Victims, directed by Tony Vorno, who also stars as the protagonist, opens with Paul, a deeply disturbed serial rapist, receiving therapy. From here, the viewer sees via flashbacks of Paul's abusive mother and her sadistic pimp, why Paul is the addled misogynist he is today. Of course, the therapy is too little, too late for Paul, who then embarks upon a hate fueled rape rampage. So far, so exploitative horror.
However, Victims transcends its grindhouse (and grimy) status somewhat by attempting to be a serious study in regards to its theme, and to its credit it achieves this and emerges as serious a study as Henry or Maniac (which the film has the closest parallels to) was anyway. Shot in 1977, it was delayed for various reasons and didn't get its release until 1982. Anyone watching it and thinking it's a Maniac rip off, should note that it actually predates Lustig's film by three years.
Victims won't be to everyone's taste. As a serious study of a serial rapist, it's less exploitative than one would expect, (and actually comes across as semi documentary in parts) so may have some fans feeling short changed in this regard, yet it's starkly effective overall. It's an ugly film with ugly characters. Even the nudity is unerotic and ugly. It also makes the brave decision to tackle child sexual abuse, albeit briefly. The rape scenes are shot in this stark, nasty tone, with certainly no interest in titillating the grindhouse 42nd St. crowd.
Overall, it's certainly its own stand alone film and an obscure one to boot. Victims didn't receive a theater release and only a handful of VHS copies were released in Holland. It got its one and only world premier theater release in the UK in 2007, courtesy of Fabfest press.
A true "lost" film, it's nonetheless worth seeking out for fans looking for something just a little different, and I'd personally really like to see Code Red or Synapse giving this one some well deserved love.
7/10, an ambitious and effective little flick.
