Example of as The Trailer as marketing genius, The Candy Snatchers is not half as nasty as suggested by the preview above. More akin to the hard-boiled detective pulps of the 1960s than the adult exploitation film genre, the story revels in the sort of psycho-sexual perversity favored by True Crime magazine and its ilk. In fact, being buried alive by a gang of petty thieves is posited as almost less boring than the early 70s ennui of aimless San Fernando Valley teens. Similar themes would be explored decades later in the novels of Dennis Cooper and films and photographs of Larry Clark for example, but if Marcia Brady gone nihilistic sounds like your thing, give this one a chance.
Those glued to HBO in the very early 80s may recall The Evictors, generally scheduled during late afternoon summer hours (perfect for school holidays, and at a time when the network only operated in the evenings). Veteran actor Vic Morrow somehow showed up for work on this ultimate independent cheapie, as did Jessica Harper, and we assume the budget was thus consumed. Still, much is made from backwoods/rural creepiness, an almost pre-industrial landscape exploited over and over in the 1970s as representative of America's forgotten horrors, a sort of lawless land of murderous hicks and corrupt officials. Interesting, eh, that said films were distributed almost exclusively in the drive-ins of these various locales?
The Evictors tells the haunting history of a ramshackle farmhouse home to some very unpleasant happenings, all exposed by the research of its new newlywed tenants. A pervasive sense of dread is maintained throughout adding heft to the slight storyline. Sadly unavailable on DVD currently.
Despite a recent and growing cult following, Brit hack director Pete Walker's gory oeuvre can hardly claim the touch of genius. But a couple of films sure are fun. And disturbing. Along with Walker's Frightmare, House of Whipcord succinctly encapsulates the filmmaker's particular Midlands milieu, or horror in the home counties, as some have dubbed his own slender niche of suburban English grand guignol.
A women's' prison film heavy on actual and implied sadism and perversion, House of Whipcord is a slightly sly satire of the era's growing generation gap: a retired judge and a coterie of cruel older women operate a "private" prison, designed to punish the lax "morals" of modern youth. Dripping lurid atmosphere and maintaining a somber quality throughout, the film is made even more grim by a wonderful performance from Shelia Keith. As a particularly vicious warden eager to whip and hang offending female prisoners, after caressing their bodies quite ickily, Keith steps again (and again in other Pete Walker horror films) away from her beloved roles as sweet Scots aunties on British sitcoms.
Also released as Lisa, Lisa, a title inexplicably creepier and more ominous, this mini-gem is actually a lyrical essay on a lonely young woman's burgeoning mental illness, and while violent and sensationalistic, less a horror film and more moody character study. Stark location shooting (inside a NY State farmhouse, not the Southern locale presupposed by the narrative - and you'll have little doubt hearing the Bronx accents of the multiple villains) and an unsettling lead female performance raise this far above the low limbo bar set by similar productions of the era. For a deeper analysis and appreciative eulogy to a long neglected film (available on DVD from Netflix in yet another badly chopped - pun intended - version), check out Nightmare USA by techno-goth legendary band Coil's former member Stephen Thrower.
Saw this one as kid at The Tennessean, a grand old movie palace from l'age d'or, fallen into charming derelict abandon in the hard-pressed 70s, typical for downtown Nashville, TN as for most urban areas. The garish and crudely sketched poster featured a cliched version of Death (black flowing robe, skeletal figure, malicious grinning skull) wielding the ubiquitous scythe and running towards the viewer. Could the jogging fad of the decade influenced the skeleton's spry stance?
As for The Redeemer itself - finally available on DVD as Class Reunion Massacre, but badly edited and far inferior to the 80s VHS release which contains all original footage - the ultra-simplistic plot pre-figured the soon-to -emerge slasher trend, as so many forward thinking films did before 1978's seminal blueprint for the subgenre, Halloween. Unfortunately the victims in the film are all punished for sins way politically incorrect by today's standards - marital infidelity, drug abuse, homosexuality. But think of it as a time capsule capturing the retrogressive zeitgeist of an era badly confused between free love and a queasy embrace of gender equality.
All pretense aside, we adored the creepy mix of live action slaughter with plot less moments of puppetry (so SO VERY ripped off by the limpid SAW series of today). Lots of moody moments and stretches of near-boredom help to create the perfect soporific ambiance crucial to exploit the well-timed explosions of actual gruesome violence. Honestly folks, this one has cheap charms to spare.
