On November 2nd the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL presents the exclusive premiere of The El Duce Tapes, the astounding new X-rated music documentary about a controversial, legendary underground figure who was trolling the US before anyone knew what the term meant, and pushed the limits of free speech to breaking point!

Directed by Rodney Ascher and David Lawrence, with interviews directed by Ryan Sexton, The El Duce Tapes is a unique, outrageous portrait of the self-styled “King of Sleaze”, described on American national television as a ‘disgusting pervert’, a hugely divisive, troubled figure who was a skilled musician and prescient provocateur, with a very interesting background, who also claimed he was asked to kill Kurt Cobain for $50,000.

SYNOPSIS: In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, "El Duce.”

Almost 30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 uncover this dusty stockpile of long forgotten – and much unseen – footage. They begin to search for clues to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner’s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st Century America.

An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been hailed as “Essential Viewing” by CineVue and called “Dark and irresistible” by director John Carpenter. The El Duce Tapes will chew you up, spit you out and leave you floored.

From the opening scene, The El Duce Tapes is uncomfortable, but utterly riveting viewing, an extraordinary glimpse into a very curious and disturbing corner of music history that, as Sight & Sound says, “leads right to the present day.” Strange, savage and unsettling, the film that John Carpenter calls “dark and irresistible” stands alongside American documentary classics like Dig!, American Movie, Hated and The Devil and Daniel Johnston.

You can see The El Duce Tapes first, November 2nd, on Digital HD and the Arrow Video Channel, the passion-driven film platform giving film fans the opportunity to watch a curated selection of movies that the Arrow Video brand is famous for. It’s the home for weird and wild cult classics, newly-restored gems, and genre favourites, available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and www.ARROW-Player.com in the US and Canada.

Irish fans can see The El Duce Tape as part of Horrorthon 2020 with IFI @ Home October 24-26.

Current unmissable highlights on ARROW include:

Streaming on the Arrow Video Channel this month: Acclaimed indie nailbiter The Deeper You Dig, José Larraz’s beautifully restored slasher gem Edge of the Axe, the Children of the Corn Trilogy, Clive Barker’s gruesome directorial debut Hellraiser, and the original hero in a half-shell in heats things up in the full Gamera Collection.

Looking for something more sinister? The Shocktober 31 - a selection of superb horror films to inspire your Halloween viewing. Including Wes Craven’s cannibal clan thriller The Hills Have Eyes, Abel Ferrara’s notorious The Driller Killer, and Zom-rom-com Zombie Need more inspiration? Edgar Wright Selects. The Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver director has curated a list of some of his favourite horror and thriller films, including Takashi Miike’s extreme cult classic Audition, George A Romero’s viral nightmare The Crazies, and Dario Argento’s hugely influential giallo Deep Red.

About the Arrow Video Channel

The ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL gives cult movie fans the opportunity to watch a wide selection of movies that the ARROW VIDEO brand has been famous for – personally curated by members of the Arrow team. From horror to sci-fi, thrillers to westerns, the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL is home to cutting edge cult and undiscovered gems such as Takashi Miike’s Audition, Wes Craven’s seminal masterpiece The Hills Have Eyes, George A. Romero’s contagion classic The Crazies, Edwin Brown’s slice-and-dice staple The Prey and so much more. In the coming months the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL will be adding action-packed East Asian classics including The Villainess and Versus and controversial Canadian classic Crash. In addition to crowd pleasing cult movies on the service, the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL will continue to give you an exclusive platform to brand new genre as part of a new global strategy.

The ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL also hosts a growing collection of documentaries, interviews and never-before-seen content from the Arrow Video archives, as well as newly produced material. These documentaries will breathe new life on the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL, giving movie fans an immersive look into the creation of many cult movie classics such as Donnie Darko and Hellraiser. The service will be updated regularly with new content, new curation focus and never-before-seen content, all hand-picked by the Arrow Video team.

About ARROW

Home of Cult Movies. ARROW is here to give you a premium viewing experience across multiple devices so you can explore the movies that the ARROW VIDEO brand is famous for. Personally curated by members of the ARROW team, every title joining the service gets our stamp of approval.

ARROW will be home to cutting edge repertory cinema - such as the works of Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, The Wizard of Gore), Latin American Giallo Crystal Eyes, the Kaiju king Gamera, Cyberpunk nightmare Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Wes Craven’s seminal masterpiece The Hills Have Eyes and so much more. In the coming months, ARROW will be adding weird and wonderful cult curios selected by the team at AGFA (American Genre Film Archive) and the works of maverick filmmaker William Grefé (Sting of Death, Mako: Jaws of Death) along with North American horrors and festival favorite The Bloodhound as part of our global strategy to support and celebrate New Cult.

ARROW will also be home to an ever-growing collection of interviews, documentaries and additional extras, newly created just for the service and from our archives. The service will be updated regularly with fresh content, new curation focuses and never-before-seen content, all hand-picked by the ARROW team. We are here to bring you the best of what you know us for and so much more.