Author(s): Jimmy McDonough

HORROR & CULT CINEMA

June. Ron. Tim. Together they were the Ormond Organization, a Nashville mother-father-son trio who cranked out a wild bunch of movies, from Lash LaRue westerns to the stripper-gore-musical outrage The Exotic Ones, then finally... Baptist extravaganzas. The Ormonds plunged into every area of showbiz, from vaudeville to drive-in movies to Christian filmmaking. They did it all on a shoestring - by themselves, with no studio to back them. Theirs was a glittery world like no other. Populated by inebriated cowboys ... spook-show mentalists ... non-acting country stars ... UFO testifiers ... men in gorilla suits ... egocentric magicians ... fire-breathing, mud-wrestling ex-strippers ... sweaty preachers ... rockabilly monsters ... pint-sized evangelists. Not to mention a con artist or ten. At the height of their frenzied career Ron and June experienced a spiritual awakening after their private plane crashed on the way to a premiere. The Ormonds turned their back on secular show business to make a series of shocking, surreal religious pictures, including an unbelievable trio of films for Baptist preacher Estus Pirkle - such as The Burning Hell, which made millions without ever being shown in an actual movie theater. The inside story on the three Ormond-Pirkle religious pictures has never been told - until now. Forensic biographer Jimmy McDonough interviewed June Ormond extensively and she revealed things she told no other soul. June was the guiding force of the family, a woman who held her own in the cutthroat male-dominated world of low-budget independent film. Her commentary is hilarious, brutally honest and at times heartbreaking. Presented by Nicolas Winding Refn, The Exotic Ones is a landmark work by Jimmy McDonough, and a beautifully designed feast for the eyes.