Le gang sauvage

Really. How could anyone ever come up with a better film title than "Motor Psycho?" No one ever will. Now that we've said that, let's get on with the story. Alex Rocco makes his film debut as veteranarian Corey Maddox, whose wife is violently raped by a gang of motorcycle hoods. Maddox tries to hunt down the gang to glean a little retribution, or perhaps bring the gang to justice. In the process, he meets Ruby Bonner, whose husband has been murdered by the same thugs. Ruby and Corey team up and get caught in a canyon where they are forced to violently confront the by-now-totally-nutso leader of the group, who happens to be a wacked-out Vietnam vet. This film is a little-known Meyer gem; you get the opportunity to see how good he really was at shot composition and editing. What's it got going for it? Awesome title, incredible sixties twangy guitar soundtrack, great period dialogue, a great tense snakebite scene, and perhaps the first example ever of a film character who's clearly spent too much time in the Vietnam jungle. Odd side note: everyone in this 1965 film drives a Toyota. Three out of four stars.