The 1970s was the era of cheap 'n' sleazy chicks-in-peril movies that saw dozens of often unknown, unremarkable starlets being menaced by sweaty, swarthy, ugly men. All across the backwoods of America, low-budget film-makers were churning out these 'grindhouse' releases for the masses, to disgust discerning viewers and entertain perverts. Seen today, these movies seem a little sad, a little desperate to grab the viewer's attention. Their sole purpose is to shock, to titillate and disgust. Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is the best known, but many other, virtually forgotten movies came out in its wake and this is one of them.
From the beginning, the most obvious influence on this film is PSYCHO. Though it's never shown explicitly, there's a guy who dresses up as his deceased mother to retain control over his household. The acting is pretty much what you'd expect from the amateur nature of the proceedings, but that's not to say the film isn't realistic: it is. Sometimes too realistic, especially in the kinky game that the child-minded brother likes to play with his victims, which invariably involve the young women undressing. There's a little action, including the inevitable chased-through-the-woods-by-a-psycho moments, but it's mainly saved for the admittedly decent climax. John Stoglin overacts as you'd expect, playing a maniac with a child's mind, but his brother is played by a professional actor, Gary Kent, who gives a good performance.
I did enjoy this film's photography - the camera-work is well-handled and the various scenes well staged, with interesting points of view. Unfortunately, what music exists is diabolical. One chase seen has somebody howling "run" on the soundtrack, which completely fails to have the intended effect and instead proves to be a laughable scene. A distasteful rape scene is made ten times worse by the inclusion of cheesy romantic music on the soundtrack! I mean, who in their right mind would add that? Although the film isn't really very violent, it is unpleasant thanks to the conversations about incest and scenes such as the one where a young girl is stripped down and has a syringe stuck in her bottom. Not something anyone would want to see, I imagine, but it was the 1970s and anything went.
From the beginning, the most obvious influence on this film is PSYCHO. Though it's never shown explicitly, there's a guy who dresses up as his deceased mother to retain control over his household. The acting is pretty much what you'd expect from the amateur nature of the proceedings, but that's not to say the film isn't realistic: it is. Sometimes too realistic, especially in the kinky game that the child-minded brother likes to play with his victims, which invariably involve the young women undressing. There's a little action, including the inevitable chased-through-the-woods-by-a-psycho moments, but it's mainly saved for the admittedly decent climax. John Stoglin overacts as you'd expect, playing a maniac with a child's mind, but his brother is played by a professional actor, Gary Kent, who gives a good performance.
I did enjoy this film's photography - the camera-work is well-handled and the various scenes well staged, with interesting points of view. Unfortunately, what music exists is diabolical. One chase seen has somebody howling "run" on the soundtrack, which completely fails to have the intended effect and instead proves to be a laughable scene. A distasteful rape scene is made ten times worse by the inclusion of cheesy romantic music on the soundtrack! I mean, who in their right mind would add that? Although the film isn't really very violent, it is unpleasant thanks to the conversations about incest and scenes such as the one where a young girl is stripped down and has a syringe stuck in her bottom. Not something anyone would want to see, I imagine, but it was the 1970s and anything went.