Celebrate Halloween with Sexy Pinky Violence!

First off, Happy Halloween, Panik House friends!

I just saw one of my favorite stores place the freshest Panik House DVDs on their shelves, as today is a very special release date. There are three different Panik House releases and a CasaNegra release hitting shelves today. What would those be?

There's a special re-release of the very first two Panik House DVDs in a belly-banded 2-pack called Asian Horror 2-For-1: The Pang Brothers Collection.



Then there are the stand-alone releases of two Pinky Violence Masterpieces!

First up is Girl Boss Guerilla; the best Asian Biker Chick flick ever!

If you've ever wondered what I sound like, you can check out the commentary track that I did with Wyatt Doyle, who now runs an amazing literary site called called New Texture.

And there's also Terrifying Girls' High School, which was listed among Ain't It Cool News head honcho Harry Knowles' favorites not too long ago. This is Japanese School Girls Gone Way Past Wild! I could tell you what happens in this but you'd probably never believe me.

Also check out the CasaNegra release, The Vampire Collection, which is a double disc extravaganza containing the greatest gothic horror film from the golden age of Mexican Cinema, El Vampiro and its sequel, The Vampire's Coffin. Beautifully restored for the first time ever!

I also just got back from the Chiller Convention in Secaucus, NJ, where Gea* was signing Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf posters and DVDs. I love it when hard-core horror fans have such strong reactions to illustrations on paper! It was a great weekend all around, and I'd love to thank those nice Synapse people, Don & Jerry for hosting us at their table.



Here's one of the two of us (it's a little blurry, but I like it):



Once again have a hellacious Halloween, and be sure to run out and buy some Panik House DVDs!!!

INTERVIEW WITH NY ARTIST & PANIK HOUSE CONTRIBUTOR GEA*

PH: What were you like as a kid? Were you quiet or hyper? Does your artwork stem from childhood? Gea*: Not so much just from childhood. It stems from my experiences and likes and dislikes. What was I like as a child? Schizophrenic - like all children. PH: Did you formally study art? Gea*: No. School and I didn't mix. My father taught me the basics, and I went off from there on my own. I was also heavily into comics and any books with graphics. I would get tracing paper and place it over an image and copy the graphic. PH: What mediums do you use? Which are you most comfortable in and why? Gea*: I use mostly acrylics and black ink. The only reason behind that is they are affordable and I have an abundance of them around me. When I'm inspired I just pick up whatever happens to be around me and work with it. PH: You seem to draw yourself (and your cat) a lot. Would you categorize your work as personal? Gea*: For the most part, yes: a diary in metaphors. PH: Are you more comfortable depicting daily emotions or events or focusing on specific moments? Do you have to be in a certain time or space to paint? Gea*: I can't say that there is a pattern to when I feel the need to create. Sometimes it just depends on how much caffeine I've had and how fidgety I am. PH: Some of your imagery is disturbing. Is your artwork meant to shock? Is your artwork cathartic? Gea*: It's not meant to shock. Everything means something even if it seems ridiculous or disgusting. All are metaphors, sometimes subliminal even to me. I can paint something and not know why I did it, then look back at it a few months later and realize why. PH: Do you think that your gender or ethnicity plays into the execution or perception of your work? Gea*: Yeah…if I was a six-foot Irishman my art would be very different. I can bet on that! PH: Then in what way does being a Chilean woman in NYC manifest in your work? Gea*: Coming to this country was a great culture shock for my family and I. We had a bumpy journey through South America and moved to a very white suburban neighborhood. There was much alienation that took place and that forced me to explore a different life since I was so unsatisfied with my new surroundings. All experiences shape who we are and all my experiences have shaped my art. Running off from the suburbs and hanging out in the seedy side of the city has definitely had an impact on my work and point of view. PH: How has your work evolved? Gea*: I get paid for it now. PH: Can you talk a little bit about what you started to draw and why, and how that has developed into what you do now and why? Gea*: I started drawing very young. Like I said before, my father was an artist and he pretty much pushed all my siblings and I to do the same. He supplied us with pencil and paper and tried to dictate to us how to draw. The subject matter was usually people and landscapes. Even though I started very young I didn't become completely involved with it until I came to America and had to deal with the language barrier. I couldn't communicate with language but I could draw pictures and communicate that way. Using art as a language was a way of interpreting my feelings then, and I can't say that it has changed much. The only difference is that things are more cryptic now in my art; -not so clear cut. PH: What commercial art or design have you done? Gea*: I've done graphics work for some pornos as well as DVD packaging design and of course the drawings featured on Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf. I never really had an interest in that field, but I've been having fun with it. PH: Where have you shown? Gea*: Switzerland (at V-Gallery) and group shows in NYC (such as Art At Large) as well as parties hosted by Channel 83, who have spliced an art profile of me into a video that they run as a loop at their events. PH: Who, if anyone, has been influential in the development of your style and why? Gea*: Andy Warhol. Because, even though he wasn't my first influence, he was one that led me on very many paths. The more I read about him the more I discovered about other things. He was like a gateway for a hungry kid. And Trevor Brown. Mainly because I was feeling pretty low about the work I was doing, which my had father dismissed as “no good” (he's a total renaissance art man) and when I saw Trevor's work I identified with it and it gave me the confidence to keep painting. PH: What other careers if any have you explored? Gea*: Animation when I was younger, which didn't quite work out for me at the time, but now that I have the tools to do it on my own I think I will try again. Comics as well. I love them but I have yet to finish any that I start. I enjoy documenting so I guess photography and video work as well (but that's more for fun and I don't take it very seriously). PH: What role if any does music play in your life? Movies? Books? Food? Gea*: I'm inspired by all, and I think it shows prominently in some of my work. PH: Are there any specific works that have found their way into your art or motivated you to elicit certain images? Gea*: There are tributes. An earlier example stems from my love for Westerns, featured in a tiny portrait titled “Spaghetti Western.” Another is a drawing titled “Destroy” which is a take on the film Destroy All Monsters. But even those aren't so specific as they are peripheral. PH: What's an average day in the life of Gea* like? Gea*: Well if you really must know… I wake up at noon, drink Yerba Mate (picks me up) then sit on the floor, crank some music up and start painting, or lay on my bed and draw. I watch about two movies a day in between there somewhere and go to bed around 5 AM. I enjoy the hermit lifestyle. If I want to have fun I usually leave town. PH: Has living in New York played a big part in why or what you paint? Gea*: Yes! I've been here too long –so long that I'm bored with it. So I stay home mostly, which allows me to create more frequently than if I was out having a blast. PH: Is there anywhere else you'd rather be? Gea*: Los Angeles. There are some nice people there that I want to see more of. Panik House has recently collaborated with Gea* to produce a limited run of 300 Killer Dwarf buttons to commemorate the DVD release of Teruo Ishii's final disturbing masterpiece, Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf. They can be obtained from Gea* directly via her website. Each button comes on an individually numbered card, and will only be available while supplies last. Gea*'s email is gea@geaphiles.com Gea*'s website is geaphiles.com Gea*'s MySpace is myspace.com/geaphiles The BLIND BEAST Vs. KILLER DWARF DVD, featuring an exclusive stamped and numbered insert card and sticker with art by Gea* is available at AMAZON.com, and other fine retailers near you. Also mentioned in this article: Art At Large Channel 83 Trevor Brown V-Gallery And don't forget to join Panik House & CasaNegra on MySpace: myspace.com/panikhouse myspace.com/casanegra

The Big Announcement!

Exactly one month ago I promised to announce something huge. Well the wait is over! Panik House is entering into a production partnership with Synapse Films to release seven more films from the Toei vaults. Five proto-Pinky Violence films and two films of a new genre: Pinky Horror! With the CasaNegra line in full swing and the Chained Heat films on the way, I needed to call in marines, so to speak, to handle the film transfers and over-all production on this latest crop of Pinky Violence titles, which have never before been released on DVD anywhere. And who better than Don May Jr. and Jerry Chandler from Synapse? I've been looking for an excuse to work with Don on a project for about a decade (going back even before my days at Blue Underground!) and these films have provided me with the perfect opportunity. Which films you ask? Let's start with the Pinky Horror titles first: Edogawa Ranpo Zenshu: Kyofu Kikei Ningen; aka Horror Of The Malformed Men This is the most notorious film in the history of Japanese cinema. It has been banned since it's release in 1969, and is the film that really cemented Teruo Ishii's reputation as a master in the art of transgressive filmmaking. All rhetoric aside, this is one of the true classics of the era. Kaidan Hebi-onna; aka Snake Woman's Curse This was the first of the Pinky Horror films released by Toei. It was helmed by master director Nobuo Nakagawa, who has been called the Japanese Hitchcock, and Akemi Negishi (Sex & Fury, Lady Snowblood) stars. This brings us to the two series that served as the protypes of the Pinky Violence films and were the direct inspiration for Sex & Fury and just about every female protagonist film to follow. There's the three film Okatsu series, starring Junko Miyazuno, and the two Silver Butterfly films that launched icon of icons Meiko Kaji. Here's a title list: Yoen Dokufu Den : Hannya no Ohyaku; aka Sexy Deadly Legend: Female Demon Ohyaku Yoen Dokufu Den : Hitokiri Okatsu; aka Sexy Deadly Legend: Quickdraw Okatsu Yoen Dokufu Den : Okatsu Kyojo Tabi; aka Sexy Deadly Legend: Okatsu's Epic Journey Gincho Wataridori; aka Wandering Ginza Butterfly Gincho Nagaremono Mesuneko Bakuchi; aka Wandering Ginza She-Cat Gambler These films are beyond legendary, and have never been released on DVD. Some English titles may change by release date, but make no mistake that these films will be presented uncut in their original form -remastered for optimal viewing and listening enjoyment. This particular crop of films has allowed me to present two entire series (like we did with the two Inoshika Ocho films starring Reiko Ike), which was key in my decision to license them. I had chosen not to release the entire series of Girl Boss films because I felt that not all entries were as strong as Girl Boss Guerilla, but the two Butterfly films and the three Okatsu films are all really incredible movies, so it's not a case of licensing them just to release a whole series; these films rock! Additionally, these will not be issued as box sets, but instead as individual discs (possibly at the same time) –affording the option of buying all at once or one at a time as your budget dictates. In the meantime, you can whet your Pinky whistle by picking up the recently re-issued Sex & Fury, or pre-ordering the stand alone editions of Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom and Girl Boss Guerilla. I understand that there are still a few transparent editions of Teruo Ishii's Female Yakuza Tale available, so snatch those up along with the recent releases of Screwed and Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf. Stay tuned for updates, and have a Pink day!