Norman J Warren Remembered

I heard today that Norman J Warren had died.  Purely by coincidence I caught the end of his sex comedy Spaced Out (aka Outer Touch) on one of the streaming channels last night. As it turned out, a fitting epitaph.  Like many of his films, it might well have been made on a shoestring and was never going to win a BAFTA, it was a lot of fun, with Warren, as ever making the most of his meagre resources.  By his own admission Warren - who, in interviews, always came across as the nicest person working in exploitation - had never intended to pursue a career of directing exploitation movies, but realised that it was likely the only way he was going to get to direct films of his own, so he embraced it wholeheartedly.  His films, often made with next to no budgets and under very trying circumstances, are always professionally made: excellent photography, sound quality and editing, good performances from some very decent, if not exactly megastar, actors.  Every shot feels well composed, every scene moving the plot along.  They really are exemplary in terms of low budget film making.

Occasionally, Warren would get a bigger budget and higher profile stars - his Alien-inspired Inseminoid, financed by Shaw Brothers, boasted a cast recognisable from British TV and very decent production values.  It also received better distribution than his other films and did reasonable business at the box-office.  I have to say, though, that I much prefer another of his science fiction films, Prey - a lower key and far more effective effort that turns up on the 'Horror Channel' every so often.  One of the most impressive aspects of Warren's output is its range, from his early sex movies, through Hammer-style horrors like Satan's Slave (another 'Horror Channel' regular), science fiction, a sex comedy and even an attempt at a UK Argento-style giallo in Terror.  While Warren will probably never enjoy the same stature and reputation as other British genre directors like Terence Fisher, Freddie Francis or even John Gilling, he deserves to be remembered as one of a band of independent British directors, (including Pete Walker and Derek Ford), who somehow managed to get low budget genre pictures actually made and into cinemas during the 1970s, as the rest of the British film industry stumbled.  So, RIP Norman J Warren - I, for one, will fondly remember his contribution to British exploitation and continue to enjoy his films.