The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher

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.

OK you probably know Steckler as the mastermind behind The Incredible Strange Creatures that Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies!, but this turd is probably without peer in the world of b-movie schlock. OK maybe not. But it's probably the first silent movie to be made in the 70's! Steckler dubs dialogue whenever quote unquote actors are not facing the screen and there's a constant grating monologue by Pierre Agostino running in the background. In the true nature of serial killers, he uses the exact same order of shots every killing! Pure genius. Anyhow watch this with the Joe Bob Briggs commentary on and a six pack, and you'll be pleasantly amused. Trash heaven. Long live Steckler.

"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.

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.