"Sex is just horrible!"

One of the greatest pieces of trash ever produced. I'm overfond of repeating that this is "the sleaziest Nancy Drew movie ever" but if I might wax my own car for a sec the comparison is entirely apt. The way our teen detective Christie's stupid amateur sleuthing is awkwardly juxtaposed with the heroically tasteless depiction of a teenage girl's clumsy, unpleasant sexual awakening is nothing short of jawdropping. This really is about a young woman learning to navigate a world in which female desire is both a trophy and a prison, but Michael Winner's crazy, borderline-competent genius is that he'd never ever think of eliding the grimy, nasty undercurrent of violence and titillation promised by a cheap thriller about an underage girl. One of my favorite exploitation films.

I was listening to some podcasts that kept mentioning this film -- A must-see train wreck. And yes, that's exactly what it is. Michael Winner, no matter what one may think of the guy's sensibilities, still delivered competent films when it came to craft and simply telling a cohesive story... so that's why this film is such a head scratcher. Some of the human behavior and character choices are The Room level

According to Tom Holland (in an interview on the disc) none of it was his fault. Holland seems proud of the script and it was Winner who completely eff'd it up.

It's interesting how Winner had two films scored by former Led Zeppelin band members. John Paul Jones's theme song is incredibly out of place for this film. And the film is shot by Robert Paynter (Superman 2, An American Werewolf in London).

Watched the Scream Factory Blu-ray. Interviews with Holland and actor David Allen Brooks.

92

"Hurry! They're fucking!"

Trash beamed from another reality.

#SlasherSaturday
This was such a great watch. Felt like a made for tv movie with a dash of sleaze. Not much in the way of killing for the majority of the runtime, but I was completely taken by this elaborate marital property, murder plot that has Christie’s new step-father staging various nearly deadly “accidents” in order to inherit Christie’s family wealth. I usually need way more death and blood and gore to have a good time during these, but something about this was totally engrossing. Have to say the most brutal murder was when Christie completely eviscerates Josh after he De-flowers her and she’s like “I’m pretty sure I never want to have sex with anyone ever again.”Honestly, one of the coldest kills of all #slashersaturdays I’ve ever seen. 😆 Great pick, Clark. 🍻

Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 2
1. David Allen Brooks and Tom Hanks in Cast Away
2. Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13

I can't even believe how good this is, keyed into the emotional turmoil of a teenager dealing with her parents splitting up and the minefield of sex with the relentless verve of a horror movie, layered on top of a child's mystery plot but with enough sex and violence to power a dozen thrillers from the previous decade. Everything about this, from the dialogue and performances to the plot to the alleged happy ending, feels strikingly off in a way that absolutely has to have been intentional, and it's paced like, I dunno, The Exorcist or something, never pausing even for a single breath. Special special special.

92

"Fine, don't believe me, just wait until he kills you!"

Michael Winner was a pervert, a sadist, and a sociopath. This is one of his purest visions.

Michael Winner released this overlooked sleaze gem in between those outlandishly fun sequels, Death Wish 2 and Death Wish 3. This bursts from that same threshold of creative energy with jaw-dropping results. The second consecutive film I watched this weekend (following 1996's True Crime) where the teen "detective" loses her virginity in an unflattering manner. Tom Holland's gutsy screenplay leaves nothing to subtlety and Winner's the gleefully perverse taskmaster for a story that moves its characters relentlessly across a spectrum of bygone exploitation tropes; it all comes to a climactic boil with a hyperbolic home invasion sequence and a kick-ass final kill. Satisfaction guaranteed. Only made available on VHS, so make sure your heads are clean and prepare to adjust your tracking.

nancy drew and the sex nightmare. every adult involved in this should probably be arrested, but what a picture

"Hurry! They're fucking!"

The perfect good bad movie. Familiar in its kid in peril thrills, but so chock full of jaw dropping dialogue, sleazy thrills and exaggerated style that it pulls the magic trick of starting laugh out loud funny and ending on edge of your seat thrills. You would assume it was satire if Micheal Fucking Winner hadn't directed it.

A perfect double with BLUE VELVET.