Arrow Beach: la spiaggia della paura

Gotta dig that funky 70's soundtrack, and at times the film doesn't know if it is a romance, comedy, thriller, or horror film, but it is still pretty entertaining. The ending was a little abrupt and there were lots of plot threads left dangling, but all in all it takes you right back to 1974.

A veteran of the Korean War whose grisly past experiences has given him an unhealthy appetite for human flesh, owns a large beach house in California where he lives with his similarly unhinged sister. An unsuspecting young woman winds up spending the night at their house of horrors.

This little horror obscurity has cannibalism as its central theme. Although, in fairness, there wasn't much in the way of actual cannibalism on display here. In fact, there is only a quite limited serving of horror at all in this one. This is a bit of a shame, as when the movie decides to ramp things up with a bit of bloody mayhem, it is quite effectively done. The most memorable scene in this regard is the bloody murder of a middle-aged woman which was somewhat visceral in a sort of H.G. Lewis sort of a way. In other words, when our chief cannibal madman brandishes a meat cleaver and sports a demented look, you know things are about to pick up. Mostly though, the horror is implied and under the surface. I am also always pretty forgiving for any early 70's movie with a sunny Californian vibe and especially forgiving if it features a hippy chick, so I kind of cut this one a bit of slack more or less straight away. The schlock horror, while limited, was also just excessive enough to be memorably gruesome. In summary, this is a fairly basic film but it offers enough if you have a weakness for early 70's exploitation.

Looking over other viewer comments, I feel like I missed some significant footage -- sad, because I saw this as a candidate film for the National Film Registry. My experience was that the cannibalism wasn't even broached -- "hinted at" is a smaller and more fitting description. I started out with the understanding that the film deals with this topic, so it was easy for me to find the theme in the disjointed images that Harvey (allegedly from his deathbed) pieced together. However, in the edit that I saw, Harvey really only approached the subject during the dinner scene, which to the uninformed viewer, leaves Jason Henry coming off only as a rather perverse murderer.

As a red-toned color film, it kept with the 70s feel, especially with the Lou Rawls theme song that really seems not to fit at all, and it's definitely the sort of film that you can settle into on a Saturday afternoon.

For the most part, I felt that it was a shaky effort that obviously suffers from the (unavoidable) lack of directorial input in the final stages.

Despite this, the one incredibly positive thing I have to say is that Harvey did succeed in creating one impacting, chilling, flawless scene in a movie of otherwise so-so acting. Harvey is the perennial director, and this is never so evident as when he plays Jason Henry behind a camera. The moments just prior and after this are really unspectacular, but in the few seconds that the viewer is looking at the visage of Harvey, peering from behind the camera with diabolical intent, I was completely stunned and frightened, not because Harvey belonged in the psyche of a killer, but because the killer belonged behind the camera -- Harvey's character became more real, more insidious because the character encompassed a real person. Not a better case for method acting exists, I would venture.

Played this Tuesday on a double bill with Re-Animator. Introduced by Johnny Legend, there in the flesh, with that guy who runs one of the memorabilia stores on Hollywood blvd. They said it would probably never be shown again, ever. It's not on vhs or dvd. There is only one print.

A scene where an aging model is put out of her misery is amazing. Lots of splatter and a shock of a final scene that is very Ed Gein. The story is a bit goofy, but good at the same time. See it if you can. Oh, wait, you can't. Well there has got to be a way.

Welcome to Arrow Beach is a really remarkable little movie. I first saw it about five years ago . It was shown on channel 5 at a about 2am in the morning and I must say I really had no intention of going the distance with this little film.

But how wrong I was. I found myself hooked, and I must say at that time I couldn't reason why.

Lets put it this way. Welcome to Arrow Beach is badly edited, has a crappy theme tune by Lou Rawls, the story has no real pace and the direction by Laurence Harvey needs a lot to be desired.

Now that's just the basics about what's wrong with this little film. But still I watched it all the way though to the end. Now I must point out that that night I had set my DVD recorder to tape a movie on another channel at around that same time as Welcome to Arrow Beach was being shown on channel five. But I had made a mistake . I later found that I had inadvertently taped Arrow beach instead. This was my blessing in disguise, as I found my self watching this movie over and over.

The basic story deals with a Photographer played by Laurence Harvey who picks up and befriends hitchhikers or runaways, all of whom seem to be women.

He then takes them home to meet his sister/ lover played by the gorgeous Joanna Pettet. Then he lures them to his basement photo studio where he then chops them up to eat. A young Meg Foster falls foul of Harvey and Pettet but manages to escape. As always the police don't believe her. "Would You". So she try's to expose them her self. Yes… This movie is that mad. But its also pure cult in the same way that we see Last house on the Left or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as Cult.

Its bloody too like these movies and like Texas Chainsaw its not gratuitous. The acting is pure 1970s prime time television if you know what I mean.. if you don't ,, well check out Macmillan and wife.

I have since found out why this movie isn't technically sound . The reason was that Laurence Harvey who starred and also directed this movie was dieing. He apparently edited the movie on his death bed. This would also explain why he looked in so much pain during the movie. Welcome to Arrow Beach isn't a great movie because its well made, lets face it , it isn't. In my opinion it's a great movie because it's so hard to define. Plus there is a real feeling that everyone was pulling together on it.. Try watching it and you might see what I mean.

After learning the history of the movie I got the feeling that this was a team movie. Not a good movie. But theirs a lot of love on that screen, oh and blood, guts and bad singing. Some say that Laurence Harvey's last movie was a bad one.. Those people would be Warner Bros they buried the movie. I'd say Welcome to Arrow Beach Trashy, very Cult but, strangely watchable. Check it out.