Week-end sauvage

I will throw "Death Weekend" (aka "House by the Lake") a bone as far as its influence over future revenge flicks is concerned ("I Spit on Your Grave" and "House on the Edge of the Park" come to mind), but truth be told, it can't touch the grand-daddy of them all: "Last House on the Left." It blatantly borrows from that film (and, to a lesser extent, "A Clockwork Orange") and mixes it up into a volatile yet shallow experience. While Don Stroud makes a fittingly vicious ringleader, his character is ill-defined (he's just really, really MEAN) and his 'droogs' are just too goofy at times. "Death Weekend" does deliver in the suspense department, and the pace keeps moving along, but it's strictly second-rate material. Yet those seeking a lean and mean revenge flick (and are familiar with the aforementioned above) will probably find much to like here.

5.5/10

I really was not expecting anything spectacular when going into this film. By the time i'd seen this, i'd seen virtually all of the murder/revenge films and just about everything that involved a group of chaotic thugs who terrorize some normal people, who in turn end up fighting back or trying to escape, and they pretty much all were cheap exploitative dribble that was wholly unrealistic and poorly layed out. This movie on the other hand does some things differently that elevate it above pretty much all the rest aside from "Deliverance" and "Straw Dogs" which I'm not sure fall into the same category anyways. A movie like this can never surpass "Straw dogs" who's plot allowed for much more meaning and emotional depth, done so perfectly, where the violence also inevitably seemed more plausible the way it played out.

The film opens with a very spectacular car chase where the thugs are harassing the dentist and his model companion who is at the wheel. Pretty soon I was saying to myself "come on.... no other cars use this road?" and then CRASH. Finally the scene ends with the thugs landing in a ditch as the dentist and model drive off, having completely disgraced them, setting off a desperate need for revenge in the thug leader. The film had delivered a very convincing opening act, and from this point I had the sense that this director knew what he was doing.

It' the little things that are all at play which end up making the film much more convincing than lesser efforts. For example, when the leader opens up pretending to be nice and reasonable with the dentist in a very sardonic way, and his 3 comrades are snickering at it, as characters they all seem so believable, and this scene really does get across a foreboding sense of bad things to come, as we have already been shown just how fierce the leader can be.

One scene that I found to be a huge detractor was where the drunken gas store workers were killed by the thugs with the dentists boat. Firstly it was very coincidental that they borrowed the dentist's boat at this propitious moment, but more importantly, the way that they taunted and tormented the dentist and model, and the way tension grew and grew was so successful, that it seemed very much like a situation of bad luck, and one thing leading to another, though when we see them so callously murder these 2 people on the boat, it destroys much of that very well produced tension, because it means they were going to kill the dentist and model from the very beginning and the fate was sealed.

The unfolding chain of death at the end was again, much better executed than in most movies of this type, though still as usual, a little contrived that the shed trap would work so perfectly, that the 2nd last thug would stumble into quicksand and die, while the model avoided the same fate. One thing that I think certainly could have been better handled was the transition from night to day. I would have loved to see shots of the sun rising, of the model shivering in the night, waiting for morning. Regardless, the final showdown between the model and the leader is quite intense, and I love the added irony that the wounded dentist ran off to the car the night earlier after being shot, but died in the car, as he had no car keys, though luckily for the model she learned how to hot-wire cars.

The ending shot of the movie can only be described as extremely bizarre, and its so very perverted in the a sado-masochistic sense of what it implies. In terms of drama and meaning, as with the rest of the film, it really does not delve beyond the mere surface, but it does serve as a final jolt to the viewer saying: Not a masterpiece, but this movie definitely has enough thought and effort put into it to place it above average sleazy schlock like "Last House On The Left" or "I Spit On Your Grave"

"Death Weekend" is a more complex film than it appears on the surface.

The violence is initially against Harry's property which he values more than anything else. Even though Diane has spurned him one gets the impression that he considers her his property too. Her resilience against the grotesque mob of ugly greasers is exhilarating to watch and is comparable to the revenge actions that take place in the later "I Spit On Your Grave".

The film's closing images are unnerving, keeping in tone with the somewhat excessive terror factor of the second half.

Stroud and Vaccaro are excellent.

7/10

'Weekend' starring Brenda Vaccaro is a lesser known entry in the rape-revenge sub-genre. It doesn't have the blood lust that most of the flicks do, in fact there isn't a whole lot of the red stuff at all (even less in many of the existing home video prints such as the Vestron version I saw). But 'Weekend' does have an above average atmosphere and the performances by the whole cast are solid. Don Stroud plays the lead baddie who just couldn't take being out driven by a girl in the beginning (a pretty well done car chase sequence) and eventually tracks down Vaccaro at a nice vacation lodge. Hardcore exploitation fans may find 'Death Weekend' to be a bit 'boring' but that may appeal to those who don't like films with an 'extreme' edge to them.

"Death Weekend" begins with a sleazy super rich dentist on the way to his country mansion with a buxom beauty in tow.The dentist has actually deceived Brenda Vaccaro into the country weekend foray-the sole purpose of the trip is to enjoy his latest conquest.On their way in their car the couple come across four hillbillies who start hassling the couple and chasing them in their car.Vaccaro manages to leave 'em behind.The enraged goons vows to extract revenge.The orgy of mindless violence begins in the dentists mansion...William Fruet's "Death Weekend" is an ugly and brutal rape and revenge flick inspired by "Straw Dogs" and "Last House on the Left".The most surprising fact is that it was banned as the video nasty in UK.The acting is great,the atmosphere is suitably sleazy and there is enough violence to keep fans of grimy exploitation flicks entertained.Give this one a look.9 out of 10.