Shaun Costello
Shaun Costello began directing for "loops" (10-minute scenes shown in coin-operated viewers in adult theaters) in NYC in the early 1970s, and soon was directing (and acting in) full porn movies and other grindhouse "roughies" shown in Times Square's 42nd Street adult theaters. Costello took work where he could get it, often working for the Mob, who owned many adult theaters and distribution, and working under different aliases for different theaters so that no one (at the time) knew that he was his own competition. Eventually moving on to a mainstream documentary career, Costello written and directed grindhouse movies - rough and violent and reflecting of their times - have seen a resurgence as the 2010's have seen these movies be remastered and re-released and often seen for the first time in decades. Anyone interested in the history of American porn or grindhouse/exploitation theater of the late 1960s and 1970s will likely have encountered Shaun Costello's work, often unknowingly due to his prolific use of aliases.
Hymns from the Abyss
as Self (archive footage)Images of moral panic, cult followings and the edges of madness from sex and death.
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Enrapture
as Cigar Shop ManIn this erotic thriller an out of work actor is forced to take a job as a limousine driver. He...
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The Love Bus
as GeorgeDr. Scheisekopf (Jamie Gillis) advises patient Jennifer Jordan (aka Sarah Nicholson) to get away...
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Pandora's Mirror
as Waiter / Man in Audition LineWhile out for lunch with a friend, Pandora feels an unexplained compulsion to visit a small...
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Forced Entry
as DavidA crazed Vietnam vet hunts down and kills women.
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Cheryl's Surrender
as Ray LavagisA gang of terrorists attack the American embassy in Labania and kidnap the ambassador, his wife...
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The Untamed Vixens
as JerryA man is kidnapped by a group of women and subjected to unspeakable tortures. However, he comes...
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Teenage Nurses
as Joe / TV ReporterWhen Dr. Canute is appointed Director of Veterans Hospital, he decides that what the boys that...
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Joy Of Humiliation
as Biker with CigaretteVanessa's psychologist husband recounts the kinky case history of an insatiable patient.
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The Fury in Alice
as Chip CarsonA domestic tragicomedy which follows a slutty housewife through her kinky extra marital affairs.
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The Porn Brokers
as SelfQuasi-documentary that looks at the sex industry in Europe. Features interviews with people who...
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Venture Into the Bizzare
as Closing Narration (voice)Two young girls in New York's Greenwich Village own a plaster-casting shop. One day a well-known...
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The Two Lives of Jennifer
as Bob O'ConnorA writer finds out that his wife is leading a double life, which includes a second husband who...
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The Summer of Suzanne
as ChipWhen her parents leave for a trip to New York, a young Chicago girl decides to lose her...
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Sexual Customs in Scandinavia
as Mr. ThorensA doctor outlines several cases involving sexual problems suffered by citizens of Scandinavia,...
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Feel
as uncreditedA "whitecoater" released long after the industry had dropped such requirements, nonetheless a...
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Cherry Hustlers
as Company InvestigatorAn accountant embezzles $80,000 from his company, in cahoots with a beautiful company executive....
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Private Practice
as Mr. BarnesA sex therapist treats a pain addicted tramp who needs leather hooded brutes to bind and beat...
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Schoolgirl's Reunion
as Football Announcer (voice) / Autograph Seeker / Guy at PartyTwo former classmates reunite at their school's athletic stadium to reminisce about their youth,...
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Two Senoritas
as Guy with GlassesA husband and wife are very upset when they learn their Friday night orgy venue has been sublet...
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Sweet Sexteen
as JerryIt's Debbie's birthday, and her friends have hired a stud to deflower the young stud. The stud...
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Sensuous Vixens
as Photo Model with MustacheTina Russell (X Rated Critics Organization Hall of Fame Member) leads us through the...
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China Doll
as BertPrivate investigator Mickey Finn searches for a missing china doll filled with $25,000 of...
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Midnight Desires
as Chauffeur / Highwayman (uncredited)Four friends on a weekend getaway to Long Island are siting around a fireplace and each relates...
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Water Power
as Police Station Cop / Man at Car WindowA mentally troubled man becomes a serial rapist and torturer due to the strong shock he suffers...
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Come Fly with Us
as Jay BasbyA hard and penetrating look into the lives of gorgeous stewardesses.
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The Magical Ring
as First Fantasy LoverA beggar gives a woman a ring in appreciation for an act of kindness. The woman discovers that...
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Slave of Pleasure
as Richard Anselm / Masked GuyPrivate detective, Dan McCord has been hired by Richard Anselm to find his beautiful wife,...
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A Taste Of Bette
as S.R.When the leader of a sadistic sex cult is killed, its members have to choose a new person to...
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Betrayed Teens
as BobbyAfter her daughter is kidnapped by a gang of bikers, Helen hires a private detective to find her.
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Daughters of Discipline
as BrunoA young woman gets involved in a sex-and-death cult, and finds out that she is slated to be the...
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Mistress Electra
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)While watching porn loops at a stag party given by his friend Harry, a husband is shocked to see...
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Sensuous Fly Girls
as Man in StableWhen astronauts are flying to Jupiter, they are to get sexual relief from girls who accompany...
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Pen Pals
as Good Samaritan / Man in BlackA group of pen-pals from across the country, who have never met before, gather in New York City...
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Gladys and Her All Girl Band
as LolaTwo porno actors on the run audition in drag for a rock band and actually get the gig. They are...
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The Tycoon's Daughter
as Newspaper Reader / Radio NewscasterThree friends kidnap the daughter of a millionaire and plan to ask for a big ransom. They hide...
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She's No Angel
as Dr. Warren CounterIn order to cheat her out of her inheritance, a young girl's parents have her locked up in a...
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Honeymoon Suite
as JamieThree swinging young couples decide to marry one other and spend an erotic honeymoon at a fancy...
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Tortured Woman
as El GringoTwo young women come across secret papers having do with with foreign diplomats.
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The Travails of June
as WillyA reporter interviews June, a prostitute who has just been arrested, and she relates her tale of...
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The School for Sexual Arts
as Guy in Final ClassFemale students at a "higher-learning" institution called The School for the Sexual Arts spend...
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as Bruce / Betty's MasterYoung Danielle finds her parents' kinky sex diary, and as she reads it she starts imagining what...
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Sin of Lust
as Bob HartmanCarlotta and her husband are sex surrogates helping frustrated couples get off.
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Love in the Rain
as Shaun (uncredited)A rainy day forces four women to stay indoors. Bored, they decide to liven up the day by calling...
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That Lady from Rio
as Sex Slave (uncredited)Vanessa is the leader of an international organization of white slave traders who supply women...
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Teachers and Cream
as Mr. Boynton"To Whom It May Concern, Good Bye!!! Yours Truly, Anonymous," reads the suicide note English...
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The Story of Eloise
as Edgar FrankZarryl Danuck, the head of Universal American Pictures, is in danger of being ousted from his...
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Sexual Freedom in the Ozarks
as Newscaster / Homer HeaplyA foursome is stranded in the woods of Arkansas after a plane crash so they split up to look for...
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Go Fly a Kite
as John SpauldingA sexually frustrated housewife gets satisfied when she meets up with a group of swinging kite...
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Lisa Meets Mr. Big
as MinisterYoung Lisa brings her fiancé home to meet her parents, who don't know he's black. They are...
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Kathy's Graduation Present
as RandyYoung Kathy is an honors student who graduates from high school with straight A's. However, at...
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as Mr. O'MalleyWhen the mayor's campaign to drive prostitutes out of the city threatens to put a crimp in two...
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Joe Rock Superstar
as Rock the Guitarist / Voice of Walter CockiteMarc Stevens plays Joe Cock, a Jim Morrison by way of David Bowie circa Ziggy Stardust vocalist...
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The Fire in Francesca
as Troy WinstonA private detective is hired by a Hollywood agent to find out who killed a beautiful young movie...
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Lip Service
as Hired GuySidney Spelvin, a sexually frustrated fireman, complains to Dr. Cousins, a female psychiatrist,...
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Tina Makes a Deal
as Customs AgentWhen a customs search turns up a vial of coke hidden away in an outlaw pussy, Tina Makes a Deal....
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Dirty Susan
as Bob GilroyA private detective is hired to find a mysterious girl named Susan. He soon realizes that...
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More Than Sisters
as Martin RandallA young woman has been experiencing terrifying nightmares set in an asylum. Her husband,...
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Baby Oil
as Orgy Guy with Two GirlsAmerican and Russian agents each vie to gain their respective nation control of the oil wells of...
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Come And Be Purified
as Brother FrancisCharlatan priest Father Sexus encourages devoutly religious folks to shed their inhibitions and...
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Hotel Hooker
as PetePete supplies hotel guests with prostitutes to make their trips a bit more enjoyable.
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Lady on the Couch
as Poker Buddy (uncredited)It was shocking and unbelievable experience for Henry Totler. The girl up there in the stag film...
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The Passions of Carol
as The SpiritsCarol Scrooge, the curmudgeonly owner of a sleazy skin publication, insists that her employees...
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New York Construction Co.
as uncreditedA foreman is called back to his construction site on a Saturday morning. He goes into the bowels...
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