The Sin Syndicate

Strap in for Episode 27, “Not That Tony Orlando,” a two and half hour ride that boards at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, makes a detour to Brigantine, New Jersey, and comes to a stop at New York’s Grand Central Station. There will be: more Dawn Bennett slander, a discussion about what makes a “bear,” and a reveal of the inspiration behind Casey’s move to The Big Apple.

Curl up with a bag of Takis for some 60s sexploitation comfort viewing as The Sin Syndicate, with special guest Alex DiSanto, discuss the short filmmaking career of Philly boy T...

What would you do for a Van Houten chocolate bar? Crawl on your hands and knees and join us for Episode 26 of the Sin Syndicate, where we are submitting to the erotic symphony of director Allen Savage’s psychosexual 1969 sex film, Submission. Starring future hardcore star Jennifer Welles under her “Lisa Duran” pseudonym, she plays “little miss innocence,” a baby doll beauty used and abused by her cruel master, played by actor (maybe producer?) Gary Judin. When the two insinuate themselves into the home of a wealthy older woman, Orgasmo games ensue. Other familiar sexploitation faces featured in this artistically edited X f...

The theme is respect yourself. For Episode 25, "Earn Your Money, Koichi," The Sin Syndicate are peering through the two-way mirror at producer/distributor Bob Cresse's Japanese sexploitation pick-up, The Bite (1966). Directed by pink film pioneer Kan Mukai, this early B&W eroduction was purchased for $4,000, re-dubbed, and re-distributed to adults only theaters by Cresse's Olympic International Films. Listen closely and you'll hear sexploitation regular John Alderman as the voice of our protagonist, Koichi, a Sun Tribey young gigolo forced to degrade himself for the pleasure of voyeuristic couples on the other side of the glass. But when Koichi...

Lick the end of that paint brush. Tie that electrical cord a little tighter. Rub that ice cube counterclockwise over your left breast. We're entering the "Vortex of Voluptousness" for Episode 24 of The Sin Syndicate podcast—peering into New York City apartments filled with sex games, body painting, banana nibbling and general absurd degradation—with a look at two films from director Joel Landwehr (pseudonym "Leo J. Rhewdnal"), In Hot Blood (1968) and Fluctuations (1970).

The former is the story of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary body seduced by a big city modeling job, slowly descending into bonda...

It’s all fun and games at the black magic bacchanal until someone holds a heated plate to your chest with a hungry rat inside. The Sin Syndicate conclude their horrotic Halloween series with Episode 23, “New Thrill at Old Castle,” at look at Zoltan G. Spencer’s languid softcore gothic from 1972, Terror at Orgy Castle. This narration-only bone, uh, chiller, features a bevy of underdiscussed beauties, led by Bambi Allen as the Countess Dominova, and with supporting roles for Jane Tsentas and Linda Marie as soul-sucking succubi. The less said about the men the better, but as is often th...

Just keep telling yourself, "This is only a hypnotic astral projection, Cindy.” The Sin Syndicate's horrotic October continues with Episode 22, "Let's Fantasy F**k Now!" Join us for an in-depth look at Psyched by the 4D Witch, a uniquely terrifying tale of demonology from director Victor Luminera. Largely a one-man passion project from the psydonomous man, this strange and often comical light and music show was actually a serious attempt by Luminera to break into the mainstream and further advance his experimental ideas about illumination therapy, feminine power and ethereal phenomena. It's fair to say he made some commercial compromises in p...

Someone’s playing this game for keeps. Instagram’s least favorite podcast, The Sin Syndicate, is back for the onset of scary season with Episode 21, “Uncle’s Night of Tricks.” In honor of October, we’re looking at director Ron Garcia’s Pandora's box of horrotic, Freudian depravity, "The Toy Box" (1971), a midnight party with orgies, casket play, magic boxes, and Debbie Osborne as a sleepy-drunk giant. In this episode we discuss Garcia’s strange career path from sexploitation director to David Lynch collaborator as well as dissect Super Bitch star, Ann Perry, a powerful woman both in front of, and be...

O say can you see what she’s doing to me? Glory, glory, hallelujah! Join The Sin Syndicate in saluting the flag of Peggy Church and the quiet genius of director Mark Haggard in Episode 20, “Don’t Forget Your Girl.” In this episode we’ve brought along Patrick Crain to help us discuss “The All-American Girl,” a 1973 softcore sexploitation film produced by hardcore pioneer Bob Chinn while he was laying low in Los Angeles. Listen as Gentry gets schooled in “snowballing,” Joe Rubin gets repeatedly called out for refusing requests for restoration, and many other diversions to talk about Erotic Maste...

It’s a nice day to be alive and swimming in “The Rivers of Cruel Intent” as The Sin Syndicate return for Episode 19, a deep exploration of the cavernous depths of Russ Meyer’s underrated camp classic, “Common Law Cabin.” This week we’re celebrating the day of birth of our very own Casey Scott, and what better way than to look at the Meyer film that he won’t shut up about. Keeping it in the family, we are once again joined by degenerate film archivist and unofficial third member, Alex DiSanto (sans riding crop), who hitches a ri...

They may be lost—or only available to see at a German screening—but they are not forgotten. The Sin Syndicate returns with the second and final volume of our most ambitious project yet, a two-part journey through the Twisted Sex trailer archives for our Top 10 most wanted Lost and in Limbo sexploitation films. Helping us finish the countdown of number five through one is friend of the Syndicate and riding crop wielder, Alex DiSanto. A reminder of the rules:

- a trailer must exist
- one film per director
- two substitutions allowed

They may be gone—or locked in a private collector’s vault—but they are not forgotten. The Sin Syndicate return with our most ambitious project yet, a two-part journey through the Twisted Sex trailer archives for our Top 10 most wanted Lost and in Limbo sexploitation films. We are once again joined by friend, press book hoarder and Canadian degenerate, Alex DiSanto, for a countdown of numbers 10-6 from our personally compiled, highly secretive lists.

The rules:
- a trailer must exist
- one film per director
- two substitutions allowed
...

Gather ye rosebuds and put on your ballet slippers, The Sin Syndicate is taking a stroll through Central Park and Greenwich Village for director Stanley H. Brasloff’s directorial debut, 1968’s Two Girls for a Madman, a melancholic roughie focused on two ambitious dancers (Arlene Farber, Jean Weston), one giggling sex maniac (Lucky Kargo), and a Beatnik cafe that offers masked orgies with admission.

Before he went for broke with his candy-colored daddy/daughter melodrama, Toys are Not for Children, Brasloff—a showbiz kid from an early age—cooked up this exemplary sexploitation film with a little hel...

Doris Wishman. Roberta Findlay. Two of the undisputed female titans of sexploitation. But there’s another name that is often forgotten, and underrecognized, as a sexual pioneer in an industry that wasn’t always welcoming to women—especially those with strong opinions. We’re talking about Louise ‘Bunny’ Downe. 

In planning for our episode about “The Girl, The Body, and The Pill,” we learned that Louise, the film's writer as well as assistant director (and former nudie-cutie actress), had just recently passed away. The moment felt right to give her a proper sendoff. So, for Episode 15 of...

Unless you’re neck deep in the world of sexploitation, you’re probably unfamiliar with the name “Bethel Buckalew.” And even if you are familiar, you may have been led to believe that strange moniker was just another pseudonym used by secretive director Pete Perry in a series of hay-roller hixploitation pictures for Harry Novak’s Box Office International. Let's start with some facts. #1: Drinking moonshine and walking should be illegal. #2: We gotta do something 'bout that boy. And #3: Bethel Buckalew was a real person, and in Episode 14 of the The Sin Syndicate podcast, “Moo Just a Little,”...

Hike up that skirt and show a little leg, we’re entering the world of psycho killers and girl boss pornographers for Episode 13 of The Sin Syndicate Podcast, “The Smut Picture Racket.” This week Gentry and Casey are joined by Toronto-based author Will Sloan, who has written a new critical reappraisal of Edward D. Wood Jr. entitled “Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA.” Join us as we discuss Wood’s career heading into the 1960s, as well as his final mainstream film, the sexploitation crime thriller, “The Sinister Urge,” a movie both ahead of and behind the times—antici...

Think like a normal, clean living man and join us for “Too Much Sex Fizz,” Episode 12 of The Sin Syndicate Podcast, where Gentry and Casey teleport to Dr. Breedlove’s laboratory high in the mountains of Broadaslavia for a well-rounded (ahem) discussion of director Pete Perry's 1964 monster mash nudie-cutie, “Kiss Me Quick!” In this episode we discuss the early career of legendary producer Harry Novak, the origins of the dumbest films ever made, and peek behind the pseudonymous curtain of Seymour Tuchus. Listen as Casey outs himself as a “Little” Jack Little apologist and Gentry gets schooled on th...

In the second bite-sized episode of our Short Ends series, Gentry and Casey try to navigate the choppy waters of minority depiction within sexploitation, specifically with regard to white actors playing other races, which is central to the plot of Ed Forsyth’s “The Ramrodder,” which was covered in Episode 11. We recommend you listen to that episode first, then join us for this discussion, however awkward it may be, and hopefully you'll meet us meet us halfway in trying to understand this ever-evolving issue.

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The heat is on. Join us for “Do It In the Dust,” Episode 11 of The Sin Syndicate Podcast, where Gentry and Casey take a hike to Topanga Canyon and learn to love the lash as they ride with Ed Forsyth’s 1969 Nudie Western, “The Ramrodder.” In this episode we discuss the film’s Manson Family connections, if it was really shot at the infamous Spahn Ranch, as well as dig deep into the sexploitation careers of its key players: Kathy Williams, Jim Gentry, Julia Blackburn and Marsha Jordan. A naughty oater that places as much emphasis on the rites...

Swing your hips, lick your lips, and take “A Vacation from Men” with Episode 10 of The Sin Syndicate Podcast, where Casey and Gentry take their Corvette down Hollywood Blvd and spend some time with writer/director/raconteur William Rotsler’s lesbian-yearning sexploitation film, “The Girl with Hungry Eyes.” This wild ride from 1966 stars Native American actress Cathy Crowfoot, common law cabin girl Adele Rein, and Rotlser himself as a great, white, heterosexual savior. Join us as we scratch only the surface of Rotsler’s multifaceted career, discuss his relationship with sleaze distributor Harry Novak, and talk the joys of...

Close the blinds, flip the switch on the stag film projector, The Sin Syndicate are back and peering into the voyeuristic world of Bob Cresse and Lee Frost's underseen docu-roughie, "Love is a Four Letter Word." Forman 'Harvey' Shain plays a handsome young college student sucked into a world of dime-store loops, Tijuana sex shows, and sadomasochistic sorority initiations, culminating in a sleeping pill fueled nightmare that he'll never wake up from. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion with special guest Alex DiSanto on everything from copyright claims on orphaned films, Cresse's tragic run-in with the LAPD, and...

Harden your hearts, strap on the cone bra, The Sin Syndicate are back and hitting the backroads of Waco to talk with Texploitation experts Dennis Campa and Melinda Belles about director Maurice Levy’s 1968 classic, "She Mob." A technical marvel in the land of Dale Berry and Whit Boyd’s, She Mob features the mysterious Marni Castle in the dual role of inimitable butch Big Shim and industrial business president Brenda McClain. Come for the kidnapped gigolo and stay for the slippery bubble bath. Join us as Dennis and Melinda drop deep lore about this action-packed offering from the...