HE CAME FROM THE SWAMP
The Florida Bs
RELEASED OUT NOW! 1966-1977 | 18 | Blu-ray
Director William Grefé
Cast Joe Morrison, Fred Pinero,
Jeremy Slate, Rita Hayworth
William Grefé made many features throughout the ’60s and ’70s, few of which came to anything outside of his native Florida. This illuminating and extensive box set presents roughly half his filmography.
Sting Of Death (1966) is the standout, with various teens picked off by a swamp monster who just might have a connection to stingray expert Egon (John Vella). With its extended dance numbers and kitsch vibe it’s loads of fun, and the new transfer is simply beautiful.
There’s far less dancing in Death Curse Of Tartu (though Grefé still manages to squeeze in one sequence!), which turns the Everglades into the burial ground of a medicine man who returns from the grave to pick off unlucky youngsters… very slowly. It’s darker than Sting, but also much more tedious.
In Mako: The Jaws Of Death (1976), Sonny Stein (Richard Jaeckel) is a marine salvager who develops a supernatural bond with sharks – and takes revenge on anyone who endangers his befinned friends. What sounds like a neat twist on the killer shark movie is soured by what appear to be genuine acts of animal cruelty.
Also included (but not really our bag): drug thriller The Hooked Generation (1968), adultery yarn The Naked Zoo (1970), hippy flick The Psychedelic Priest (1971) and hillbilly thriller Whiskey Mountain (1977). Grefé’s films were certainly variable, but you can’t deny that he had range!
Extras The set really benefits from Grefé’s involvement. Each of the features comes with a director’s introduction and commentary. He’s also the subject of Daniel Griffith’s terrific documentary They Came From The Swamp (126 minutes), which explores his life and career in depth. A Grefé short, Bacardi And Coke Bonanza ’81 (seven minutes), is also included.
“Grefé in Miami” (five minutes) provides a tour of his locations and “The Ultimate Roadtrip” (eight minutes) delves into the making of The Psychedelic Priest, but the most interesting featurettes are those that range outside of the director’s canon itself.
“That’s Drugsploitation” (eight minutes) delves into the history of drug movies, while “Monsters A-GO-GO” (12 minutes) explores rock ‘n’ roll monster movies and “That’s Sharksploitation!” (seven minutes)… well, have a guess.
“The Crown Jewels” (17 minutes) is an insightful documentary on Crown International Pictures. Best of all is “The Curious Case Of Dr Traboh” (11 minutes), a bizarre look at ’50s spook shows.
A Super 8 edit of Mako runs to 15 minutes, while the (unofficial) Barry Mahon edit of The Naked Zoo adds a baffling appearance by rock band Canned Heat. There’s also 23 minutes of behind-thescenes footage for The Hooked Generation, and interviews with actress Jennifer Bishop (10 minutes) and writer Robert Morgan (10 minutes). Plus: galleries, promos and trailers.
Death Curse Of Tartu was written in a day, when it transpired Sting Of Death needed a companion film for the drive-ins.