El diabolik presents: Tribute to Cliff Twemlow: exploitation polymath.

Who is Cliff Twemlow? Bouncer? Composer? Author? Actor? Screenwriter? Twemlow was all this and more.

A true renaissance man, Twemlow started out as a famous Manchester doorman, eventually turning his exploits into a memoir – ‘The Tuxedo Warrior’. As a composer of library music for the De Wolfe label, Cliff’s tunes can be heard in many films and TV shows of the period including: ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and ‘The Sweeney’.

In the early ’80s, Cliff teamed-up with David Kent-Watson to make the film GBH, the first o
f a run of low-budget exploitation films Cliff would write and star in. During the ’80s, Cliff still found time to pen two horror paperbacks, ‘The Pike’ and ‘The Beast of Kane’- The Pike almost becoming a film staring Joan Collins and a mechanical pike controlled by a BBC micro!

Join us for an evening celebrating the life of Manchester’s greatest exploitation renaissance man, with rare clips, Twemlow music, a special introduction, and a rare screening of Cliff’s 1983 Manchester gangster exploitation classic ‘GBH’.
Thursday, 27th October – 19:30.
Roxy Bar and Screen
128 Borough High Street, SE1 1LB London
Buy tickets here.
Facebook event page.

Day of the Giallo: An Investigation into the Cinema of Seductive Cruelty.

Sunday 16th of September – 15:00
Roxy Bar and Screen
128 Borough High Street, SE1 1LB London
Tickets £10, Buy tickets here.
Facebook event page.

Outlandish titles, outrageous outfits, atonal lounge music and a surfeit of skin abound in an all day event that explodes the history of Italy’s most seductive cinematic export – the giallo. These kinky murder mysteries swept the continent in the early ‘70s, feeding the audience’s accelerating thirst for sex and violence with an unrestrained diet of sensuality, style and death.
From the sadistic overdrive of ‘Blood and Black Lace’ (’64), to the perceptual puzzle of ‘The Bird With the Crystal Plumage’ (’70) and finally to the salacious sexploitation of ‘Strip Nude For Your Killer’ (’75), we cast a voyeuristic eye over a ten year period that spans the ‘boom and bust’ of Italian genre cinema and attempt to untangle the strands of this labyrinthine filone.
Expect a wealth of specially created Filmbar70 material and partake in the twisted giallo sounds of El Diabolik and his World of Psychotronic Soundtracks…


Blood and Black Lace (’64)
A seminal series of violent vignettes linked by all manner of racy malarkey at a high couture fashion house, Mario Bava’s blackly comic descent into fumetti sadism set the visual template for the giallo and remains as shocking now as it was back in the day.

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (’70)
Master of the filone, Dario Argento’s audacious debut cemented the giallo in the minds of the populous. As sharp as the killer’s blade, this clinical investigation into derangement exploded the filone.

Strip Nude For Your Killer (’75)
A prime cut of super sleaze that raises more than an eyebrow, Andrea Bianchi’s unhinged blood and breasts bombast reveals the extent that sex and nudity had saturated continental cinema of the mid ‘70s. Joyfully juvenile and delightfully trashy, ‘Strip Nude’ showcases the impossible (and often disrobed) beauty of the queen of giallo herself, the divine Edwige Fenech.

Night of the Psychotronic Soundtrack. London, Monday 20th of August.

Filmbar70 and El Diabolik invite you to partake in an adventure in audio as we take you by the ear and trawl the wild and way-out grooves of the Psychotronic soundtrack.

Fueled by the unrestrained requirements of exploitation cinema, the psychotronic soundtrack emerged from the alchemical reaction when psychedelic pop, beat and the avant-garde infected
the formally constrained confines of the classical conservatoire.
We’ll be unearthing the history of this sprawling topic with a track listing that takes us from the beach parties of the ‘60s through to the dawn of the synth in the ‘80s, showcased via a series of chats, clips and specially made content, all scored by the spinning platters of El Diabolik.
And, for after, you’ll be taking the lead for a party where your requests will be sounded and your vinyl spun. And if that’s not enough, on entry, you will receive a free exclusive psychotronic soundtrack CD, mixed el diabolik himself.

Here’s just a smattering of what to expect, pop pickers!

The kids are allright – Beat, psychedelia and how teenagers changed the film soundtrack.

Kino klangfarben – How avant-garde outrageousness freaked a generation out.

Dustbowls, bells and whistles – The Spaghetti Western and its influence on Italian genre cinema.

Wig out – How progressive rock and jazz-fusion bomblasted the unsuspecting cinema audience.

Proud vision – The cinematic sounds of the new empowered black youth of America.

Dawn of the synth – How one man and his trusty synth changed the face of the Psychotronic Soundtrack.

And much, much more!

Facebook Page.
Buy tickets here.

Mon 20 August 2012 7:00 pm
Roxy Bar and Screen.
128-132 Borough High Street
London SE1 1LB

Filmbar70 presents a very rare screening of ‘Queens of Evil’. 26th July, Roxy Bar & Screen.

26th July, Roxy Bar & Screen, London Bridge
£5.00 admission
7.30pm start

On Thursday the 26th of July at the Roxy Bar and Screen, Filmbar70 proudly presents a masterpiece of early ‘70s Italian genre cinema, the stylish, sexy and enchanting ‘Queens of Evil’. Worshipped by cult cinema aficionados but rarely seen, ‘Queens of Evil’ previously has suffered from poorly presented releases. Filmbar has set the matter straight to present the very best print available – remastered by our own fair hands.

Starring Ray Lovelock, the sexiest leading Italian man of the ‘70s, and a trio of very lovely ladies indeed, furnished with some dazzling set-design, unafraid to tackle the issues of the time and unabashedly romantic, ‘Queens of Evil’ is the quintessential Filmbar experience. And, of course, Mr Eldiabolik and his World of Psychotronic Soundtracks will be on hand to spin the very best of Italian psychedelia…

Facebook event page.
Buy tickets here.

David is a man in search of freedom. Roaming the countryside upon his trusty motorbike, in flight from the hypocrisies of this venal age, he has found peace in solitude, a peace to be torn asunder when a bizarre roadside encounter ends with lethal consequences. Taking refuge in the barn of a remote lakeside cottage, he is discovered by the owners the following dawn. But this is no rude awakening, for the denizens of this secluded haven just happen to be three unfeasibly glamorous women. Entranced, mystified and enchanted, David foregoes his quest to enjoy the raptures and rural idyll of these solitary women, falling first for their uncomplicated, care-free way of life, then falling headlong into their arms.
But this garden of Eden may prove to be other than it pertains to be, for these women seek nocturnal communion with a shadowy figure and gather for strange, fire lit ceremonials, leading David to question the secret behind these bewitching temptresses. The answer will test David’s integrity, ideals and even his very existence…

26th July, Roxy Bar & Screen, London Bridge
£5.00 admission
7.30pm start

Filmbar70 presents And Soon the Darkness: Brit thrillers of the ’70s

Filmbar70 is proud to fly the flag as we celebrate the British Thriller of the Seventies. We’ll be screening the original ‘And Soon the Darkness’ (’70), and guiding you through this long neglected aspect of our cinematic heritage with our very own top ten Brit Thrills of …the ‘70s. Also on hand will be Mr El diabolik himself – bringing his World of Psychotronic Soundtracks to bear on the best of British film grooves from the decade.

Facebook event page.
Buy tickets here.

With the glory days of the sixties fading fast, British genre filmmakers looked to the contemporary concerns infusing American generic cinema and further back to the rich vein of psychological dramas peppering the British celluloid landscape. Uncertain outcomes, social entropy and a pervading sense of nihilistic despair came to inform the results – our (and indeed, Europe’s) last wave of concerted genre filmmaking. Since consigned to nocturnal cathode ray emissions, the British thrillers of the ‘70s have been largely ignored or dismissed by our cultural commentators. But we at Filmbar70 love these smouldering embers of the British film industry. And what better way to celebrate than to screen one of the best examples – Robert Fuest’s tightly weaved ‘And Soon the Darkness’…
When two young female nurses (Filmbar fave Pamela Franklin and Michele – “oh Frank” – Dotrice) embark on a cycling holiday around southern France, nothing had prepared them for the sheer monotony of their trip. As tempers are tried and bickering flares, the couple decide to split – an action that leaves them more vulnerable than they could have ever imagined. For this alien, expansive landscape has a dark history, a history involving the unsolved abductions of a number of young women…
An excursion into the very, very eerie, ‘And Soon the Darkness’ wrings incredible suspense from its minimal resources. Dearly departed arch stylist Robert Fuest imbues the wide, sunny spaces of the French countryside with palatable dread and cloying claustrophobia, tightening the screws of tension to breaking point.
We’ll also be sharing with you our top ten Brit Thrills of the ‘70s. Prepare to have memories jogged and opinions outraged as we count down our very favourite films of our very favourite decade…
And finally, what would a Filmbar be these days without the (cloven) hoof tappings courtesy of El diabolik and his World of Psychotronic soundtracks? He’ll be spinning his platters of Brit goodness to round the evening off on a suitably funky note.
So pop on down, and get you patriotism on for some truly great home grown suspense…
Doors open 7pm
Programme begins 7.30pm
Psychotronic party commences 9.45pm

Filmbar70 presents the eve of HP Lovecraft!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, after the stone groove that was last months film screening and psychotronic disco party, Filmbar70 and el diabolik invite you to rend the veil of reality and spiral into the stygian spaces betwixt the spheres as we celebrate the poet laureate of cosmic horror himself – H. P. Lovecraft. Witness unspeakable horrors emanating from unfathomable voids with the screening of the onl…y two true celluloid adaptations of his work, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ and ‘The Dunwich Horror’. As always I, el diabolik will be spinning all sorts of psychotronic vinyl throughout the evening.

Thursday, 26 April 2012 – Roxy Bar and Screen
128 Borough High Street, SE1 1LB London

Doors open 6.30pm – El diabolik on the decks
Programme begins 7pm
The Call of Cthulhu – 7.20pm – 8pm
The Dunwich Horror – 8.10 to 9.45pm
El diabolik’s Psychotronic party – 9.45pm to the close of consciousness
£5.00

Facebook event page.
Buy tickets here.

Filmbar70 and el diabolik screening and party!

Mark your calenders, the Filmbar70 and el diabolik film screening + psychotronic party is on Thursday the 22nd of March at the Roxy bar and screen, London. We will be screening Massimo Dallamano’s psychotronic classic ‘The Secret of Dorian Gray’. Plus Michael Armstrong’s David Bowie starring short ‘The Image’ Yours truly (el diabolik)will be DJing before the films, then much more at our psychotronic disco party after the films. All this for £5. Get yourself along and say hello!

Check-out the excellent event trailer.

At: Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB
Nearest Tube: London Bridge / Borough
Admission: £5.00
Doors: 7pm
The Image: 7.20pm
The Secret of Dorian Gray: 8pm
The Filmbar and Eldiabolik Psychotronic party: 9.45pm onward…

Buy Tickets.

Facebook page for the event.

See you there!