Want to surprise someone with an obscure exploitation gem?
No need to look so worried – it’s time to celebrate the grindhouse classics as well as the obscure…so, for those of you eager to try new things, here’s one for 70’s horror buffs to enjoy, with some amazing extras as well…
A Banned Classic Returns!
Kudos to the folks at Severin Films…they are on a mission to rescue neglected exploitation films of the 70’s & 80’s, and they’ve done a fantastic job with this one! Time to head up “Straw Hill.”
Here’s how Severin describes their new release: “Banned in Britain for thirty years, ‘The House on Straw Hill’ is a shockingly violent and erotic tale of seduction, brutality and revenge!”
Cult movie icon Udo Kier stars as a successful novelist suffering from writer’s block, who rents a country cottage in the hope of finding inspiration.
But the arrival of a sensual secretary, played by Linda Hayden (Blood on Satan’s Claw, Taste the Blood of Dracula) sets in motion of chain of events that culminate in an unrestrained explosion of sex and savagery.
Severin notes that “House On Straw Hill” was condemned as a Video Nasty in the UK, but is now fully restored from the only uncut elements and is available for the first time in the US with brand new extras!
“Video Nasties!”
The term “video nasty” is well known to movie fans in England. The government would routinely demand cuts to a film or they would ban it outright, and when horror films began showing up on video in the early 80’s, so-called “video nasties” were banned outright.
Severin’s original blu-ray release of “The House On Straw Hill” included commentary tracks, trailers and a terrific – and surprising – addition as well!
Honestly, Linda!
One of my favorite parts of this release was the nice 15-minute interview with Linda Hayden, in which she discusses several of her memorable movies…and then she says the only film she wishes she had never done was this one!
It was interesting to see some of the other films she made, and the well known stars she worked with, like Christopher Lee, David Niven and Vincent Price.
After this upbeat talk, it comes as a big surprise when Linda trashes “The House On Straw Hill”! But she comes across honest and articulate, and it’s a very interesting conversation. Using the entire interview, including the negative comments about “Straw Hill” was a brave inclusion from the Severin team!
Now, Time For A “Video Nasty!”
The other terrific addition to the original blu-ray, for a limited time only, was a two-part documentary about the era of “video nasties” in the UK. Here is how Severin described it:
The 80’s video boom has become a time of sweet nostalgia for movie fans of a certain age but in the UK it was also a time of moral panic perpetuated by ill-informed politicians and a sensationalist media.
‘The Video Nasties’ witch hunts which led to Britain becoming the most highly censored nation in the western world targeted distributors, store owners and a list of horror movies which were prosecuted as obscene and subsequently banned.
David (PLAGUE TOWN, THEATRE BIZARRE) Gregory’s two part documentary from 2006 tells the full shocking story and received its first official US release as a Limited Edition bonus DVD in the first 3,000 units of Severin Films’ upcoming release of HOUSE ON STRAW HILL.
Congrats to Severin for including this full length documentary in the original release, which I bought and loved.
You can look for it separately now, but this is a blu-ray to own regardless!
Here’s another reason to love Severin Films: because they love Lina Romay!
Yes, Severin released a terrific special edition of one of Lina Romay’s most notorious films, “The Hot Nights Of Linda!” See more about this terrific release here:
https://jrsploitation.com/2014/04/27/lina-romays-most-notorious-movie-hot-nights-indeed/
Let me know how many of these exploitation classics you’ve seen!
Categories: 70's Films, Books / Media, Classic Horror, Cult Classics, Documentary, Euro-Sleaze, Exploitation Films, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Lina Romay, Nudity, Sexploitation Films, Talent / Celebrites, Uncategorized
JR-Sploitation! 
I recall the fuss surrounding this film, but I have never seen it. Linda Hayden was of course well-known as a ‘sex-kitten’ here, and mainly cast for her willingness to show lots of flesh, rather than for any acting ability. Fiona Richmond was very much the Queen of Soft Porn in the UK, for a considerable time. She was the daughter of a church minister, born not far from where I live now, in Norfolk. After appearing nude in ‘glamour’ magazines, she became the girlfriend of strip-club owner and porn film-maker Paul Raymond, and she was launched to ‘stardom’ by appearances on chat shows, and articles in the popular press.
Her last film appearance was as an uncredited extra, in 1997, and she is now 73 years old.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Terrific trivia Pete – I think I will do a post that celebrates her!
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