Axe

It's quite often difficult to ascertain the reasons that many of the films on the video nasties list are there. We all just assume that they are there due to graphic violence, and explicit gore. We also largely assume that they are mostly, intrinsically rubbish. Whilst I have not seen all of the films on the list, the handful that I have, are varying in quality. It's always a surprise when the film is interesting, or has some kind of purpose, or layering of meaning. Axe, or the more ethereal original title, Lisa, Lisa, is one of the ones that at once, looks cheaply made (some sequences had the strange mise-en-scene of a H G Lewis movie), but also has an idea - simplistic but well thought-out - that gives the film a subtle gravitas.

The first part of the film follows three criminals, Steele (Jack Canon), Lomax (Ray Green), and the moral voice to the violence, Billy (played by the writer/director Frederick R. Friedel). On the journey with these characters, we are introduced to their brand of criminal activity. In a convenience store, Steele and Lomax mock and taunt the female clerk, throwing fruit at her, then forcing her to take off her blouse, humiliating her before going further. This shows overtly the misogynistic attitude of the main two. Billy, as throughout the film, is the person against the murdering, and acts as the moral arbiter to the horrific acts.

After this the trio drive up to a large house that is occupied by Lisa (Leslie Lee), who looks after her completely paralysed grandfather. Lisa is a strange, seemingly internal character, who is forced to take the criminals in for the night, and feed them etc. After one Lomax attempts to rape her, she takes it upon herself to kill him, then proceeds to act this out to the rest of the criminals.

There are some very effective scenes, and some that are genuinely disturbing. The first killing of Lomax, Lisa takes a razor blade to the back of his neck. After he has clearly lost consciousness, she continues to saw at the neck. It's making me wince writing about it. So there are some very effective kills, and this is partly where I see the reason for it's contentiousness for the DPP. But I think fundamentally the reasons for the banning was more to do with the contempt for women. This is something that even the BBFC has many issues with.

In conclusion, the film is disturbing at times, and it's moral fibre a little on the side of misogyny. However, the film is quite interesting, and certainly has more going for it in narrative terms than much of the video nasties on offer.

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I saw the 64 mins version for the first time recently aft reading few glowing reviews.

Used to watch a lottuva horror movies on vhs during the late 80s n early 90s. This one got skipped.

Comparisons to Last House.. will crop up but apart from murderers taking asylum in an isolated house, this one is different but a bit boring inspite of being a relatively short film.

One of the best part is the cinematography, the rural isolation with the creepy farmhouse is well captured.

They shud have shown some background story about Lisa's psychology.

Can someone tell me who was the man trying to enter Lisa's farm but got chased away by the two murderers during the meal around 31st min.

Did Lisa informed the cops during their first visit or later after the two murders.

Why did the third bearded trespasser ran out after seeing the dead body in the chimney?

My review was written in March 1983 after a Greenwich Village screening.

Filmed in Charlotte, North Carolina, about a decade ago (picture was rate by the MPAA in 1974), "Axe" (its alternate title: "Lisa, Lisa") is a fascinating but totally uncommercial film noir exercise in the horror genre, recently reissued to take advantage of public's appetite for gore-shockers. Recalling the B-films of old in its one-hour (plus elongated credits) running time, picture will be of more interest to film students than exploitation-film fans.

Filmmaker Frederick R. Friedel, working on apparently a student film budget, emphasizes detail close shots and inserts with punchy, accelerating editing to maintain tension in the absence of a strong narrative.

Picture opens with abstract tracking shots and moody closeups as a trio of gangsters terrorize an underling in a seedy hotel room. Typical of a no-budgeter, his falling out the 12th-story window takes place entirely off-screen, with a scream and sound effect.

Rest of the film has the gangsters hiding out down south, invading the remote house inhabited by a shy young girl Lisa (Leslie Lee) and her paralyzed, catatonic grandpa.

As the gangsters singly try to attack her, Lisa dispatches two of them with a straight razor and the title axe, while the third (played by director Friedel in an evident economy move) is accidentally offed by the police at film's end.

Abstracting his minimal material, Friedel evidences a good camera eye here. A piano, ondioline-style electronic keyboard and percussion score help to sustain the hypnotic mood, but for general audiences , lack of solid story values combined with amateur acting are bound to be disappointing. One example of the latter is that both Friedel and attractive heroine Lee fall back upon the device of gazing floorward to appear shy and vulnerable.

Little has been heard of Friedel since his promising effort, but cameraman Austin McKinney has made many low-budgeters and makeup man Worth Keeter is still in North Carolina, directing Eal Owenby's 3-D extravaganzas.

AXE (aka: LISA, LISA) is the story of three desperate criminals, two of whom are sadistic murderers, and one with a working conscience. After committing mayhem, the trio decide to hide out at an isolated farmhouse inhabited by a young woman named Lisa (Leslie Lee) and her paralyzed grandfather. Unbeknownst to these crooks, Lisa is a tad unbalanced. All goes well until one of the miscreants tries to rape her, causing Lisa to show these bums some cold, hard steel!

Ms. Lee could have played Lisa to the hilt, but downplays her madness instead. She's quiet, rarely uttering a word. This actually makes her creepier! A decent low-budget feature worth checking out...

"Axe" is an oddball piece of work that seems to avoid a lot of the horror standards. The flow of the film has a refreshing feeling of randomness that makes it work. Not a lot is explained in this film so viewers are left to discuss the who, what and why amongst themselves and die hard 70's low budget sleaze fans might even try to pick out a story after repeated viewings. "Axe" is competently shot and edited. As an aficionado of 70's b movies I personally felt that it has a great look to it. An atmosphere of paranoid weirdness is developed early on and digs in on the viewer. The film also scores points for it's original soundtracking although the main hook from the intro theme gets a little over used at times. The acting is on par for the course, no remarkable talent here, but some cool characters. The one guy who looks like Bob Ross adds an interesting dynamic to the group of thugs, it's hard to figure out why exactly he's rolling with them. The girl who plays Lisa is rather pretty and her performance is effective enough to draw sympathy from the viewer during the more tense scenes.

Nothing mindblowing here, but fans of the era and genre who have a bit of patience will enjoy this one. Gore fanatics might feel cheated by Axe but lovers of strange "wtf is going on here" movies should give this one a swing.