APRIL 6 - JUST BEFORE DAWN

Utilizing authentic, scenic Oregon mountain settings, Jeff Lieberman's (Squirm, Blue Sunshine) rural slasher is a criminally underrated example of how to do a genre film right. That knit caps and aviators didn't become at least a quarter as iconic as a certain hockey mask is a shame.

Other than a ludicrous (yet still fantastic) denouement that squanders some of the tension, Just Before Dawn is an atmospheric slice of woodsy fun and perfect summertime viewing

APRIL 6 - PIECES

Probably my #1 "you have to see this" film, 1982's Pieces boasted the immortal tagline 'YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS FOR A CHAINSAW MASSACRE!'. And while JP Simon's opus doesn't troll those realistically psychotic depths, it more than makes up for it in unabashed, over-the-top gore and disarmingly enjoyable genre tropes.

Full of 80's fashion, howling nuggets of dialogue and, yes, some massacring via chainsaw, Pieces is the definition of a grindhouse good time.

APRIL 6 - VANISHING POINT

A bona fide classic that also fostered a cult following, Vanishing Point has the (semi) dubious honor of being the inspiration for Death Proof's second half.

Vanishing Point is a chase movie both literally and figuratively, as an endless torrent of police pursue Kowalski and Kowalski chases an elusive, internal motivator accelerating him toward an unknowable destiny.

For all the praise Cleavon Little receives as the prescient DJ Super Soul, I found Newman's Kowalski to be the more engaging performance, the mix of weary resignation and jittery, ups-induced manic energy a minor revelation to behold.

The definitive carsploitation film and worth a closer look.

APRIL 5 - THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS

3 parts moody indoctrination thriller, 1 part Mad Max-esque car terror, Cars That Ate is Peter Weir's first film, and he hadn't developed the eerie atmosphere he would become known for (see Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave). While it could have done with slicing some deliberate dialogue and upping the brazen thrills, Cars That Ate is a sturdy Aussie cult classic.

APRIL 4 - ROAD GAMES

At one point pegged as 'the Australian Hitchcock', Richard Franklin (Cloak & Dagger) at least partially lives up to that lofty comparison with the tense, sometimes comedic thriller Road Games. As the truck-driving (doesn't make him a "truck driver") Quid, Stacy Keach gives a terrific performance, making up for the non-factor that is Jamie Lee Curtis.

Not as shock (or schlock) heavy as some other Ozploitation films, Games manages the rare feat of being cult worthy and genuinely compelling.

TOMORROW'S BACON!

APRIL 3 - STONE

An absolutely fantastic 'bikie' flick, Stone is the textbook definition of a drive-in film done right; action, drama, flesh, badass soundtrack. Stone has it all.

Even when the film's pace slows, you are captivated. I hate motorcycles, but everything about Sandy Harbutt's opus works. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

APRIL 3 - THIRST

High society 'vampires' who drink blood out of milk cartons and want to indoctrinate a Bathory descendant into their cult.

A relatively minor Ozploitation flick, Thirst never quite comes together. Isolated moments of menace and terror, sure, but overall ... the rare average Aussie cult film. Even David Hemmings doesn't elevate it beyond the only acceptable.

April 1 - DEAD END DRIVE-IN

Post-apoc-lite outing by auteur and candonowrong Ozploitationeer Brian Trenchard-Smith, DEAD END DRIVE-IN is truth in advertising -- you roll in to catch a double feature and a cops/govt/proprietor conspiracy keeps you there ... forever. Then apparently all there is to do is form a post-punk fashion forward community. Oddly essential viewing.