Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Flaming Creatures (1963) :(((


Sometimes I wish I were dead so I wouldn’t have to watch films like director Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures (1963). No, I’m not one of those people who would have rioted in the 60s and 70s whenever there was an underground showing of it—I could care less about transvestites, homosexuals, and graphic nudity.  No, I’m one of those people who like a movie to have a plot and make some kind of sense—Flaming Creatures was beyond my comprehension.

flaming-creatures-2Using a handheld camera and outdated black and white film stock, Smith attempts to tell some weird story about lipstick, cunnilingual rape, an earthquake, a vampire who breathes life into those killed by the earthquake, and a carnival-esque dance scene celebrating the creatures’ rebirth.  If that sounds off-the-wall, well it is.  While trying to wrap my mind around what was actually going on I also got to see masturbation techniques for breasts, vaginas, and penises. 

The only thing that got me through this long 45-minute film was the music.  Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”, the Everly Brothers’ “Be-Bop-A-Lula”, and “Siboney” are used throughout this mostly silent film (that is if you don’t count lines like “Do they make a lipstick that doesn't come off when you suck cock?” or the incessant screaming during the pseudo rape scene). 

Overall, Flaming Creatures is one of the worst films I have ever seen—EVER.


  1. I think I shall just have to die without seeing this ...

  2. Once again, we have a film that has a single selling point: it's short, so the pain is intense but brief.

    With a film like this, I question why it was even made. And I also question exactly who it's supposed to entertain or inform. What a load of crap.

    1. I think I know who it was supposed to entertain--those avant garde people who believe they have a higher sense of "art". Personally, I'm glad I don't fit into this clique.

  3. Yeah, I've never seen this and I dont plan to. I haven't heard anything nice or good about this movie.

  4. I completely agree. Other than it's in the list there's no reason to see it.