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March 06, 2005
Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)
IMDB:Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)
aka Hooker's Revenge, They Call Her One Eye
Plot Outline:
A young woman, muted after a sexual assault as a child, is trained to seek violent revenge on those who have wronged her after being kidnapped and forced to work as a prostitute.
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For those interested in watching one of the early film inspirations of Quentin Tarantino, you need look no further. Tarantino has been quoted as calling Thriller "the roughest revenge movie ever made!" and considering it was made over 30 years ago, in this author's opinion, it still holds true.
Albeit, one has to forgive the production values of the '70s and the overused slow-motion fight scenes, but Thriller is like no other film I've seen to date, with, perhaps, the exception being I Spit On Your Grave.
Before I continue, let me make clear that this is a truly ADULT film, and kids should be kept far, far away. It contains graphic violence, not that some kids aren't immune to that, but also contains truly graphic sex, as in close-ups of sexual acts (so much so that in any other film without a storyline and plot would be considered Porn).
That said, Thriller is quite an engaging full-blown revenge story.
Cristina Lindberg portrays Frigga/Madeleine/One Eye with remarkable aplomb.
Sexually abused as a child, the trauma leaves her mute. She lives on a farm with her parents, who have sent her to regular psychiatric sessions.
One day, missing the bus for her psychiatric appointment, she accepts a ride from a sleazeball who brings her to his place, drugs her, hooks her on heroin, and adds her to his stable of young prostitutes, sending a letter to her parents seemingly from her, stating that they have smothered her and she wants to be free to pursue her own life.
When, in rebellion, she rakes the face of her first 'John' with her fingernails, her Pimp cuts her left eye out with a scalpel (purportedly, this was filmed using a cadaver).
She is now seen wearing color co-ordinated eye patches (are we seeing the Kill Bill fabric now?)
What follows are several gratuitous and graphic sexual encounters with paying customers; although she is forced to endure these, she never participates or engages with the clients.
Using some income she has secretly set aside, she pays to learn martial arts, firearm use, and high-speed driving techniques. All of this in preparation for her inevitible revenge.
When she finds her coabductee prostitute and friend's bed drenched in blood, the time has come to fulfill her plans of revenge, and the rest of the film does just that.
Rating: 7
Posted by mark at March 6, 2005 08:23 PM