I have always seen exploitation films as one that exploit how you feel about someone doing heinous and reprehensible acts. I think the best exploitation films are the ones where you side with the bad guys. Look no further than David Hess as Alex here. Alex is a character who takes what he wants as she says on several occasions. I've never seen a film where I felt like rooting for someone worse. David Hess is so charismatic in the role that I can't help but be along for the ride with him. I read somewhere that this movie was used in a study of people reacting to sexual assault in movies. I can't think of a more appropriate movie for such a thing because this movie has several beautiful women in it and at times I wasn't sure if I thought I liked what I was seeing or not. If I liked what I'm seeing that makes me sadistic, but if I don't I'm in denial. Any film that makes me feel like that works for me. Alex's relationship with Ricky and the rich people versus working class in another theme that makes this movie more than just surface level. I can't say enough about Riz Ortolani's haunting score.
Synopsis: Two low-life punks invite themselves to a party at a posh villa and after being taunted by their snobbish hosts, hold everyone hostage and subject them to various forms of torture and mayhem.
The film begins with Alex (David Hess) driving on the New York highways and you see some great views of the New York City skyline at night. He follows a woman in her car and when they are isolated somewhere he breaks in and says he followed her from the discoteque. He then proceeds to rape her. The scene transitions to sometime later where Alex and his friend Ricky (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) are getting ready to go out for the night. A well dressed couple in nice car comes asking for help to fix their car. Ricky fixes the problem. Tom (Christian Borromeo) and Lisa (Annie Belle) then invite Alex and Ricky over to their villa for a party with other friends. Before leaving Alex grabs a switchblade.
Once at the villa Alex and Ricky meet the other two friends Glenda (Marie Claude Joseph), Gloria (Lorraine De Selle), and Howard (Gabriele Di Giulio). The slower Ricky thinks that his dancing is actually amusing the richer socialites but really they are degrading him as Alex points out. Lisa then teases Alex in the shower by first seemingly seducing him but then leaving him alone. Meanwhile Ricky is being hustled out of his money in a rigged poker game. Alex snaps and threatens the other men with a switchblade and when Howard fights back they tie him up.
The second half of the film consists of Alex and Ricky, specifically Alex subjecting the friends to various forms kidnapping, torture, and rape. You never turn on Alex fully however until the younger, possibly underage Cindy (Brigitte Petronio) shows up and Alex proceeds to mutilate her.
There are many things going on in this movie past the surface level. These rich people clearly are not ready for the situation they are about to find themselves in and Alex proves more than capable of taking the situation over. Howard tries to fight back but is quickly overpowered and that is when Hess's memorable quotes start "street fighting you don't learn by watching Telly Savalas on TV." The rich people prove they are selfish and willing to take advantage and make fun of those less savvy than they are. Ricky does not know he's being cheated at cards, and he doesn't know that that when the people tell him to strip when dancing that they are really degrading him.
There is a weird hero worship going on between Alex and Ricky. Whether or not it's an older-younger-brother relationship, father-son relationship, or even some kind of homoerotic relationship, Ricky and Alex are more than just two friends going off for a party. Toward the end of the film Gloria seduces Ricky in what seems to be a consentual sex scene. Ricky chased her down after she tried to run away and she gives into him. Earlier in the film Ricky had tried to have sex with her in front of everyone else but didn't like how afraid she seemed. Alex told him to do it front of everyone else. Alex then threatens Gloria with a switchblade to calm her down. As Ricky continues to be apprehensive he even tells Ricky "Am I going have to show you how to do it?" After Ricky has sex with Gloria, Gloria offers to just leave with him. Ricky refuses to leave Alex. Once back in the house Ricky brags and calls Gloria a "twat," same as Alex had called Glenda earlier. So Ricky's mood and how he acts can change based on want to impress Alex. At the end of the film Ricky has had enough of Alex cutting Cindy apart and tries to stand up to him but Alex cuts him with the switchblade badly on the stomach. Alex then gives a really impassioned monologue about how it has always been him and Ricky together. "They did this to you! They tried to turn you against me! Look at em'! What do they know about friendship anyway?!"
As a person on the spectrum I really relate to Alex and Ricky's relationship. I can still remember kids exaggerating stories to me when I was a kid because I wouldn't know if they were joking or not. When I watch this movie I wish I had a friend like Alex to help defend me. I think most people do. That is until you need to stand up for yourself or when they go too far, as Ricky does at the end.
Spoiler Section
While Alex is giving his monologue Tom goes to get a gun hidden in a drawer. He then shoots Alex. All of the guests, especially Howard take turns beating him and mocking him in the same ways he had done to them earlier. Howard says to him "Cindy you're gonna die," the same thing he had said to Cindy earlier. Howard also pushes him back into the pool which is what Alex had done when they fought earlier. Tom calls him "faggot" something Alex had done to Tom numerous times. The ending twist is finally revealed that the woman Alex raped at the beginning was Tom's sister. This twist can actually be seen coming, specifically at the beginning where you know that Tom and Lisa sought out their mechanic shop and they don't want Ricky to come with them. I think they underestimated Alex's ability to gain control of the situation not only because they are rich and haven't gone through much adversity, but also because Alex is a veteran, you can see his dog tags. In a way this could be seen as a Vietnam veteran's revenge fantasy. Cindy showing up when she does could be seen as a plot hole but who knows when they invited her and if they forgot to call it off, something rich people would probably do by the way. At the very end of the film Tom even asks Lisa if she got a thrill over what they went through because in the end they were in as much control as they were during that poker game. It sort've asks do rich people like showing their power over people even if they aren't in control the whole time. They brought Alex there to kill him and really him fighting back puts their plan into place even more as he roughs them up enough to make it look like self defense.
I love this movie for the reasons I've said all ready, and I don't want to leave out the fact that Lorraine De Selle, Annie Belle, Marie Claude Joseph, and Brigitte Petronio are all stunning and get naked in this movie and I can't deny I like seeing it. What I don't necessarily like seeing is how they treated, but that is the conflict of this movie and why it exploits you. You never want to root for the rich people because they are the type of people who take advantage of you as well. David Hess is just awesome. The way he reads his lines, the way he holds a switchblade, the way he smiles just makes him the perfect sadistic villain. I even love how the movie looks, and Sergio D'Offizi also did the cinematography for Jungle Holocaust and the Suspicious Death of a Minor. The bright light colors at the villa enhance how people look and the feel of the rich person's villa setting. Riz Ortolani's "Sweetly," song is as haunting as anything he's ever done.
Rating: 9.5/10
English Dubbing Cast:
- Susan Spafford dubs Annie Belle as Lisa
- Steven Luotto dubs Christian Borromeo as Tom
- Pat Starke dubs Lorraine De Selle as Gloria
- Frank Von Kuegelen dubs Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Ricky
- Gregory Snegoff dubs Gabriele Di Giulio as Howard
Trivia: Karoline Mardek, the woman playing the character David Hess's Alex rapes in the beginning of the film was Hess's wife
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