ORGY OF THE DEAD
(Rhino, 1965)

By Brian Thomas

Back in the early years of home video, Rhino held the cult movie niche now shared by Something Weird, Retromedia, and a dozen other small labels. One of their greatest finds was this insane combination of horror and burlesque, a collaboration between director Stephen Apostolof (Motel Confidential), a Greek immigrant who parlayed his autobiographical Journey To Freedom into a career in adult features, and writer Ed Wood, the legendary creator of schlock classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space.  

This feature follows frustrated horror writer “Bob” (William Bates) and his frustrated fiancée “Shirley” (Pat Barrington) on a detour from a moonlight drive that leads them into a cemetery, where a supernatural emperor (TV psychic and Wood crony Criswell) is presiding over a judgment of the dead. The purpose of the ritual seems to be finding the best topless dancer from a variety of female ghouls. One by one, Hawaiian, Mexican, zombie and cat girls all strip down to g-strings while strutting their stuff. Criswell’s mummy and werewolf henchmen capture the peeping couple, planning to make some sort of snack out of them after a few more dances. Yes, it’s kind of like a strip club version of Wood’s Night of the Ghouls, and it’s just as cracked as it sounds.

Out of print for over a decade, this trash classic comes out of hiding in style, looking incredibly vivid and sharp. Comes complete with an interview in which the director details how he got together with Wood, and his plans for a much-belated sequel!