Jessi's Girls

Jessi's Girls (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Jessica (Sondra Currie) and her husband, a Mormon couple, are heading out West to start a new life but all of that comes to a stand still when they are attacked by a group of men. The husband is murdered after being forced to watch Jessica get gang raped. The bandits think they have killed her too but she survives the ordeal, gets trained to use a gun and goes out for revenge.

JESSI'S GIRLS is one of director Al Adamson's least seen pictures and I'm really not too sure why because it turned out to be one of his better pictures. I've seen the majority of Adamson's work and there's no question that he had a desire to make movies more than an actual talent. He created some very memorable drive-in pictures but I don't think there's anyone out there that would try to convince you that he was a great director.

This film here is basically DEATH WISH but in a Western setting and with a woman doing the revenge. The film actually benefits from being very sleazy, which wasn't something that a lot of Adamson pictures could say. The opening gang rape sequence is fairly brutal and there's a great deal of violence throughout the picture. Adamson also allows plenty of nudity and sex throughout the picture and I couldn't help but think some of this sleaze would have helped pictures like BRAIN OF BLOOD or HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS.

Currie was fun to watch in the lead and we also had the likes of Regina Carrol, Jennifer Bishop and Rod Cameron show up. The cinematography is a tad bit rough and there's no doubt that there's very little here that is original. With that being said, if you're a fan of the director then this here is worth seeking out.

In the Old West, a Morman couple traveling south from Salt Lake City are waylaid by a small gang of dirtbags. The wife (Currie) later teams-up with an outlaw female, a wild prostitute and a squaw to set things a'right.

"Jessi's Girls" (1975) was influenced by Raquel Welch's "Hannie Caulder," "Macho Callahan," "The Animals" (aka "Five Savage Men") and "Cry Blood, Apache" from 4-5 years prior; and would influence the forthcoming "I Spit on Your Grave" and "Bad Girls," the latter debuting almost two decades later. It's basically an exploitation thriller with a Western milieu.

With the Hays Code ending in 1968, filmmakers were exalting in their new sense of freedom, especially Indie filmmakers. As such, this includes a tasteful nude scene involving Sondra bathing near a waterfall right out of the gate, as well as a disturbing gang rape sequence, which took an entire day to shoot and is very convincing. Regina Carrol (Claire) and Ellyn Stern (Kana) also have brief nude or semi-nude sequences. Regina, by the way, happened to be the wife of the director.

As a Western, there's a lot of good in this, such as Rod Cameron as the grizzled loner who assists Jessi. He was 64 during shooting and it's too bad his part wasn't bigger and their relationship developed. Meanwhile, the score and locations are pretty much top-of-the-line, not to mention some excellent touches like how Kana hates Apaches.

Despite all the good, the script needed a rewrite as it includes some weak, nonsensical parts, like a certain formerly devout person murdering a coach driver and seriously injuring a sheriff on a whim with no ostensible motivation. If someone argues that it was to save three captive women, they are total strangers and the protagonist has no idea if they're innocent or guilty. If it's because she hates men, her spouse was a good, loving man, and so was the compassionate geezer who saved her in the desert. Plus, why would she shoot a lawman when it was outlaws who did her wrong, the opposite of lawmen?

Bad writing like this takes the viewer right out of the movie.

The film runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, and was shot at Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah and Dee Cooper Ranch.

GRADE: C.

Like another reviewer said, this is one of Al Adamson's lesser known films. It was likely not as financially successful as his horror films. Yet, it's very well done. The script spends more time on character development, and the film has a less frantic pace than most of Adamson's horror films. Sondra Currie is outstanding in the lead role, and Regina Carroll is great in a strong, supporting part. This was likely a passion project for Adamson, as the western genre was said to be his favorite. Check out this film.

This "Western" is one of the cheapest movies I have ever seen. Highpoint of this otherwise absolutely dreary film is without question the appearance of former western-moviestar Rod Cameron, equiped with an unbelievable, grey St.Nicholas feltbeard. This scene is a true screamer. The rest is pure tedium with a few harmless sex scenes and some violence. The music only heightens the torture, because it seems that the composer came up with only one melody which is used to the point of exhaustion. After this film, you are ready for the sanitarium.

Jessi's Girl is a Western form the 1970s. It would be asinine to expect too much from this obscure movie. I describe it as much because I've never heard of it; not because it was bad. Overall, the story was compelling, with a few plot twist to keep you intrigued. The character development isn't drawn out and acting was solid for a 70s western. They made sure that the audience sympathized with the protagonist. As the story builds, you naturally root for her and plot for revenge. I highly recommend this movie. It's pretty good if you keep your expectations in a realistic place. Great way to spend Sunday morning.