The most profound, memorable rock music is the kind that leaves a long-lasting impression, regardless of whether the lyrics are considered to be inspiring or offensive by the public. That’s certainly the case for heavy metal band, The Mentors, who first rose to fame in the mid-to-late 1970s with their deliberate shock rock lyrics. The group members’ irreverent attitude, which was accompanied by relentlessly profane messages, is showcased in the new documentary, ‘The El Duce Tapes.’
The biographical movie is included in this month’s lineup on the new Arrow streaming service. In honor of the music film now being available to stream, ShockYa is premiering an exclusive clip from the feature, which is titled ‘F*cked up Music.’ The clip features a woman who saw The Mentors, including its late drummer and lead singer, Eldon Hoke, who was nicknamed El Duce, play live in concert. The woman proclaims that she disagreed with the band’s songs, which she refers to as the eponymous f*cked up music.
Before premiering on Arrow, ‘The El Duce Tapes’ had its world premiere at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival. In addition to now streaming on Arrow, the movie is also available on Blu-ray and as a Limited Edition VHS, in partnership with Witter Entertainment.
The film was directed by Rodney Ascher, David Lawrence and Ryan Sexton. In the early 1990s, Sexton, an aspiring filmmaker who also appeared on ‘General Hospital,’ brought a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and filthiest apartments in Hollywood. Along the way, he shot hours of VHS footage of The Mentors, and focused on El Duce.
Thirty years later, the team behind ‘The Nightmare’ and ‘Room 237’ uncovered Sexton’s long forgotten and unseen footage. They began putting together a story about El Duce, who became known for wearing a black executioner’s hood during his willfully offensive act, which featured his controversial views.
In addition to ‘The El Duce Tapes,’ Arrow has announced its full movie lineup for this month. The new subscription-based platform, which debuted early last month, comes from Arrow Video, the distribution company that focuses on cult, classic and horror cinema. The streaming service, which is now available in the US and Canada, is building on the success of the Arrow Video Channel, and is expanding the company’s availability across multiple devices, including Android, Fire TV, Roku and on all web browsers at its official website. Arrow is offering viewers a 30 day free trial, and subscriptions are available for $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually. A UK rollout is planned for next year.
November 2020 will include the launch of Arrow’s ‘Ban This Sick Filth!’ program. The rotating catalog is highlighting some of the most controversial movies ever made, including ‘We Are the Flesh,’ ‘Orgies of Edo,’ ‘The Baby’ and ‘The Woman.’
Arrow will also debut the Essential Giallo Collection and the Female Prisoner Scorpion Collection. The platform will also stream, as an exclusive, He Came From the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection, which includes ‘Sting of Death,’ ‘Death Curse of Tartu’ and ‘Mako: Jaws of Death.’
Starting today, Arrow will also launch Burst City and Ban this Sick Filth! Presents: Rebel Yell. The films that will be shown as part of the collection celebrate youth in revolt and the ever-identifiable need for people to be themselves, including ‘Deadbeat at Dawn’ and ‘Teenage Yakuza.’
This Friday the 13th will kick off an international lineup, and will featured a curated collection of Arrow favorites from the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), including Lake of ‘Dracula,’ ‘Pit Stop’ and ‘The Wizard of Gore.’ In a partnership with AGFA, the platform will stream a number of their titles, including ‘Effects,’ ‘The Zodiac Killer,’ ‘Take it Out in Trade’ and ‘Lady Street Fighter.’
Ban this Sick Filth! will also present two lineups on Friday. The first lineup is Renegade Women, which features women smashing the glass ceiling to disobey, disrupt and do things their own way. The lineup will include ‘I was a Teenage Serial Killer,’ ‘A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life,’ ‘Season of the Witch,’ ‘She-Devils on Wheels,’ ‘The Witch Who Came from the Sea’ and ‘Blind Woman’s Curse.’
The second lineup is Effed Up Families, which features a pack of dysfunctional-family horror movies. Wes Craven’s cannibal classic ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ will be streamed alongside ‘Toys Are Not For Children,’ Russian dad-from-hell comedy ‘Why Don’t You Just Die!,’ and Freudian vengeance slasher ‘Blood Rage.’
For more information on Arrow and its titles, visit its official website.
ShockYa is exclusively premiering a clip from director Rodney Ascher, David Lawrence and Ryan Sexton's documentary, 'The El Duce Tapes.'