Well , in the first place, I want to apologize for my broken english and for the mistakes in my text: English is not my native tongue. In fact, I'm french ...
I'm a big fan of fantastic movies, but I must confess that french cinema despite it's diversity ( almost 200 movies every years) stay very shy in this "genre". So unlike Italy, Great Britain or Spain which always have a living tradition of fantastic movies, French producers and directors ( and I won't even speak about the critics) are suspicious when a film includes non rationnal elements. The things begin to change with some new directors as Jean Pierre Jeunet ( Amelie), Christophe Gans ( Brotherhood of the wolfs), Mathieu Kassovitz ( The Crinsom rivers) etc...
In the same time, as part of the "official" traditionnal french production, they're always been an undergroud production of cheap movies. Jean Rollin is one of the most known ( oh, God all mighty, no!! Not again one of his never-ending erotic vampire films !!), but he is not alone, especially in the eighties!! And if you like really stupid movies, which make Charles Band's productions look like masterpieces, french does it worse!! (and proudly).
let's me give you three exemples of french cheesy fantastic movies, which really released on theater ( not for long) in the golden eighties. I always wonder if these "nanars" had reach american coasts and if the following movies can be find on VHS in your country... (In France it's exhausted and the few tapes which existing are piously revere by crazy cultists like me)...
First Candidate : "Devil Story" (in english in the text) aka "Once upon the time the Devil" (Il était une fois le Diable): by Bernard Launois. The story ( vaguely inspired by "Texas Chainsaw Massacre") seams to be a L.S.D. bad trip: well, a disfigured boogeyman, dressed in a nazi uniform ( why ? well we never know in the movie) slaughter some campers with very poor gore effect and chase all movie long a blond girl (in underwear ) in the fields. In the meanwhile, an old malediction wakes up in a village: a ghost ship ( sunk by wreckers 100 years ago), emerged from the cliffs ( don't ask me why, but if you like poorly animated miniatures it's a must-see!). From this ship come a mummy ( the boat is suppose to come from Egypt) who looks for he's sweetheart ( which is the boogeyman sister and is the double of the blond girl with a brunette wig). And finally a old man with a riffle who tries all film long to kill a black horse which is supposed to the Devil's horse. Don't be upset, if you haven't unsderstand anything of this plot, the director either!
Second Candidate: " The She-Undead revenge" ( La revanche des Mortes Vivantes): by Peter B Hardsome ( alias Pierre B. Reinhardt, a porno director). A chemical factory throws it's toxics wastes in a cemetery. Three young girls recently dead emerged from the grave and kill all people responsibles for all that. As it's also an erotic production the she-zombi are naked almost all the time and only their face turn into undead, their bodies stay intact. The gore effects are really artisanal but shocking. I believe that a hardcore version of this movie exist but I haven't found any proof of it despite my search ( only for the history of cinema I swear!!).
Third Candidate: "White Fire" (in english in the text) aka "The Diamond" ( le diamant) aka "Living for surviving" ( Vivre pour Survivre): Jean Marie Pallardy , with a dream international cast: Robert Ginty, Fred Williamson, Jess Hahn and Gordon Mitchell. One of the worst ( and hilarious) movies ever made. In Turkey, several rough men try to discover the biggest diamond of the world, the "White Fire" so brilliant that it burns to death everyone who try to touch it. The comedians are really bad ( especially Fred Williamson with the worst martial arts fights of all movie history), there are holes likes Great Canyon in the script, very very cheap special effects ( there's a fight with a chainsaw which make me laugh to death)and even the turkish crowd in the background makes hello to the camera.
So as you can see, french cinema as also it's cheesy movies ( and I don't speack of the Godard's movies). I've got some photographs and posters from those movies ( and some others ) to show you how crazy we can be...
You can take a look to a french cheesy movie website which I participate and see some photos there ( of course, it's in french but the navigation is quite simple):
http://www.nanarland.com
I've never heard of any of those!
Interesting to see the perception of bad movies in non-English speaking countries.
I checked out the site, and any place that features Van Damme and Brigitte Nielsen on the intro page scares me. I do own some of the movies, featured there. LAS GUERRIERS DU BRONX, for example. (1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS, here.)
Hummm....intresting. Indeed, the outside view can be a nice change of pace.
....Any other French flicks to recomend,Rico? Those do sound like they would find a good home here. Hard to get a chance at, but worth the persuit, i'd wager.