User reviews

"The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher" (catchy title!) is probably the most plot-free movie I've ever seen. Some dude kills a prostitute, some lady kills a hobo, back to the dude and he's still killing prostitutes, back to the lady and she's still killing hobos, back to the dude...well, you get the idea. None of it goes anywhere, it's like you're stuck in an endless loop. Every death scene also looks exactly the same, particularly in the skid row slasher parts. And yet, somehow someway, I didn't hate this completely. There's something about it here and there that's strangely entertaining. Maybe it's the fact that it was all recorded without sound (in 1979!?), which leaves plenty of gaps that have to be filled with the strangler's inadequate narration. This narration is completely stream of consciousness and makes absolutely no sense. After he smothers some chick with a pillow he quips "wonder if she saw that movie Pillow Talk". All the other narration is 120% serious to the max, so that line just downright broke me. I also loved the absurdity of the book store scenes: personally I've been drunk at a lot of different places, but getting hammered at the book store? That was the party place in the 1970s? It also helps the hilarity that the book store has about two dozen books, maximum. Maybe I was also slightly entertained because this was made with the dirtiest, sleaziest, cheapest 16mm film stock available, which I'm just a sucker for. I could watch anything (ANYTHING) made with that kind of film, but I won't give examples on what anything may include. This movie is really bad and boring, but it's so bad and boring that I became hypnotized with it. Save yourself that trouble and don't watch it.

Well, what can I say about this one? It follows a serial killer and his killing while he falls in love with a woman that is also a serial killer.

But it is good? 5/10, it's ok to watch but nothing special. There is so many better serial killer movies from the 70s. But it's ok enough to watch one time when you are bored. I like that it follows the killers mind and perspective, gives the movie a little bit more depth why he kills then just random killing. Did I expect more from this? No, not really. I did think it would be a love story but hah, that I totally got it wrong!

The acting is ok, scenes are ok, movie overall is ok.

Unapologetically lowbrow sleaze, and pretty potent to boot, "Hollywood Strangler" is an undervalued keyhole-peek at raging lustmord and urban decay. Similar to the 50s classic DAUGHTER OF HORROR in its dialog-free presentation, the film is largely narrated through the inner-thoughts of a diabolical madman...his warped mind surging with rabid hatred of females which drives him to strangle. And strangle again...and again...

By and by, he becomes intrigued by a staunch female bookshop clerk who, unbeknownst to him, is a serial killer as well. With switchblade in-hand, she helps to rid the L.A. streets of the drunks and degenerates she so passionately detests. The eventual collision of these two psychotic personas results in a most unnerving tango.

Ingenious use of dingy backstreet locations is beneficial to the asphalt-and-pavement grittiness of this film, the camera leering voyeuristically upon smut-theater marquees and random profligate sluts tramping about in booby-buster tanktops and cheek-peek short-shorts. Ultra-minimalist cinema defined...a shining star on the index of one of filmdom's most peripheral figures.

7/10

Hollywood, 1979. It doesn't get much sleazier than this.

Jonathan Click (perhaps a long lost brother of Mad Dog Click?) is a pigeon petting loner whose bitter memories of some girl named Marcia lead him to strangle hot young "models" in Hollywood. At the same time, frumpy used bookstore owner Carolyn Brandt is getting sick and tired of all the winos who stumble into her store to swig from their bottles, so she rams a switchblade into their throats. Jonathan becomes infatuated with Carolyn and spends much of the film stalking her around Hollywood. When he gets up the nerve to go into her store, they spend a silent eternity staring at each other over the racks of three ring binders and LPs for sale, but never speaking. When Carolyn isn't knifing bums or staring into space with a never-changing expression of boredom mixed with slight gassiness on her face, she's running up and down the beach in an unflattering jogging suit. There's no police work here, no world weary detectives trying to catch Jonathan or Carolyn before they can strike again, just two mediocre killers going about their daily routines. But, there's also a lot of gratuitous nudity provided by some halfway pretty girls, so it's not a total loss for those who enjoy a little T&A.

This is one of Steckler's most depressing films, and I'm not sure if it's the lack of dialog, the repetitive "action" or the subject matter that makes it so. Maybe Ray was just in a crappy mood that week. Fans of his early films - Rat Pfink, Incredibly Strange Creatures and Thrill Killers - may be disappointed with this one, but the commentary by Joe Bob Briggs on the newly released DVD version is very enjoyable, funny and informative and makes the film much more bearable.

At this point in his filmmaking career, Ray Dennis Steckler had become obsessed with making his movies for as little money as possible. What he does here is an amusing study in minimalist filmmaking. It doesn't matter if it wouldn't exactly have been up for any Oscars, it remains a curious, watchable oddity for its mercifully brief 71 minute running time. As one might guess, there's not a whole lot of story here. The movie concerns two characters who we know are destined to come together at some point. Pierre Agostino is The Hollywood Strangler, a photographer by trade who's come to regard his models and other assorted young women as "bad" and in need of punishment. Yeah, we've seen guys like him in movies like this before. Carolyn Brandt, Steckler's ex-wife and frequent collaborator, is the other character whom we follow around, a bookstore employee who, when she's not staring off into space or jogging on the beach, is offing drunken bums with her handy switchblade. It's only a matter of time before these two like minded individuals are going to make the move of introducing themselves to one another. In the meantime, it's important to note that Steckler wasn't too interested in using microphones, so he filmed this as a virtual silent movie, a bold move for any exploitation film made during this time period. (Stock) music, sound effects, dialogue and narration were all added later. And what a hoot that narration is, hilariously written and hilariously performed, adding some spice to a leisurely paced pile of cinematic trash. The major point of interest with this thing is viewing it as a series of snapshots of a particular place - Hollywood Boulevard and its series of adult businesses - during a specific era, in this case, the late 1970s. That's really what makes it fascinating, although what's good for a great deal of entertainment are Agostino's expressions and Brandt's *lack* of expressions. Adventuresome sleaze lovers are certain to find this an acceptable diversion; others beware. It comes complete with numerous breast shots, shots of legs kicking as female victims get killed, various sexy outfits, and a generous helping of that endearingly tacky bright red movie blood. Seven out of 10.

Some fruitcake is loitering around the streets of L.A. taking pictures of (ugly) wannabe models, all the while we hear a voice-over narration as he muses about his ex girlfriend or ex wife- it's never made clear- and then strangles said wannabe models. This is occasionally interrupted by scenes of another ugly woman, who works in a used bookstore, stabbing bums to death on the streets with an ever handy switchblade. No explanation is ever given as to why this is happening, why the killings are being committed.

Sleazy little movie looks like it was filmed in one or two days on the streets of L.A. and in back alleys and in old apartment buildings - maybe the crew just decided it would be cheaper to film this at their houses instead of on an actual set? There is NO DIALOGUE!, just a narration added in after the fact and a lot of canned background music all jumbled together, and some of the narration is barely decipherable. That might make it worth watching in a "so bad it's good" kind of way, but if you're looking for anything more than that, steer clear.

Oh, Mr. Steckler! I love "Incredibly Strange Creatures," especially the stunning execution of the musical numbers (not to mention the little monkey screaming "Get your tickets-tickets-tickets he-yah!"). Liz Renay gingerly navigating a steep & rocky hillside in (& out) of heels while emitting half-hearted squeaks with a psycho-maniac in hot pursuit in "The Thrill Killers" thrills me. The inept children's chorale raggedly shouting the theme song of "The Lemon Grove Kids" has enduring appeal. All these moments and many more from your unique oeuvre are forever-burned into my brain. But i had to fast forward thru most of this sad affair. I did, however, enjoy the roller-disco "scene." (It reminded me of the cake walks we had in grade school.) And TWO STARS for the Peanuts wastebasket!

I slum a lot, impulsively watching cheap movies. Sometimes, I'm pleased to find one that really is interesting or challenging or intelligent almost in spite of itself. "Attic Expeditions" is one such.

This isn't, though I appreciate the idea. Lets suppose all men are stranglers who hate women while being attracted to them. And all women are bitches who see men as insects that need to be killed.

In such a world, men and women do couple. What then?

A small matter of interest is that the woman in this case is both the star and sponsor. One wonders: if you had one movie you could make, what would it be. This is her answer.

The exemplar for this type of movie is the wonderful "Oscar and Lucinda," though it deals with obsessions and compulsions other than death. As with Cate Blanchett, the woman here is redheaded and something is made of that: hair unfurled in beach breeze.

But the execution is dead. They killed it.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

A photographer strangles homely models after he photographs them he then meets a ugly girl who strangles bums. Really not much more of a plot and aside from some narration added in post production. This is a stupid stupid film and if I hadn't already watched "Schizophreniac: The Whore Mangler", I would have thought it the worst serial killer film I had ever seen. But I DID see the aforementioned film so this one while still horrid, doesn't seem bad in comparison. The ONLY way to watch this travesty would be with the Joe Bob Briggs commentary on or not at all.

My Grade: D

DVD Extras: Movie Intro & Commentary by Joe Bob Briggs; Second commentary by Ray Steckler; Interviews with Steckler & Caroline Brandt; Production stills & poster art; and trailers for "Blood Shack", "Adventure of Rat Pfink and boo boo", "Slaughter Hotel", and "Nightmare come at Night"

Eye Candy: Joanne Hiatt, Lori Morrir, Snowy Sinclair, Bonnie Smith, and Jean Robert all get topless

Why, oh why did I see this horrible film? Well, it was purely because I am trying to see the films of the great auteur, Ray Dennis Steckler--one of the most craptastic directors/producers/actors in motion picture history. I fact, I have, on a lark, decided to see as many of the films of a group of craptastic film makers--including Al Adamson, Arch Hall (Junior and Senior), Larry Buchanan, Ed Wood, William Grefe and a few others. These men all shared many wonderful traits--the ability to make films for almost nothing and a complete ineptness that makes many of their films unintentional laugh riots. However, not all of their films are laughable messes--some are just nasty, horrible films--like THE Hollywood STRANGLER.

What makes this film so unpleasant and non-funny is that the film, though inept, is also a bit like being inside the mind of a sex pervert murderer--and seeing his depravity up close and in person. Sometimes seeing crime is interesting--this is more like being and experiencing the murders first-hand--a nasty proposition indeed. Some may like this but mostly it just felt sleazy and sick. And, there were lots of assorted murders (stabbings, suffocations, etc.) and tons of gratuitous nudity--with women who looked rather skanky.

Overall, the entire film was handled so poorly, even the voyeurs out there will be disappointed. That's because when Steckler made the film, it was silent! Sound was added later as well as a voice-over dialog as well as occasional "Popeye Speak". In other words, voices were added in some scenes and the voices were too soft and rather garbled--sort of like the way Popeye talked to himself in cartoons! It all is very bizarre and very cheap. The only saving grace to all this is that the film is rather short.

A terrible film in every way. And, for that matter, I worry about anyone who would actually get enjoyment out of this thing. It's just nasty and stupid--a rare combination.

This is probably by far the worst movie I have ever seen. I'm not even going to pretend that I enjoyed watching this piece of trash. This is quite possibly the worst movie ever made, and I would suggest to you to rent this movie to witness for yourself. It will be a difficult one to find, but if you ever get your hands on this make sure you rent it. 1 out of 10

This is an example of proper 42nd Street grindhouse z-grade schlock. It's a pretty sleazy tale about a couple of serial killers - a male strangler who targets young women and a female slasher who kills old male jakies. The story is nothing but a succession of murder scenes and that is really about it. It is proper low rent stuff with no synchronised sound meaning there is a lot of (tedious) voice-over narration from the Strangler. Its sheer scuzziness does generate a fascination of sorts but its complete lack of production values and talent ensure that it has some serious inbuilt limitations.

This' A good film but it has poor acting.There's two different

plots in this story that eventually falls into one story. A photographer (pierre agostino) takes pictures of models and when they start coming on to him,he strangles them.Then there's A woman (carolyn brandt) who runs A bookstore,she goes around killing homeless drunks with A knife.Well the strangler starts stalking the woman which ends up in an bizarre ending.This film was directed by ray dennis steckler (he used the pseudo name wolfgang schmidt),the director with countless cult movies of the 60's and 70's.This' got to be one of the best ultra low budget movies of 1979 because of the cinematography.In 1985,there was A follow up to this movie called las vegas serial killer,again with pierre agostino as the crazed strangler.

Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher, The (1979)

** (out of 4)

From the man who brought you THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES comes another film with a rather interesting title. What we basically have is a nutty guy (Pierre Agostino) who hires cheap women to take photos of them but what he really wants is to strangle them, which he does plenty of. We also have the "Skid Row Slasher" who is a mystery person stalking the streets and stabbing homeless men in the neck. For those interested, the Hollywood Strangler has a lot more victims here and I'd say he has about a 3-to-1 advantage, which I'm going to guess is due to the budget reasons. I guess it was a lot cheaper to hire some woman to get naked than it was setting up a special effect where an actor had to spit out blood after being stabbed. So, is this a good movie? Not at all but when you compare it to other Steckler movies I have no problem saying this comes off as a masterpiece. The budget was so low that Steckler actually shot the film silent and later went back and added narration. Some of the dialogue is downright hilarious due to the various things the killer says. The highlight has to be a scene where he suffocates a woman with a pillow while asking if she's seen the Doris Day flick PILLOW TALK. Those who enjoy the sleazy cinema will be pleased to see a wide range of trashy posters hanging up in the various sets. These posters include TEENAGE MASSAGE PARLOR and several other films and we even get a lot of great shots from the sleazier areas of Los Angeles where there's apparently a porn theater showing DEEP THROAT around every corner or a place selling dirty magazines. Seeing these now gone places is a tad bit interesting and especially if you're interested in those type of grindhouse flicks. The film has very little story as all we get is one scene after another of women taking their clothes off and being strangled. Every once in a while we see a homeless man get slashed and that's pretty much it, although the director does go off the deep end towards the end and adds a love story. The identity of the Skid Row Slasher is meant to be a mystery but anyone should figure it out. The amount of sleaze going on in this film is pretty high as there's countless nudity and blood and it's almost enough to make the film worth sitting through. If you're offended by this type of material then it's best you stay away but those looking for cheap entertainment should get a few kicks out of this thing but even at under 70-minutes the thing goes on way too long.

The Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid Row Slasher - 1979 (This Film Rates a D ) A male serial killer hunts slutty models who are expecting a photo shoot. The killer is living in his head, having conversations with himself and imagines conversations with the models. In this way he can justify his actions and is able to kill with ease. It has a documentary tone. But wait! There is also a female slasher killing with a switchblade knife. Wandering drunks get sliced and diced in the throat in a not so exciting bloody manner. At some point the stories collide with a very predictable yet unrealistic climax and ending. Its low budget, dark, crude, dire and repetitive. The set and setting are bare bones. The strangling's could have been more intense if the acting was better, but they just carry on a bit too far and become mundane. The knifing victims are quick and bloody but not quite enough to satisfy. None of the killings are realistic. The soundtrack is poor and lackluster. The filler city street scenes are truly awesome in a nostalgic kind of way with some T&A to make this not a total failure. Though this film isn't a total waste it never fully lives up to its potential mainly due to budget constraints.