| Review by: J. R.
McNamara |
| Date:
24/11/05 |
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Directors: Tom Hanson,
Barry Mahon, Les Emerson
Starring: Hal Reed,
Bob Jones, Ray Lynch/Rita Bennett, Sharon Kent,
Bob Oran, Michael Stearns, Dawna Rae, David Kelly
Screenplay: Ray Cantrell,
Manny Cardoza, Howard Edding
Country: USA
Year: 1970/1967/1970
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Sharpshooter Triple
Feature |
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| You gotta love Something Weird Video! They don't
whitewash their lesser releases…they REVELL
in them. These three films, The Zodiac Killer,
The Sex Killer and Zero
in and Scream, although not all containing
'sharpshooter' murderers, are classic
examples of exploitation films, but somehow they
are still kitschy fun and entertaining, if not just
for the nudity, then at least for the acting, or
the inappropriate soundtracks or just because they
are dumb.
The Zodiac Killer - Produced
and directed by Tom Hansen (who played Mongoose
in The Hellcats), The
Zodiac Killer is the tale of a motiveless
killer who is terrorizing San Francisco, ridiculing
the police with letters and phone calls, but who
is he…? This film is apparently based on
the facts in the case of the ACTUAL Zodiac Killer,
and features an introduction from a reporter who
was 'actually threatened by the Zodiac Killer'.
This film is worth its weight just for the philosophical
discussion about women over the age of 20 and
the worst wig ever put on film. This film has
no nudity in it but what it lacks in boobies it
more than makes up in violence.
The Sex Killer - Directed by
Barry Mahon, upon who Steve McQueen's character
in the Great Escape was based, The Sex
Killer tells the story of Tommy, a lonely,
introverted manikin factory worker, who is taunted
by his macho workmates and has an obsession with
watching women sun-baking topless from the roof
of a building using binoculars, but his fascination
becomes a dangerous one, as Tommy becomes more
obsessed, he turns to violence, murder and necrophilia.
Funnily enough, a premise like that would make
you think this film is like Maniac,
unfortunately this B/W picture is as dull as they
come, with some of the most plodding camera work
ever seen…but there is a hell of a lot of
topless women in it. Amusingly enough, POV shots
of sunbathing women through his binoculars change
viewpoints without him ever leaving the same spot
on the rooftop.
Zero in and Scream - This film,
directed by Lee Frost, who also directed Love
Camp 7, is about a lonesome man, whose
sense of solitude leads him to commit acts of
violence against well heeled amorous couples in
Hollywood. Of the three films this seems to be
the one that gave the disc the 'R'
rating. It is more a soft core porno with a murderer
thrown in. His lingering looks through the sights
of his gun BEFORE he has even cocked it are very
funny. One of the funniest endings to a sniper-themed
movie you will ever see.
Let's face it, when the makers of these
films made them, they weren't worried about
the effects of the Viet Nam War on young minds,
or how Kafka or Neitzche influenced modern thought,
or any sociological ramifications these films
might have, they wanted to make short movies with
a lot of nudity and/ or violence in them. The
story was only ever secondary to how many nubile
young girlies could be butchered and/or whip out
their jubblies for a bit of male oriented entertainment.
Luckily there were many such girls and we can
still enjoy them today, although while watching
I can't help but think that most of these
girls are probably grandmothers... |
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| Video |
| The quality of these films reflects the time and
circumstances in which they were made. Lots of marks
and scratches, but that seems to be Something Weird
Video's raison d'etre. |
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| Audio |
| As with the video, the sound is imperfect but
suitable for the subject matter. You don't
expect THX sound on this sort of film. |
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| Extra Features |
Trailers for 'The Sex Killer',
'Zero in and Scream', 'The Psycho
Lover',' Honeymoon of Terror'
and 'Aroused'.
Gallery of Sick Sixties Sex films with Audio
Oddities is a 10 Minute and 40 second montage
featuring audio of radio commercials for such
films as 'Wife-Child' and 'Poor
White Trash' and others played over images
of posters and one-sheets of films such as 'A
Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine' and
'Orgy of the Golden Nudes' and others
– this is one of those great montage sequences
that Something Weird Video is so good at. |
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| The Verdict |
| There is just so much on this disc it has to be
given an average score just for the quantity, as
for the quality, well, if exploitation sex films
of the sixties and seventies are up your alley,
you'll love it. The film and audio value varies
from feature to feature, but all in all you can
clearly see and hear everything that is going on,
and to be quite honest, the average quality adds
to the sleaziness of it. A warning though for fans
of the Brazilian or the shaven haven: you will be
disappointed. The women in Zero In And Scream
have more bush than Mike and Mal Leyland EVER saw. |
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| User Comments |
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0 user comments have been posted so far |
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| Regional Coding |
All |
| Format |
NTSC |
| Aspect Ratio |
4:3 |
| 16x9 Enhanced? |
No |
| Audio Options |
English DD 1.0 |
| Subtitles |
None |
| Country |
Australia |
| Distributor |
Siren Visual Entertainment |
| Running Time |
205 minutes |
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