La fille en laisse

I recently watched Pets (1973) on Tubi. The story follows a young woman escaping an abusive home life, only to find herself navigating the streets, unsure of who to trust and who will exploit her. Just when she thinks she understands both sides of the track, her world is turned upside down.

Directed by Raphael Nussbaum (Speak of the Devil), the film stars Joan Blackman (Blue Hawaii), Ed Bishop (2001: A Space Odyssey), Candice Rialson (Hollywood Boulevard), and K. T. Stevens (Corrina, Corrina).

This is a '70s grindhouse film with a distinct feel. The main character is wild and unpredictable, leading the story through unexpected twists and turns. The writing is better than expected, with over-the-top dialogue and outrageous circumstances that make for entertaining moments. A particular dog scene is hilarious, and the dance and "water fun" sequence is definitely memorable. The conclusion perfectly ties together the film's unpredictable journey.

Overall, Pets is a unique and worthwhile entry in the grindhouse genre. I'd give it a 6.5/10 and strongly recommend.

One of the guilty pleasures of the 70's drive-in movies was the runaway/hitch-hiker movies. Some sexy mujer dressed in a skimpy halter top and short-shorts or a micro-mini with her hip cocked and her thumb stuck out, hitching a ride while cheesy, hippy-dippy 70's music plays on the soundtrack. In the sexy hitchhiker sweepstakes, Candace Rialson edges out Misty Rowe in "The Hitchikers" mainly because she went on to have a minor exploitation career and a bit part as a co-ed who tries to seduce Clint Eastwood in the "Eiger Sanction", while Misty Rowe went on to, uh, "Hee Haw". Like "The Hitchikers" this film (Rialson's debut) is cheerfully amoral and completely directionless. Rialson's character ties up a middle-age lech who offers her a ride and rapes HIM (that'll teach him) while her partner-in-crime throws his dog off a cliff. She then moves in with a lesbian artist but is too dense to realize it until they end up in bed together. Of course, she can't resist also getting it on with a random guy who breaks into their house, so the jealous lesbian shoots him. She runs away and finally ends up on a leash in some rich weirdo's private zoo (obviously this was NOT a feminist film). There's not as much sex as you'd expect, but Rialson is topless or seriously under-dressed most of the movie.

Young runaway, Bonnie (Candice Rialson), gets herself into pickle after pickle for a little over 90 minutes and you do ask yourself "what's the point of this all again?" Still, it's incredibly entertaining to watch Bonnie get involved with a not-so-friendly hustler who uses a squirt gun to terrorize men, a possessive lesbian artist who wants Bonnie all to herself, a random drifter, and, finally, a perverted art collector who wants to keep Bonnie as one of his pets.

The story is basically just a series of vignettes and it's as if the writers wrote one of them, came back to the story a few years later, wrote another, and so on and so forth. They feel oddly disconnected and our protagonist never really does much of anything besides thumb rides and accept too good to be true offers from strangers. I'm assuming there's something to be said about female liberation during the film's climax, but who knows?

Pets' messaging might be weird, but it's never less than entertaining and more than worth your time.

Although they are linked, this is essentially a trio of exploitation shorts on the subject of possessiveness. We have the stylish black lady happy to humiliate and rob the well off white man, the lesbian artist who takes in a model and the gallery owner who keeps a very special zoo in his basement. Candy Rialson is perfect in the lead as she is used by them all, even if as in Voltaire's Candide, she gets a fair bit for herself along the way. This is super sexy seventies sleaze and with dodgey pop psychology and all, a delightful treat. There is a cute central performance from Candy Rialson as Bonnie, chauvinism a plenty, a sublime theme song and spot on costumerie. Not to mention a girl in a lion's cage and a spot of whipping.

While "Pets" might be shelved among other "erotic thrillers", it's much too relaxed for that genre, and sexuality is generally portrayed as fun, not dangerous. Dangerous, here, is linked with possessiveness, and so the movie is firmly grounded in the 60s with their non-possessive ways. Also very 60ish - the meandering plot, with our "heroine" Bonnie (nice play) drifting through various more or less strange episodes and always getting some satisfaction out of it. The small scale of the production is clearly visible (sometimes painfully) and takes away some enjoyment, but overall Pets is a fun romp with very few boring moments and some real erotic tension without much sleaze.