Trailers from Hell

I've always had a soft spot for a well-made trailer. In the early 1980's when home video first took off, one of the pleasures of hiring a film was to watch the trailers before the main feature. I'm not talking here about the glossy mainstream fare put out by such studios as Paramount or MGM but the scuzzy exploitation b-movies released by labels such as VTC or Hokushin (is that Patrick Allen's voice?).  These trailers were often better than the films they were promoting. I've never seen Dolemite but nothing could be better than this Rudy Ray Moore rapping preview  (Warning: Not Safe For Work).

Trailers from Hell is a site dedicated to this lost art. Exploring the fertile ground of  horror and exploitation film  the website is updated with a new trailer three times a week. Each mini-movie is accompanied by an optional commentary from a filmmmaker associated with the field.

The site was co-founded by director Joe Dante (Gremlins) and he, along with John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), provide most of the commentaries. However you can also hear the likes of Stuart Gordon (Re-animator) on The Thing with Two Heads or Guillermo del Toro on Dead and Buried.

It's a great way to while away an hour or so on a Sunday afternoon, (I was going to do the ironing). Surely you can't resist seeing the first screen appearance of Nicole Kidman in the classic teen-pic, BMX Bandits?

Only me then?