Exposé

EXPOSE, aka THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL, is a one-time video nasty now consigned to be forgotten by the weight of years. The truth is that it's a grotty little low-budget thriller that borrows some of the rape-revenge material of STRAW DOGS and turns it into a unique but only semi-successful tale of madness and murder.

The tale features a dubbed Udo Kier playing a writer who retires to his remote country home in order to work on his latest novel. While there, he must contend with the antics of his randy mistress Fiona Richmond (a one-time softcore starlet) and youthful secretary Linda Hayden (BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW).

Nothing much actually happens in this movie, and the expected bloodshed and sexual material is relatively tame by modern standards; certainly it has been eclipsed by far more explicit stuff in the past couple of decades. It's hard to see what all the fuss was about, really. Saying that, the film does boast a good performance from Hayden, at least, and it contains curios unique to its era: cameos from future stars Karl Howman and Vic Armstrong, and a genuinely sleazy, unsettling atmosphere straight out of the 1970s. No classic for sure, but well worth a look for fans of the material and the era.

Kier is a fine, photogenic actor, but he's miscast (his voice is dubbed although this could've been intentional) in this otherwise suspenseful psychological thriller playing a deeply insecure and frustrated novelist whose next book is proving challenging to write, leading to the employment of Hayden as his typist. Hayden is initially a lot more relaxed but this soon changes when she begins to exploit her employer's fragile mood and psychological weaknesses.

Well photographed on location with a taut narrative and minimalist dialogue, first time director Clarke cultivates a general unease that's gripping but sporadically distracted by the superfluous titillation which seems to have no genuine plot justification other than for commercial purposes (note Richmond's appearances, most of her dialogue consists of moaning).

Mysterious and sensual it's also extremely bloody (burgundy not claret as Kier insists) with well-paced tension and a few decent shocks at regular intervals to hold the wandering attention. There would've been a dozen different ways to resolve the plot, and whilst it answers most of the lingering questions, it's not the most satisfying conclusion ever conceived. Better than average, but never really reaches its full potential.

Your reaction to 'House On Straw Hill' will depend on how big a fan of Udo Kier you are. If like me you think he's one of the coolest actors in the history of cinema you'll find this to be a fascinating piece of 70s exploitation. Udo plays Paul Martin, an arrogant and cold best-selling novelist having trouble completing his latest opus. After several aborted attempts around the globe he ends up in a secluded country house in England. When he hires a new secretary (Linda Hayden) he gets more than he bargained before. She is polymorphously perverse and is harboring a secret. In between dictation sessions Udo gets all hot and bothered with this mysterious newcomer. Meanwhile corpses begin to appear in unexpected places. Who is this woman and what does she want? Watch 'House On Straw Hill' and all will be revealed. A pretty cool movie all round with a strong performance from (an apparently dubbed) Kier, and plenty of nudity to satisfy smut fans.

Sleazy and sordid little British melodrama does have a following, and it's easy to see why. It's an erotically charged film with enough atmosphere, mood...not to mention lots of nudity and sex...to make it pleasing to watch if the potential viewer likes their sleaze. It does feel padded, even at a mere 84 minutes, but it's still quite amusing and has some very memorable sequences.

Star Udo Kier certainly gives it his all. Even when dubbed by another actor, as he is here, he's fun and interesting as always. He plays Paul Martin, a hotshot yet unstable author who lives in seclusion and who's having trouble getting through his latest work. So what he does is hire a typist, Linda (delectable Linda Hayden of "Blood on Satan's Claw" fame), to assist him. But the seductive young woman only makes things worse, even coming on to Pauls' posh lady friend Suzanne (softcore icon Fiona Richmond) as part of the deal.

Any fan of this film would be advised to purchase the Blu-ray & DVD combo pack from the Severin company as it shows the film in its entirety, including scenes of Hayden pleasuring herself, both in bed and in a field. Hayden and Richmond show off the goods to great effect, and Hayden delivers a pretty good performance in the bargain. In one scene, Pauls' discovery of Lindas' private possessions is intercut with scenes of her being raped by two local creeps, one of them played by the legendary stuntman Vic Armstrong. Things are further spiced up with some bloody mayhem. It's not hard to see why this would have been labelled a "Video Nasty".

There's not a whole lot of story here, in the screenplay written by director James Kenelm Clarke, but it does have a decent revelation in the end as to Lindas' motivation.

Very sexy stuff, overall.

Eight out of 10.

I may be on my own with this one, but if you ask me; The House on Straw Hill is an excellent little film. Considering that it's a thriller, the film doesn't feature a great deal of tension or suspense - but the action is kept engaging by the way that it sets up the storyline. The film moves slowly, but in doing so is allowed time to let its characters grow and the plot to build. The film is set mostly in a house surrounded by a cornfield. I'm not sure why these sorts of films always have to take place in distinguished houses, but this location actually provides a good base for this story. The field in which the house is situated ensures that the action always feels isolated from society, and there's something sinister about farm houses in the country anyway. The plot follows a paranoid writer (played Udo Kier) who is about to write a new book. He hires a beautiful blonde to be his secretary to aid with the writing, but this turns out to be a big mistake as the young woman has more of interest in the man than just helping him to write a book.

This film was included on the infamous 'Video Nasty' list back in the eighties under the title, 'Exposé'. Like a lot of films on the list, this one doesn't feature a great deal in the way of gore and it's a wonder why it ever got banned. House on Straw Hill does have a handful of bloody sequences, but nothing enough to warrant it's banning in my opinion. Udo Kier takes the lead role and delivers another of his bizarre, paranoid performances. It's debatable as to whether or not Kier actually has any acting talent, but he certainly has screen presence and for that reason alone, his films are always worth seeing. He is joined by a distinctly feminine cast, which includes Linda Hayden in the role of the secretary and seventies sex symbol Fiona Richmond as Kier's girlfriend. You'll no doubt be glad to know that the two 'hook up' in one of the movie's central scenes. House on Straw Hill pulls off a great double bluff with the identity of the maniac, and this provides the film with its main backbone. It has to be said that the conclusion is a bit silly, but it's one of the few suspense sequences in the film and you can't expect a film like this to be without silly moments. On the whole, I can see why this isn't widely liked; but I'm definitely a fan.