I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses

Having now seen seventy three of the seventy four films that were banned as 'Video Nasties' in 1984, I think I'm in a pretty good position to state that the DPP and whoever else was involved in making the list didn't really know what they were doing as many of the films on the list really didn't deserve to be there; and this one is one of the best examples of this fact. The film gets off to a decent start, as we see a woman (played by Elke Sommer) battered to death in a garage. It's not all that gory, but it's an intriguing start that lead me to believe the rest of the film might be at least half decent. It's not, however, as most of the rest of the film is made up of court scenes and flashbacks, and the worst part of is that it's not even interesting. The film was apparently loosely based on a murder case that I'm not familiar with. This is actually quite annoying as film versions of real life events are meant to dramatise them, and I find it hard to believe that the real life murder case wasn't more interesting than this film! Overall, I have no idea why this film was banned, but clearly it's obscure for a reason and if you aren't watching it for the same reason as me, then you really shouldn't be watching! My advice is simply to avoid it...

Elke Sommer plays money-hungry model Magdalene who is married to wealthy Charles.However their marriage is on-the-rocks.Both of them hire killers to eliminate one another."I Miss You,Hugs and Kisses" by Murray Markowitz is based on a true story of Canadian murder of Christine Demeter.The film is cheaply made and deadly dull.The relationships between main characters are uninteresting and the film is ugly and dreary.Why it was classified as video nasty is beyond me.There are some nasty scenes of violence and different scenarios in which Magdalene is murdered.The nastiest bit is when serial killer stabs to death his victim and performs an act of necrophilia on her body.Not to mention Murray Markowitz's film boasts Howard Shore's first feature score and offers a bit of graphic sex.5 bloody bashings out of 10.Only for video nasty completists.

Successful businessman Charles Kruschen (Donald Pilon) is accused of bludgeoning to death his beautiful but manipulative model wife Magdalene (Elke Sommer). As the trial draws to a close, Charles reflects on the events leading up to the terrible incident...

A supposed dramatic account of a real life murder case, Canadian courtroom drama I Miss You Hugs And Kisses could be mistaken for the kind of mid-afternoon entertainment normally lapped up by bored housewives and easily pleased geriatrics: with its unexceptional whodunit plot crammed with intrigue, adultery, blackmail, and murder, one could be excused for thinking that Angela Lansbury or Dick Van Dyke might pop up in the final reel to solve the case.

However, the lurid treatment given by director Murray Markowitz to his well-worn material ensures that this particular mystery features no such familiar household names and will always remain an unlikely choice for daytime TV. In fact, in the UK, I Miss You Hugs And Kisses was considered so upsetting that it was even included on the official DPP Video Nasty List. Beat that, Jessica Fletcher!

During the series of flashbacks that are used to flesh out the story whilst also revealing a collection of equally viable suspects, viewers are treated to graphic killings (Sommers head is staved in and a young woman is stabbed in the stomach), nudity and sex, genuine slaughterhouse footage, and even a touch of necrophilia (one of the possible murderers, an escaped lunatic, enjoys raping his victims after he has killed them). Although not overly shocking by today's standards, these scenes seem so out of place in this otherwise routine thriller that they actually manage to be disturbing.

I Miss you Hugs And Kisses hasn't garnered much praise here on IMDb, and it is true that, with an ending that completely fails to resolve issues, the film can leave viewers feeling extremely frustrated, but I still say give it a go: it's certainly not the worst film on the Video Nasty list.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

This film deserves more than 3.8 stars, the story is very realistic (inspired from a real fact) and interesting, the quality of acting is very high, good direction. With the exception of Elke Sommer, known from "Deadly Than the Male", "Shot in the Dark", "Among Vultures", "Ten Little Indians", all the other actors are not big names, but everyone is very convincing.

Pretty much an ordinary thriller. The only remarkable thing about it is that it was once banned in the UK, i.e. it was one of the infamous nasties. However, it is difficult to see how it would deserve such a distinction -- its goriness is very mild by horror movie standards.