Crime à froid

THRILLER: THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (Bo Arne Vibenius - Sweden 1974).

This is pretty dark and distressing stuff. Apparently Sweden does have some other cinematic export products besides Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg. This strange and quite original exploitation gem by Bo Arne Vibenius recently got a little more attention (if only a little) because of Quentin Tarantino, who paid homage to this film with KILL BILL and called it "the roughest revenge picture ever made". For an exploitation-flick, it's not that rough at all, but it definitely has some very potent scenes but nothing really gory, and most of all, the blood and the fighting look so deliciously fake, I doubt anyone could take it as very disturbing. Most of the time, nothing really happens at all, but there's a certain atmosphere that makes the film strangely compelling.

A young girl (Christina Lindberg) is growing up mute after a childhood sexual assault and spends years working on a remote farm. After missing the bus one day, she is picked up by a seedy well-dressed man who kidnaps the girl, gets her addicted to heroine, cuts her left-eye out, and forces her into slavery and prostitution. Any other girl would give in, but not this one. She seeks vengeance, and, fortunately, has the weekends off, so she can learn martial arts, race-driving and military weaponry.

In some earlier comments I noticed people were put off by some hardcore pornography, which there was in the earlier DVD-release under the title THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE. Distributor Synapse decided to release the tamer, but still quite brutal, American version THRILLER: THEY CALL HER ONE EYE, which is the only version I have seen. I cannot imagine hardcore pornography would improve the film, so I suggest watching this "softer" version instead.

This is not a film for those who want fast-paced action, snappy dialog or basic storytelling and since the main character is a mute girl who doesn't have a single line in the entire film, it does require some patience. And don't expect any ingenious fight scenes because the girl learned martial arts. The fight scenes are filmed in extreme slow-motion, quite tedious. The film also bares distinction in having a very strange sound mix by Ralph Lundsten, who composed a very memorable music score that one distinctly associates with this film, quite unique. Needless to say, the film was made on a shoestring, but Vibenius does show cinematic flair in the use of locations (on Öland) and some truly magnificent shots. What about that shot with the camera on top of a police car between the two sirens? Sheer beauty!

Hard to compare this film to anything I've seen. Well, it's a Swedish revenge-flick, so how many of these are there? It's unlike anything made before at the time (and up till now, supposedly). A film with some - mostly budget-related - shortcomings, but by any means, a genuine original.

Camera Obscura --- 7/10

Thriller is not your average film. It wasn't in 1974 and it isn't in 2005 (31 years later). I must say, that I find it hard to describe the film, although the plot is relatively simple. What makes it difficult to describe this film is the way it is presented. First of all, despite not being an adult film, there are a hand full of penetration scenes which neither arouse nor sicken, which are thus basically useless for the plot or entertainment (if ANY elaborate penetration-scene can actually add something to ANY film is another question). On the other side though, this there is little action in this one to qualify as an action film and I must admit that most action scenes are badly executed (the spontaneous combustion of cars being one example). The exception to this is the hand-combat scene at the docks, which is excellent. The shoot-outs on the other hand however are at times excruciatingly long and useless. On top of that, the film also suffers a bit from the lack of dialog, although I must honestly say, that the acting (especially by Christina Lindberg) was of such quality that you didn't feel like turning the film off (which is strange for an adult film IF this qualifies as one).

The film has other qualities as well though. I was especially baffled by the quality of the special effects and in some way I feel that the film actually deserves a spot in movie history. Despite being somewhat slow and really not action-packed, I feel that this film among the first female-lead action film ever made. I know credit is often given to Mrs. Weaver and Mr.Scott for that (Alien), but I think this one might be in for the race, don't you? Of course there are other films in that race as well, like Coffy, Foxy Brown and perhaps Cleopatra Jones, which I haven't seen, but this one ranks right up there as a female version of Death Wish. That fact alone and the fact that this is a cheap, slightly pornographic Swedish film make this one special - or maybe just a rarity. I just know what it certainly isn't, a must-see.

6,25 out of 10 (with a 6 given upon voting)

post scriptum: this film isn't cruel in any kind of way and really doesn't warrant a 20 minute cut to receive an R rating. The adult parts didn't last that long did they? If you're talking blood, Reservoir Dogs is much crueler if you ask me.

After being sexually molested as a small child, Frigga (the beautiful Christina Lindberg) becomes mute. Fast forward about 15 years, and after missing a bus to go to her therapy she accepts a ride from a shady character. Before long she's reduced to being a heroin addict with one eye (courtesy of her new pimp when she claws the face of her first trick). After a montage of her getting trained in guns, karate and driving as well as some ill-advised hardcore porn shots, she gets her revenge.

Let's start with what I liked about this film. Christina Linberg is very appealing, the ending is pretty damn good and i DID enjoy the film overall. What I din't like about the movie is those hard-core porn inserts which detract from the flow of the film and were NOT needed, the fact that EVERY fight was in sllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww motion bored me to no end, Despina Tomazani looked like a post-op transvestite as the lesbian trick, that upset me. But as I said all in all a solid exploitation film.

My Grade: B-

Synapse DVD Extras: TV spot; Theatrical trailer; "Thriller" trailer; double-bill trailer for "Hooker's Revenge (the reissue title for this film) and "Photographer's Models" ( the nonsensical reissue title of "House of Whipcord"); some outtakes; a few photo montages; a "story in pictures" segment that runs by at lightning speed; and cast and crew filmographies

Vengeance, or so the saying goes, is a dish best served cold. This film certainly exemplifies this maxim, and in the process comes across as if Bergman had done Deathwish. (Thriller's director had actually worked as on Persona as an assistant, and indeed some of the Nordic glumness here reminds one of the greater director) Its one of those titles which, long unavailable to the interested viewer, provokes a huge amount of curiosity and its arrival on DVD with some useful extras, is to be welcomed. It also has the cool cachet of a recommendation by Quentin Tarantino, who for purposes of reference duly inserted a one-eyed assassin of his own into Kill Bill.

Seen today Thriller remains a striking film, even much of the shock value has evaporated - apart from the hard core sequences as the heroine, by now a unwilling heroine addict, is abused and degraded. These moments were a principal reason for the film's truncation for the States and elsewhere, even though now they seem part and parcel of the message, reinforcing the intimate distress of what is being done. In fact apart from the opening and discreetly filmed child rape, as well as the assault on Madeline's eyeball about a third of the way in, there's hardly much action at all - and which when it does appear, given director Vibenius' infatuation with slow-mo violence (interesting at first, avant garde when continued, a tad tedious when it carries on) tends to slow matters down considerably. Much of the fighting is done in this same manner, and while the drawn out bullet ballets piercing shirts lead to certain fascination, the technique also shows up the cheap special effects on offer, or distractingly emphasises the illogicality of bodies recoiling *into* bullets and actors reacting too slowly to the impact. But whether deliberately or not such trick effects distance the viewer from the emotions of events; instead the mechanics of retaliation and murder are drawn out in almost fetishistic fashion, just as Madeline will savour coldly the extended demise of Tony in the closing scenes.

On the plus side the deliberate nature of it all, and the slow build up to Madeline's revenge, gives the audience ample time to side with the central character and contemplate the stages of her increasing torment. And during the wait, her enforced silence communicates far more than acres of embittered dialogue might have. The result is a degree of audience sympathy that's quite a way from the usual exploitation product, and by virtue of the fact that sometimes less means more, accumulates considerably more dignity for the victim along the way. There's still plenty of 70's cheesy decor on show (Madeline's principal abuser and abductor, Tony, in particular recalls a sleazy Jason King) but the film is distinguished by its refusal to hurry and draws out the angst suffered by the main character with quiet understatement, an effective process which gets under the skin.

Its a film worth seeing for this rather unique flavour; whether or not it will repay repeated viewings is less certain as, apart from Christine Lindberg's stoic performance, non of the other actors make much of an impression. Director Vibernius, who apparently took on this production to pay for the flop of his last, only made one more film after this, the even more exploitative Breaking Point. In Thriller, where perhaps he succeeded for the only time in creating a near art house style for grind house subject matter, he also appears as a hot dog salesman.

THRILLER is a very well done rape/revenge film in the same vein as LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT or I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. The storyline is different but the results are the same...

Girl is raped as a child which causes her to be mute. She is picked up by a slick-talking guy and taken out for dinner and drinks. Back at his house, he drugs her and shoots her up with heroin for several days, so by the time he allows her to wake up out of her heroin-stupor, she is an addict. At that point she is turned-out as a prostitute and given some cash and drugs as "payment". She is given some free time to herself, where she uses the money earned to take karate,shooting, and driving classes. Needless to say, when she becomes proficient enough in these disciplines, she uses her newly honed skills to go after those that did her wrong...

Christina Lindberg is excellent as the beautiful and seemingly innocent looking mute girl. She is a real pleasure to look at, and the fact that she's naked through a good portion of the film doesn't hurt either. There is some "controversy" surrounding this film due to a couple of hardcore sex scenes (obviously not Ms. Lindberg, unfortunately...) that appear to be cut from a bad European porno. The scenes are not necessary for the film but were obviously added to heighten the shock value of the film overall. Other than those few scenes, and the famous scalpel-in-the-eye scene, the violence in THRILLER is relatively tame by exploitation/horror standards. Overall a really good film, if you are into the rape/revenge genre - I think it's always cool to see a strong, sexy, female lead who kicks ass, one of the reasons that I gravitate toward this type of film. The eyeball and sex scenes may be a little much for the casual movie-goer, more "extreme" fans should like this one. Recommended...8.5 out of 10

NOTE: Synapse films now has a "Vengeance" addition in a yellow box (original cover is red) that is the same film minus the XXX scenes.