I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses

Elke Sommer (the premier German actress (sic)), plays Magdalene Kruschen, a gold digging model, whose marriage to rich Charles, loses its verve. Each of them conspires to hire killers to knock off one another. The film is structured using court room scenes, mixing this with flashbacks to the events that are discussed on the stand. Based upon the true-life murder of Christine Demeter, one of the most famous crimes in Canadian modern history, this film, with its made-for- television aesthetic, is cheep, and fundamentally flawed.

We follow as the married couple (the names were changed for legal reasons), as they conspire against each other, Charles embarking on an affair with the young Pauline Corte (Cindy Girling - Miss Canada 1977). Magdalene, simply f***s anyone with money, power, and connections with killers-for-hire. It's an incredibly dull affair, pacing through severely wretched people, and their petty affairs. And of course, what these "wonderful" characters want, is the large insurance payoff in the event of deaths.

Whilst taking much of the real-life crime, it obviously needs to change it slightly. But it is left a little ambiguous as to Charles' actual guilt. He is (as in life) convicted of hiring a murderer, we are left guessing as to whether he actually did it. Still, awful film, with very little merit - although Howard Shore composed the score (his first feature film), and we of course know his subsequent scores include David Cronenberg's output, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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Successful businessman Charles Kruschen (Donald Pilon) is accused of bludgeoning to death his beautiful but manipulative model wife Magdalene (Elke Sommer). As the trial draws to a close, Charles reflects on the events leading up to the terrible incident...

A supposed dramatic account of a real life murder case, Canadian courtroom drama I Miss You Hugs And Kisses could be mistaken for the kind of mid-afternoon entertainment normally lapped up by bored housewives and easily pleased geriatrics: with its unexceptional whodunit plot crammed with intrigue, adultery, blackmail, and murder, one could be excused for thinking that Angela Lansbury or Dick Van Dyke might pop up in the final reel to solve the case.

However, the lurid treatment given by director Murray Markowitz to his well-worn material ensures that this particular mystery features no such familiar household names and will always remain an unlikely choice for daytime TV. In fact, in the UK, I Miss You Hugs And Kisses was considered so upsetting that it was even included on the official DPP Video Nasty List. Beat that, Jessica Fletcher!

During the series of flashbacks that are used to flesh out the story whilst also revealing a collection of equally viable suspects, viewers are treated to graphic killings (Sommers head is staved in and a young woman is stabbed in the stomach), nudity and sex, genuine slaughterhouse footage, and even a touch of necrophilia (one of the possible murderers, an escaped lunatic, enjoys raping his victims after he has killed them). Although not overly shocking by today's standards, these scenes seem so out of place in this otherwise routine thriller that they actually manage to be disturbing.

I Miss you Hugs And Kisses hasn't garnered much praise here on IMDb, and it is true that, with an ending that completely fails to resolve issues, the film can leave viewers feeling extremely frustrated, but I still say give it a go: it's certainly not the worst film on the Video Nasty list.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Pretty much an ordinary thriller. The only remarkable thing about it is that it was once banned in the UK, i.e. it was one of the infamous nasties. However, it is difficult to see how it would deserve such a distinction -- its goriness is very mild by horror movie standards.

Elke Sommer plays money-hungry model Magdalene who is married to wealthy Charles.However their marriage is on-the-rocks.Both of them hire killers to eliminate one another."I Miss You,Hugs and Kisses" by Murray Markowitz is based on a true story of Canadian murder of Christine Demeter.The film is cheaply made and deadly dull.The relationships between main characters are uninteresting and the film is ugly and dreary.Why it was classified as video nasty is beyond me.There are some nasty scenes of violence and different scenarios in which Magdalene is murdered.The nastiest bit is when serial killer stabs to death his victim and performs an act of necrophilia on her body.Not to mention Murray Markowitz's film boasts Howard Shore's first feature score and offers a bit of graphic sex.5 bloody bashings out of 10.Only for video nasty completists.

I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses is yet another obscure 70's movie that has attained cult film status purely on the basis of its presence on the infamous British video nasty list. Without this notoriety films such as this one would be more or less forgotten. It does have to be reiterated once again though that this movie, similar to many others on the video nasty list, is really not very shocking at all. It's in essence a courtroom drama that uses flashbacks to tell its story. And it's seemingly based on a notorious true Canadian crime. In it, a woman is murdered and her millionaire husband is accused. The narrative then looks back and considers the roles of several people.

The only familiar face for me was the German actress Elke Sommer who starred in a couple of Mario Bava films earlier in the 70's. She is good enough as the femme fatale murder victim. In fact, the opening of the movie is certainly unusual, with the name actress being brutally murdered right away. It's intriguing for sure but ultimately the film as a whole is not especially well done. It really feels like a TV movie most of the time, which is why the occasional nasty moments are so jarring, such as the murder and especially a scene of necrophilia, the latter of which must surely have cemented the film's 'nasty' status. Also of note is a soundtrack by Howard Shore. It sounds really familiar to a lot of the work he did for David Cronenberg and it does have a decent icy ambiance at times.

It's obvious that this film does not have a very good reputation. And perhaps that's not surprising. It's not violent enough for those seeking a video nasty and it's too salacious for anyone seeking out a courtroom drama. It doesn't seem to be aimed at a very wide demographic at all. But, you know what? I've seen a lot worse than this. Its mystery may not have been exactly the best but it did keep me interested nevertheless. And, you know how I said earlier that it began a little strangely; well wait until you see how it ends. It's hardly a typical ending that's for sure.