Sunny's Video

Greetings fellow movie friends. Instead of a movie review, I thought I would change it up and spotlight a director this time. I think I'm going to try to spotlight 1 director each month. Knowing me it will end up being 1 per quarter but we'll see how that goes. Today we are going to look at the films of William Girdler. This man is an unsung legend of low budget exploitation and it's tragic his career was cut so short.

William Girdler was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1947. By the age of 8 he was making home movies and by 23 he started his own production company. From 1972-1978 Girdler directed 9 movies in the horror, action and blaxploitation genres. In 1978, while location scouting in the Philippines, he was sadly killed in a helicopter crash at just 30 years old. I would have loved to see what else he would have come up with. I believe the film he was location scouting was to be about drug smuggling.

“Other people learned how to make movies in film schools. I learned by doing it. Nobody saw Billy Friedkin's or Steven Spielberg's mistakes, but all my mistakes were right up there on the screen for everybody to see.”- William Girdler

Let's take a look at the movies he directed:

Asylum of Satan (1972): Girdler writes and directs his feature length debut and provides the music as well. This is the story of a woman wrongly confined to a mental hospital where the doctors are up to something... and it is not treating the patients. I think this is an absolute gem. It is not a perfect movie, the end goes full camp and there is plenty of questionable acting but this is mostly a success. Local Kentucky horror host (and Girdler mainstay) Charles Kissinger plays the evil Dr. Specter as well as his assistant Martine (in drag!) Worth it for that alone!

Three on a Meathook (1972): For his second movie, Girdler once again writes, directs and provides the score. This was the first Girdler movie I saw. There is a band called Mortician and in one of their songs they sample this movie. The sample is chilling so I immediately tracked this down. I want to like this movie but really, it is mostly disappointing. It has a strong opening and fantastic ending but the middle section with the romance story and that band ENDLESSLY playing knocks this down quite a few pegs. It is worth noting that while Psycho is clearly an inspiration here, this movie and it's ties to Ed Gein predate both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deranged. This is very much worth a watch, just keep that fast forward button handy!

The Zebra Killer (1974): aka The Get Man, Panic City and Combat Cops. This would be the 1st of 3 blaxploitation movies Girdler would direct. He also wrote the script. The plot involves a cop on the hunt for a serial killer terrorizing Louisville. The killer is so racist I don't think this could get made today but in 1974 it was and even rated PG! This is actually pretty entertaining, with the killer growing increasingly more deranged as it goes on, and a good hyrbrid of blaxploitation actioner and slasher.

Abby (1974): Girdler's blaxploitation take on The Exorcist is an absolute treasure. Warner Brothers even had this removed from theaters and threatened to sue! When her father in-law, an exorcist AND archaeologist, accidentally unleashes a demon of sexuality in Africa, poor mild mannered Abby becomes possessed! Yes it knocks off elements of The Exorcist (the Mercedes McCambridge rip off voice is incredible) but it is entertaining enough to stand on it's own and take you on a pretty fun ride. Definitely give this one a chance.

Sheba, Baby (1975): Girdler's blaxploitation trio comes to a close with a banger. When her father is threatened by gangsters, tough private detective Sheba comes to town to protect him. An absolute blast, Pam Grier owns this. It's definitely toned down from something like Coffy or Foxy Brown but still a whole lot of fun. Blaxploitation legend D'Urville Martin (who died way too young in 1984) is great here as well as Austin Stoker, who in addition to being in other Girdler movies, horror fans may remember from Horror High. If you dig these types of movies, you'll dig this (or be a jive turkey).

Grizzly (1976): Girdler had his big success with this Jaws knock-off that was the most successful independent film of the year. A giant grizzly bear terrorizes a state park while a group tries to track him down. Yup it's Jaws with a bear and a park instead of the ocean. But so what. It is a ton of fun. Christopher George and Richard Jaeckal are fantastic and the whole thing moves along at a nice pace. Get lifted and give this a watch, you'll have a blast.

Project: Kill (1976): The next project from Girdler is an action/spy movie about a former government assassin on the run from gangsters, the police and his ex-partner. On his journey he falls in love and detoxes from the mind controlling drugs the government was giving him. Leslie Nielsen stars in this and he is fantastic. The man was a true talent and just shines in everything he did. RIP. Somehow big time star Nancy Kwan plays the love interest. This isn't bad but it's not very good and is definitely at the bottom of my Girdler list. Nielsen fans should definitely check this out.

Day of the Animals (1977): Girdler returns to horror with this one about a group of hikers facing off against some pissed off animals and a chemically imbalanced Leslie Nielsen. The cause of the insanity is dropping ozone levels making this both eco-horror and nature gone wild. There is a fantastic cast here in addition to Nielsen including Christopher George, Richard Jaeckal, Linda Day George, Susan Backlinie (most famous as Chrissy in Jaws) and a young Andrew Stevens. Yowza! Not without some flaws but overall this one is very solid and Nielsen makes a great bad guy.

The Manitou (1978): This would be Girdler's final movie as his life was cut short not long before it was released. To say he went out with a bang is an understatement. A woman discovers the tumor growing on her neck is actually the reincarnation of an ancient Indian spirit. I will say no more about the plot. Batshit crazy barely describes this but the truly bizarre thing is this whole concept works and it's pretty great too. Stellar cast in this including Tony Curtis, Burgess Meredith, Stella Stevens and Susan Strasberg. This was Girdler's biggest budget movie and probably his best. I rank this as number 1. It is a shame he didn't get to see the reaction to this one or bless us with more movies!

If you made it this far, thanks. I truly think this man's movies are something special and he deserves far more recognition than he gets. Several of his films are out there on blu ray and or dvd. Check our MOD section for some of the more hard to find titles including Asylum of Satan, Three on a Meathook and The Zebra Killer!