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Jun 16, 2014 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

When a cult cinema guide begins with a dedication to Danny Peary, you know its heart is in the right place. Peary’s venerated Cult Movies books were many b-movie fans’ entryway into the realm of weird cinema, Heavy Metal Movies writer Mike McPadden (and this reviewer) included. Before the era of DVD—and later, streaming—a cult cinephile’s viewing options were limited to the horror, sci-fi, and action sections at the local video shop. Peary’s volumes offered a glimpse at many offbeat, oddball, and invariably strange films we could only read about during those years. In his introduction, McPadden lays out a similar origin story and sets himself up as a schlock enthusiast with whom many of us will empathize.

What, exactly, constitutes a “heavy metal movie”? (If you have to ask, then the book probably isn’t for you.) McPadden’s definition is loose and broad, but primarily relates to films heavy on the genre’s favorite tropes—everything from sword-and-sandal sorcery and Norse mythology to demonic possession and the apocalypse—or those with heavy metal soundtracks. All of the big, obvious choices are covered here (classics such as Heavy Metal and Wayne’s World are well-documented) but where the book really wins is in its reviews of relative obscurities. McPadden includes a wealth of under-seen exploitation and concert flicks, stretching from forgotten, foreign sci-fi films of the VHS era to recent low-budget indies that flew under the radar. McPadden writes about these films not only with a sense of humor but with authority, almost ensuring that you’ll come away from reading his entries on cannibal features and lesbian vampire flicks having learned something.

The first thing I did with Heavy Metal Movies was flip straight to the middle to make sure Lamberto Bava’s Demons—in my opinion, one of the most metal movies of all time—was included. It was, as were so many more movies that I’d never seen. (Appropriately, McPadden highlights “over 666 true headbanger classics” in his book.) It’s sent me scouring the various streaming services for these new-to-me cinematic oddities. In that regard, Heavy Metal Movies has succeeded at a cult film compendium’s most important task.

www.heavymetalmovies.com

Author rating: 8/10