Blu-ray Review: Mondo Freudo and Mondo Bizarro (1966)

February 3, 2019

Written by DanXIII

Daniel XIII; the result of an arcane ritual involving a King Diamond album, a box of Count Chocula, and a copy of Swank magazine, is a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, artist, and reviewer of fright flicks…Who hates ya baby?

If you are unfamiliar with the world of Mondo documentaries I can sum things up for you real quick; boobs and/or blood, fake-ass footage passed off as the real deal, and often a strong need for bleach eye drops. Let’s begin, shall we?

Those sexy devils over at one of my fav houses of horror (and the bizarre); Severin Films have taken it upon themselves to wallow in the sea of bad taste and tackiness (one of my most cherished hang-outs boils n’ ghouls) and bring us two mondo docs on one lil’ ol’ Blu-ray…namely 1966’s Mondo Freudo and Mondo Bizarro.

Mondo Bizarro, from Producers Bob Cresse and Lee Frost, begins as it should with a voyeuristic hidden camera view of a woman’s changing room…totally legit with it’s multiple cuts and camera angles…see what I was talking about up yonder boils n’ ghouls? Via the magic of stock footage we are whisked away on a whirlwind journey to the Bahamas to witness a voodoo ceremony, then off to Japan to visit a rub n’ tug joint (and when I say Japan, I mean some stock footage of city streets shot there, then straight to whatever flea infested “studio” was used to shoot the nudie material in this flick). Following that we get more lingerie, a dude laying on a bed of nails and jamming spikes through his cheeks (this one looks authentic to my always blurry eerie eyeballs)…and on and on we go through a kaleidoscopic tour of side show shtick, anti-war protests, white slavery (the Middle-East has never looked more like Bronson Canyon) art studios, Nazi themed sex play (just like mom and Dad used to do…wait…WHAT?!!) and bare titties (oh, that’s better…)

Mondo Freudo begins with a dude using a camera lens so large it could probably give you a crystal clear image of a fly’s testicles on Pluto to shoot footage of folks on a beach fucking around (some literally). Following that we get teens driving their cars, a burlesque dancer named Baby Bubbles taking it off, more strip club footage…and by “strip club” I mean the shittiest set I’ve seen this side of Edward D. Wood Jr., some supposed footage from the ass trade, go-go dancing, body painting, and so forth until we get to something right up my arcane alley; namely a Black Mass ritual featuring inverted crosses, burning candles, bongo drums…okay, those could go, and a nude acolyte doing one hell of a delightful demon’s dance (Baby Bubbles, is that you?)…simply awesome. There is more after that (like a preposterous Japanese S&M club sequence and some mud wrestling), but those Satanic shenanigans are where it’s at for your’s cruelly!

As for special features on this release, there are some gems mostly in the form of the informative and entertaining commentary tracks for both features courtesy of Johnny Legend and Eric Caidin that offer spirited, highly listenable (and often hilarious) conversation regarding  whatever nonsense is flashing across the sinful screen at the moment. Also included are a fantastic featurette detailing the birth of the American produced Mondo film (created in the wake of their notorious Italian counterparts such as 1962’s Mondo Cane), and trailers for both films.

Equal parts ludicrous and gloriously low-brow, Mondo Freudo and Mondo Bizarro are the types of films intended to be watched sans trou as the French (never) say, but instead you’ll want to watch them buzzed and with a group of like minded fiends for maximum enjoyment. In short, this release is a must for any exploitation lover’s sleazy shelf!

 

 

Share This Article

You May Also Like…