freakboy on film: THE DEGENERATES (1967)

🎵 They once were lost, but now they’re found! 🎵

Praise be to Severin Films for finding and releasing two of Andy Milligan’s lost films!  Believe you me, I was freaking out over this discovery and was constantly checking Severin so I could pre-order ASAP!  It was a rare Friday off for me and I just got home from a sloppy joe lunch with my sister.  I immediately checked and BAM, there was my dream come true!  “This is really happening!” I chanted to my cats as I placed my order, only half-aware I was quoting ROSEMARY’S BABY.

You can imagine how over the moon I was when my order arrived.  I watched the two lost films right away and the other films over the weekend.  To be honest, I was under the weather for my initial viewings, so subsequent viewings were required, as if I needed an excuse for rewatching! 

I was originally planning on doing one post covering all of “GUTTER AUTEUR” The Lost Legacy of Andy Milligan, but I ended up writing a longer review for THE DEGENERATES than I expected.  In other words, the following review is just the first in a potential series of reviews…

THE DEGENERATES (1967) 

My first thought on my initial viewing was, This movie is daring viewers to hate it.  It was loud with screeching performances and was sometimes hard to follow, especially keeping track of which character was which.  In other words, THE DEGENERATES was an Andy Milligan film through and through, and I enjoyed it even if I was confused.  My confusion may have been due to being ill at the time.

Frank, Jim and GoGo on the go.

THE DEGENERATES is Andy Milligan’s post-apocalyptic, sci-fi epic!  Well, sort of.  After an offscreen nuclear war has decimated the world, three men (Jim, Frank and GoGo) are sent out to find other survivors.  The trio stumble upon a house of women named after flowers or flowering plants.  Violet may physically look like a slim bit of nothing with a cute pixie cut bob, but she is in charge and rules with an iron fist.  Rose exudes a sweet, understanding motherly vibe.  Iris and Daisy are ready to find out what they’ve been missing when the men arrive.  Lily is young, sweet and innocent and always wears a hairband.  Ivy, the youngest, lives away from her sisters, having lost her mind when she saw their father burn to death in the family car. 

What does Ivy know?

Jim has an injured leg and Violet agrees to let the men stay for a couple of days.  She assigns Iris to take care of Jim, who gets the luxury of a bedroom, and orders Frank and GoGo to sleep in the shed.  Iris and Jim begin forming a bond, while Daisy sneaks out to spend time with GoGo, no matter how ridiculous his name is.  Meanwhile, Frank is out to claim innocent Lily for himself.  All of this sex ignites a boiling rage in Violet as she believes her sisters are slipping away from her and she will be left alone.  Violence soon erupts, with death not far behind.  It’s interesting to note that Milligan did not use “swirl camera” to represent chaos in THE DEGENERATES, which makes for a more visceral viewing, in my opinion.

Violet prepares to punish Daisy.

Will Violet’s love and rage go too far?  Will Lily be saved from Frank’s manipulative ways?  Will Ivy speak the truth about their father’s death?  Will Daisy & GoGo and Iris & Jim live happily ever after in a post-apocalyptic world?  Well, this is an Andy Milligan film, so the odds are stacked against them. 

Iris and Jim are happy for a moment.

The bombastic visuals and dialogue that had bombarded me at first became a filmic drug with my second viewing of THE DEGENERATES.  I was able to follow everything going on and was mesmerized.  I couldn’t take my half-blind eyes off the screen as Violet descends into absolute madness.  Played to severe perfection by Bryarly Lee, who also starred in the still lost Milligan film THE NAKED WITCH, Violet seems to be an unstoppable force.  Then there is Hope Stansbury, who wrote Milligan’s first film VAPORS and starred as Dracula’s daughter in BLOOD.  In THE DEGENERATES, Hope plays youngest sister Ivy, the one who lives apart from the others.  Hope gives the mostly silent Ivy a soul and finds her strength when she finally speaks a long-held secret.  The rest of the cast gives it their all, but this film belongs to Bryarly Lee and Hope Stansbury. 

Violet demands to be loved!

THE DEGENERATES was written by friends and sometimes lovers, Gerald Jacuzzo and Andy Milligan.  They were definitely on the same page because it all feels like Milligan or maybe that’s because of his directorial style.  One moment that definitely came from Andy is the crucifixion scene.  One character’s right hand is nailed to a wall while the other hand is pinned using a pitchfork, which is a Milligan trademark instrument of torture.

Violet pitchforks Frank.

 Speaking of torture (not his acting), writer Gerald Jacuzzo also appeared in some of Andy’s films, most memorably TORTURE DUNGEON, which I have shamefully not reviewed…yet!  He was also in VAPORS and appears briefly in the other recently found lost Milligan film, KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME! (1968) and is easily one of the best actors Andy utilized. 

In conclusion…
Despite my confusing but enjoyable first viewing, THE DEGENERATES is quickly rising up the ranks in my favorite Andy Milligan films.  It won’t bump FLESHPOT, NIGHTBIRDS or SEEDS from the top spots, but it is giving other favorites a run for their low-budget money!  If you haven’t experienced an Andy Milligan film, don’t start here.  I recommend beginning with GURU THE MAD MONK and branching out from there.  However, if you’re a burgeoning fan or a maladjusted, obsessive Milligan freak like me, THE DEGENERATES must be seen!  

My obsession is now a fashion statement!

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  Click TRICKS OF THE TRADE for a look at the script for another one of Andy Milligan’s lost films! 
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My books are tragically nothing like a Milligan film, but you can still find a degenerate character or two within their pages. 

Thelma vs. Nosferatu

On a recent excursion to a nearby city, my sister and I stopped at a well-known big box store which doesn’t need more advertising here.  Surprisingly, physical media is still sold in this marketplace, so I had to pop on my Mad Scientist Glasses to see what was on the shelf.  

I purchased two films.  One was a planned purchase.  The other was an impulse buy.  Which one was which and will I keep them both or are they headed for the library discard table?  Let’s find out…

NOSFERATU (2024) 

written & directed by Robert Eggers 

This is a 21st Century remake of the 1922 German silent film of the same name.  The silent film was an unlicensed adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, so you know the basic plot.  Thomas, a young realtor, visits Transylvania to secure a deal with a reclusive aristocrat and inadvertently unleashes a vampire upon the world, or at least upon one city.

Peekaboo, Count Orlok sees you!

NOSFERATU is a beautifully crafted update that fleshes out some unexplored plot elements from the original.  Real estate proprietor Knock has a bit more to do than simply go mad and eat bugs, while the psychic connection between the realtor’s wife Ellen and Count Orlok is more fully developed.  Visually dark (I would’ve been lost without Adrienne Barbeau’s descriptive audio narration) and emotionally moody,  NOSFERATU is a solid love letter to its source material.  However, if you want a truly unsettling vampire, nothing compares to the original silent film.

As an added bonus,  NOSFERATU contains a wink and a nod to a couple of other vampire films through its cast.  Nicholas Hoult plays Thomas, but in 2023, the actor was the title character in the outrageously fun Dracula spin-off RENFIELD.  Willem Dafoe plays the disgraced professor who is treating Ellen’s maladies in NOSFERATU, but in 2000, he portrayed the original silent film NOSFERATU actor Max Schreck in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. 

THELMA (2024) 

written & directed by Josh Margolin 

When Thelma is scammed out of $10,000 by someone pretending to be her grandson, there’s only one thing for this 93-year-old widow to do.  Go after the scammer to get her money back by trekking across the city without her overprotective family’s knowledge.  Will she succeed in her impossible mission?  Hang onto your scooter because it’s going to be a wild ride! 

Hell hath no fury like a Granny scammed!

THELMA is a delightfully funny, low-key crazy film about family, friendship and the realities of aging.  There’s the right amount of heart to ground the story without causing the viewer to vomit. 

The cast is perfection with June Squibb as the determined Thelma.  She brings a human touch to a character that could’ve been portrayed as a caricature by a lesser thespian.  Richard Roundtree, in his final role, brings sweet sincerity as Thelma’s cohort Ben.  Parker Posey, as Thelma’s understandably stressed-out daughter, is a joy to watch and listen to, as always.  Fred Hechinger, as Thelma’s devoted grandson, brings a bit of slacker charm to the table. 

NOSFERATU was my planned purchase because I have the silent version and a remake from the 1970s, so my filmic OCD demanded I purchase a copy of the new one.  THELMA was the impulse buy.  The vivid cover caught my half-blind eyes, but even with my Mad Scientist Glasses on, I couldn’t quite decipher the title.  I thought it was called Tell Me, so I asked my sister to tell me what the hell I was looking at.  She read the title and then mentioned Parker Posey was in it.  With that, THELMA was immediately put in my basket.

Wait, what are you putting where?

In conclusion…

Neither THELMA nor NOSFERATU will be donated to the library.  I enjoyed both and they each deserve more viewings.  However, if I could only keep one, it would be THELMA, which is currently streaming on Hulu.  The story was full of surprises and was extremely entertaining and satisfying.  Plus, it has Parker Posey!  

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Click a pic ⤵️ for other filmic battles! 🍿

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Escape reality with one of my books… 📚