Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Movie review - "Motor Psycho" (1965) **1/2

Everyone knows Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! It's less well known that that movie was a kind of sequel to this one, which actually performed better at the box office. I think that's because this is so male centric, and Russ Meyer films aren't that interesting when they're about the men.

This is about three bikers driving around the countryside causing trouble - they rape a woman who happens to be married to the local vet (Alex Rocco, quite a well known actor). Instead of looking after his wife (she's not dead) he goes off driving looking for them. He comes across Haji, who the bikers tried to kill (they killed her husband).

They probably should have killed off Rocco's wife instead of keeping her alive - because you lose sympathy with him ignoring her and flirting with Haji

There's a few scenes of pure high camp, to indicate the direction Meyer would go in - one where Haji sucks out the poison from Rocco, and it's like they have sex; another where she distracts a guy who is going to kill her by demanding he sleep with her first and she rips off her clothes. This is all good fun.

Haji is excellent value. The actors who play the killer bikers aren't bad.

The rape stuff is unpleasant. I know that's an oxymoron but the scenes where the bikers trap the girl and she's screaming - it's yuck. There's too many men - too much focus on Rocco who is more concerned with revenge than his wife.

The acting is good, the action well done, and the cinematography effective.

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