Ever Hear Of “Hollywood 90028?”
Well, I hadn’t, until a terrific cult movie company unearthed it, cleaned it up, and added a ton of bonus material….so whey am I tell you this?
Because I Was Put “On The Spot!”
Once again, the terrific blog “Taking Up Room” is having a blogathon, and here’s what they came up with”
“If there’s a film or show you’ve been looking to review but didn’t have an excuse, here’s a chance to do just that. Something weird and avant garde? A Christmas movie? Your favorite show?”
I got this invitation the day I read about “Hollywood 90028”, a cult film from he early 70’s that was finally getting a moment in the spotlight!
“Hollywood 90028” is a great example of this “business of making movies”: filmed by a film school graduate, using the opportunities that low budget film companies offer, much like the first films of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese…making “drive-in movies” that were exploitive and popular!
As was also the case at this time, “Hollywood 90028” was also released with much more lurid titles as well, like “The Hollywood Hillside Strangler”:
Here is the original trailer, which suggests that it is a much more lurid film than it is, so keep an open mind:
OK, a straightforward serial killer film, right?
Well….it’s actually a lot more than that, and let’s discuss why. You see, it was directed by a woman, and it doesn’t have much nudity or violence – it’s more of a character study of a loner who can’t escape his past.
“Hollywood 90028” was the only feature film made by UCLA film school graduate Christina Hornisher – yes, it was directed by a woman!
As noted by the terrific cult film website Mondo Digital:
“It takes some cues from horror films like Peeping Tom and Repulsion while also foreshadowing the wave of loner maniac slasher films like Maniac, Don’t Go in the House, Don’t Answer the Phone, Nightmare, and so on.”
Here’s the plot: Mark is a Cinematographer who makes extra money by filming dirty movies…he is actually good at his job, and a seemingly nice guy as well. He is respectful of the Models and acts professionally at all times on a shoot.
Again, very little nudity, Director Hornisher focused on him as he is filming the women.
What makes the film so much more than a grind house movie is twofold: first, there isn’t much nudity in the film at all – it’s a film about nudity that actually doesn’t show much.
Second, the Director really tries to get inside the mind of this photographer, who commits shocking crimes as his defense mechanism against getting too emotionally close to the victims…he’s not a “one note” crazed maniac, there is depth to his madness – NOT that you are supposed to sympathize with his actions at all.
Bravo to the team at Grindhouse Releasing for their meticulous work restoring this film for a new generation of genre lovers.
They point out that the film was actually shot in 1969 but didn’t see the light of day for 4 years!
I discovered this film when I read the review on Mondo Digital – and they do a terrific job of showcasing all of the special material that comes with the film:
“For the film’s first home video release of any kind in the U.S., Grindhouse Releasing really pulled out all the stops in 2024 with a three-disc set featuring two Blu-rays and a 17-track soundtrack CD presenting Poledouris’ score for the first time in pristine condition from the master tapes. The film itself looks immaculate with a gorgeous 4K scan from the unearthed original 35mm camera negative, and the English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track (with optional English SDH subtitles) also sound excellent. The first disc is devoted to the film featuring two commentaries, the first with onetime Beat the Geeks staple Marc Edward Heuck and Etheria Film Night co-founder and film scholar Heidi Honeycutt. Recorded in 2022, it’s packed with insights about the film, the cast, the relationship between commerce and carnality, and the history of female filmmakers in exploitation and the L.A. scene. The second commentary features Shawn Langrick (in somewhat harsh audio quality) providing an extremely thorough and useful breakdown of every single location you see in the film and the history behind it. Also on disc one are three innocuous “alternate X-rated cut” scenes from fuzzy VHS (2m53s, 1m55s, 3m45s), “The Cameraman” outtakes (3m12s) showing off more location coverage, the theatrical trailer, a Hollywood Hillside Strangler trailer and radio spot, six galleries (publicity, Drive-In Asylum newspaper ads, Hornisher, cast photos, Jerry Martinez’s cover art designs, and adult bookshop ephemera), and the usual bonus Grindhouse trailers. Also tucked away in here is a scan of the shorter (84m46s) Twisted Throats reissue from a very seasoned film print.
The reason Mondo-Digital is essential reading is they really dig into the special material that comes with the release of the film. As they report:
The big centerpiece on disc two is “Hollywood Dreams” (68m31s), a massive new making-of with Augustine, Jeannette Sears (Dilger), Gayle Davis, and editor Leon Ortiz-Gil about a troublesome initial female lead, the very different L.A. scene at the time, various film and music projects, positive memories of the director and Glass, how the film might fare in today’s social climate, and lots more. Heuck also hosts a 38m29s Q&A with Augustine following a 2022 screening at the New Beverly (appropriately paired up with Jacques Demy’s Model Shop), with thoughts on the film’s locations, the spicy photo shoots done without him on the set, and his other lives in music and fashion photography. Then “Tom & Tina: The Early Years” (24m47s) features filmmaker Tom De Simone (Hell Night) recalling his student days with Hornisher and the hustling required to get a project off the ground, even on student films. Hornisher (who passed away in 2003) takes center stage again with four experimental short films: “4×8=16” (2m52s), a proto-music video piece using dolls; “The Sun Is Long” (6m), a somber black-and-white anti-war vignette; “And On the Sixth Day” (5m11s), an extremely caustic depiction of racism in action that you really don’t want to play too loud; and “Sister of the Bride” (21m17s), a snapshot of family tensions during an impending wedding. Finally “Los Angeles: Here & Gone” (4m14s) takes an impressionistic side-by-side look at several locals from the film in the present day compared to their moment on screen. As usual for Grindhouse, this is peppered with Easter eggs tucked away with the biggest one being “The Erotic Director” (30m17s), a barely hidden softcore sex short starring Glass as a filmmaker who hand feeds a banana to a female model, strips off his shirt, and directs a super-cheap adult film in what looks like a warehouse while our ears get terrorized by an off-key rendition of “This Old Man.” It’s completely insane and often hilarious; a longer version padded out with hardcore inserts also exists, but this is the original version in a fresh film scan looking great here. Also very substantial is the insert booklet featuring a lengthy and fascinating essay by Heuck about the film’s history and the story behind its director, a wild survey of Glass’ life and career (largely in music) by David Szulkin, a touching remembrance of Poledouris by soundtrack guru Richard Kraft, and a brief endorsement by filmmaker Jim VanBebber.
I am still digging through the special material, but the film is worth watching, because you learn so much about the film industry at that time, and you see much of Director Hornisher’s work, which really focused on human emotion and family drama.
Bravo to Mondo for such a detailed assessment of the blu-ray release! See all of their great review and features at their website here:
http://www.mondo-digital.com/hwood.html
Here is the link to the blogathon, in case you want to jump on board:
I recently took part in another great blogathon, highlighting the career of the late great Actor John Saxon:
This is from his classic film “Enter The Dragon” with Bruce Lee…what a terrific movie!
See the trailer and much more here:
And another blogathon I took part in was a ton of fun – because it focused on the relatives of big stars!
Did you know that the iconic movie star Sean Connery had a brother named Neil? And did you know he starred in a James Bond 007 knockoff?
From the poster to the other people cast in the movie, it was a knock off of his brother’s most famous role! Click here to see just how bad- yet entertaining – a movie can be!
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Make sure you check out the blogathon over at “Taking Up Room”!
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Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Film Noir, Hollywood, Independent Cinema, Movies, Obscure Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, True Hollywood Mystery
johnrieber 
John, this is fascinating. I learned so much.
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It’s always interesting to see which films get buried and forgotten and which ones are celebrated and promoted, and this one looks like it deserves to be noticed. Thanks again for joining the blogathon, John–it’s always a pleasure!
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Thank you for including me! It really was “artsploitation” because the Director didn’t exploit the characters as much as dive into the mind of a killer – and the extras are fascinating…thanks!
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Fascinating.
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sounds like an interesting find and I’ve never heard it mentioned anywhere before, those film school directors have the freedom to get out there and make films that are not mainstream, as they’re not looking to please a big studio a that point, and hoping for it later, but working with what’s available to them at the time, and make a name for themselves, even if it’s with just a small audience, learning as they go
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That is what fascinated me: a female film school grad directed a film that is “arthouse” using the “drive-n movie” exploitation genre to tell her story…and then disappears!
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That’s a rare find indeed, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sounds like an interesting movie even without the gratuitous nudity! Also, I didn’t know about Connery’s brother. Definitely a family resemblance!
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But know there is very little nudity in the film – it’s an art film…I hope I made that clear in the review…
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Yes, that was clear.
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