Before watching this weeks movie, I wasn't sure from the trailer if it were an parody of the rape revenge / exploitation movies of the 70's and 80's, or an homage to them.
In truth, it's a love letter to them.
Aside from the fact it was clearly shot on video or DV (rather than film) there is nothing here to tell us that Run! Bitch Run! Is not a genuine 70s exploitation movie; Happily though, the makers spared us the "distressed film" and "dust and scratches" filters, that everyone making an exploitation movie post-Grindhouse seems to think are mandatory.
And yet, for all that, it has a certain... I want to say 'attitude' to it that borders on, but isn't quite irony. I can't say for certain whether this attitude is built into the movie (possible; it does have a Tarantino-lite feel to it) or whether it existed entirely in my head, knowing that this film is just a few years old.
But whether this something that the film has is real or imagined, it certainly results in a fun viewing experience.
Sexual Assault played for titilation is one of the few (staged) things a movie can do to piss me off on taste grounds; but here, when the first assault (a girl-on-girl one) is played this way, I found myself thinking "yeah, exploitation movies were like that, weren't they‽" rather than "sick fuckers - rape is not sexy".
On the subject of sexy - I personally do not understood why some people watch 'real' films in order to see some skin (thats what the internet is for) but if you are the kind of person who watches narrative movies to look at boobies, you won't be disappointed by the first half of this film, during which boobies of all shapes, sizes and colours are flaunted for your viewing pleasure.
Story wise... Well; it's a rape revenge film. 2 girls on a road trip (selling bibles, no less) fall into the hands of a gang of nogoodnicks, and are raped and tortured, I e us killed the other left for dead and... Hell; you know the rest.
As is always the case with these things, it's all in the execution, and I'm happy to say that this one is executed perfectly.
Showing posts with label Rape Revenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rape Revenge. Show all posts
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Run, Bitch, Run - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
So quite a recent one for review this week. Having seen the trailer for this one a while back, I thought it looked quite interesting. Reading the premis, you may think... interesting?? Are you sick in the head?... well possibly, but that aside, something which needs to be said about this movie is that although it is about a horrid subject matter, it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously in its style. This movie reminded me an awful lot of a Tarantino movie in its style and direction.
So the basic premis here is following 2 catholic schoolgirls as they go door-to-door trying to sell bibles to make money for their school. It becomes very clear right from the start that the movie is aimed primarily at a male audience, as the girls are pretty much every inch the 'fantasy' image of a school girl, complete with short kilted skirt, long socks and a full face of make-up.. having attended a catholic school, I can assure you, this is obviously not a reality. From this itself, I didn't take the movie seriously from the get-go and I think that's what allowed me to enjoy it for what it was. I'm a Tarantino fan and this reminded me of him all the way through.
Back to the premis.. one of our schoolgirls, Rebecca is a little rebellious, a little naughty.. just so much to allow you a good ogle at her walking around naked and enough to also point out that our other girl (Catherine) is the stereotypical 'good girl', telling her friend off for her brazenness and making her cover up. Soooo a good little catholic girl, a virgin obviously... I wonder who our 'Bitch' of the movie will be?
Having knocked on the wrong door, as mentioned earlier, the girls fall into a horrid world with a pimp and bad guy Lobo (who just happens to be gorgeous... some eye candy for me at least), his stuttering sidekick Clint and what can only be described as his 'bitch' Marla. Marla happens to have an eye for the ladies too, so we are treated to some girl on girl scenes (did I mention this one seemed to be aimed at a male audience?). Rebecca is forced to engage in sexual activity with her as Catherine looks on in sheer horror. It is here Rebecca meets her end by way of a bullet to the head (accidentally it seems).
From here poor Catherine suffers further torture and rape by Lobo, who takes her virginity and leaves her for Clint to take a turn. Clint however seems to take a fit of conscience as he spies Catherines rosary beads lying in the dirt and is unable to continue with his abuse. This seems to be a staple in rape/revenge movies, we always have the guy who is fundamentally good really, but is under a bad influence.
Catherine is left for dead by Clint when she falls down a hill and bangs her head. Of course, she comes around and makes her way to a hospital. A mention has to go to the fact she is completely nude as Clint has taken her clothes, but there seems to be an awful lot of time spent on her naked journey to find help. When she comes around, she acquires a nurses uniform (which oddly fits her like a glove) and the rest of the movie follows her as she makes her way back to the town she met Lobo, Clint and Marla to seek her revenge.
I won't give you a blow by blow account of it, but this good girl has grown some serious balls and goes to work! A special mention has to go to the machete rape of Lobo. Ouch! That's got to sting!!
As previously said, I didn't get too close to this movie.. not close enough to be disturbed by the scenes I was witnessing. I'm not sure why, but I attribute it to the style of the movie and how it was portrayed. The ending however was quite poignant to me and maybe a reminder of what we'd just watched and maybe how hardened we have become to not have viewed the movie on any kind of emotional level. Maybe that was just me? I'll be interested to hear Wills take.
I did enjoy this movie. It was entertaining and didn't require any level of concentration. Its 'exactly what it says on the tin'. Thumbs up and recommended by me.
So quite a recent one for review this week. Having seen the trailer for this one a while back, I thought it looked quite interesting. Reading the premis, you may think... interesting?? Are you sick in the head?... well possibly, but that aside, something which needs to be said about this movie is that although it is about a horrid subject matter, it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously in its style. This movie reminded me an awful lot of a Tarantino movie in its style and direction.
So the basic premis here is following 2 catholic schoolgirls as they go door-to-door trying to sell bibles to make money for their school. It becomes very clear right from the start that the movie is aimed primarily at a male audience, as the girls are pretty much every inch the 'fantasy' image of a school girl, complete with short kilted skirt, long socks and a full face of make-up.. having attended a catholic school, I can assure you, this is obviously not a reality. From this itself, I didn't take the movie seriously from the get-go and I think that's what allowed me to enjoy it for what it was. I'm a Tarantino fan and this reminded me of him all the way through.
Back to the premis.. one of our schoolgirls, Rebecca is a little rebellious, a little naughty.. just so much to allow you a good ogle at her walking around naked and enough to also point out that our other girl (Catherine) is the stereotypical 'good girl', telling her friend off for her brazenness and making her cover up. Soooo a good little catholic girl, a virgin obviously... I wonder who our 'Bitch' of the movie will be?
Having knocked on the wrong door, as mentioned earlier, the girls fall into a horrid world with a pimp and bad guy Lobo (who just happens to be gorgeous... some eye candy for me at least), his stuttering sidekick Clint and what can only be described as his 'bitch' Marla. Marla happens to have an eye for the ladies too, so we are treated to some girl on girl scenes (did I mention this one seemed to be aimed at a male audience?). Rebecca is forced to engage in sexual activity with her as Catherine looks on in sheer horror. It is here Rebecca meets her end by way of a bullet to the head (accidentally it seems).
From here poor Catherine suffers further torture and rape by Lobo, who takes her virginity and leaves her for Clint to take a turn. Clint however seems to take a fit of conscience as he spies Catherines rosary beads lying in the dirt and is unable to continue with his abuse. This seems to be a staple in rape/revenge movies, we always have the guy who is fundamentally good really, but is under a bad influence.
Catherine is left for dead by Clint when she falls down a hill and bangs her head. Of course, she comes around and makes her way to a hospital. A mention has to go to the fact she is completely nude as Clint has taken her clothes, but there seems to be an awful lot of time spent on her naked journey to find help. When she comes around, she acquires a nurses uniform (which oddly fits her like a glove) and the rest of the movie follows her as she makes her way back to the town she met Lobo, Clint and Marla to seek her revenge.
I won't give you a blow by blow account of it, but this good girl has grown some serious balls and goes to work! A special mention has to go to the machete rape of Lobo. Ouch! That's got to sting!!
As previously said, I didn't get too close to this movie.. not close enough to be disturbed by the scenes I was witnessing. I'm not sure why, but I attribute it to the style of the movie and how it was portrayed. The ending however was quite poignant to me and maybe a reminder of what we'd just watched and maybe how hardened we have become to not have viewed the movie on any kind of emotional level. Maybe that was just me? I'll be interested to hear Wills take.
I did enjoy this movie. It was entertaining and didn't require any level of concentration. Its 'exactly what it says on the tin'. Thumbs up and recommended by me.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
SHOCKTOBER SPECIAL: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) - Will's Review
Reviewed (spoiler free) in full over on my solo blog, as per last week this article will focus on the differences between the 1978 and 2010 version, and therefore contain spoilers for both (although I'll try and keep the 2010 spoilers to a minimum).
Characters:
Jennifer is less well-rounded as a character this time, simply because we spend less time with her.
Mathew, the retarded 'gang' member, is a lot more believable that in the original; between being much better acted and losing the 'trailer park boys' glasses he is much less of a cartoon character.
With the exception of the new attacker (this time we are given the 5 that the original's tag-line promised, rather than the 4 it delivered) the rest of the gang are, in contrast to Matthew more caricatured this time out; from the moment we meet them they are obviously bad news.
Characters:
Jennifer is less well-rounded as a character this time, simply because we spend less time with her.
Mathew, the retarded 'gang' member, is a lot more believable that in the original; between being much better acted and losing the 'trailer park boys' glasses he is much less of a cartoon character.
With the exception of the new attacker (this time we are given the 5 that the original's tag-line promised, rather than the 4 it delivered) the rest of the gang are, in contrast to Matthew more caricatured this time out; from the moment we meet them they are obviously bad news.
2 of the attackers have families this time, although one of the families actually has a role i the movie this time.
The attack:
The attack is much shorter this time: Jennifer passes out and the camera fades to black part way through; but of the attack we do see there is a lot more psychological abuse this time and a fair but less physical violence, the sexual assaults seem as bad as they ever did - we just don't see as much of it.
Whether this is a good thing is debatable; it does rob the film of some of its predecessors 'power' but it also means we don't have to watch a woman getting raped for as long; which certainly helps the film be a little easier to watch (again, whether 'easier to watch' is a good thing, is open to debate).
Matthew is even less willing to take part (at least initially), requiring a threat on Jennifer's life at the hands of on of the other guys before he's willing to have sex with her
This time the plan isn't quite so stupid; the attackers do not rely on Matthew to go back and kill her.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
The attack:
The attack is much shorter this time: Jennifer passes out and the camera fades to black part way through; but of the attack we do see there is a lot more psychological abuse this time and a fair but less physical violence, the sexual assaults seem as bad as they ever did - we just don't see as much of it.
Whether this is a good thing is debatable; it does rob the film of some of its predecessors 'power' but it also means we don't have to watch a woman getting raped for as long; which certainly helps the film be a little easier to watch (again, whether 'easier to watch' is a good thing, is open to debate).
Matthew is even less willing to take part (at least initially), requiring a threat on Jennifer's life at the hands of on of the other guys before he's willing to have sex with her
This time the plan isn't quite so stupid; the attackers do not rely on Matthew to go back and kill her.
The Aftermath:
Again, we see less (in fact none) of Jennifer's effort to piece herself back together, although we do learn some of it through the things she says in the final act; arguably the experience in the 2010 version has left her even more damaged than her 1978 counterpart.
The Revenge:
Is where the movie deviates most - this time none of the men die of stupidity (1978 movie; I still haven't forgiven you for the guy who grabbed the propeller of the motor boat) and Jennifer takes her time to make sure that each man gets a death they deserve - even using a little poetic justice to customize each kill; the specific tortures she devices for each man mirror or reference their part in the attack - a man who held her face underwater is suspended over a bath, a man who analy rapes her wakes up with a shotgun up... you get the idea.
Tone / Overall:
The poetic nature of the kills, as well as the semi-elaborate setups of them, provide plenty of "punch the air" type moments.
You may recall that I criticised the Last House Remake for having just one of these at the end - but here it works; mainly because it isn't just one, that stands out as being inconsistent with the tone, but becomes the point of the movie.
Although the rape is still horrific, and not-for-kicks, it is shorter, and therefore easier to bear.
Between the shorter attack sequence and the more crowd-pleasing deaths (not to mention that the ordering of the kills is much improved - the most vile offender last this time) this movie is much easier to watch than the original; rape sequence notwithstanding this one is even a 'fun' movie in its own way. This I think is both its strength and its weakness; It fails as an important film, but makes a much better movie than the original.
I had fun watching it, and it did not eroricise rape, So I'm going to go ahead and recommend it. I'm going to guess Lisa has not (I didn't check yet), but we shall see...
Counts:
Body Count: 6
Boob Count: 1 pair
Animal Body count: 6 (3 Birds, 2 fish and a rat - none killed on screen)
Most memorable Death: Eye Eye!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
SHOCKTOBER SPECIAL: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
So another remake for our Shocktober special and a break from our 'Nasties' list. I was wary about watching this for a host of reasons. I didn't have much desire to watch the original (reviewed by us both HERE), due to its subject matter and my abject hatred for watching graphic rape scenes, but having managed to stomach that movie, I was left with nothing but admiration for its directors, writers and actors with what a fantastic job they did with such a difficult premis.
So did I feel the same about this one? Sadly not!
The story here is the same. I won't go into detail again (click the above link to read the above reviews if you haven't seen the original). Everything that was strong and poignant about the original is removed. The most disturbing aspect of the original, was that that the guys responsible for the heinous acts are portrayed as very 'normal' men. In the remake, it is made very clear from the offset, that these guys are nasty, certainly not normal members of society. It feels very 'Hollywood' and not as gritty as the original. Worst of all, the avenue we go down when Jennifer exacts her revenge turns this into a completely different movie!!
Now I surprised myself here and I'm going to sound all hypocritical-like, but in my original review (which I re-read before I wrote this), I was crying out for more brutal revenge from Jennifer. This movie delivers this BIG time. However, it feels all wrong. The brutality of the 'kills' Jennifer perpetrates is not in keeping AT ALL with her character and it changes what this movie is all about. It takes the focus away from the psychological horror and concentration on bigger questions and turns it into another SAW movie. Yet again, that must sound hypocritical, as I'm a big SAW fan, but turning 'I Spit on your grave' into 'SAW' is like watching a remake of your favourite kids show waiting to feel all sentimental and warm inside and being subjected to a tirade of swearing.
Don't get me wrong, the acting is very strong all the way through. The make-up and effects are good. There is even an addition in this movie of an evil Sheriff who wasn't in the original (excellently played incidentally). The gore is cringeworthy and would curl the toes of most die-hard horror fans, but its all wrong when used in this context and in this movie.
My original desire to see exactly what I have just watched, shows me how wrong I was. Jennifer should not have exacted revenge in a series of 'traps' designed to maximise the shock factor and ramp up the gore in this movie. It somehow 'cheapened' it for me.
I don't doubt a lot of people will like this movie and think it's an excellent remake, as, like I said, there wasn't an awful lot you could find wrong with the acting, script, effects etc, but it just didn't 'feel' right after the power of the first movie.
Had the 'kills' been in another movie, SAW 8 for example, I would have enjoyed these scenes when watching in a completely different context, but they just didn't belong here.
I wont' say this is a bad movie persay, but it didn't work for me.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
So another remake for our Shocktober special and a break from our 'Nasties' list. I was wary about watching this for a host of reasons. I didn't have much desire to watch the original (reviewed by us both HERE), due to its subject matter and my abject hatred for watching graphic rape scenes, but having managed to stomach that movie, I was left with nothing but admiration for its directors, writers and actors with what a fantastic job they did with such a difficult premis.
So did I feel the same about this one? Sadly not!
The story here is the same. I won't go into detail again (click the above link to read the above reviews if you haven't seen the original). Everything that was strong and poignant about the original is removed. The most disturbing aspect of the original, was that that the guys responsible for the heinous acts are portrayed as very 'normal' men. In the remake, it is made very clear from the offset, that these guys are nasty, certainly not normal members of society. It feels very 'Hollywood' and not as gritty as the original. Worst of all, the avenue we go down when Jennifer exacts her revenge turns this into a completely different movie!!
Now I surprised myself here and I'm going to sound all hypocritical-like, but in my original review (which I re-read before I wrote this), I was crying out for more brutal revenge from Jennifer. This movie delivers this BIG time. However, it feels all wrong. The brutality of the 'kills' Jennifer perpetrates is not in keeping AT ALL with her character and it changes what this movie is all about. It takes the focus away from the psychological horror and concentration on bigger questions and turns it into another SAW movie. Yet again, that must sound hypocritical, as I'm a big SAW fan, but turning 'I Spit on your grave' into 'SAW' is like watching a remake of your favourite kids show waiting to feel all sentimental and warm inside and being subjected to a tirade of swearing.
Don't get me wrong, the acting is very strong all the way through. The make-up and effects are good. There is even an addition in this movie of an evil Sheriff who wasn't in the original (excellently played incidentally). The gore is cringeworthy and would curl the toes of most die-hard horror fans, but its all wrong when used in this context and in this movie.
My original desire to see exactly what I have just watched, shows me how wrong I was. Jennifer should not have exacted revenge in a series of 'traps' designed to maximise the shock factor and ramp up the gore in this movie. It somehow 'cheapened' it for me.
I don't doubt a lot of people will like this movie and think it's an excellent remake, as, like I said, there wasn't an awful lot you could find wrong with the acting, script, effects etc, but it just didn't 'feel' right after the power of the first movie.
Had the 'kills' been in another movie, SAW 8 for example, I would have enjoyed these scenes when watching in a completely different context, but they just didn't belong here.
I wont' say this is a bad movie persay, but it didn't work for me.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
SHOCKTOBER SPECIAL: Last House On The Left (2009) - Will's Review
For a spoiler free review of this movie, check out my solo blog here
Rather than review this movie directly (I did that already today - see above) I'm going to use my space here to compare and contrast with the original, therefore...
***SPOILERS***
The remake spends a little more time setting up the family – we see dad at work, and learn a little more about Mari (2009s main victim) than we did) Phyllis (1972) – They’ve given her a “thing” (She’s a swimmer), and a dead brother, Ben, (died in a accident a year ago).
Mari’s necklace is an old pressie Ben gave her, rather than a crappy birthday gift from Mum and Dad.
Of the Gang, Junior has a name now (Justin) and if far more sympathetic. While ‘72s Junior was still a victim, controlled by his father, Junior wants nothing to do with the gang, but can’t see a way out. Rather than luring the girls back to the gang’s place so that the gang can party, Justin is a lonely lad, who brings the girls back to smoke some pot, and intends to have them gone before the gang return. He even openly turns on the gang; He uses the pendant to tip the parents off, just as in ’72, but then he steals Krug’s gun, and gives it to the father!
Speaking of Krug, he is played here phenomenally well; while it would have been easy ho have him all snarling and shouty, he is instead almost charming, but with an underlying *something* that will make you shudder – he’s also a particularly nasty bastard; at his ‘rescue’ in the films opening, he holds a photograph of a policeman’s kids in front of his face… while killing him; ensuring that the last thing that cop will ever see is his own blood dripping onto his children’s faces.
Rather than review this movie directly (I did that already today - see above) I'm going to use my space here to compare and contrast with the original, therefore...
***SPOILERS***
The remake spends a little more time setting up the family – we see dad at work, and learn a little more about Mari (2009s main victim) than we did) Phyllis (1972) – They’ve given her a “thing” (She’s a swimmer), and a dead brother, Ben, (died in a accident a year ago).
Mari’s necklace is an old pressie Ben gave her, rather than a crappy birthday gift from Mum and Dad.
Of the Gang, Junior has a name now (Justin) and if far more sympathetic. While ‘72s Junior was still a victim, controlled by his father, Junior wants nothing to do with the gang, but can’t see a way out. Rather than luring the girls back to the gang’s place so that the gang can party, Justin is a lonely lad, who brings the girls back to smoke some pot, and intends to have them gone before the gang return. He even openly turns on the gang; He uses the pendant to tip the parents off, just as in ’72, but then he steals Krug’s gun, and gives it to the father!
Speaking of Krug, he is played here phenomenally well; while it would have been easy ho have him all snarling and shouty, he is instead almost charming, but with an underlying *something* that will make you shudder – he’s also a particularly nasty bastard; at his ‘rescue’ in the films opening, he holds a photograph of a policeman’s kids in front of his face… while killing him; ensuring that the last thing that cop will ever see is his own blood dripping onto his children’s faces.
Also on the Subject of Krug; he is the only character to retain his name from the original, and other than “iconic” value I'm not sure why they bothered… he is very different to the original.
The rape is once again brutal and horrifically realistic, I think that it was technically, if analysed god on a shot-for-shot basis less explicit this time, but use of tight shots and shaky-cam made it perhaps even more brutal and difficult to watch.
This time only the female gang member has the “we just went too far” moment, which I liked – in the first movie, after the rape, the gang stand around looking remorseful.. then kill her and immediately get back to being utter bastards.
One major difference is that (unbeknownst to the gang) Mari survives, and manages to crawl home (arriving after the gang have been put to bed for the night in the guesthouse) – this was a smart move, for a few reasons. Her survival allows her father to use his skills as a doctor; in the original it is mentioned that he is a doctor, but we never get to *see* it; here, we see him drain an internal bleed using improvised tools. Her condition provides a ‘ticking clock’ – the parents must get her to a hospital (a doctor with a knife drawer can only do so much), as well as having the gang to contend with, We are also afforded a (somewhat) happy ending this time as Mari and her parents escape, along with Justin. Their lives are shattered, but there is hope. I think to an extent, the implication is Justin will go on to fill some of the whole that Ben left in the family too.
Before anyone cried “Hollywood ending” it’s worth noting that Mari survived in the scrip for the ’72 version… the decision to kill her was made on-set.
It would have been easy to remake this one in the currently popular ‘torture porn’ mould; thankfully the producers (Cunningham returns as co-producer, joined this time by original director / writer Wes Craven) were smart enough to hire a director who ‘got’ the movie.
Apart from the last scene… in which Krug’s head is microwave (and explodes? Really? It isn’t an egg!) I get that they felt the need to give a ‘punch the air’ moment, but for me, that was a mistake.
The original had the downbeat “What did we do here?” ending, in which the parent’s realise that their actions have changed nothing, and that they have allowed the gang to not only tale their daughter, but also change who they are; in this movie we are left with no such morals to ponder. It’s like the “Pro Capital Punishment” version of the same movie. I get the sentiment, but I think it made for better characterisation the old way.
Still, all in all I think this was a better movie than the original, to the extent that this time, I’m going to give it the recommended stamp!
Body Count: 4
Boob Count: 1 Pair
Most Memorable Death: It goes 'Bing' when it's done!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
The rape is once again brutal and horrifically realistic, I think that it was technically, if analysed god on a shot-for-shot basis less explicit this time, but use of tight shots and shaky-cam made it perhaps even more brutal and difficult to watch.
This time only the female gang member has the “we just went too far” moment, which I liked – in the first movie, after the rape, the gang stand around looking remorseful.. then kill her and immediately get back to being utter bastards.
One major difference is that (unbeknownst to the gang) Mari survives, and manages to crawl home (arriving after the gang have been put to bed for the night in the guesthouse) – this was a smart move, for a few reasons. Her survival allows her father to use his skills as a doctor; in the original it is mentioned that he is a doctor, but we never get to *see* it; here, we see him drain an internal bleed using improvised tools. Her condition provides a ‘ticking clock’ – the parents must get her to a hospital (a doctor with a knife drawer can only do so much), as well as having the gang to contend with, We are also afforded a (somewhat) happy ending this time as Mari and her parents escape, along with Justin. Their lives are shattered, but there is hope. I think to an extent, the implication is Justin will go on to fill some of the whole that Ben left in the family too.
Before anyone cried “Hollywood ending” it’s worth noting that Mari survived in the scrip for the ’72 version… the decision to kill her was made on-set.
It would have been easy to remake this one in the currently popular ‘torture porn’ mould; thankfully the producers (Cunningham returns as co-producer, joined this time by original director / writer Wes Craven) were smart enough to hire a director who ‘got’ the movie.
Apart from the last scene… in which Krug’s head is microwave (and explodes? Really? It isn’t an egg!) I get that they felt the need to give a ‘punch the air’ moment, but for me, that was a mistake.
The original had the downbeat “What did we do here?” ending, in which the parent’s realise that their actions have changed nothing, and that they have allowed the gang to not only tale their daughter, but also change who they are; in this movie we are left with no such morals to ponder. It’s like the “Pro Capital Punishment” version of the same movie. I get the sentiment, but I think it made for better characterisation the old way.
Still, all in all I think this was a better movie than the original, to the extent that this time, I’m going to give it the recommended stamp!
Body Count: 4
Boob Count: 1 Pair
Most Memorable Death: It goes 'Bing' when it's done!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Late Night Train - Will's review.
I don't usually discuss the movies with Lisa until reviews are both written (or at very least until we've both seen it) but I texted her twice about this one; After I'd seen it "This week's movie is 'Last house' [on the left] with a Train instead of a forest...", and before that, while still watching the movie, "If something were to happen in one of the movies that I know is going to piss you off royally, would you prefer to be forewarned, or remain spoiler free?"*
Because of that first text, this is going to be a short review, because of the 2nd, I'll be running off to witness Lisa's outrage as soon as I'm done here.
[spoilers follow]
Because of that first text, this is going to be a short review, because of the 2nd, I'll be running off to witness Lisa's outrage as soon as I'm done here.
[spoilers follow]
Late Night Train - Lisa's Review
*** Spoilers ***
If you are a regular reader (are there any?) and are reading this review, you could be forgiven for wondering if you have been here before... as in last week. This movie IS 'Last house on the leftt' with the forest being replaced by a train. The actual similarties are uncanny.
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Last House on the Left - Will's Review
Another of the "big ones" this week; As David Heiss plays a rapacious scumbag (a character type he will revisit) under the first-time direction of Wes Craven, and we are told (for the first time) to keep repeating; It's only a Movie... Only a movie... Only a movie.
First up; props to Hess, who plays an utterly convincing scumbag, but a very different one to House on the Edge of The Park's Alex - that one actor could play 2 such seemingly similar characters so differently is a great testament to the man as an actor.
Plot wise this falls somewhere in between the 2 Rape-Revenge movies we have already seen, showing us the stalk and attack (and eventual murder) of the victims, as per I Spit on your Grave, but once the attackers find their way (unwittingly) to the home of one of the victims' families, it is they who seek out the revenge, as in The House on the Edge of the Park.
This time around however, far from being an Edge of the Park style stitch-up, our gang realizes who's home they are in before the girls' parents even realize that anything has happened to her; sadly however, this isn't used in the plot in any real way.
Another moment that goes unused is a brilliantly acted moment where the gang show some silent regret for their actions - disappointingly, this regret is never shown nor mentioned again.
I had mixed feelings about the younger member of the gang, and by extension the fact that he was killed. The lad did deliver the girls to the gang (and with a fair idea as to why they were wanted), but he did it in exchange for a fix - his father (The gang leader) had, we learn, deliberately got his son addicted to heroin from a young age as a method of controlling him.
The parents' revenge, when it does come, is too fast and easy for my tastes, leaving it somewhat unfulfilling. It is possible that this somewhat anti-climactic feel is deliberate; it is made clear at the end of the film that the parents' loss is in no way listened by the revenge, but no matter how clever this may have been from an audience empathy point of view, it doesn't make for a great ending, dramatically speaking.
All in all, not terrible, but not a home run, I still prefer its similarly cast ripoff. (At least that means I'm likely to disagree with Lisa this week)
Body Count: 6
Boob Count: 2 Pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Ouch - Less teeth please!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
First up; props to Hess, who plays an utterly convincing scumbag, but a very different one to House on the Edge of The Park's Alex - that one actor could play 2 such seemingly similar characters so differently is a great testament to the man as an actor.
Plot wise this falls somewhere in between the 2 Rape-Revenge movies we have already seen, showing us the stalk and attack (and eventual murder) of the victims, as per I Spit on your Grave, but once the attackers find their way (unwittingly) to the home of one of the victims' families, it is they who seek out the revenge, as in The House on the Edge of the Park.
This time around however, far from being an Edge of the Park style stitch-up, our gang realizes who's home they are in before the girls' parents even realize that anything has happened to her; sadly however, this isn't used in the plot in any real way.
Another moment that goes unused is a brilliantly acted moment where the gang show some silent regret for their actions - disappointingly, this regret is never shown nor mentioned again.
I had mixed feelings about the younger member of the gang, and by extension the fact that he was killed. The lad did deliver the girls to the gang (and with a fair idea as to why they were wanted), but he did it in exchange for a fix - his father (The gang leader) had, we learn, deliberately got his son addicted to heroin from a young age as a method of controlling him.
The parents' revenge, when it does come, is too fast and easy for my tastes, leaving it somewhat unfulfilling. It is possible that this somewhat anti-climactic feel is deliberate; it is made clear at the end of the film that the parents' loss is in no way listened by the revenge, but no matter how clever this may have been from an audience empathy point of view, it doesn't make for a great ending, dramatically speaking.
All in all, not terrible, but not a home run, I still prefer its similarly cast ripoff. (At least that means I'm likely to disagree with Lisa this week)
Body Count: 6
Boob Count: 2 Pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Ouch - Less teeth please!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Last house on the left - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
So, a controversial one this week and one I have known about and have never watched as I had been told how difficult a watch it was and how it was probably one best avoided by women.
Well, I have to say I'm not altogether in agreement with that statement. Yes, it is nasty and parts are horrible but again, like 'Spit on your grave' I felt the repugnant acts were properly and well portrayed in this movie.
The story is basically a young, virginal girl goes out partying with a more 'experienced' if you will friend and they end up being held against their will by a dangerous gang who are passing through the area, while they attempt to buy some cannabis from them.
What follows is the horrible torture, degradation, humiliation and rape of both girls and their eventual deaths. The portrayal of their experience is horrific, realistic, definately not played for kicks and really hits home the repugnant nature of the gangs boss and his female accomplice especially. After the death of one girl, the woman in the gang delights in pulling her innards out for the simple pleasure of it.
The movie doesn't end with the girls' death, it leads on to the virginal girls parents finding out what has happened to their daughter when they happen to put the gang up for the night and see a necklace they bought for their daughter around the bosses sons (a rather naive and mentally slow individual) neck.
This is where the movie fell apart for me. I thought the first half of the movie was well executed and quite eerie how it switched between the frivolity of the girls parents preparing for her party to horrible scenes in the forest of what their daughter is going through. However from the stage the parents find out about their daughters death (and they didn't look sufficiently upset by it for my liking either) it lost its edge for me.
They plan to take revenge on the gang and indeed they do, one at a time, but for me the revenge was too fast, not horrific enough and just not fitting. There didn't seem to be enough emotion in what they were doing. Then again I thought it was mighty odd at the beginning of the movie when the father proclaimed how he could see his daughters nipples through her shirt.... maybe they just act differently to normal people... who knows.
In conclusion, I thought the film 'could' have been much better if the ending was longer and better thought out. If it felt (to use one of Wills terms from another review) more satisfying. These didn't feel satisfying to me as the viewer.
I would say its definately worth a watch and definately is nasty, but lets itself down by losing its nastiness where it most needed it.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
I Spit on Your Grave - Will's Review
This is one on the more famous Video nasties, so you probably already know the plot, if you don't allow me to fill you in using only information found on the films posters.
Its origional title was "The Rape and Revenge of Jennifer Hill" and the tagline is "This woman has just cut, chopped, broken, and burned five men beyond recognition…but no jury in American would ever convict her!"
Up to speed? Good.
***Spoilers (such as you can have for such a simple plot) follow****
First of all; The poster lies - Jenifer is attacked by (and takes her deadly revenge on) only 4 men.
After moving into a rented lakeside house for the summer to write her first full length novel, author Jenifer Hill orders a grocery delivery from the local store. They are delivered by a walking cartoon character (and town simpleton) Mathew:
So, what with him being a half-wit, and her being nice to him, he gets a crush on her, the fact she had a thin shirt on and no bra helped too...
Mathew immediately tells his only 3 friends, Johnny, Stanley and Andy (who Own the local fueling station, hang out at the local fueling station and hang around at the local fueling station, respectively) about the new girl.
One sunny day, when Jennifer is out sunbathing in a drifting rowboat in the lake, Stanley and Andy start harassing her from her speedboat and drag her to shore.
What follows is one of the most unpleasant hours of cinema I have ever seen.
It becomes quickly apparent that Johnny has orchestrated Jenifer's capture, so that Mathew can lose his virginity, she is stripped and held down, but when Mathew is reluctant, he is demoted to leg holding duty while Johnny rapes her.
The rape is, an I'm sure I won't find much opposition this time, horrific, we see most of it while the camera is trained on Jennifer's face, and I have to offer kudos to Camille Keaton at this point, who does look genuinely humiliated, terrified and pained.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Its origional title was "The Rape and Revenge of Jennifer Hill" and the tagline is "This woman has just cut, chopped, broken, and burned five men beyond recognition…but no jury in American would ever convict her!"
Up to speed? Good.
***Spoilers (such as you can have for such a simple plot) follow****
First of all; The poster lies - Jenifer is attacked by (and takes her deadly revenge on) only 4 men.
After moving into a rented lakeside house for the summer to write her first full length novel, author Jenifer Hill orders a grocery delivery from the local store. They are delivered by a walking cartoon character (and town simpleton) Mathew:
Mathew
So, what with him being a half-wit, and her being nice to him, he gets a crush on her, the fact she had a thin shirt on and no bra helped too...
Mathew immediately tells his only 3 friends, Johnny, Stanley and Andy (who Own the local fueling station, hang out at the local fueling station and hang around at the local fueling station, respectively) about the new girl.
One sunny day, when Jennifer is out sunbathing in a drifting rowboat in the lake, Stanley and Andy start harassing her from her speedboat and drag her to shore.
What follows is one of the most unpleasant hours of cinema I have ever seen.
It becomes quickly apparent that Johnny has orchestrated Jenifer's capture, so that Mathew can lose his virginity, she is stripped and held down, but when Mathew is reluctant, he is demoted to leg holding duty while Johnny rapes her.
The rape is, an I'm sure I won't find much opposition this time, horrific, we see most of it while the camera is trained on Jennifer's face, and I have to offer kudos to Camille Keaton at this point, who does look genuinely humiliated, terrified and pained.
That said, when she is allowed to go free, I found myself thinking "is that it" - not because here ordeal wasn't horrific, but because it wasn't as horrific by movie standards as I had expected.
Unfortunately , for the next half hour or so, we see her tracked recaptured, raped and beaten again and again - even once she reaches the "safty" of her rented home from home; Mathew is eventually coerced into taking his "turn" (although can't preform under the conditions) and things get so bad that she offers to give the last guy a hand job, just to avoid being raped again.
When they are quite finished, Mathew is sent back into the house, to kill her - which, again, he cannot bring himself to do, and so he lies.
You may have noticed that up until this point my review has been lacking its usual sarcastic edge, usually only absent when the movie was good; make no mistake, this movie was not "good" - it's just that the subject matter does not lend itself to snark.
Rest assured that the following half hour of the movie is outright stupid, Jenifer's revenge involves (separately) seducing the members of the gang and killing them.
When this works with Mathew (Who she actually sleeps with again - not sure I buy that) I can accept it; he's a retard; However I'm not entirely convinced that Johnny would be so easily fooled. I get that you have to be at least a bit lacking in the head department to think that raping someone is a good plan. however that same person came onto me, ran be a bath, got in it with me and started masturbating me, I'd like to think alarm bells would go off - I'd also like to think that when she (quite rightly) chopped my dick off, I'd notice before I saw the blood, not just think that the hand-job was "so good it hurts" . Further, one of the guys only dies because he after realizing that Jennifer is out for revenge, he literally grabs onto the outboard motor of a speedboat she is driving!!!
Another problem with the kills is the order of them. The castration of the leader should by rights have been the dramatic climax of the movie; both for the fact that he was the leader, and the obvious 'symbolism' (if you can call it that) of castrating a rapist - instead he's the second kill, which then gives the feeling that the other 2 are more or less "clean up" and that the peak has passed.
Another problem with the kills is the order of them. The castration of the leader should by rights have been the dramatic climax of the movie; both for the fact that he was the leader, and the obvious 'symbolism' (if you can call it that) of castrating a rapist - instead he's the second kill, which then gives the feeling that the other 2 are more or less "clean up" and that the peak has passed.
All in all though, killing order and extreme stupidity aside, it's fairly competently made, and (With the exception of the characiture that is Mathew) reasonably acted, so if you think you might enjoy 20 mins of setup, 40 mins of a woman being raped and half an hour of stupid people dying in stupid ways, knock yourself out.
No really... do!
Body Count: 4
Boob Count: 1 pair
Animal Body Count: 0
Most memorable Death: Turns out an outboard motor isn't a great ladder...
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
I spit on your grave - Lisa's Review
So this was a biggie for me, a movie I've heard a lot about and one I never really found the right time or mood to watch. As I watch most movies with my husband and he was never keen that I watch this movie, it was kind of hard to get around to it. Then came the 'Video Nasty' challenge and a reason to watch it.
I didn't quite know how I would feel about it as I know the subject matter was surrounding brutal rapes, something any regular reader will know, I feel quite strongly about. As this was such a notorious and widely discussed movie, I was keen that it be an accurate representation of the brutality of this act.
So - The premis. Pretty straightforward. A woman (Jennifer) leaves New York to stay in a house by a lake in a beautiful countryside setting to write her book. The start of the movie is a bit irritating and you can see what happens coming a mile off (maybe not to the degree it happens, but the fact you see it coming is disturbing in itself). We get to know Jennifer and there is no concentration on any other character, apart from a retarded young man called Matthew.
After some set up, the movie is quite quick to get down to a series of brutal rapes of Jennifer. I found these scenes very uncomfortable to watch and very upsetting. I won't go into minute detail as to what took place, but it was far from pleasant. The camera doesn't cut away as it tends to in scenes such as this. Its stays on the victim and perpetrators throughout the entire act adding to the uncomfortable nature of watching these scenes real time.
Although I have said these scenes are upsetting and I found them difficult to watch, I feel that the director here did an excellent job of conveying the brutality of rape. He concentrated on the violence usually involved, the complete and utter lack of respect for the victim as a human being and most importantly, how the experience is affecting the victim. There were no gratuitous shots, even though Jennifer spends a vast portion of the movie completely or partially nude. There is never an air of arousal or tease, there are no genital or breast close-ups, there really is no need. The rapes are shown for what they are with no need to spell anything out to us.
What is just as disturbing as the brutal rapes and violence in this movie, is the mysoginistic attitudes of the men in the movie. On a one to one basis, they seem like pretty normal guys, but when brought together they turn into complete and utter vile, aggressive animals. This is something I've always had problems with as it has been proven in history over and over again (ie war) that this does happen. What can make an ordinary man turn into someone capable of such repulsive acts. To me, that was the most disturbing aspect of the movie. One character is even heard to say that any man when given the chance will rape a woman. That is obviously completely untrue, but a frightening thought that some men may even think that way.
Anyways pondering aside and back to the movie.
Young Matthew is sent (after they've used her for their own needs) by the other lads to dispatch Jennifer by way of a rather pathetic looking knife. Unfortunately he is unable to do so and just cuts the side of her face to collect some blood to make it all realistic like... Hmmmmmmm.
We return to the story with Jennifer physically recovered and ready to exact her revenge.
This is where I hypocritically cheer for violence of a massive degree. Jennifer does indeed track down all the perpetrators (starting with retarded Matthew) and dispatches with them one by one. Now I won't go into detail as to how as some people may want to actually watch the movie, but I was satisfied with the first 2... just desserts I thought. Very satisfying. However the last 2 guys (including the most aggressive, nasty of the 4some) get away far to lightly for my liking. Not enough thought is put into their murders. I would have liked something a bit more thought provoking, nasty and deserving.
In conclusion, I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word for this, but this movie did tick most of the right boxes for me and left me feeling mostly satisfied (all but for those last 2 deaths) and impressed by the directors genuine accomplishment at making a move that portrays this nasty subject just as it should be.
Heartilly recommend it for anyone who can stomach it.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
I didn't quite know how I would feel about it as I know the subject matter was surrounding brutal rapes, something any regular reader will know, I feel quite strongly about. As this was such a notorious and widely discussed movie, I was keen that it be an accurate representation of the brutality of this act.
So - The premis. Pretty straightforward. A woman (Jennifer) leaves New York to stay in a house by a lake in a beautiful countryside setting to write her book. The start of the movie is a bit irritating and you can see what happens coming a mile off (maybe not to the degree it happens, but the fact you see it coming is disturbing in itself). We get to know Jennifer and there is no concentration on any other character, apart from a retarded young man called Matthew.
After some set up, the movie is quite quick to get down to a series of brutal rapes of Jennifer. I found these scenes very uncomfortable to watch and very upsetting. I won't go into minute detail as to what took place, but it was far from pleasant. The camera doesn't cut away as it tends to in scenes such as this. Its stays on the victim and perpetrators throughout the entire act adding to the uncomfortable nature of watching these scenes real time.
Although I have said these scenes are upsetting and I found them difficult to watch, I feel that the director here did an excellent job of conveying the brutality of rape. He concentrated on the violence usually involved, the complete and utter lack of respect for the victim as a human being and most importantly, how the experience is affecting the victim. There were no gratuitous shots, even though Jennifer spends a vast portion of the movie completely or partially nude. There is never an air of arousal or tease, there are no genital or breast close-ups, there really is no need. The rapes are shown for what they are with no need to spell anything out to us.
What is just as disturbing as the brutal rapes and violence in this movie, is the mysoginistic attitudes of the men in the movie. On a one to one basis, they seem like pretty normal guys, but when brought together they turn into complete and utter vile, aggressive animals. This is something I've always had problems with as it has been proven in history over and over again (ie war) that this does happen. What can make an ordinary man turn into someone capable of such repulsive acts. To me, that was the most disturbing aspect of the movie. One character is even heard to say that any man when given the chance will rape a woman. That is obviously completely untrue, but a frightening thought that some men may even think that way.
Anyways pondering aside and back to the movie.
Young Matthew is sent (after they've used her for their own needs) by the other lads to dispatch Jennifer by way of a rather pathetic looking knife. Unfortunately he is unable to do so and just cuts the side of her face to collect some blood to make it all realistic like... Hmmmmmmm.
We return to the story with Jennifer physically recovered and ready to exact her revenge.
This is where I hypocritically cheer for violence of a massive degree. Jennifer does indeed track down all the perpetrators (starting with retarded Matthew) and dispatches with them one by one. Now I won't go into detail as to how as some people may want to actually watch the movie, but I was satisfied with the first 2... just desserts I thought. Very satisfying. However the last 2 guys (including the most aggressive, nasty of the 4some) get away far to lightly for my liking. Not enough thought is put into their murders. I would have liked something a bit more thought provoking, nasty and deserving.
In conclusion, I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word for this, but this movie did tick most of the right boxes for me and left me feeling mostly satisfied (all but for those last 2 deaths) and impressed by the directors genuine accomplishment at making a move that portrays this nasty subject just as it should be.
Heartilly recommend it for anyone who can stomach it.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
The House on the Edge of The Park - Will's Reviews
This is one of the few (3 so far I think) nasties I have already seen, It turned up on a 10 movies budget pack I bought on import from Canada years ago, I remember being impressed then, and I enjoyed it on a re-watch too..
Yes, I liked it! I know that Lisa will have a very different opinion, I haven't checked her review before writing mine (I never do) but I just know we will disagree on the Rape and sexual harassment scenes - and once you disagree on those, you aren't going to reach a consensus as they make up 90% of the movie!
In short, I'll have to be proven VERY wrong for this one to get a VNAW Recommends badge...
The film (directed by Cannibal Holocaust's Ruggero Deodato) opens with our lead character, Alex (the late David Hess), stalking, raping and killing a woman - the stalking is very well filmed, just the right amount of shaky cam to make it feel very claustrophobic, and i think the rape itself is well handled. While I am sure there exists a certain type of man who might'get off' on this, I felt that the rape was shown as a nasty and violent act - yes, the camera go up close and gave us lingering shots of breast and genitals, but this was not a posing woman 'sexing it up' and to me, these close ups were a violation, in much the same way the rape was shown to be. I'm sure there exists a type of man (possibly even woman) who will enjoy this as titilation, but to me it drove home the humiliation.
Alex apparently gets away with his crime, and we join him some time later (a year later, as we will find out) where his is finishing up for the night at the garage he owns, where he works with his (slightly challenged) friend, Ricky.
When a couple of Yuppies pull in to the garage as he is closing, he agrees to let Ricky fix their car, in exchange for an invite to the party they are headed to.
Once at the party, the hosts and their well-to-do friends waste no time in humiliating the duo, encouraging Ricky to dance and strip (while they point and laugh), while one of the women does everything she can to lead Alex on - even inviting him into the shower with her and washing him, before telling him he has no-chance.
I don't want to use the phrase "Asking for it" - but these idiots sure could have seen it coming... invite two strangers into your house then humiliate them - Not. Smart.
And so, when Alex decides that enough is enough the tables turn and it becomes a home-invasion movie - think Ils, The Strangers or even Week 37's Fight for your life - but with more sexual abuse and, in the case of fight, less racial hatred.
The women are all forced to bear at least there breast (most are stripped comply) Alex's Cock-tease gets taken up-stairs and raped, and Ricky is "gifted" his first choice of the women (Although he seems to like the idea, the reality is a different story and he is unable to go through with it).
There is also a particularly brutal razor assault on virginal time younger woman who drops by, that is hard to watch - made harder by those damned intrusive camera shots like the opening rape.
It's not without it's faults one of the women's behavior towards Ricky is just ridiculous in context, and the 'twist' is both predictable and pathetic, but all in all this one is worth your time... if you have the stomach for it.
Body Count: 2
Boob Count: 5 pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most memorable death: Like a floating pinata; only with bullets instead of sticks...
As an aside - Hess was set to star in a sequel to be released this year, reprising his roll as a 75 year old, newly released from prison, Alex. As far as I know though, this was never filmed before his unexpected death.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Yes, I liked it! I know that Lisa will have a very different opinion, I haven't checked her review before writing mine (I never do) but I just know we will disagree on the Rape and sexual harassment scenes - and once you disagree on those, you aren't going to reach a consensus as they make up 90% of the movie!
In short, I'll have to be proven VERY wrong for this one to get a VNAW Recommends badge...
The film (directed by Cannibal Holocaust's Ruggero Deodato) opens with our lead character, Alex (the late David Hess), stalking, raping and killing a woman - the stalking is very well filmed, just the right amount of shaky cam to make it feel very claustrophobic, and i think the rape itself is well handled. While I am sure there exists a certain type of man who might'get off' on this, I felt that the rape was shown as a nasty and violent act - yes, the camera go up close and gave us lingering shots of breast and genitals, but this was not a posing woman 'sexing it up' and to me, these close ups were a violation, in much the same way the rape was shown to be. I'm sure there exists a type of man (possibly even woman) who will enjoy this as titilation, but to me it drove home the humiliation.
Alex apparently gets away with his crime, and we join him some time later (a year later, as we will find out) where his is finishing up for the night at the garage he owns, where he works with his (slightly challenged) friend, Ricky.
When a couple of Yuppies pull in to the garage as he is closing, he agrees to let Ricky fix their car, in exchange for an invite to the party they are headed to.
Once at the party, the hosts and their well-to-do friends waste no time in humiliating the duo, encouraging Ricky to dance and strip (while they point and laugh), while one of the women does everything she can to lead Alex on - even inviting him into the shower with her and washing him, before telling him he has no-chance.
I don't want to use the phrase "Asking for it" - but these idiots sure could have seen it coming... invite two strangers into your house then humiliate them - Not. Smart.
And so, when Alex decides that enough is enough the tables turn and it becomes a home-invasion movie - think Ils, The Strangers or even Week 37's Fight for your life - but with more sexual abuse and, in the case of fight, less racial hatred.
The women are all forced to bear at least there breast (most are stripped comply) Alex's Cock-tease gets taken up-stairs and raped, and Ricky is "gifted" his first choice of the women (Although he seems to like the idea, the reality is a different story and he is unable to go through with it).
There is also a particularly brutal razor assault on virginal time younger woman who drops by, that is hard to watch - made harder by those damned intrusive camera shots like the opening rape.
It's not without it's faults one of the women's behavior towards Ricky is just ridiculous in context, and the 'twist' is both predictable and pathetic, but all in all this one is worth your time... if you have the stomach for it.
Body Count: 2
Boob Count: 5 pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most memorable death: Like a floating pinata; only with bullets instead of sticks...
As an aside - Hess was set to star in a sequel to be released this year, reprising his roll as a 75 year old, newly released from prison, Alex. As far as I know though, this was never filmed before his unexpected death.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
The House On The Edge Of The Park - Lisa's Review
As I start this review, I don't know what I'm going to write so there may be spoilers.
I struggled with how to review this movie without bias, trying not to let the fact i'm female affect my viewpoint, but sadly its not something I was able to do, so.. if it makes me a feminist whinger, then so be it.
I won't go into serious levels of detail with the plot, but the main male lead (Alex) starts the movie by raping a young woman in the back of a car. I knew by this stage I wan't going to like this one. Ok, so how do I explain this... rape happens, it's nasty, so sure it has a place within 'Video Nasties' but what I have a real problem with is the execution of a rape scene being filmed as a 'love' scene for titilation. A womans body being used to get as many shots of her various parts as possible, rather than concentrate on the vile act that rape actually is. As I watched this first rape and we zoomed in for chest and genital close-ups, my stomach turned over. I don't know whether this is because I am female or whether men would feel similarly.
We move on in the movie and Alex and his slow friend Ricky are invited to a party with a bunch of rich individuals. Its made clear early on they've been invited for kicks for the yuppies to laugh at. They cheat at poker with Ricky cleaning him out of all his money, they make him dance, cheering him on, all while laughing at him and encourage him to strip. Our supposed smart switched on guy is even taken for a fool by one of the women who does everything possible to lead him on and then won't have sex with him.
What follows is similar to 'funny games' I suppose. Alex turns nasty and holds the houses occupants hostage. He beats the 2 men and we get to see every woman in the house completely naked (ok so, 1 woman only goes topless, but we have every other female in the movie to make up for that). Ricky is easilly led, but when it comes down to it, he doesn't want to perform in front of the group at Alex's request by forcing himself on one of the women.
So its a typical bad guy holds a group hostage and does bad things movie. What I found different about it however was the sheer amount of uncomfortable forced female nudity. Women being abused, raped, stripped, having razors held to their throats, even a teenage babysitter (a virgin of course) being stripped, humiliated and cut all over with a razor. The scenes made me squirm and not in the way they should have. As I have said before, I don't like scenes of sexual abuse and i dislike them even more when every angle, shot and movement is to cause excitement to the viewer. As the women are being abused, the director is very careful to make sure their leg is at just the right angle for maximum body exposure and to make the most of what they've got. As with the first rape, we are 'treated' to close-ups of all the females breasts and genitals through-out the movie. I just wanted to give the people responsible a big kick in the nuts from all rape victims who might be unlucky enough to come across this piece of drivel!
We have a 'twist' at the end of the movie which might surprise a retard, but I saw it coming from the initial invite of Alex and Ricky to the house. I won't give it away for anyone who feels compelled to watch this movie from my review, I seriously hope however, most people I know would have the intelligence to avoid!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Sunday, 11 March 2012
The Gestapo's last orgy - Will's Review
*****Spoilers from opening paragraph*******
Opening with a VoiceOver from a war crimes trail, the movies story is actually pretty strong.
Lisa (yes another one) is a young Jewish woman, who turned her own family over to the Nazis, believing that they would be incarcerated but not harmed, and that she would be able to be loyal to Germany and lead a 'normal' life, rather than hiding in the attic.
Lisa (yes another one) is a young Jewish woman, who turned her own family over to the Nazis, believing that they would be incarcerated but not harmed, and that she would be able to be loyal to Germany and lead a 'normal' life, rather than hiding in the attic.
Predictably, her parents are killed and she is captured and sent to a concentration camp where she is physically and emotionally abused - at first she doesn't care, wanting only death, but upon learning that her parents location was already known to the nazis loses her guilt complex and submits to the general in charge of the camp in order to stay alive, eventually falling in love with him.
When she has his son however (still at the camp) the general has the baby taken away and killed, as 'a Jew will have no good life in the new world'.
Lisa, devastated by the betrayal, continues to fake her affection for the general, eventually testifying on his behalf at his war crime trial in order to get his charges dropped - so that she can return to the camp with him and kill him herself!
When she has his son however (still at the camp) the general has the baby taken away and killed, as 'a Jew will have no good life in the new world'.
Lisa, devastated by the betrayal, continues to fake her affection for the general, eventually testifying on his behalf at his war crime trial in order to get his charges dropped - so that she can return to the camp with him and kill him herself!
See? A pretty good story!
Unfortunately the film is utter crap - the camp in question is a sex-camp, where attractive Jewish women and taken to serve German solders on leave.
It's a nasty little rape-for-titillation movie, that manages to be offensive not only to women - but to the nazis.
I know it's odd to think that the Nazis could be badly portrayed in a movie (as in, portrayed in a negative light) but here, ordinary German solders are portrayed as sex crazed idiots, who would enthusiastically charge across a room to rape women en-mass, simply because they have permission.
It's also badly acted, and what few 'scare' scene there are are atrocious - women are dissolved in quicklime which stays white, and out heroin is at one point dressed in knickers made of human hair (!) and dangled over a pit of ravenous... Gerbils.
Both better and more offensive than 'Beast in Heat' but still one to avoid.
By the way the one 'good' German (a doctor who tries to help the girls) is by far the best endowed - he also just happens to be ginger - just sayin'
Body Count: 15
Boob Count: 37 pairs
Animal Body Count: O
Most Memorable Death: Clean and Quick(Lime)
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Unfortunately the film is utter crap - the camp in question is a sex-camp, where attractive Jewish women and taken to serve German solders on leave.
It's a nasty little rape-for-titillation movie, that manages to be offensive not only to women - but to the nazis.
I know it's odd to think that the Nazis could be badly portrayed in a movie (as in, portrayed in a negative light) but here, ordinary German solders are portrayed as sex crazed idiots, who would enthusiastically charge across a room to rape women en-mass, simply because they have permission.
It's also badly acted, and what few 'scare' scene there are are atrocious - women are dissolved in quicklime which stays white, and out heroin is at one point dressed in knickers made of human hair (!) and dangled over a pit of ravenous... Gerbils.
Both better and more offensive than 'Beast in Heat' but still one to avoid.
By the way the one 'good' German (a doctor who tries to help the girls) is by far the best endowed - he also just happens to be ginger - just sayin'
Body Count: 15
Boob Count: 37 pairs
Animal Body Count: O
Most Memorable Death: Clean and Quick(Lime)
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Fight for Your Life - Will's review
Minor spoilers visible some major ones in invisi-text (highlight to read)
“3 Convicts; an American, A Mexican and a Chinaman, take a black family hostage in their home in the middle of nowhere” it sounds like the setup to an outdated joke, but it is in-fact the plot of this week’s Video Nasty.
The poster claims “There is no greater violence than a Father’s revenge for the rape of his daughter”, but this rape does not occur until the last 10 minutes of the movie, so this if far from your typical “rape revenge” movie, it is, in fact, a fairly typical “Home Invasion” flick, moreover, the fathers “revenge” isn’t particularly nasty [after taunting Kane for a bit, he shoots him dead with a single shot]
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Axe - Lisa's Review
I won't go through a synopsis of the movie or into any detail about anything that happens. I'll let you find that out for yourself, but I may refer to specific scenes, so if you REALLY don't like to know anything AT ALL about movies you watch, maybe best not to read on.
This movie is another one where I struggle to understand the placement on the infamous list. Maybe in the 70's when it was made, certain aspects of it were shocking, but now, with a few tiny cuts you could probably put this on the TV on a Sunday afternoon alongside Miss Marple.
For the most part I enjoyed this movie, but not because it contained any kind of tension, intrigue, horror or gore, but because it was SO bad. I know there are better of these 'so bad its good' movies out there, but some of the dialogue really had me giggling and even reaching for the remote to hear it again... I give you one such line when a poor unfortunate sod decides he would rather take his chances jumping out a window than with the 'bad guys' ..."Why did he do that? Its 12 floors?... "Nah its not. Its only 9!"... Lol. I kid you not. Excellent, and said in such a dead pan manner.
The scene this is taken from also should cause much merriment. The 'victim' is beaten mercilessly with a plastic, ginger, very ugly doll... inspiration for Chucky perchance? ;op
Another line which was just plain bad was when they approached a store clerk with a large melon and delivered the wonderful... "Ladies sure got some nice melons"... we were later 'delighted' to a view of these aforementioned melons (by way of a closeup with nothing else in the shot) being swilled in fizzy coke.... obviously for the males amongst the viewers, but sorry lads, the bra does not come off.
The movies main bad guys sometimes reminded me of the characters in Reservoir Dogs, or maybe thats what they would aspire to be if they weren't so bloody stupid and lacking in any kind of physical strength (proven by the ability of a young girl to dispense with them with so little effort!)
Back to how the movie was put together and we return to my irritating soundtrack fixation and this one does not disappoint on that front. Gone is the Bontempi organ, only to be replaced by the most irritating drum beats you're ever likely to inflict on your ears. Eventually you don't notice thankfully, but to start with it takes some getting used to.
What I did find though is that the attention to detail paid to the sound on this movie during murder scenes was quite impressive. Blades slicing through flesh and sawing noises were very distinct and realistic (well ...what I'd imagine to be realistic, having never sawed anyone with a razor).
The main heroine/intentional victim in this movie is the superbly named Lisa. In fact this film is also known as 'Lisa, Lisa' in some places. She is portrayed as the typical innocent, backward little girl, all complete with cute little virginal white dress and frilly cuffs. However this notion is quickly squashed by her deft ability to behead a chicken for her invalid grandfathers dinner. This girl doesn't mind a bit of blood... just as well really....
I'm unsure as to whether her acting was completely wooden and deadpan or her character was so emotionally 'dead' from her banal existence of caring for her paralyzed grandfather that she had simply lost any reactionary ability.
This movie is tagged as 'rape' and 'revenge'. Thats pretty much all you need to know to understand the premis and neither of the 2 subjects are portrayed in a particularly horrific manner, leaving me confused as to where the prosecution arose from...
The only other comment I would make about this movie would be to say there are several obvious attempts at arty shots. Shots which no doubt snotty little media students and people who think too much about these kind of things would read all sorts into... (a tie in the bath dripping with blood after a murder, paintings on the wall of very innocent and cheerful subjects being flashed in during the movies main murder scenes). I just don't have the inclination to try to dissect what they wanted us to interpret these as, but they seemed kind of out of place in this kind of movie to me.
In conclusion, nothing to write home about, but several 'funny' scenes. Won't disturb or horrify you. Its only just over an hour long so it won't take too much time out of your day.
Gore: 2/10 (there barely was any)
So bad its good score: 4/10
Overall score: 4/10
I'll leave you with one thought after watching this movie... 'Don't mess with Lisa!' ;op
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the "Reader Reviews" post for this movie.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the "Reader Reviews" post for this movie.
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