Runtime:
90 minutes
Directed
by: Michael Winner
Starring:
Rachael Kelly, Marie Masters, David Allen Brooks, Rocco Sisto, Lolita
Lorre (no, not related to Peter)
From:
Lorimar
What a Tuesday night I had...
Last night I saw a pair of sleazy 1984 motion pictures. Admittedly,
there are quite a few films which fit that label; in a few hours I'll
post the other review. This was the first of the double bill, and
between those two I had a hell of a night as I really basked in the
perverse thrills they both provided.
Last year, on sites like Rupert Pupkin Speaks I saw some people give praise to this movie, albeit not for filmmaking quality but rather sheer entertainment value. It wasn't the first I had heard of this but 2017 was the year it got plenty of buzz. No surprise then that someone will put out on Blu a movie that never received a disc release before. It could have been Warner Archive but instead it will be Scream Factory which will release it come September; both those companies do a good job with the flicks on their labels. As the online screaming rental was in fullscreen, I will be getting the Blu to see this in the correct aspect ratio.
The director is Michael Winner, apparent real-life madman; no surprise then this is at times baffling and falls apart if you look at it logically.. yet it is perversely entertaining. The opening is in media res although after the reveal from 17 year old Christie that she believes her stepfather is trying to kill her mother, the rest of the first half is flashbacks. She plays detective, although she is as awkward with that as she is with guys; you see, she's a virgin and the movie is based around sex. All the sex scenes are rather uncomfortable (although probably realistic) and they manage to advance the plot.
I don't want to reveal much else as there are surprises; just note that the entire film seems off-kilter and peculiar, which is part of Scream for Help's charm. A tawdry melodramatic tale where sexual intercourse is important is rather abnormal when it's combined with a 17 year old girl in a murder mystery and her love life ends up becoming important and there's even a message about abstinence... crazy, I say. The script is from Tom Holland-of all people-and I do not know how much of it was used for the movie; I don't know if if was Tom's idea to have Christie use the first and last names of people in conversation. If nothing else it is easy to remember the character names Paul Fox and Josh Dealey. I will presume it was Winner's idea for Christie in an early scene to wear a t-shirt that says MUFFS on the front!
Now, let me discuss the musical score. Christie has many posters hanging in her room, including those of Ian Hunter, The Commodores and Toots & The Maytalls. That makes her pretty cool in my eyes even if she has to get around via bicycle because she failed Driver's Ed. The synth parts of the soundtrack are from John Paul Jones; yes, that John Paul Jones. It sounded like what his bandmate Jimmy Page did for Death Wish II and Death Wish 3. Well, apparently Page helped out his pal there, at least according to IMDb.
This movie is quite the experience and some will be turned off by how unsubtle and whacked-out it is. Yet there are already plenty on Letterboxd who also liked this due to all the insanity (and probably also inanity) on display and all the unexpected moments. There's even an end credits song devoted to Christie, which delighted me to no end... especially after I realized it was a solo work from the lead singer of a popular English rock group. No, it wasn't Ian Hunter although that would have been tremendous also.
Last year, on sites like Rupert Pupkin Speaks I saw some people give praise to this movie, albeit not for filmmaking quality but rather sheer entertainment value. It wasn't the first I had heard of this but 2017 was the year it got plenty of buzz. No surprise then that someone will put out on Blu a movie that never received a disc release before. It could have been Warner Archive but instead it will be Scream Factory which will release it come September; both those companies do a good job with the flicks on their labels. As the online screaming rental was in fullscreen, I will be getting the Blu to see this in the correct aspect ratio.
The director is Michael Winner, apparent real-life madman; no surprise then this is at times baffling and falls apart if you look at it logically.. yet it is perversely entertaining. The opening is in media res although after the reveal from 17 year old Christie that she believes her stepfather is trying to kill her mother, the rest of the first half is flashbacks. She plays detective, although she is as awkward with that as she is with guys; you see, she's a virgin and the movie is based around sex. All the sex scenes are rather uncomfortable (although probably realistic) and they manage to advance the plot.
I don't want to reveal much else as there are surprises; just note that the entire film seems off-kilter and peculiar, which is part of Scream for Help's charm. A tawdry melodramatic tale where sexual intercourse is important is rather abnormal when it's combined with a 17 year old girl in a murder mystery and her love life ends up becoming important and there's even a message about abstinence... crazy, I say. The script is from Tom Holland-of all people-and I do not know how much of it was used for the movie; I don't know if if was Tom's idea to have Christie use the first and last names of people in conversation. If nothing else it is easy to remember the character names Paul Fox and Josh Dealey. I will presume it was Winner's idea for Christie in an early scene to wear a t-shirt that says MUFFS on the front!
Now, let me discuss the musical score. Christie has many posters hanging in her room, including those of Ian Hunter, The Commodores and Toots & The Maytalls. That makes her pretty cool in my eyes even if she has to get around via bicycle because she failed Driver's Ed. The synth parts of the soundtrack are from John Paul Jones; yes, that John Paul Jones. It sounded like what his bandmate Jimmy Page did for Death Wish II and Death Wish 3. Well, apparently Page helped out his pal there, at least according to IMDb.
This movie is quite the experience and some will be turned off by how unsubtle and whacked-out it is. Yet there are already plenty on Letterboxd who also liked this due to all the insanity (and probably also inanity) on display and all the unexpected moments. There's even an end credits song devoted to Christie, which delighted me to no end... especially after I realized it was a solo work from the lead singer of a popular English rock group. No, it wasn't Ian Hunter although that would have been tremendous also.
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