Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) User Reviews (15)

Once upon a time in the Philippines...

[Red-Barracuda · 8/10 · 16 March 2011]

This is a very entertaining look at a specific time and place in the history of exploitation film-making. It documents the rather strange scenario where the Philippines became a hotbed of psychotronic cinema production between the 60's and early 80's. While I haven't seen more than two or three films that were made under these conditions, it didn't stop the film from being interesting and entertaining. In fact, like many similar documentaries Machete Maidens Unleashed! is most probably a lot more enjoyable than the films it features. Instead we get many, many clips from these crazy films, so it's difficult to get bored.

The films themselves range from the schlock horror of the 60's, via the women-in-prison flicks of the 70's to the martial arts action films of the 80's. It takes the form of the talking heads format where many of the participants tell us about their experiences working in the field. And perhaps unsurprisingly very different rules applied in the Philippines. There's a lot of humour in the presentation. No one is under any illusions about the seriousness of the movies, yet you will no doubt come away from this and have two or three new films you want to seek out. And I suppose with all that in mind, Machete Maidens Unleashed! has done its job.

An enjoyable celebration of trash.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 31 March 2012]

This film is a documentary that celebrates trash cinema--specifically, the terribly cheesy American films made in the Philippines in the 60s and early 70s. Why did they go to this country? Simple--it was dirt cheap! So, cheap film makers like Roger Corman and Eddie Romero went there to create tons of terrible films--and the filmmakers knew it was going to be bad. There was no pretense--the films featured silly monsters, women in prison and the like. And, the films had tons of action, violence and boobies. Ultimately, however, there actually was a GOOD movie made there ("Apocalypse Now") and soon after this, the industry came to a halt due to violence and revolution...and ultimately the fall of the Marcos regime.

So is all this worth seeing and celebrating? Well, it depends on you. If you occasionally LIKE to see a terrible film (such as "Black Mama, White Mama"), then you'll like seeing the documentary (that's me!). You'll relive trashy but fun films or get ideas for movies to rent (though only about half the ones mentioned in the film are available from Netflix). But, if you are sane, you'll probably just wonder why anyone would want to remember these terrible films! Overall, however, the film is worth seeing if you are the type who can appreciate it--and I sure did. Just beware...the film is violent and infused with breasts!

Not Quite Hollywood...Part 2!

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 9 April 2012]

After being left with an almost endless "must watch" list from watching Mark Hartley's fantastic doc about the Ozploitation film industry called Not Quite Hollywood,I was surprise to discover that a follow-up had been made about the Philippines film industry.

The outline of the film:

The documentary takes a look at the huge number of American and Australian B (and in Apocalypse Now's case A) movie film productions, that headed straight to the Philippines and made full use of the stunning locations and the super cheap labour (about $5 a day!.)At the same time,whilst all of the movie cameras were rolling,Ferdinand Marcos declared that the country was to enter martial law.

View on the film:

Although the opening of the film suggests that the doc is going to take a look at the Australian,US and Philippine films made during the era,I was sad to see,that with the exception of the always interesting Brian Trenchard-Smith, Ozploitation seems to have been completely left behind,so that the doc can instead focus on the US and Philippine film productions.Luckally the films that director Mark Hartley decided to focus turned out to some tremendous choices.For the first half,the film mainly focuses on the production of Blaxploitation movies,which along with allowing to show a number of the beautiful looking actresses being partly naked,also allows Hartley to show a number of thrilling action scenes that will have you rushing to grab a pen and paper right away.As the doc takes its focus from looking at "international" productions to mainly looking at the "local" Philippines productions,I feel that whilst this section of the doc offers a number of terrific production stories, (with the one about actor Weng Weng being a particularly fun and touching section)I feel that Hartley struggles to connect the movie productions and the social/political turmoil in the Philippines effect on the Philippine film industry in the same way that he had smartly done in Not Quite Hollywood.

fascinating and revealing documentary

[gregking4 · 7/10 · 7 August 2010]

MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED is Mark Hartley's follow up his fabulous documentary Not Quite Hollywood, which explored the resurgence of the Australian film industry in the 1970's and its history of exploitation and genre films. His new documentary looks at the prolific film industry of the Philippines and its shameless B-grade exploitation films of the '60's and '70's.

The industry churned out a succession of cheap, low budget horror flicks that were aimed squarely at the American drive-in audiences. The film makers had liberty to make whatever they wanted, so long as they contained the three essential Bs – breasts, beasts, and blood. And canny American producers like Roger Corman were quick to capitalize on the cheap labour source to make a series of women in prison movies as well as low budget action movies. The Indonesian army was even willing to supply equipment and personnel, especially useful in staging large-scale action scenes! And no look at film making in the Philippines would be complete without a few anecdotes about the horrendous experience of Francis Ford Coppola while making his epic folly Apocalypse Now.

Hartley's film includes lots of clips from these B-grade shockers; as well fascinating and revealing interviews with directors like John Landis, Joe Dante, and even Corman himself, and some of the stars of those films. While fast-paced and entertaining enough, the material here is not as strong as Not Quite Hollywood, nor are the films referred to as familiar to audiences.

Nonetheless, Machete Maidens Unleashed has more than enough of the three Bs to entertain and amuse.

Opens the Door on a Largely Unknown Facet of Horror History

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 5 September 2012]

A fast moving odyssey into the subterranean world of the rarely explored province of Filipino genre filmmaking.

I love horror films and exploitation films and consider myself both a critic and historian (having now reviewed over 2000 films and written numerous articles). Yet, I must confess, I was not aware of the hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of films that were made in the Philippines. I knew about some of them, of course, but did not know just how huge the output was.

Wow! This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen on exploitation films (and I have seen my share). John Landis never disappoints, and some unusual suspects show up, too. R. Lee Ermey? Who knew?

Fun, fast and informative

[mistuh66 · 7/10 · 17 July 2014]

Very well made, thoughtful with plenty of fun clips. Always great to hear from ever delightful insiders Jack Hill, Roger Corman, Joe Dante and Sid Haig. Not to mention the still very gorgeous Marlene Clark, Judy Brown and Celeste Yarnell! Woulda loved to see even more of the goddess Pam Grier. Nice to see Filipino artistes I only read about, like Eddie Romero and Garcia. Obviously, fans of this genre have great patience and sense of humor and the film appeals at both levels. It runs at such a fast clip; I almost wanted to slow it down to digest and savor it all.

The only downside is admittedly very subjective, that being the inclusion of John Landis. Regardless of the outcome the trial re: the Twilight Zone film: JUST GO AWAY!! It's Stomach Churning to see him laughing on camera in Any interview. WHAT?! Landis gushes on the fun of " Irresponsible Filmmakers" and actresses showing T&A....Eeeewwww. Sure, he made some great films. However, plenty of people are just as enthusiastic and knowledgeable on B-movies. Mr. Holcomb and DeoCampo contributed erudite commentary and historical perspective. Does this dude not realize that 3 FAMILIES are still affected by the Very Preventable deaths that occurred under his watch?!?. Without Landis' presence, this film is Aces!

Great Look at Priceless Trash

[Michael_Elliott · 28 February 2012]

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Entertaining documentary from Mark Harley discusses the making of countless exploitation films that were shot in the Phillippines. If you read up on the movie is really makes you think that it focuses in on those Phillipean exploitation movies but you're quickly going to realize that it's mainly about American productions that were shot there because producers could get such deals with rights, equipment and of course the jungle locations. Many famous faces like Joe Dante, Roger Corman, Dick Miller, John Landis, Sid Haig and Jack Hill are joined by some faces people haven't seen on screen for thirty-plus years (since they appeared in these movies). For the most part this is an incredibly entertaining film because the director does a great job at mixing in all the film clips with the countless comments being made. By the two-minute mark I actually had to pause the film so that I could get a pen and paper and keep track of some of the amazing clips that were being shown. Naturally, those who appreciate this type of cheap trash are the ones who are going to be the most entertained because once you've seen one of these pictures you're certainly not going to forget it and hearing some of the stories about the making of them are just priceless. Haig tells a hilarious bit about if you're in a strip club after midnight the owner would just lock you in (due to a law) and you'd have to stay there and party all night. Landis talks about the certain type of tolerance you had to have for these films. Many actresses who appeared nude in these films talk about how it made them feel powerful. Eddie Romero is the main focus from the actual Phillipean filmmakers and we get a few comments from him as well. Fans of exploitation are certainly going to enjoy seeing so many faces they recognize and this is certainly a great place to start if you're needing title recommendations.

Yet another outstanding doco on cult cinema from Mark Hartley!

[sharkies69 · 10/10 · 24 July 2010]

I don't usually give out such high ratings but Mark Hartley's new doco about the Filipino exploitation films of the 70's and 80's by way of Corman's New World Pictures is wonderful.

The interviews with former directors and stars are many and all entertaining. The clips and trailers shown are even better.

Any fan of B movies will love this.

I hope that this gets some sort of cinema release as Hartley and Co have clearly put much work and passion into this. His last doco NOT QUITE Hollywood was criminally ignored in this country.

After seeing the wretched INCEPTION (with a ridiculous budget of $150 Million) earlier in the evening, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED was a fine celebration of purely entertaining cinema made on low budgets.

More please Mr Hartley. How about Italian exploitation flicks of the 70's and 80's next? I wish cinema could be this fun again.

A fast moving documentary about exploitation film in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's

[JohnnyPHreak · 7/10 · 4 November 2014]

Directed by Mark Hartley, the man behind Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, comes Machete Maidens Unleashed. It's a fast moving but pretty informative look at exploitation films in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. It's main focus is to give explanation about the wild films that came out from the Philippines. Many of the B movie staples came from this era of film. It spans about 15 years where these films were all the rage at Drive-Ins and the rules didn't apply.

The film starts off with showing how production moved from the states to the Philippines after it was liberated by America. The country was very American friendly. Gerry de Leon and Eddie Romero were the first filmmakers to establish themselves and start making films. The first focus was on the Blood Island films of which there were a few. It's funny to hear the filmmakers talk about these films while clips are show. The films were goofy horror movies shot on shoestring budgets with thin plots and bad acting. What brought people to these films were the shocks promised from the trailers. There would be gore, obviously fake gore but monsters, science fiction and terror.

Roger Corman is introduced as producer as his time line crosses with that of Eddie Romero. Corman was a bigger name and he had lofty aspirations. Most of the 'hit' films being produced by him. The montage of what he was known for is hilarious. There's also a montage of all of the elements in a good Corman movie. Having not seen many of his film, it was interesting that he wanted to make the 'best' film with the money he had.

But the films out of this area Corman is known for where highlighted in a feature on women in prison film. These films were actually highly successful because of the way they portrayed women as the heroes. Even though they were meant to titillate and entertain, the films helped the up and coming feminist movement. There are interviews with many of the famous actress such as Pam Grier, Colleen Camp, Judith Brown, Leigh Christian & Gloria Hendry. They were put through the ringer. The interviews are the most fascinating here. There are first hand accounts of what the actresses had to go through. Some of the things they went through will be shocking but not against the times.

Sig Haig gives insight on what he had to go through in these films as well. Being that all these films were R-rated or not rated at all, it was refreshing to see the clips in all their uncensored glory. I would hate to watch a PG-13 version of this film. It wouldn't give the films their shock credit. There are ample amounts of nudity and bloody violence. The highlight of all the interviews is many of the moments with John Landis. He provides uncensored thoughts which are insightful and laugh out loud funny. I could have seen all the uncut footage from his interviews. I know there was more great commentary from the director.

In the middle of the 70's the blaxploitation films were all the rage. Two of the films that led the charge came out Phillippines. Cirio H. Santiago directed TNT Jackson, which many of the actors talked about. It was a film that mixed Kung Fu with full on action and had a black female lead. This section of the documentary is most about the late 70s mixing of martial arts in the B-movie era. The stunt work is highlighted as most of the actors did all their own stunts. And the extra were on board for doing anything. Many were injured and a few died. But it was the idea of being in a 'big' Hollywood film that tested people's limits. A small portion of the film is devoted to Francis Ford Coppola whose Apocalypse Now is infamous for it's filming in Philippines. It's only give a few minutes in the documentary but enough is shown that made me want to dive into Heart of Darkness.

The final stretch of the film speaks about Manila International Film Festival and the growing film market. Jaws and Star Wars are targeted as B-movies that were made on a A-level. With these films the decline of the Philippine cinema began. The final big success was the James Bond type spoof starting homegrown Weng Weng. It was the last hit of this era of B-movie cinema. This documentary was so insightful and entertaining. I wasn't bored for a minute. Given that it is unrated also help. So much footage was shown that I was intrigued to see some of these films as a whole. To my surprise, Netflix does carry many of these films. I can see a B-movie marathon in my future.

An immensely entertaining and informative documentary

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 20 November 2011]

Taking us on a deliriously wild, rowdy, and often enjoyable whirlwind journey of the extremely crazy and colorful history of Filipino exploitation cinema, this energetic documentary covers everything from war films to women-in-prison sleaze to blaxploitation fare and martial arts entries, with fun detours on John Ashley, Weng Weng, Cleopatra Wang, and the movies of such local talent as Eddie Romero, Cirio H. Santiago, and Bobby Suarez along with the expected plethora of tasty gratuitous distaff nudity (done in the name of advancing feminism and female empowerment in motion pictures -- yeah, right!), excessive graphic violence, mucho explosions (the flagrant disregard for safety is quite openly addressed), and cheesy (far from) special effects. Various actresses who include Laurie Rose, Jayne Kennedy, Margaret Markov, Celeste Yarnall, Andrea Cagan, Marlene Clark, Marrie Lee, and Gloria Hendry honestly discuss working under the most deplorable conditions imaginable in a strife-ridden country under martial law and ruled by a fascist dictatorship (ironically, several B-flicks short there are about revolutionaries attempting to overthrow said dictatorship and were made with the full cooperation of the oppressive government!), New World trailer editors Allan Arkush and Joe Dante reveal the cunning trick of inserting an exploding helicopter into a trailer in order to make a shoddy film look and seem better than it really was, R. Lee Ermey openly admits that "Apocalypse Now" is a grossly inaccurate depiction of Vietnam, Roger Corman confesses he made movies in the Philippines because it was cheap to crank 'em out there, and we hear about the peak of this trend in the 70's and its eventual inevitable decline in the 80's. Of course, we've got such grindhouse luminaries as Jack Hill, Sid Haig, Brian Trenchard-Smith, and Chris Mitchum on board to relate delightfully loopy anecdotes on their misadventures toiling away on movies in this wacky third world country, plus noted cinematic historians like Pete Tombs and Danny Peary throw in their cents in for good measure. Jamie Blanks' funky-grooving score hits the right-on happening spot while the numerous clips from outrageously trashy exploitation movies are a total schlocky hoot to watch. Essential viewing.

We can have Filipinos for about five bucks a day.

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 7/10 · 23 March 2012]

I watched a couple of women-in-prison movies the other day. Both were made in the Philippines. This documentary goes behind the scenes to show why and how Roger Corman type films were made there. Cheap actors and lax safety rules made for an ideal situation for making low budget films.

Blood, breasts, and beasts were the staples of films like Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Beast of Blood, The Big Doll House, Women in Cages, Black mama, White Mama,The Big Bird Cage, and the classic Vampire Hookers.

We see stars like Pam Grier learning the craft in these cheap films. Part of a new wave of women as action heroes, which was new to moviegoers.

The documentary was invaluable in understanding the background of filmmaking.

Pure Grindhouse heaven

[greenman-06994 · 10/10 · 15 April 2021]

Forget the modern movie with the name Grindhouse on it - this is the inspiration - or at least one of the big names in this genre - Roger Corman and just some of his awesome films - transitiioning from the "Drive in" theater and "Monster Movie" of the 50s/early 60s into the "Exploitation/Grindhouse" era later in the 60s into the 70s!

Despite it's enshrinement of trashiness I give this a "Ten" for just that - it covers history of a big part of Corman's career, a movement in film history and a bit of American history - such as the US backed Marcos regime. I won't put a 'spoilers' notice because the title and description of the film tell what it is about - and it's the experience of watching that is the fun.

On that note - this movie is perhaps NSFW - W being "Wallet"... You'll want to look up and watch - and might end up purchasing - a LOT of obscure and so bad they are good films. I'm particular to the Women in Prison ones such as "Women in Cages" but I now want to look up one film about Bat-people and another with a Tattoo like midget being a super-spy...

It has lots of bits of film, interviews with the actors, scenes from the filiming, the history - it is a real fun time to watch. Only gripe is the DVD seems to force watching a ton of promos for other things the distribution company is pushing out.

Imprisoned

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 4 December 2011]

I haven't seen the (as many say) superior "Not quite Hollywood" yet. But this documentary on another "movies on the cheap" documentary is more than watchable. The inclusion of some directors, who either only like sleaze or also have done those type of movies, is very welcome. John Landis in particular was funny as ever (though I heard complaints from other viewers, that he was "too negative" in their opinion), as are all the other directors.

I also have to admit, that I haven't seen most of the movies on display here. And even if you are a fan, you have to admit that some of them are more than cheap ;o) Still nice to watch and enjoyable enough

Waiting For the Ad Break...

[Guardia · 5/10 · 14 November 2010]

This documentary with it's (deliberately?) misleading title, gives viewers a brief overview of the Filipino cult cinema of the sixties, seventies and eighties. In a seemingly endless string of fragmented interviews (some of the edits so short that the subject's title is flashed for a fleeting moment), the film tries to draw an overview of this period of American/Filipino co-productions. Archival footage is interspersed here and there, and occasionally we are given context.

Is it interesting? Yes, but as much as it is frustrating. For you will certainly find that the film never settles down from its opening moments. The pace of the film is that of one tempo, as if the editor was worried that we might lose interest, or as if the visual information was paramount and the factual information (something I'm more interested in than anecdotal) was a mere triviality. You will be bombarded with cuts and clips and cues for the duration of the film - it's an editing style borne from the free-to-air TV realm that transposes to the cinema with a terrible effect.

Also, the relentless funk soundtrack (the staple to the C-Grade Grindhouse films) undermined the interviewees' comments, robbing them of any memorable moment and washing them altogether with the same colour. I can't help but relate the style of this documentary with American style 20-to-1 type shows, where the interviewees are there to provide colour to a proposed topic, not to provide any real insight. This is the films worst crime, for Filipino film-makers we are shown are outnumbered five-to-one by the Americans, yet the tiny grabs we are given with these eccentric characters were far more interesting and exotic.

This film belongs on a commercial or pay TV network, but the limited audience and scope of the film will probably condemn it to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's schedule sometime in the near future. Wait for it then, for the cinema gives little to this difficult documentary.

Actually a good documentary...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 6 June 2017]

"Machete Maidens Unleashed" turned out to be a rather entertaining documentary about the golden days of exploitation cinema. And this is definitely a documentary that is worth your time and effort to watch if you have any interest in the history of cinema.

This documentary offers a great insight into the history and evolution of the exploitation genre, and also offers some great details on the main players both in front and behind the camera. And that wide array of aspects really spiced up the documentary and kept it interesting. And it was further spiced up with lots of footage and clips from the movies, as well as good interviews with numerous people from the genre.

I learned a great many things about the exploitation genre, and many of those things really put a new perspective on the genre for me.

I especially enjoyed the in-depth interviews with the various cast, directors and production crew, as they offered some interesting views and insights into the movies, the genre and how the movies were made and what conditions people worked under back in the day.

"Machete Maidens Unleashed" proved to be a nice documentary, and it is one that I can recommend if you have any interest in the exploitation genre.