Although his name will mean nothing to many modern horror fans, Andy Milligan was a trailblazer at the height of the grindhouse years of 42nd Street and pushed the boundaries of queer cinema.
Milligan’s films were not so much low budget as less-than-shoestring. Using off-cuts of film stock, his movies were the definition of rough and ready. An acquired taste, for sure, but time has been kind to his work, and he’s been reassessed, both by exploitation fans and the more serious film world. Severin Films, the company behind this documentary, put out a box set of Milligan’s work a few years back, and before that, the BFI released two of the films he made in Britain on Blu-ray.
Milligan didn’t start with horror, of course. His first films were rough sexploitation that paved the way for him to dabble in the darker side of exploitation. His first horror film, The Ghastly Ones (1968), was banned in the UK as part of the video nasty ‘panic’ of the early ‘80s. Even the people interviewed in this documentary admit that his films were mostly incomprehensible. However, it’s this shambolic style that endears us to his work. As with the reappraisal of Ed Wood, it proves we love an underdog.
Directed by Grayson Tyler Johnson and Josh Johnson, The Degenerate is a revealing, no-holes-barred overview of Milligan, as told by his friends and those who’ve studied his work. It’s often touching, but never delusional about its subject. No one tries to make Andy out to have been Fellini! This is a refreshingly honest portrayal, and all aspects of his career are covered, including his stage work. Milligan’s biographer and long-time friend Jimmy McDonough provides insight into his tragic final years, and those who were there at the beginning of his career add more perspective.
The test of any documentary, particularly one about an artist so divisive, is whether it would keep the interest of anyone who doesn’t care about the subject. We can safely say The Degenerate is entertaining and engaging enough to win over anyone.
THE DEGENERATE: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF ANDY MILLIGAN screened at FrightFest on August 22nd.
