Strictly speaking in terms of viewing conditions, this was probably my worst experience ever. The only version of "Taxi Killer" I was able to track down is a lousy VHS-rip, and the original tape was obviously heavily damaged. The screen turns to black quite often, there's wear and tear from start to finish, the sound regularly vanishes, and one of the characters kept talking in Italian without subtitles. If you're reading this, good people at Arrow Video or 88 Films, "Taxi Killer" is a perfect next title to release on a fancy Blu-Ray DVD edition!
Despite the terrible quality, I persevered, because I absolutely wanted to see this feminist vigilante/rape-and-revenge thriller directed by Stelvio Massi. Me loves the hundreds and thousands of "Death Wish" rip-offs; - especially when they're Italian and have a few creative gimmicks (like the vigilantes being female cab drivers, for instance).
On her first night as a yellow cab driver, Jenny Sullivan gets robbed, beaten, and raped by four thugs. The police don't do anything, not even when poor Jenny - and her parents - continue to get harassed by the rapists who have all her data from the stolen purse. When the scum also burns Jenny's father alive, she forms a posse with the only other five female taxi drivers in Chicago to hunt and kill them. Curiously enough, the police do have enough resources to look for the vigilantes...
"Taxi Killer" has a good first half but gets boring rather quickly. Of course, there are only so many ways you can kill someone by using a taxi, and thus the action is quite monotonous. With 105 minutes, the film is far too long for an exploitation B-movie. It's fun and definitely recommended to admirers of Italian trash, but I would wait for a proper DVD-version first.
