- Joined
- Apr 22, 2015
@PLB and @Deadwaste requested a thread for reasons I don't want to know and I can't say no to such a request. Consider this a must-have shopping list.
#10: Rape Squad.
A group of raped women form a "rape squad" in search of the rapist that raped them and killing him. The rapist is wearing a hockey mask and predates Jason Voorhees by a few years. The same exact premise would be revisited in I Spit On Your Grave 3 which is part of the remake series for that IP.
#9: The Last House on the Left.
It's not my favorite Wes Craven film or my favorite of what has been dubbed "The David Hess Rape-Revenge Trilogy" but I can't lie when I say it still has an effect. It's wildly uneven movie but that 2nd act where the two girls are raped and murdered is still a punch to the gut. Trivia: it was originally supposed to be a porn film that was changed to be a feature film. Wes Craven's first film was a porno called Fireworks Woman and so was producer Sean Cunningham (Friday the 13th) first film was a porn.
#8 Death Wish part 2.
The follow up to the original classic and the last earnest film in the series before it went down the route of gloriously OTT 80's action. This entry has a very rough rape scene that was frequently cut out of prints for years and for that alone I think it qualifies for this list more so than the first film. If you've seen clips of part 3 and some of the later films and are expecting a fun 80's action film then this is not it. This is a grim little entry.
#7: Ms. 45.
Abel Ferrar's 3rd film (his first film being a porn titled 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy) was and still is very infamous and was hard as fuck to find an uncut version back in the day. A mute woman is raped twice in one day (the 2nd rapist played by the director, no, it's cool. They were a couple, it's fine) and the PTSD transforms her into a revenge monster who shoots and murders any and all men she comes across.
#6: Night Train Murders.
Last House on the Left but set on a train. Classic Eyetalian ripoff but one of the few (like Fulci's Zombie) that is debatably better than the movie it ripped off. The wildly uneven tone and "wacky music" from LHOTL? Gone. The black and white morality? Gone. The brutality mostly remains but compared to LHOTL isn't nearly as much of a devastation.
#5: The House on the Edge of the Park.
The 3rd film of the "David Hess Rape-Revenge Trilogy" and yes, it has been referred to as such. Despite the title it has nothing to do with Last House on the Left aside from the casting of David Hess. Two men recalling a Of Mice and Men situation are invited to the home of posh rich people, get taken for a ride and prick-teased leading to them locking down the home and terrorizing the "Hot to trot rich bastards!" David Hess shines in his most fun role. Fun premise. Disco tunes. Directed by the director of Cannibal Holocaust and co-starring the guy who got a drill in the head in Fulci's City Of the Living Dead. Great film.
#4: I Spit On Your Grave.
The film that pissed off the critical elite and became the defacto "dangerous film" that movie critics honestly believed would corrupt people and cause men to rape women. Roger Ebert was especially responsible for propagandizing that shit. Classic tale of a woman rape by 4 men including a technically retarded guy and goes for revenge.
#3: Irreversible.
Gaspar Noe's masterpiece. A cruel, disturbing, disorienting, one-of-a-kind experience. A rape revenge movie on acid that oddly enough, Roger Ebert liked this one. Go figure?
#2: The Virgin Spring.
The film Wes Craven blatantly ripped off and hoped no one would notice. One of Bergman's many masterpieces but maybe one of the more accessible films in his catalog? Most people just straight up recommend The Seventh Seal when it comes to your "first time" Bergman experience but I would recommend The Virgin Spring.
#1: Star of David: Beauty Hunting AKA Beautiful Girl Hunter.
Think: proto American Psycho but set in Japan. A son who is the product of rape is hellbent on following the footsteps of his rapist biological father. This movie is not afraid to go to places and could be the best Japanese Pink film of all time. I think it's a masterpiece. Fight me.
Honorable mention:
Hitch-Hike. I really wish I could have had this in the list but perhaps it would be a David Hess overload? But it had less of an overall impact than LHOTL and for me is less "fun" than House on the Edge of the Park. It's actually the best of the trilogy and stars Franco (Django) Nero and also has the most interesting plot of the 3 movies. Some good gore but it's really a very well made thriller that delivers the sleaze you expect from a movie with David Hess. Highly recommended and it was David's personal favorite of the trilogy.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0288217/
#10: Rape Squad.
A group of raped women form a "rape squad" in search of the rapist that raped them and killing him. The rapist is wearing a hockey mask and predates Jason Voorhees by a few years. The same exact premise would be revisited in I Spit On Your Grave 3 which is part of the remake series for that IP.
#9: The Last House on the Left.
It's not my favorite Wes Craven film or my favorite of what has been dubbed "The David Hess Rape-Revenge Trilogy" but I can't lie when I say it still has an effect. It's wildly uneven movie but that 2nd act where the two girls are raped and murdered is still a punch to the gut. Trivia: it was originally supposed to be a porn film that was changed to be a feature film. Wes Craven's first film was a porno called Fireworks Woman and so was producer Sean Cunningham (Friday the 13th) first film was a porn.
#8 Death Wish part 2.
The follow up to the original classic and the last earnest film in the series before it went down the route of gloriously OTT 80's action. This entry has a very rough rape scene that was frequently cut out of prints for years and for that alone I think it qualifies for this list more so than the first film. If you've seen clips of part 3 and some of the later films and are expecting a fun 80's action film then this is not it. This is a grim little entry.
#7: Ms. 45.
Abel Ferrar's 3rd film (his first film being a porn titled 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy) was and still is very infamous and was hard as fuck to find an uncut version back in the day. A mute woman is raped twice in one day (the 2nd rapist played by the director, no, it's cool. They were a couple, it's fine) and the PTSD transforms her into a revenge monster who shoots and murders any and all men she comes across.
#6: Night Train Murders.
Last House on the Left but set on a train. Classic Eyetalian ripoff but one of the few (like Fulci's Zombie) that is debatably better than the movie it ripped off. The wildly uneven tone and "wacky music" from LHOTL? Gone. The black and white morality? Gone. The brutality mostly remains but compared to LHOTL isn't nearly as much of a devastation.
#5: The House on the Edge of the Park.
The 3rd film of the "David Hess Rape-Revenge Trilogy" and yes, it has been referred to as such. Despite the title it has nothing to do with Last House on the Left aside from the casting of David Hess. Two men recalling a Of Mice and Men situation are invited to the home of posh rich people, get taken for a ride and prick-teased leading to them locking down the home and terrorizing the "Hot to trot rich bastards!" David Hess shines in his most fun role. Fun premise. Disco tunes. Directed by the director of Cannibal Holocaust and co-starring the guy who got a drill in the head in Fulci's City Of the Living Dead. Great film.
#4: I Spit On Your Grave.
The film that pissed off the critical elite and became the defacto "dangerous film" that movie critics honestly believed would corrupt people and cause men to rape women. Roger Ebert was especially responsible for propagandizing that shit. Classic tale of a woman rape by 4 men including a technically retarded guy and goes for revenge.
#3: Irreversible.
Gaspar Noe's masterpiece. A cruel, disturbing, disorienting, one-of-a-kind experience. A rape revenge movie on acid that oddly enough, Roger Ebert liked this one. Go figure?
#2: The Virgin Spring.
The film Wes Craven blatantly ripped off and hoped no one would notice. One of Bergman's many masterpieces but maybe one of the more accessible films in his catalog? Most people just straight up recommend The Seventh Seal when it comes to your "first time" Bergman experience but I would recommend The Virgin Spring.
#1: Star of David: Beauty Hunting AKA Beautiful Girl Hunter.
Think: proto American Psycho but set in Japan. A son who is the product of rape is hellbent on following the footsteps of his rapist biological father. This movie is not afraid to go to places and could be the best Japanese Pink film of all time. I think it's a masterpiece. Fight me.
Honorable mention:
Hitch-Hike. I really wish I could have had this in the list but perhaps it would be a David Hess overload? But it had less of an overall impact than LHOTL and for me is less "fun" than House on the Edge of the Park. It's actually the best of the trilogy and stars Franco (Django) Nero and also has the most interesting plot of the 3 movies. Some good gore but it's really a very well made thriller that delivers the sleaze you expect from a movie with David Hess. Highly recommended and it was David's personal favorite of the trilogy.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0288217/
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