La Maison au fond du parc

This is interesting sleaze in a lot of ways, mainly because it's one of those movies that looks like nothing more than cheap, hateful sex trash when there are underlying ideas (even though I will not dare call this an intellectual film by any means). One thing I would like to say is that it is true that some of the things going on here can be viewed as romantic if you view it in a very unconventional way. One of the "rape" scenes definitely seems more like a rough, consensual sex game rather than a brutal, totally forced rape. At the same time, a lot of this can really be viewed more as about a guy (David A. Hess as Alex) who has had some serious female trouble at one point and is so terrified of a woman he loves leaving him that he responds animalistically with hateful, misogynistic acts of rape and abuse so that he can get close to all the women he likes in the only way he knows could work for him, no matter how cruel and damaging it is to anyone else. His companion Ricky is obviously someone who is mentally slow and hated by society, finding friendship only in scum like Alex, who he looks up to like a big brother/mentor type. He is shown to not know any better for the most part, but we know there is good in him when he not only can't bring himself to violate a woman, but he is also the one who tries to stop the terror from continuing. This leads to a twist ending that I thought was actually surprisingly clever for this type of film. This one's not quite as good as "The Last House on the Left" if you're going to compare movies with mean David A. Hess characters, but, despite similarities, this film stands up fairly well on its own, in my opinion.

This film is one of the best made of the video nasties. Alex (David Hess) rapes and strangles a young woman in the back of her car before the credits start to roll. Soon after a young rich couple pull into their garage to see if they can fix their car. They agree but only if they can tag along to their party. After fixing the car Alex and Ricky (John Morghen AKA Giovanni Lombardo Radice) tag along. They spend the best part of the film terrorizing the 5 yuppies at the party. There's gore, torture and rape applenty. Hess is awesome as the crazed rapist and Morghen is equally great as the retard. This film is one you must see. The ending is truly amazing.

Perhaps one of the most infamous violence-exploitation films ever made, and for good reason!

Slick rapist and his simple-minded buddy get invited to a snobbish get-together, where they quickly take over the house.

Disturbingly dark, oddly erotic, and subtly directed, Deodato's House on the Edge of the Park is an unforgettable tale of lust and violence. While the violence of this film is extreme, Deodato is careful not to let any of the characters become uninteresting. Even as the story is a somewhat convoluted, the occurrences on screen between the villains and their victims keep the audience well on edge. Also of note is the haunting music of Riz Ortolani, the song 'Do It To Me Once More' being especially appropriate for the film.

The cast is fairly good, the best is undoubtedly David Hess. Hess is no stranger to playing sleazy B villains, as he brings such fierceness to every character.

If you're seeking a sleazy exploitation film, or just a strong guilty pleasure, House on the Edge of the Park may just work! Definitely not for all (or even most) tastes.

** 1/2 out of ****

I've actually been searching for this film for ages. They sure won't sell it in the UK, so the best place is the internet. Alas, no joy. Without using a credit card (I'm not old enough to have one), it seemed like this notorious video nasty was never going to be added to my collection.

Then, on a trip to Paris, I wander into a video store, and what do you know? There are two copies of it, tucked away in a box half pushed under the bottom shelf. And it was in English too. I mean, do we put that down to fate, or what?

I'd already watched Last House on the Left, and so was familiar with David Hess, and the character he portrayed (who, let's face it, was just a re-named Krug). Even so, I wasn't prepared for the graphic nature of this film. Last House on the Left actually turned out to be a lot less graphic than I'd expected, and I'd even got the uncut version. Since both films fall into the same genre, I was expecting this to be somewhat similar in terms of content. Oh man, was that a mistake....

The most repugnant moments in this film are unmatched, and I suspect they will only be surpassed by Cannibal Holocaust/Cannibal Ferox. Acting was somewhat dire to begin with, but did seem to pick up as the film went on. Also, the numerous scenes of rape were never distasteful in their own right. Last House on the Left kept flicking back and forth between a rape scene and a comedy scene, which is distasteful in the worst sense. Yet in this, the rape was never glamourised, it was never presented as anything other than rape, and it was never short of gruelling (or graphic).

Plot? Well, there is one, but it doesn't truly unfold until the end. I must confess that, for someone who successfully predicted the ending of Se7en, I never saw the plot twist coming. But I agree with a lot of the comments on here. The characters at the party were in the large part, very unlikeable, and I ended up hoping Alex would murder them all, which I don't think was the desired effect.

Still, if this is your cup of tea, then you want to make getting this film a priority. It's only going to become and and more rare as time gets on. And they don't make them like this anymore...

Caution advised: Content is extreme.

7/10 - For all its faults, it's very powerful stuff. I lent it to three people in the first week I purchased it.

"The House on the Edge of the Park" has David Hess again playing a psychopathic murderer-this time, he's a New York City mechanic who canoodles his way into a private party alongside his friend, Ricky. At first his interests lie in bedding the women there, but things quickly unravel as his homicidal tendencies come to the fore.

This film is beloved by many fans of Eurosleaze, and for quite obvious reasons. It was Ruggero Deodato's follow-up to "Cannibal Holocaust," and while it's not nearly as interesting, it is just about as shamelessly gratuitous. There is little plot to speak of here, and much of the film's power hinges on Hess's ability to command the space he's in, using both his body and his voice; this is an easy feat for him as he was a natural charismatic, so the film can rest on that laurel alone to some degree.

The set pieces are gawdy and very much of the time period, which lends the film a period-piece feel, and there is a claustrophobic sensibility to the film because of its limited confines; that being said, it is noticeably dated, more so than many films of the '70s are today. The gore, when it hits, is ample and fairly well-designed. There is also plenty of gratuitous nudity, mainly of females, but even a hunky Hess shows the majority of his body during a pointless shower sequence with a female partygoer. The conclusion comes in a fashion that is fairly standard, but it ultimately satisfies.

Overall, "The House on the Edge of the Park" is a prime piece of grim and gruesome torture-horror from a filmmaker whose career has been in the art of violence. It's not nearly as good as some of Deodato's other films, but Hess provides a charismatic, appropriately sleazy villain (ala his turn s Krug in "Last House on the Left"), and there are some well-orchestrated scenes. A minor entry in the grand scheme of things, but a decently-made one, if not dated. 6/10.