Streets (1990)

Directed by:
Katt Shea

Director Shea was born in Detroit and, after graduating from the University of Michigan and working a spell as a teacher, migrated to Los Angeles. While attending UCLA and doing some modeling work on the side, she began landing bit roles in A films like My Tutor (1982) and Scarface (1983), eventually moving her way up to supporting parts in several T&A comedies from the likes of Chuck Vincent and Lem Amero. That led to co-starring roles in several Roger Corman productions, including the shot-in-Argentina fantasy Barbarian Queen (1985) and the shot-in-the-Philippines action flick The Devastator (1986). But Shea wasn't content just having roles like “Mud Wrestler” and films like Hollywood Hot Tubs (1984) on her resume and all the while she was also writing (usually in collaboration with her then-husband Andy Ruben) and working behind-the-scenes on these movies. After “stalking” (her words, not mine!) Corman outside his office one day, Shea ran the idea by him for a movie that would eventually become STRIPPED TO KILL (1987). Because she'd previously shot second unit on another Corman production, had an idea with some potential and was persistent (apparently it took a year to finally get the green light), Corman eventually gave her her very first chance to direct. In the interim, she landed a supporting role as one of Norman Bates' victims in Psycho III (1986) and used that opportunity to learn what she could on set from observing star / first-time director Anthony Perkins and cinematographer Bruce Surtees while she was there.

The much-better-than-need-be Stripped debuted to surprisingly decent reviews and ended up making tons of money on cable and video for Corman's company. It also received additional press when star Kay Lenz complained about the film's exploitative ad campaign and new title (apparently it was called simply Deception when she'd signed on to appear). Nevertheless, because of its huge success, Corman would back four more films for Shea, including the stripper-meets-vampire gem DANCE OF THE DAMNED (1989), which garnered surprisingly good reviews itself, a 1989 Stripped sequel starring Maria Ford, which the director was ultimately somewhat displeased with due of producer / editing interference, and this one. Shea has stated in interviews that Corman never dissuaded her from her ambitions, but had stipulations all the while on certain aspects the finished product needed to contain. In short, they all needed to have violence and nudity for the direct-to-video market for which they'd be doing the majority of their business. Shea and Ruben (who often also produced these films) rose to the challenge of not only giving Corman what he wanted but also making movies that were thoughtful, intelligent, stylish and uncommonly well-crafted for their budgets. Streets combines both Corman's demands and Shea / Ruben's ambitions to transcend the material into an entertaining and affecting, albeit imperfect, film.

Christina Applegate stars as an illiterate, heroin-addicted teenage hooker named Dawn, who's living a sad, aimless, dangerous and drug-fueled life in Venice Beach. Late one night, she's picked up by a john on a motorcycle and taken under a pier, where the action starts getting rough. After her trick attempts to rape and murder her, Dawn's saved by teen Sy (David Mendenhall), a middle class suburban kid from Santa Barbara. Sy's not really a runaway. At least not yet. He simply used an opportunity (his parents going away on vacation) to sneak out of the house and ride off on his bike, with hopes of peddling all the way to Hollywood to start a band. In contrast to Sy's naive, sheltered upbringing, Dawn has lived her entire life on the streets. Her mother was also a hooker who abandoned her with “50 dollars for groceries and a pretty good idea how to fuck.” Over the course of the next few days, Sy gets to experience what Dawn's daily life is like and get a good taste of what living out on the mean streets really entails.

The man who attacked Dawn turns out to be a sadistic motorcycle cop named Lumley (Eb Lottimer); an unhinged officer already far past the breaking point who's able to use his position of power to rape, abuse and murder. His chosen victims are mostly those that nobody is going to miss or care that much about; namely street kids, runaways and hookers, and Lumley doesn't like the fact that Dawn escaped, scratched up his face in the process and could possibly ID him if need be. He sets out on an obsessive quest to find and eliminate her, using a special sawed-off gun which makes only a muffled sound when fired.

I've seen one common criticism of the film, which comes from people who don't think a serious homeless drama and a psycho killer thriller go well together. I'll offer a counterpoint to that. Not only do the two work in tandem quite nicely, but the presence of the psycho not only adds another layer of urgency to the hopeless plight of street kids but also lends power and believability to the bond that quickly develops between the two protagonists out of sheer desperation. After all, this movie isn't really about the killer, it's about Dawn and Sy. And honestly, if a similar film had been made by a more famous, established filmmaker, viewers would likely be responding more positively to the ambiguous psycho by talking about how brilliantly “symbolic” the cop is of this or that. As far as I'm concerned, there was really no reason for the cop character to be further established than what he is here. Knowing what caused him to snap or what makes him tick wouldn't really change anything. The director's intentions very well could have been to make the psycho officer representative of an establishment that really could care less about any of these forgotten kids. Actually, I strongly suspect that's the case considering the inclusion of a scene in a police locker room where cops nonchalantly discuss and joke around about one of the underage victims.

Though the action and horror scenes are tautly-directed, smoothly-edited and effective, where the film really shines is in its portrayal of day-to-day street life. Though Dawn lives in drain pipe and can't quite conquer her drug habit, she clings to what little dignity she can with a quick, self-deprecating sense of humor and by making money “whoring” (no intercourse sex) instead of hooking. Despite the fact she can't read and self-identifies as “stupid,” she's actually very clever in regards to how she manages to get by and coerce as much money as possible out of each of her customers. One of Dawn's drain-mates is a tiny young girl named Elf (Mel Castelo) who frequently has sex with a known pedophile for drug money and another guy named Bob (Patrick Richwood), who fancies himself a street philosopher, gets by hawking stuff and also isn't above crashing a murder scene to scrounge up whatever clothing and goods he can to sell. The name of the game in Streets is survival.

While there are certainly elements that date this (sometimes painfully so), much of the dialogue remains sharp and it's obvious that Shea and Ruben, just like with their other collaborations, actually care about the characters they have created and are presenting here to us. This film was also novel in the filmography of its star. Applegate, then-known for playing Kelly Bundy, the big-haired, spandex-clad, sexpot / bimbo daughter on the hit TV show Married with Children, gets to explore new territory here and does a terrific job in her role. While her sitcom character was blissfully hyper-aware of her sex appeal and used it to her advantage but was otherwise a complete moron, here she plays another highly-sexualized teen who also uses sex to get what she wants but has also been irreparably damaged by it. Her self-destructive, self-sabotaging character here is also far from dumb, even though she claims to be. Despite proving her versatility here, audiences never forgot "Kelly Bundy," few directors hired her for serious projects and she's been stuck mostly in sitcoms and lame comedies ever since.

Shot in just 19 days for a budget “far less than 1 million” (according to the director herself in a 1992 interview with Donald Porter), this was given a limited theatrical run in 1990, where it grossed a pretty respectable 1.5 million in around just 70 theaters. The VHS was from MGM/UA and, in 2010, it made its DVD debut through Shout! Factory, who paired it up with another Corman production involving prostitution called Angel in Red (1991). The theme song is from E.G. Daily. Paul Ben-Victor, Aron Eisenberg (TV's Deep Space Nine) and Alan Stock (Frightmare) are also in cast and Lenz and Starr Andreeff, the leads in two of Shea's previous films, both have small cameo roles.

★★★

Stripped to Kill (1987)

Directed by:

Katt Shea

What happens when you hire a competent female writer/director to make a low-budget T&A horror-thriller with a strip club setting? You get compromise, and a kind of tug-of-war effect between exploitation and realism. While this one has a more-than-generous amount of T&A and violence, it should also be given credit for delivering a gritty, credible and often unflattering look inside a strip club and the women who populate it. The dancing is explored for all its worth and from all possible angles; exploitation, entertainment, eroticism, even as art. Some of the dancers view their occupation as being a way to express themselves through dance while others think of it as just a paycheck for another night's work. A few are lesbians, some have drug problems, most have criminal records and a few even seem like reasonably well-adjusted women who just happen to find stripping unpredictable and exciting. The club itself is so atmospherically represented that you can almost smell the cigarette smoke in the hallways. The door of the girl's dressing room, the congregation place where the girls change into their costumes, bitch about customers, reflect on their lives and pasts, etc., has "Women" scratched out and "Sluts" amusingly spray-painted over it. Much of the dialogue between them is laced with cynicism, no doubt based on a life's worth of problems, failures and disappointments. All of the girls are given just enough personality to be likable and what seems seedy at first eventually turns into a somewhat accommodating place for outcasts of all types once the heroine of this film gains employment as one of the dancers.

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The heroine is question is a reserved tomboy policewoman played by Kay Lenz, who goes undercover at the club when a serial killer begins targeting the strippers. Sure, we've seen this exact same plot many times before (at least I have), but this movie takes it a step further. Not only is Lenz trying to crack the case but her character is learning and opening up in the process. This assignment allows her an outlet from the male dominated police force and the opportunity to explore her femininity and sexuality. She also discovers an odd kinship and inner working between the women and gets a little too involved on a personal level. It's an interesting role and Lenz (a sorely overlooked actress over the years) is great in it. And yeah, she does several nude scenes and looks great doing so, but it's a thoughtful, very good performance that doesn't rely on her nude scenes to be memorable. Norman Fell also has a great supporting role as the no-nonsense club owner, who's every bit as dry, cynical and world-weary as his girls.

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The biggest gripe I see about this film is that there are too many dance scenes and they're too long. This is no doubt just filling executive producer Roger Corman's quotient of T&A for direct-to-video profit. Well fine, we get the naked girls and get the stripping. Plenty of each. What I don't see usually pointed out is that the dance scenes themselves are entertaining. They usually incorporate some interesting props (motorcycles, fire, a giant spider web...) or have a specific theme and with the lighting mixed in, it does come off as performance art at times. In addition, you can tell the women hired in these roles are actually either professionally trained dancers or actual strippers (or ex-strippers) because their stage performances incorporate flips, splits and a flexibility that requires dance training. The soundtrack is full of dated 80s-style rock, usually with a female vocalist, but it's tolerable. The biggest problem I had with the film is that the slasher movie plot seems almost an unnecessary afterthought. I was far more interested in the everything else that was going on that I almost lost complete interest in who was actually killing the strippers.

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Without question, Katt Shea is one of the most talented writer-directors Corman employed in the 80s and 90s. She was one of the few with the ability to transcend the formulaic material and anemic budgets to create films that are distinctive, thoughtful, personal and interesting. And like many other notable cult/underground directors, she has never, and may never, receive much recognition or attention, and that's a true shame. I especially recommend her films DANCE OF THE DAMNED (1988; an intriguing and original vampire film which has sadly slipped into obscurity over the years) and STREETS (1990; a grim drama/thriller starring Christina Applegate as a teenage prostitute hunted by a serial killer). While STRIPPED TO KILL might not be as impressive as the aforementioned films, and a bit more weighted down and padded out, it's still a bright starting point for the director and well worth checking out.

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Also with Greg Evigan as Lenz's chauvenist partner/love interest, Diana Bellamy and Debra Lamb (who also appeared in the 1989 sequel - STRIPPED TO KILL II: LIVE GIRLS).

★★★

Dance of the Damned (1989)

Directed by:

Katt Shea

While not for all tastes, I found this offbeat and serious-minded low-budget Roger Corman production to be a breath of fresh air in the overcrowded vampire genre. And all it really is is a night long conversation between a self-destructive, suicidal stripper and a brooding, world weary vampire. Go figure. In the wee hours of the night, a nameless vampire (Cyril O'Reilly) approaches dancer Jodi (Starr Andreeff) while she's locking up after a long night at work. He offers her a thousand dollars to accompany him home; no strings and no sex attached. He says he needs a friend, and thinks she needs one, too. All he wants to do is talk. Reluctantly Jodi agrees, goes home with him and quickly learns her new friend is actually a vampire. Correctly sensing Jodi had given up and will probably take her own life eventually anyway, the vampire demands she explain to him what the sunlight feels like and at 6am, he'll take her pain. It certainly doesn't sound too exciting, and it probably won't be to some people, but I found it fascinating and very well done. If you're looking for gore, action and special effects, you'll find very little of that here. Instead, you get a low-key, existential character study almost similar to a stage play. In other words, there are few location changes but lots of dialogue exchanges. It's a good example of a film that doesn't need to be a slave to FX work to be successful. There can be so much more to the genre than just cheap shocks and blood spurting when a common horror theme is put into the hands of someone with talent and imagination. It's also an excellent late night movie; watch it when it's quiet, it's dark and you're alone and in a reflective mood.

The script by Katt Shea and Andy Ruben (who were married at the time this was made) not only has some great insight into the outcast condition and very good character development but also some wonderfully poetic passages. One highlight is a beautifully written scene on a beach where the leading lady has to explain to the Vampire what sunlight feels like. It's in her description of this simple feeling that gives her back her will to live. In scenes where the two characters describe their troubled pasts, the monologues are so well written and detailed you can visualize them without having to actually see them on screen. Clever parallels are drawn between two different lost souls (not to mention two different species); one of whom is forced to live in the night and the other so wounded she's compelled to. Both leads turn in good performances and do their roles justice, and this film manages to be thought-provoking, sometimes very funny and sometimes very moving. While a million blockbuster type movies involving vampires come and go and entertain while they're around, this one has actually resonates with me more over time. It's a shame not many people know anything about it.

I not only recommend this, but also the director's excellent 1990 drama-thriller STREETS (starring a young Christina Applegate), and even her more exploitative serial-killer-in-a-strip-club flick STRIPPED TO KILL. They're all well above average for the genre, humorous at times, well written and with a heavy concentration on character. Shea shows the same kind of early talent as the best directors to come from Roger Corman U... including Coppola and Demme. In fact, I'd probably place her near the top of a list of the countless director's Corman has supported over the years. And she's certainly one of the most promising female director's I've ever come across.

Amazingly, Dance - the little known sleeper it is - was actually remade in 1993 as TO SLEEP WITH A VAMPIRE. That version, which was also produced by Corman and reused much of the same storyline and dialogue, does not come close to this version. Guess which one has been released on DVD? I wish I could say it was this one, but unfortunately some boneheads decided to release the remake instead while this worthy film languishes in VHS obscurity. Hopefully someone, some day will get this out to the masses so it can find an audience.

Future B-movie queen Maria Ford has a small role as a stripper.

★★★1/2