Axe (1977, Frederick R. Friedel)

Repulsion meets Last House on The Left in this ultra-low-budget indie. After committing a series of crimes, a group of nasty thugs find refuge in an iolated farm where a shy teenager girl lives with her disabled grandfather. The bad guys terrorize the family but it does not take long before the tables are turned on the ruffians. I liked how Axe (aka Lisa, Lisa) doesn’t seem in a hurry to get anywhere. It’s deliberately paced but it is not boring. It is a sort of American Gothic tale. However, even at 66 minutes, I felt the film could have benefited from a bit of trimming. The acting is awful but no one watches these types of films for the acting or script. In the starring role of Lisa, Leslie Lee does have an ethereal beauty that helps the film. If you are a fan of exploitation, you may want to check it out. Mainstream viewers will probably hate it, though.

~ by gelpi2008 on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.