Operation: Hot Water

This one's about two prostitutes who just got out of jail to start a new life in a small town, only there's one small problem, and it's name is Junior. The box makes it sound like this is your classic slasher flick, comparing itself to both "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" and clearly stating it's "a cut above the rest." Here's the problem with that, the movie's only 80 minutes long and the only things that die by the hour mark are a plant and a dog. But any movie that features a scene where a girl makes a gas bomb out of her bikini can't be all bad.

Oh goodness this movie brings back memories, i bought this video 10 years ago, at a closing down video store, i was only 15 years old at the time. "HOW DID THEY LET ME BUY THIS VIDEO?? IT HAD A TOPLESS GIRL AT THE BACK OF THE COVER the guy at the store just looked at me after he saw the cover and didn't say anything. The movie is actually called "HOT WATER"(1985) in Australia but i never knew it is also known as "JUNIOR".

Anyway this is the story:(FROM BACK OF INSERT) Two beautiful young women suddenly find themselves at the centre of a terrifying whirlpool of horrifying violence, when they become the prime targets of a systematic reign of terror by a vicious gang of bikies. A rundown restaurant and a waterfront marina looks to be a golden opportunity for a fresh start after a life on the streets and a recent stretch in prison. Moving in they find themselves the unwilling landlords of the gang, who have long regarded the marina as their own. The merciless confrontation between the two sides rapidly escalates into a murderous, bloody climax.

"If you can get your hands on this title buy it!"

The main review on this page says it's a wannabe slasher. Well it's not a slasher. And I don't think it ever intended to be. Just clearly a film that was marketed as one because they didn't know which way to pigeon hole it. Just as combat shock was marketed as a war movie when actually its a gritty depiction of post traumatic stress disorder and mental illness. Granted this movie does have some hokey and schlocky moments (the mother and some genuine under reaction in a few scenes) But I think there is more going on here than just another mindless Texas chainsaw rip off.

I'll focus in a on a few key points as to why I think this is a cut above.

First off the strong female leads. These two girls are bad ass and don't take sh*t from anyone.

The building tension though out the film. From the first encounter the girls have with junior and his posse you can tell they are in over their heads. As juniors pranks escalate in cruelty the level headed girls start to unravel. You constantly see people over stepping their boundaries, coming into the girls house, chasing them around on boats, calling them every name under the sun. It builds a tension right into the sh*t kicking climax.

The whole fish out of water scenario. As much as this film may borrow from I spit on your grave, Texas chainsaw and psycho it also has elements of deliverance and straw dogs. It's really an interesting mix.

Don't let the other reviews fool you. Sure some of the dialog is cheesy and you have to suspend belief in a few scenes but it's a solid flick with some genuinely likable and despicable characters. Not just another hack n slash gore fest (which I also love) but there's more too it.

I'd say definitely check it out

JUNIOR (or HOT WATER) is a Canadian film that's amazingly trashy, but in a very good way. The film starts out with these two female convicts who are released from jail (the two women look pretty good for jailbirds). Anyway, one of the funniest moments I've ever seen happens the minute they leave prison: they meet the pimp/drug dealer and what ensues ALWAYS makes me laugh out loud whenever I watch it or think about it. It's so over-the-top exploitive, violent and unintentionally funny that the whole beginning of JUNIOR was worth the whole one buck I paid for the video. The beginning of film is a must see for lovers of trash. Not that there isn't more trash afterwards (there's lots more) but once the story settles down at the waterfront hotel/bar place, well, the level of lunacy seen at the beginning mostly disappears (except for a few places here and there, certainly when Junior is around). What's fun about JUNIOR is that the producers knew they were making an exploitation flick and they makes no bones about it.

I actually like almost everything about this genuine "So Bad It's Good" movie. The Canadian locals pretending to be the US. The bad over-acting. The all-over-the-map story, that veers from one genre to the next but eventually settles in full horror at the end. There are loads of deaths, a great boat scene, attempts at rape, an elderly woman who looks like a man in drag, some beefcake, gratuitous nudity, and some chainsaws, of course. The only thing missing from the whole "kitchen sink" package was some lesbian scenes between the two gals. Had the film included some lesbian action, JUNIOR would have been a complete smörgåsbord of exploitation elements under one title. Arf!!!

I rate this 2 stars as an average film but rate it 8 stars as a trashy film.

A bit too much of the first half consists of the country boys having a good old time and terrorizing the always half nude ladies. The raw sex and predatory stalking is fun for sicko fans, but not very frightening. It's all shocking, but I would have preferred some murder with my raunch. Due to the low body count it is inferior to the similar psycho films, "Truth or Dare", "Mother's Day", "Skinner", and "Eaten Alive".