[Feature] Trailer Trash (27/06/14)

Welcome to a new feature on this blog that we're dubbing Trailer Trash. What is Trailer Trash? Every Friday, I will share with you -- our fine readers -- a seedy, sleazy, trashy trailer of my choosing. This feature will run in cohesion with our sleaze obsessed friends over at Neon Maniacs. So, enjoy a slice of depravity, you sicker than sick bastards (whom I love dearly).


THRILLER: A Cruel Picture

Also Known as 'Hooker's Revenge,' 'They Call Her One Eye,' or its original title 'Thriller: En Grym Film'.

This moderately budgeted export from Sweden falls under the Rape/Revenge shows that Sweden has more to offer besides Ingmar Bergman art-house affair. Labeled under the Rape/Revenge sub-genre, the film tells the tale of a mute young girl who works on a remote farm. After missing her bus to work, she is picked up by a well-to-do if not seedy as all hell stranger, who gets her addicted to heroin, cuts her left eye out, and then forces her into a sex slave and prostitution ring. Needless to say, but our heroine reaches her breaking point and says "enough is enough." Leaving her to reap her bloody path of Vengeance.

Upon its initial release, the film was so hardcore in its content that the Swedish Censorship board forced its Director -- Bo Arne Vibenius -- to cut the runtime down from its original 107 minute length to 86 minutes. At that time, the bulk of what hit the cutting room floor was the pornographic hardcore sex scenes. When it came across the pond to America under the new title "They Call Her One Eye", the film was further cut down to 82 minutes, making for a slightly softer yet still brutal version. Since then, the film has now been restored in its classic 107 minute form.

The film does take some patience as the pacing is somewhat meticulous. Being a mute, our protagonist never once utters a single line of dialog. Christina Lindberg turns in a decent performance none the less.  At one point, it was said that the producers took out a life insurance policy for Lindberg. Due to the fact they were using real ammunition in the guns used in the action sequences. A stage direction that would be completely unheard of in the modern age of filmmaking where "safety comes first." A true sign of the maverick, free-spirited, and gung-ho filmmaking era.

It's far from perfect. Our heroine learns the ways of martial arts. Lending an excuse for some tedious slow motion fight sequences that don't really work and only serve to highlight the shortcomings of such a Moderate budget. But it is unquestionably a brutal, and disturbing little number that is worth seeing if you're into Rape/Revenge flicks.

-Daniel M