Just for the Hell of It

Not being a fan of exploitation films, but for years after violent, extreme, provocative films in general, I stumbled upon this little flick from the 1968. I hadn't yet seen any other film from Herschell Gordon Lewis {shame!), so I thought I should give it try.

It's quite strange this is not more popular, because, if this is what Herschell Gordon Lewis films feel like, then I would like to see more. It is probably one of the earliest samples of mindless politically incorrect cinema done pretty sloppy but effectively, a classic exploitation, if you ask me, and even if you regularly don't take it too seriously, it's quite daring for 1968. Some scenes might raise a smile to some, intentionally or not.

So, this quite unknown film is recommended for those after a nice old party film for a night with friends, pizza and beers {the music just feels great with this one), exploitation fans {this is a must) and in general, those who are looking for mindless fun, not shocked by somewhat explicit material.

A young teenage boy is blamed for a Florida neighborhood being terrorized. But the real culprits are a gang of four punks leading a group of local delinquents on a nihilistic lifestyle of destruction and mayhem.

What strikes me about the film is the parallel with "Clockwork Orange". This is obviously not intentional, but the gang accosting an old (apparently blind) man seems very much like the droogs attacking homeless men. Lewis approaches it in a far more gruesome manner, however, with some of the violence very much Ripper-esque. Alex (in "Clockwork") is somehow sympathetic, despite being a murderous rapist. But Dexter (played by Ray Sager) is just a pure sociopath.

Worthy of note is the appearance of musician Larry Williams. Williams is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including "Bony Moronie", "Short Fat Fannie", "High School Dance" (1957), "Slow Down", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (1958), "Bad Boy" and "She Said Yeah" (1959). John Lennon was a fan, and the Beatles and several other British Invasion groups covered several of his songs.

H.G. Lewis' films are not for everyone. He uses amateur actors that he finds in the cities he films in and the sets are probably houses that the actor's parent's own. But his films are so out there and so bizarre that I can't see how you wouldn't get a kick out of them. "Just for the Hell of it" centers on a large group of white-bred kids who, for no reason whatsoever (hence the title) decide to engage in pranks ranging from fairly harmless (hiding a blind man's cane) to truly evil (raping a girl on a beach and putting her boyfriend in a sinking boat). If you want to know what a stereotypical late '60's drive-in film was like, this would probably be your best bet.

White did not throw the baby in the garbage can and at Tarantinos Beverly theatre it opened the Grindhouse Film Fest so it must be recognised by the Grindhouse elite community somehow, so maybe to some it is not as bad to some as it appears to you. In Berlin, knock off copies are still available, it still plays regularly in subject appropriate theatres and there has been recently been gang actions mirroring the illness that the gang in Just For The Hell of It portrayed, again, using the opening figure with the knife on T-shirts. If it can get Berliners crazy enough, maybe we get back into the international scene again. Linking up with the Russians that are fans, maybe we can get our demands faster. Maybe we need a wacko like Denny Fortune to run for Anti-Christ. His attitude is not unlike our (and the Russians) early leaders who could of taken over the world.

"Just for the Hell of It" isn't exactly the cinematic masterpiece Herschell Gordon Lewis will be remembered for. Lewis made himself immortal among horror/cult cinema fanatics as "The Godfather of Gore"; a nickname he earned because he was the first one to direct horror movies where blood, guts and gore literally burst from the screen. Movies like "Blood Feast", "Two-Thousand Maniacs", "The Gore Gore Girls" and "The Gruesome Twosome" truly represent HG Lewis' repertoire and lifework, whereas "Just for the Hell of it" is merely just a rapidly produced and nonchalantly elaborated story to cash in on the contemporary popular trend of juvenile delinquency thrillers. There's no actual story and particularly the first full hour of the film feels like a compilation episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos: The Bad Kids Edition". It's basically just a series of amateurishly edited together clips showing a gang of youthful thugs pulling pranks and committing petty crimes in their area. At first their pranks are quite pitiable and laughable (wetting people with a garden hose, smearing pies in a salesgirl's face…) but they gradually turn into harsh crimes and near the end of the film they even turned to gang-rape and murder. The gang members refer to themselves as "Destruction Inc" which is quite the apt name since they surely like to break all kinds of stuff, varying from people's mailboxes, living rooms, snack bars, boats and even baby-carriages. The "plot" only just starts to unfold itself after an hour into the film, when a courageous boy stands up against the vicious gang but then gets falsely accused, threatened and targeted for vengeance. Moral of the story: look the other way when violence is being committed near you! "Just for the Hell of it" is an okay film if you're into cheap and extremely low-budgeted 60's exploitation, but it definitely contains too many overlong sequences of padding and repetitiveness. It's just plain boring to watch a bunch of people demolish all the furniture in one and the same room for five whole minutes. The acting performances are below par, as to be expected from this type of poverty row film production, but it's nevertheless quite funny how these "juvenile" delinquents are depicted by actors and actresses who're all at least in their late twenties. The gangs' last crime on the beach and particularly the denouement form the undeniable highlights of "Just for the Hell of it" because these sequences are shocking and vile, and the use of make-up effects in these scenes finally state clear that you're watching a H.G Lewis' flick! The theme song is also very exhilarating and catchy, so I'll give an extra point for that as well.