In the 60's and 70's the drive-in circuit was the main place to get your horror and B-films shown, and in no other part of the country was the drive-in more popular than in the land of cotton.
Southern film makers decided to cash in on the craze and churned out tons of cheezy sleaze and made tons of money. Growing up , going to the drive-in seemed to be a weekend ritual for my family and friends, all of the movies were not good, most were cheap affairs with bad acting ,but we always had a good time. Many of these southern made films were never shown outside of the southeastern U.S , so now in tribute to my southern upbringing and my love of the drive-in , i will pay tribute and review some of these films that you poor regionally challenged people may not have heard of .
DOCTOR GORE(1973) a.k.a The Body Shop : This North Carolina 
lensed cheapo was produced , directed, written and starred J.G."Pat" Patterson, he also did the special effects.A doctor loses his beloved wife in an accident and he starts experimenting with re-animation , after he has the process down he starts offing woman and
uses their hacked off limbs to rebuild his wife. This is one of those so bad its good type of movies, it has to be seen to be believed. Some of the most atrocious acting ever put on celluloid. This gem was revived in the 80's during the home video boom and did fairly well.http://dai.ly/9HxZ1J
STING OF DEATH(1965) : This camp classic from William Grefe is a site to behold. The Florida shlockmiester serves up a tale about a killer jellyfish -man who terrorizes a group of 
college students on spring break in the Everglades. This one rivals "Plan 9 ..." in all out ridiculousness . The costume for the jellyfish-man/monster is a man in a diving suit and flippers with what looks to be a garbage bag pulled over the 
actors head with fake tentacles glued to it, classic!! As an extra added bonus you get to hear performer Neil Sedaka sing a song called "DO THE JELLYFISH"(lyrics to your right) . Unless you get a kick out of watching absurd movies like i do , enter these waters at your own risk! Available on a double feature DVD with Grefes "DEATH CURSE OF TARTU". I couldn't find the trailer but here's the link for the opening credits. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Zs84hn7IQ
DEATH CURSE OF TARTU ( 1966 ) : A group of archeology students decide to have a dance party in a Native American burial ground and an indian medicine man returns from the beyond to dispatch 
the ones who defiled the sacred site . While better than "STING .." this is still bottom of the barrel b- movie campiness, the biggest down fall here is the pacing is dreadfully slow in parts, getting better but not there yet Mr. Grefe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm_3-o6QWuk
MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH(1976 ) : One more Grefe flick before we move on , his best in my opinion. Richard Jaeckel stars as Sonny , a man who has a telepathic link with sharks . When Sonny feels that people are out to
harm or exploit the sharks he slaps 'em around and makes chum out of them . A really fun movie that was a big drive-in hit , good stuff . A few years before this, Grefe made the film "STANLEY" (1972) which is basically the exact same movie but substitute the sharks with snakes .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wubb_qQnCw
WOLFMAN (1979) : Here is a take on the werewolf legend by North Carolina film maker Earl Owensby who produces and stars in this flick. After the death of his Father, Colin Glasgow (Owensby) finds out that his Father and Grandfather had a werewolf curse placed upon them and now Colin discovers that he has inherited the lyncanthropic curse. He is now on a mission to stop the evil priest who put the curse on his family. A schlocky bad acted movie that has its moments but is a little overlong , for le 
bad cinema fans only. Owensby was a tool salesman who made buttloads of money and decided he wanted to get into the film business, he made some cheap horror and action movies before actually working in Hollywood,( he worked on James Cameron's "ABYSS" among others) he now owns a movie studio in the small town of Shelby North Carolina.
A DAY OF JUDGMENT a.k.a STORMBRINGER (1981) : This Owensby film is much better than the above mentioned WOLFMAN but it still ain't going to appeal to many in 
the mainstream. In a small southern town everyone has stopped going to church so the reverend who thinks he has failed at his job packs it in and leaves town. A menacing man in black comes to town and starts knocking off the sinners with a scythe . It ends with one of those silly it was all a dream endings , with everyone back in church scared straight and repenting for their sins. Owensby's attempt at religious allegory is o.k , it has better acting than most of his movies but it moves mighty slow.
AXE (1974) :North Carolina made trash about crooks who invade a rural farmhouse and they torment a girl and her disabled grandfather. She eventually turns the tables
on her tormentors and chops 'em to bits with said implement. Pretty tame stuff considering the subject matter , not much gore to speak of. This is ultimately just an ultra low budget "LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT" type revenge film.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9M0SAYAxhIv=g9M0SAYAxhIv=g9M0SAYAxhIv=g9M0SAYAxhI
CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE(1976) : This Louisiana made film is a treat. Two anthropology students travel to the swamps to investigate the legend of a Bigfoot type creature terrorizing the locals, they are met with resistance from the police and locals who don't want to discuss the 
creature with outsiders . They are told to leave town but refuse, and are in for the fight of their lives running from the cops, and the creature when they finally catch up to it. If you are fascinated by all things Bigfoot like me you'll get a kick out of this.
LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK(1972) : Great movie from Arkansas film maker Charles B. Pierce about the supposedly true story of a Bigfoot creature running loose in the swamps of Fouke, Arkansas. Shot in documentary format mixed with narrative, this is a truly entertaining gem that was one of my favorites as a child and it still is today. Pierce used real
Fouke residents in the movie and it really adds to the overall mood and it has the feel of TV shows like IN SEARCH OF ...... . Recommended . There were two sequels made , "RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK " (1977 ) was a made for children film, decent for what it is, and BOGGY CREEK 2" (1985) not as good as the first but watchable . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9V44D9xZ70
THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN(1976) : Another really good movie from Charles B. Pierce . In the town of Texarkana, Arkansas there is a killer on the loose, a man wearing a burlap sack for a mask is killing the town folk , focusing on lovers lane areas. This is based on a true story from the 1940's where after a few killings and almost being caught in a rundown, the killer disappeared never to be heard from again , nor was his identity ever known. This is another I saw at the drive-in, I was around 10 years old when this came out and after seeing the commercial for it on TV, I
made my parents promise that the weekend it came to town we would go. I love it, good stuff .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAIkt8Qs-1g
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