Who is Ted V. Mikels?

American filmmaker Ted V. Mikels holds a unique position as one of the most unconventional directors of exploitation cinema. Famous for his eccentric home life (he once lived with a harem in a castle with secret passageways) and promotional gimmicks (he was known for having nurses and ambulances on hand to assist "scared-to-death" moviegoers), Mikels is now considered a pioneering master of low-budget movie making.

Examples of Mikels' influence can be seen everywhere: from music (punk band The Misfits wrote a tribute song called "The Astro-Zombies"), to Mikels' film The Doll Squad being the template for the television series Charlie's Angels, to inspiring the look of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Kevin Sean Michaels at Comic-Con

Comic-Con has posted their event schedules and descriptions. Are they accurate? Find out here, at least as far as Kevin Sean Michaels is concerned!

Website updates

Our webminion has been hard at work adding information about Ted's movies on our filmography page. For someone as prolific as Ted, this is no small task! So far we've got cover images, plot synopses, and informative links; check back for reviews, trivia, screening information and more!

60 Years of Filmmaking -- 1 Movie!

The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels is a new documentary directed by Kevin Sean Michaels and narrated by John Waters. "This documentary manages to squeeze sixty years of cinematic innovation into one informative and entertaining film," says Jason Buchanan of All Movie Guide.

Meet independent grindhouse movie maverick Ted V. Mikels, who is celebrating his 60th anniversary making movies and wowing audiences with his own special brand of guts, gore, violence, and dark humor. From the grisly The Corpse Grinders, early slasher The Astro-Zombies, the far-out Girl in Gold Boots (which was featured on The Mystery Science Theater 3000) and countless others, Mikels tells his story for the first time in The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels by award-winning documentarian Kevin Sean Michaels, who brought you Vampira: The Movie.

Original cast members Tura Satana (Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, The Astro-Zombies), Shanti (Corpse Grinders II), Francine York (The Doll Squad) and Lila Zaborin (Blood Orgy of the She Devils) recount their memories of working with Mikels, a director who had no cinematic limits. Leading the tour is the one-and-only John Waters, who is famous for directing Pink Flamingos, Cecil B. Demented and Hairspray. Get ready for a wild ride.

DVD now available from Alpha

We are pleased to announce that The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels is now available on DVD from Alpha New Cinema! Alpha also distributes many of Ted V. Mikels' other films, including 10 Violent Women, Blood Orgy of The She-Devils, The Corpse Grinders, and Girl in Gold Boots.

Alpha New Cinema was launched in 2004, and presents eclectic, interesting and unusual contemporary motion pictures and television productions from around the world.

Official website re-VAMPed

You may notice that our website has a new look. We'll be adding more content soon, but for now we hope you'll enjoy a few videos, check out our press page, and stay on top of things with our events page. If there's anything specific you'd like us to add, please feel free to contact us.