Death Lords

Outlaw bikers! Lewd nudity! Shocking drug use! The packaging, the brand new animated intro and the soundtrack by Tijuana Bibles don't make it obvious, but this is (allegedly) an obscure Z-grade exploitation flick shot in Toronto in 1979. Like all classic low-budget bad behaviour movies (by Paul Morrissey, John Waters, etc), the acting is sketchy, it's barely capably shot, and it's almost impossible to watch sober. That said, it's an undeniably unique piece of Canadiana, and a comedy (on purpose) with a pack of dumb-ass laughs. Set in Oakland, CA, the movie follows three degenerate hedonistic bikers — Street Smart, Brains and Dr. Weird (played by Ayers, who, according to Now, works for NASA!) — who are ineffective criminals impeded by varying degrees of stupidity. The over-the-top newsreel-bark narration describes their crash-pad as "the squalid surroundings of their putrid lair," where they retreat ten minutes into the film to get wasted on an array of '70s drugs, paid for by Dr. Weird's girlfriend's welfare. They're then approached by a terminal nerd who wants to join their outlaw gang, so they treat him to absurd initiation rites (including relieving him of his money) and send him on missions impossible. Soon enough, they're on the run from the mob, Narcs, the Secret Service and a pair of devil girls. There are tits, asses (male and female) and all the exploitation staples, along with a few gags that are as funny (if not as professionally executed) as anything in the Starsky & Hutch movie. On the down side, the DVD package promises music videos, extended animation, a photo gallery, trailers and bios, but the disc itself doesn't deliver any of it. Store-bought (or Web site-ordered) copies may be more complete, but either way, this is worth a look if you love trash. (Culture Shock, www.thedeathlords.com)