They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé

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For some strange reason Do-It-Yourself maverick Florida-based indie filmmaker William Grefe rarely seems to get his due. Fortunately, this lengthy and comprehensive documentary rights that particular wrong by covering all of Grefe's cinematic work in fascinatingly thorough detail. Starting out with Grefe growing up in Miami as an avid fan of John Ford's movies, with detours into acting in summer stock in New York and serving in the Navy for two years during the Korean war before getting down to the basic nitty gritty with a wealth of great and entertaining stories on each and every one of his motion pictures. Among the best tales woven within are how Grefe shot his early films on weekends to get around union rules, family members helping out on the movies in multiple capacities, Grefe nearly managing to get a film made with Elvis Presley, a close call with an alligator on "Death Curse of Tartu," Harold Sakata almost getting killed due to a harrowing mishap during the shooting of the scene in which Sakata gets strung up on a rope in "Impulse," a shark that was supposed to be dead, but wasn't on "Mako: The Jaws of Death," and the pot in the cave being the real thing in "Whiskey Mountain." Such Grefe actors and collaborators as bubblegum pop music idol Steve Alaimo, veteran character actor John Davis Chandler, writer Gary Crutcher, "Stanley" star Chris Robinson, and make-up expert and monster man Doug Hobart relate lots of fun anecdotes on their time in the trenches with Grefe while film historian Chris Poggliali, Frank Henenlotter, Herschell Gordon Lewis, David F. Friedman, and Fred Olen Ray all give Grefe plenty of well-deserved props. Filled with behind the scenes footage and nifty film clips, this one sizes up as a spot-on loving tribute to William Grefe and his movies.

They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé (2016) **** (out of 4) When it comes to exploitation films, William Grefe really isn't the most well-known name even though he created some of the biggest hits for the sub-genre including the snake film STANLEY. He is best remembered today for shooting his films in Florida and adding the atmosphere of the state to films like STING OF DEATH, DEATH CURSE OF TARTU, THE HOOKED GENERATION, THE DEVIL'S SISTERS, IMPULSE and MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH. I was excited that someone decided to make a film on Grefe but at the same time I was a little worried about the 123 minute running time. I mean, did someone who made sixteen films really need that long of a documentary? Well the answer was yes because director Daniel Griffith has created an incredibly entertaining film that does what every great documentary should do and that is make it even more interested in the subject. If you're familiar with the work of Grefe then you're going to be wanting to re-watch all of the movies and if you've never heard of him, well, I think you'll still be entertained by this film and will then want to see the films in question. As with other exploitation documentaries, we get interviews with some of the big names in the genre like David F. Friedman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Fred Olen Ray and Frank Henelotter. Thankfully there are also interviews with the man himself who gets to talk about the production of all his movies as well as share some wonderful stories about various issues that happened on the set. There's a story about a near-death in IMPULSE that is just downright crazy. Also on hand for interviews are some of the fine people who also worked on the films and these include the likes of John Davis Chandler, Randy Grinter, Gary Grutcher and exploitation expert Chris Poggiali is also here. The interviews themselves are great as are the clips from not only the movies and their trailers but there's also some news cast footage and some outtakes from the films themselves. THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP is a film I had very high expectations for and it delivered everything you'd want plus much more. You can tell that there was a lot of passion in the project and director Griffith has really given fans the end-all project on Grefe and his films.

If you've been following along this week, you know exactly how much we love the films of William Gréfe. So this documentary - originally released by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures as a limited edition double disk (you can get it at Diabolik DVD) - is exactly the kind of thing that we devour, absorb and now, share with you. Honestly, if you have the smallest interest in exploitation film or if you're an absolute maniac who thrills at the very mention of names like Barry Mahon and Crown International Pictures, then you absolutely must own this. Luckily, if you buy the new He Came from the Swamp set, you get this film along with several of Gréfe's films. "If there were rules to making a movie, one indie director would break them all!" These are the kind of taglines that make me beyond overjoyed to watch a documentary and trust me, this one delivers. As a Miami-based regional filmmaker, Gréfe transformed the Everglades into his own personal studio. This doc has everyone from Ross Hagen, Frank Henelotter, David F. Friedman and Fred Olen Ray to William Shatner, Herschell Gordon Lewis and many of the actors that worked with Gréfe on his many films all speaking about what it was like to be part of this magical time in low budget filmmaking. If you're the kind of person who obsesses about the extras on a DVD, then you've probably seen the work of director Daniel Griffith. It's a real joy to see him expand his work to a full-length feature on one fascinating subject. I can't wait to see his next movie, Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland: The Saga of Empire Pictures.

They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé