The Only House in Town

The Only House in Town (1970)

There's very little plot to this sexploitation film. The first scene has a woman being chased by some hippies to a room where she is gang raped. We follow this up with various scenes of orgies that contain very little story.

THE ONLY HOUSE IS TOWN is a film that was written and directed by the one and only Edward D. Wood, Jr. and I'm going to guess his name alone is why people are going to be attracted to this film. It's history in the Wood filmmography is rather confusing as is the film, which was finally released back in 2016, although it didn't get too much fanfare, which is a bit mysterious since it was technically a lost film for several decades. So, how is the picture? To be honest, it's really hard to rate it and that's why I'm not even going to bother giving it a star rating.

I will say that if you're a fan of Wood then it's certainly worth watching but I'm going to guess that the film was never fully completed or perhaps this softcore version just hasn't been put together. I say this because the soundtrack really comes and goes and there are moments where the vocals are so poorly recorded that you can't hear what they're saying.

What's even more interesting is that you can hear someone directing the actors (Wood?) throughout the long orgy and this here is rather fun. I mean, there are a couple times when the man tells the actors to get out of the way so that we can get a better look at Uschi Digard who plays several different roles here. There are also a few goofs left in the film including the actors constantly looking up towards the director to see if they should keep going. All of this makes me believe the film was never fully completed here but apparently it did get a theatrical screening. Was there also a hardcore version made?

As it stands, this fifty-three minute film is worth watching if you're fascinating in the world of Ed Wood. Technically speaking there's nothing good about the film and the lack of dialogue means we don't have any of that classic Wood dialogue. Still, I've seen dozens if not hundreds of softcore movies from this era and this here is no better or worse than most.

The film is bad, very bad. I won't be the one to dismantle the universal myth that elevated Ed Wood Jr. To "the worst film director in history." However, and precisely for this reason, perhaps we could leave a place in our videographic hearts for one of the last films directed by this prolific and delightfully indolent character, who is already part of an indelible legend.

Here, the plot (if it can even be called so) follows Margaret (played by the wonderful and voluptuous Uschi Digard), a young woman who finds herself in serious trouble, and who desperately flees from the authorities, seeking refuge in a lonely and isolated mansion in the middle of nowhere. However, what initially seems like a safe hiding place soon becomes an even more dangerous place. The house is inhabited by a group of characters hiding dark secrets and engaging in sexploitation activities.

The film is set in the final stage of the filmmaker's career, showing an evolution toward erotic cinema with a clear focus on sexual exploitation, with elements of crime drama. The film offers only erratic and anarchic orgies and gives Uschi Digard as the backbone of the narrative. And, of course, showcases Wood's typical stylistic virtues at their best. In other words, none.

From a technical standpoint, Wood's direction is pathetically distinctive, characterized by an approach that prioritizes the absence of plot progression over formal perfection. The cinematography, although modest in its resources, seeks to create an atmosphere of confinement and tension within the confines of the mansion. The editing features abrupt and confusing cuts that defy the conventions of the most basic cinematic orthodoxy. "The Only House in Town" logically does not aim to compete in technical or narrative refinement with the usual studio productions, but rather to position itself as a representative piece of its own cinematic "style." For scholars of Wood's work, and those of us who love his "trash cinema", "The Only House in Town" offers an interesting perspective on how a director can be so lazy, so negligent, and yet so brilliant.