I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses

This film deserves more than 3.8 stars, the story is very realistic (inspired from a real fact) and interesting, the quality of acting is very high, good direction. With the exception of Elke Sommer, known from "Deadly Than the Male", "Shot in the Dark", "Among Vultures", "Ten Little Indians", all the other actors are not big names, but everyone is very convincing.

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.

I MISS YOU, HUGS AND KISSES stars Elke Sommer as fashion model Magdalene Kruschen who is brutally bludgeoned to death in the movie's opening seconds. This may send gorehounds into ecstasy, believing they've hit the jackpot.

Hold your horses!

While the beginning is jarring, it quickly settles into a courtroom drama with Magdalene's husband on trial for her murder. The rest is a series of flashbacks, piecing together what happened to the victim.

This is supposed to be a mystery / thriller, but it's hamstrung by the dull courtroom scenes and a lackadaisical story line. It all feels as though it was put together by accident. Perhaps this is due to it's being based on "true events". However, it just comes off as piecemeal and disjointed.

Within this drab tale are the infamous "dead chickens" and "necrophilia in the park" sequences that jump out unexpectedly, like a crazed jack-in-the-box!

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Ms. Sommer, but this is a dismal abomination!...

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.

I discovered 2 years ago he is my great uncle and this movie was made about their story. He is currently serving 5 life sentences in Bath Ontario and is still alive although very bad health from what I have read. Very interesting family story that stem outside of him but certainly this is an out of the ordinary tale that unfortunately affected many. I have not found the connection of his daughter who I suppose is my cousin (from Ishtvan Demeter ((Steven) if she's reading) . Immigrants of Hungary was common to Toronto in the late 70's given the civil war. My gramma opened a small restaurant when she got here and called it little Budapest! Although Peter is a sociopath, I love understanding that history, especially for the mental health aspect.