Devin and James are back in the Den to bid a final "ciao" to the TOUR OF ITALY series with a look at the violent world of POLIZIOTTESCHI movies (or Eurocrime, for the pronunciation challenged)! Italy had a special touch with crime thrillers during their politically tumultuous "Years of Lead," and we go over some of the genre's highest points, starting with Enzo G. Castellari's HIGH CRIME (1973), starring Franco Nero. We follow that with Lucio Fulci's only crime film, the gloriously bloody CONTRABAND (1980). Then we get into the sticky details around the release of Mario Bava's underseen and underrated RABID DOGS/KIDNAPPED, and why two different cuts of this movie were finally released over 25 years after the movie was shot and abandoned in 1974. We follow that with some fun in Umbert Lenzi's THE CYNIC, THE RAT, AND THE FIST (1977), which matched up 3 of the genre's most iconic stars. Finally, we cover the influential second entry of Fernando Di Leo's "Milieu Trilogy," THE ITALIAN CONNECTION (1972), where actor Mario Adorf outshines hitmen Henry Silva and Woody Strode to give the most heart-pounding and heartbreaking pimp performance we've ever seen. We're sad to finally be leaving Italy behind (for now), but we closed out with some of our favorite movies ever committed to celluloid. Buckle in and hold on for some off-the-wall Italian mayhem.

Devin & James are back in the Den with their penultimate visit to Italy! This time we shift from focusing on one genre to examining a type of film that is not uniquely Italian, but they sure put their own style on: THE KNOCK-OFF. Low-budget films ripping off box office hits has always been a popular way for Producers to make a buck. Still, the filmmakers themselves can sometimes bring their own spin to a popular trope or trend and create works that rise above being called simply imitations. And then... there are the imitations. We make the case that there is plenty to enjoy about all the approaches, as long as you know what you're getting into. We start with the sharksploitation film that Universal Studios successfully took off the market for lifting the plot of Jaws in 1981, Enzo G. Castellari's THE LAST SHARK (with a bonus look at CRUEL JAWS). If imitation is flattery, then Bruno Mattei must be one of the most complimentary filmmakers ever to play the game, and we dive into his back-to-back sci-fi knocks-offs from 1989, ROBOWAR (Predator featuring a Robocop) and SHOCKING DARK (Aliens featuring a Terminator). We finish up with a couple of films that are inspired by the head-spinning, pea soup-spitting world of The Exorcist, but that build their unique plots and bizarre twists to create works that stand on their own, Alberto De Martino's THE ANTICHRIST, and Ovidio G Assonitis and Roberto D'Ettorre's BEYOND THE DOOR, both from 1974. Grab a can of Campbell's Pea Soup and a straw, and buckle in.

Devin & James are back in the Den, and are go for launch! As we return to our Tour of Italy, this time the action will take us right into the stratosphere with ITALIAN SCIENCE FICTION! We start with the doomed visitors to Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, a still underappreciated film that inspired a generation of Sci-Fi writers and directors. We then swing into more action with the utterly bizarre, early body horror, Antonio Margheriti's WILD, WILD PLANET (it's wild enough to deserve it twice in the title). Then we take off for a galaxy far, far away-ish with Luigi Cozzi's Star Wars wannabe, STARCRASH. Finally, we follow up with more Luigi Cozzi with the (occasionally) explosive CONTAMINATION. Strap in, folks... this is gonna be a messy ride.