La Maison au fond du parc

A psychopathic rapist and his simple-minded companion brutalize a group of wealthy young people. Starring David Hess and Giovanni Lombardo Radice (in his film debut).

Deodato calls this film a "mistake" made only "to satisfy the producers". He says the "screenplay was really poor". So, if you think the movie is a failure, you would be in agreement with its creator. For me, there was little offered beyond a few cute naked women.

Taking place in the disco era with the appropriate music and outfits, this is a truly odd experience. Somehow a Radice striptease comes into play here.. which is, um, interesting to say the least. And then you have people who realize they are going to get tortured, so rather than fight they just accept it...

Luca Palmerini sums up the film as a "listless remake of Last House on the Left. Boring." Of course, it is not a remake, though it was clearly influenced by "Last House" and adding David Hess to the cast only calls that to our attention. Jim Harper calls the plot "paper-thin" and the characters illogical. Harper also believes the film "goes too far" in its treatment of rape. This may be due to the script being written by Gianfranco Clerici, who also wrote "New York Ripper" and "Nazi Love Camp 27", among others.

And what a ride it is. "The House on the Edge of the Park" is yet another variation (I'll avoid the term 'rip-off') of "Last House on the Left," which succeeds because of David Hess's outstanding portrayal of a razor-wielding psycho. Unlike "Last House," which made generational conflict its primary theme, HotEotP is an unashamed exploitation picture that director Ruggero Deodato uses to embellish the excesses of the genre, and there's no better an actor than Hess to carry out such activities.

Hess plays Alex, a NY mechanic who, before the opening credits begin to roll, rapes and strangles an anonymous female (although it's not made clear whether the girl is actually dead). Cut to him and his friend Ricky (Giovanni Lombardo Radice), who have plans to go "boogie-ing" when they're accosted by a rich young couple with car trouble. Ricky fixes the problem (a torn alternator wire), and Alex persuades the couple to invite them to a little 'get-together' at an appropriately-secluded villa. Before long, Alex and Ricky are engaging in some rather heavy petting, and things turn violent.

That's the basic plot setup. At times, the movie moves from scene to scene as if being improvised on the spot, which either intesifies the action or slows it down. That the house (as a setting) is rather small limits the amount of action that can go on inside it. Yet Ruggero Deodato knows how to manipulate his audience--his use of violence and sex to advance the film along works in all the right ways, and keeps your attention. And the sex, violence, and depraved behavior here is pretty extreme, to say the least (the film boasts only one murder, but is far more vicious than LHotL, in my opinion).

Also elevating the film a few levels is a surprisingly name cast of genre actors, including Christian Borromeo ("Tenebrae"), Radice ("The Gates of Hell"), and Lorraine De Selle ("Cannibal Ferox"). These familiar actors add a unique gloss to the sleaziness of "House on the Edge of the Park."

7/10

David Hess became semi-famous in horror circles for his performance in Wes Craven's overrated 70s relic "Last House on the Left." Untalented Italian directors took notice and decided to repeat formula in several sleazy and downright inept exploitation films such as "Hitch Hike" and this musty, steaming pile of excrement. Here David gets to stretch his acting muscles (no, not really) playing an all around greasy bloke named Alex, who might as well be named Krug 2.0. Alex is having a slow night at the auto shop where he works and decides to spice up his evening by terrorizing a bunch of uptight yuppies at a remote house. He also has a semi-retarded accomplice (Giovanni Lombardo Radice aka John Morghen) who helps him out for awhile before growing a backbone. There's less violence than you might expect, but plenty of tasteless scenarios and nudity provided by sleaze regulars Annie Belle and Lorraine De Selle. The dialogue and plot are incredibly stupid, the acting is terrible and the music is ear-splitting then-trendy disco but behind all the raunch is a twist to the story. A pathetic twist only the most gullible would buy into, but a twist nonetheless.

I cannot pretend to defend the shakey moral foundations that this film rests on; that said I love the rather thin output of Ruggero Deodato. His flick "Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man" is one of the best of the Italian Violent Cop Thrillers of the seventies... his Cannibal Holocaust is notorious all over the world, but of the Italian Cannibal flicks of the early eighties sub genre, it's rather well made and acted - for what it is. This is sloppy, like all of the Italian sleaze directors U.S films are (particularily Umberto Lenzi), but it has a sleazy charm despite all the chicks being no more than rape magnets. Gotta love David Hess' acting work from this period too; the guy is, um, unique looking, to put it kindly. Check out his website, he takes himself soo-oo seriously; do all actors think they're artists?

This film is one of the best made of the video nasties. Alex (David Hess) rapes and strangles a young woman in the back of her car before the credits start to roll. Soon after a young rich couple pull into their garage to see if they can fix their car. They agree but only if they can tag along to their party. After fixing the car Alex and Ricky (John Morghen AKA Giovanni Lombardo Radice) tag along. They spend the best part of the film terrorizing the 5 yuppies at the party. There's gore, torture and rape applenty. Hess is awesome as the crazed rapist and Morghen is equally great as the retard. This film is one you must see. The ending is truly amazing.