The Kiss of Her Flesh

This was the final of three sickie films from director Michael Findlay and his wife, Roberta Findlay. It has to be seen to be believed, and is easily the most gratuitous in every respect - the sex, the violence, you name it. I feel sort of guilty giving it three stars, but this is as good as these things get when that offbeat mood strikes for softcore sleaze and homegrown horror.

Findlay portrays misogynistic madman Richard Dennings who still hates women two years after he caught his wife messing around with another guy. He continues his mayhem of torturing and killing every girl on the planet after getting them nude. Among his many devices include electrocution, lobster claws (!) and even some of his own tainted man juice (!!) This film is totally deranged.

Also featured are two sisters who are - err, - more than a little glad to be reunited after so many years, and a little more of a plot this time, as leading lady Uta Erickson (who quite often can't seem to stop laughing) becomes a heroine determined to stop the murdering lunatic once and for all. Adding much to the sinful proceedings are a lot of outdoor shots of upstate New York on a snowy winter. *** out of ****

Schlockmeisters Roberta and Michael Findlay top their other excursions into depravity with this rather unsettling horror flick.Again it features Michael Findlay murdering nude women in a variety of grisly ways."The Kiss of Her Flesh" is a surprisingly effective and fast-paced piece of sleaze.With its creative murder weapons-tire iron,lobster claw,electrical earring wiring,blowtorch and poisoned sperm-"The Kiss of Her Flesh" has more in common with such later slasher films as Tony Maylam's "The Burning" than with the usual 60's nudie-roughie."Flesh Trilogy" was also the first slasher series,featuring the eye-patch-wearing psycho returning to wreak more havoc on scantily-clad women."The Kiss of Her Flesh" is definitely the most depraved of the series.It is loaded with pretty explicit nudity,sometimes full-frontal and there is plenty of lesbian sex on display.The acting is stiff and the gore is amateurish,however the air of misogyny is simply overwhelming.A must-see for any self-respecting fan of sleaze!

Kiss of Her Flesh, The (1968)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Thankfully the final film in director Michael Findlay's Flesh trilogy. Once again the psycho killer stalks the streets looking for women to kill. Boring on all accounts, as is the entire trilogy. These three films could have been edited down and together into a twenty minute movie and they'd still be slow and dull.

Curse of Her Flesh, The (1968)

** (out of 4)

Second in the "Flesh Trilogy" has Richard Jennings (Michael Findlay) returning, stalking the streets for more women to kill. The bigger budget adds some better production values and the cinematography is pretty good here. The jazz music score helps move things along and Findlay does a better job with the story structure. However, there's still way too much dead space to be fully entertaining.

Touch of Her Flesh, The (1967)

* (out of 4)

Richard Jennings (Michael Findlay) catches his wife in bed with another guy so he runs out of the house only to be hit by a car. Now, confined to a wheelchair, he decides to take revenge on any hooker/stripper he comes across. One of the first "slashers", this NYC cheapie might be one of the first of its kind but that doesn't make it a good movie. Like most of these films, the biggest problem is the fact that we've got 20-minutes worth of story and then 50-minutes worth of pointless and boring strip scenes. To me, that's why short films are often a lot better than trying to push something that isn't there into the feature category. Wall to wall nudity can't save this one. The first film in the "Flesh" trilogy.

This is the third and final entry in the Findlay's "..of Her Flesh" trilogy ("The Curse of Her Flesh", "The Touch of Her Flesh") and is the most twisted one of the bunch. Just like the previous two, the action centers around the main character who thinks all women are evil whores and devises many a clever way to kill them.

And that's where all the laughs (albeit uncomfortable laughs) come in. He kills women with lobster claws, poisonous semen, car cigarette lighters, acid douche treatments, and etc. The nudity and sex scenes are relatively graphic for 1968 and the bongo beatnik soundtrack is great. Of course the acting is awful and the directing is bare-boned, but that's to be expected.

Not for everyone, for certain, but among the most depraved in exploitation cinema, this one is a classic in that regard.