The Centerfold Girls

This is a special exploitation film. There are no possible doubt around the intention of the creators (you have as much sleaze and nudity as you could ask for), but still the film manages to stand out from other similar works thanks to: fist, being a kind of anthology movie, with the common threat of a serial killer that prays on beautiful and successful women, but showing the story of each woman kind of independently. The other thing that makes the movie quite attractive in this subgenre, is its low budget and naturalistic attitude, that the natural grittiness of 70s cinema enhanced even more. From the first sequence of the burial of a body without any music or dialogues, the mood sets in immediately.

This is the sort of film that has you wishing you could time-travel back to the heyday of the drive-ins to catch it in its ideal environment. Scary, tight lipped Andrew Prine plays a murderous psychopath working his way through a bunch of pretty girls, whose only 'sin' is to have modelled for a sexy calendar. Well-shot, well-acted, but it's the doom-laden mood and oddball structure that makes Centerfold Girls stand out - three stories about three girls linked only through their encounters with the killer, sort of like Pulp Fiction without the self-congratulation. Should be sought after by anyone who likes the darker, stranger drive-in fare of the 70s.

The Centerfold Girls is a low budget thriller about a serial killer who hunts down women. Not exactly an original idea but the lead performance of Andrew Prine gives the film a bit more merit. In fact, the cast is full of B and Z rated actors (like Aldo Ray who plays an incredibly nasty character) which make things a bit more interesting. What's unusual about the filmn is it's harsh tone. Some of the things that take place on screen are pretty brutal even by today's standards. One wonders what audiences thought of the movie back in 1974. This is one film that women's groups have a right to protest about.

A men's magazine with beautiful women nude... a deranged killer who fights in the name of modesty. What happens when he gets their names and traces their private numbers? As you can imagine, bloody mayhem. And this is all before the hippies and rapists show up...

"Centerfold Girls" (known some places as "Girl Hunter") is a strange film... not visually strange, not strange in its telling... but strange in that the plot shifts in ways you will not expect it to at first. We seemingly follow Jackie, a nurse and former model, as she befriends Linda and stays lodged out of town... confronted by wild, rapist hippies (including one who wears a Coors box for a hat). But despite all this, Jackie is not the main character... we don't see much of her after the first half hour.

This film has a style that is hard to dislike. The murders are simple but effective, with the killer being a truly likable character with horn-rimmed glasses and saddleback shoes. (Don't worry, I'm not giving away anything -- he stands in the open throughout the film.) And the cast and crew is largely unknown, at least today. You may have heard of Aldo Ray or Ray Danton, but I doubt this. The director (John Peyser, mostly known for television work) and writers (Bob Peete and Arthur Marks) are obviously talented, but not household names in the world of horror.

Even the "star" (if one can call him that), is largely a television actor with bit parts. Andrew Prine, who plays killer Clement Dunne, is the glue that holds this entire movie together. Yet, as much as I loved him, I'm hard-pressed to name another movie he's in. Okay, that's not entirely true. The mid-70s saw him not only in "Centerfold Girls", but also in the now classic "Town That Dreaded Sundown" and "Crypt of the Living Dead" (directed by Ray Danton, and available in certain public domain horror collections).

My one concern, and this has been raised by other reviewers, is the lack of background on Clement Dunne. What does he do for a living? What made him want to kill women, and why did he pick the particular magazine he did? How does he track down the addresses and phone numbers for his victims? This lack of information did not take away from the picture, but makes me wonder. A sequel would probably have worked well, but it's a bit late now.

The box calls this a movie from the "sleazy" 1970s, an "exploitation" film in the "grindhouse" tradition. Now, I don't know if this is grindhouse, but they are dead-on with the exploitation and sleaze comments. Nudity abounds in this film, and if more than five minutes go by without someone getting topless (often for no reason), I'd be surprised. And then the (attempted and successful) rapes... not just one, but more like three. In one movie!

Dark Sky Films offers a nice, crisp picture and sound on this disc, while still capturing the gritty quality of the original film. While the special features are somewhat lacking (an audio commentary would be nice), the 15-minute featurette "Making the Cut" offers a great look back and really puts the picture in perspective. That, and a "musical cues" feature, which makes sense to me since the music was very unique and apparent throughout the picture (next to Prine, the music of Mark Wolin is my favorite thing about this film -- and this was his only work). I would encourage anyone to give this title a fair chance.

A puritanical psycho (Andrew Prine) targets women on the coast of the Los Angeles area who have appeared as centerfold models (Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jennifer Ashley and Tiffany Bolling), as well as anyone who gets in the way.

"The Centerfold Girls" (1974) is a crime thriller in the tradition of "Corruption" (1968) with the first act borrowing from "Psycho." The soon-to-come "The Toolbox Murders" was obviously inspired by it; "Island of Blood" (1982) as well. Needless to say, it was a precursor to the slasher genre and innovatively features the final girl trope.

There are several lovely ladies with quite a bit of top nudity (so stay away if that offends you). While everyone has their favorites, I favor Janet Wood (Linda) and Ruthy Ross (Glory), as far as looks go. Speaking of which, Francine York is a sharp redhead, but her character (Melissa) is such a cold biyatch, it's impossible to warm up to her. Blonde Kitty Carl (Sandi) is worth a mention.

The three-act structure is taken to the extreme with each act introducing a new set of characters linked to the prey, except for the antagonist, of course. The theme is depressing in that there are no noble men in SoCal with every male being motivated by either lust or misogyny. If a guy APPEARS good, it's just a pretense; and his lower nature will soon manifest.

The movie runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (Aloha Apts. & Topanga Canyon) and Malibu (Paradise Cove & Pacific Coast Highway).

GRADE: B-