From the early '70s well into the '90s the Philippines was a back-lot for a bevy of B-movie mavericks and cinema visionaries alike. The country was utilized for its inexpensive labour, exotic locations and distinct lack of rules. A large body of genre work emerged that somehow managed to capture the raw, chaotic energy of contemporary Filipino culture. These productions (a cavalcade of monster movies, jungle prison movies, blaxploitation and kung fu hybrids) were miraculously made at a time when the country's political situation was repressive at best.
MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED! is the ultimate insiders' account of genre filmmaking in the Philippines. A role call of local and international survivors from this period have been interviewed, all adding their distinct and honest account of this Devil-may-care school of filmmaking. Sitting alongside the talking heads are a dazzling array of outrageous film clips from key Filipino titles.
