possession. The bombing of Dresden also supposedly destroyed the factories that were planned to build the dolls, as well as the records of the project.

After many years of investigation, with no evidence to support the story, many historians now consider that the Borghild Project is a hoax. However in 2009, a black comedy titled The Borghilde Project was released. Starring Jaye Davidson, the film presents the project as being factual.

Take a creepy opera singing Christian ventriloquist, add a surreal cast of characters, truly trippy graphics, and put it all on a Public Access cable TV channel, and you are somewhere towards the complete package of madness that is puppeteer David Liebe Hart's world.

Hart himself claims to have been one of the first Afican-Americans to have been abducted by aliens. The nature of their mission was revealed to him by one alien that looked like Bettie Page, named Jezebel. Who also took the form of a giant insect.  

Aside from the puppets, there's a strange cast of human characters that join Hart in the show. These include Count Smokula, the accordion playing vampire that smokes cigarettes on screen, and a variety of seemingly whacked out musicians, in costumes and masks. Including the guitarist in the alien mask, which is more than enough to give any kid nightmares. Making Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson, a show that has gained a cult status, and has to be seen to be believed.

I was AFK all day yesterday, so no Cult Film Friday post. So instead it's a Cult Cinema Saturday, with the brilliant British-American sci-fi movie Phase IV, directed by the film-maker and famous graphic designer Saul Bass. Bass's only full length movie he directed. Bass is better known, for his graphic design work on some of the most iconic movie posters ever made.

The film, which was shot in both England and Africa, despite being set in Arizona, was a commercial failure on initial release. However it quickly gained a cult status through regular TV runs in the mid to late 70s and early 80s. 

Due to a cosmic event, known as a "phase", ants in a remote desert location develop an intelligent hive-mind and begin to attack the desert inhabitants and facilities of the scientists that are studying them. The movie became well regarded for its stunning cinematography, especially the close-up shots of ants, which were filmed by wildlife photographer Ken Middleham.

Bass originally filmed a spectacular, surreal montage lasting four minutes, showing what life would be like in the 'new' Earth, but this was cut by the distributor. The montage was supposed to suggest that the two surviving characters were altered by the ants creating the next step in evolution for humanity and insects. Shots from the original montage sequence appear in the theatrical trailer, which was likely prepared before cuts were made to the film.

Considered one of the worst ever carts produced for the NES, Action 52 (containing 52 games) was originally released at a storming $199 price tag in 1991. It quickly became absolute proof that more is not better. The unlicensed unlicensed video game compilation was developed by Active Enterprises for the NES, released on the Sega Genesis/Megadrive in 1993, and although advertised, never actually made it onto SNES.

The cartridge was famous for many of the games being heavily bugged, and some that didn't run at all. The company tried to turn the main game Cheetahmen into a franchise, by releasing  Cheetahmen 2 as a stand alone game. Unfortunately, that too has since made its way onto many a worst game ever list. Gaining a cult status, as it was never actually released. Although a few copies were leaked in 1996, make it a much sort after piece of vintage gaming history.