If.... (1968) - Anderson's landmark provocative youth revolt picture

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Militant-looking but spiffily dressed young men against dramatic scenes inserted into the alarming nexus of a hand grenade makes up this effective poster for Lindsay Anderson's If....

We follow the strictly disciplined, odd life in a English public boarding school, where three older students resist the teachings of the institution, led by the rebel Travis.

 

If.... is written by David Sherwin (Wet Gold (1984, TV movie)), with John Howlett (Touch and Die (1992, TV movie)) contributing story elements, and co-produced and directed by great Indian-born British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson (This Sporting Life (1963)). 

The film sparkles with freshness to this day in lovely images (cinematography by Miroslav Ondrícek (Amadeus (1984))), with an abundance of funny and striking scenes. It is a powerful and provocative and violently revolutionary, subversive film. It idolizes Mick Travis, the leading character which Malcolm McDowell (Moving On (2022)) portrays with an awards-worthy turn.

SPOILER Despite the temptation to mostly shake one's head at the perverse school traditions of the English, this film presents contradicting 'heroes' that are just as, - if not a lot more, - terrible, because they finally arrive to the dubious conclusion that the systems faults are sufficient grounds to justify shooting every one in it!

If.... may be the strongest youth revolt film of all, which however also clearly shows the wave's unsympathetic, anarchisticly violent backside. It is odd that Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver mass murderer nearly a decade later, in another pivotal cinematic examination of violence in young males, is also named Travis. Perhaps the lack of a heroic glow around the later Travis character reflects a development towards a more critical stance in the general perception of the societal revolt, led by the young, in the intermediate years. 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 500k $

Box office: In excess of 5.75 mil. $

= Uncertain but surely a mega-hit (projected return of 14 times its cost)

[If.... was released 19 December (UK) and runs 111 minutes. McDowell was paid 90 £ a week for his performance. Shooting took place from January - March 1968 in England, including in London. For the North American release, male nudity was cut out in order for the film to receive an R rating. Variety reported in January 1970 that the film had earned rentals of 2.3 mil. $, likely from North America alone, which suggests a gross of 5.75 mil. $. The film is described as a hit in the UK, but its actual gross and numbers from other markets are not recorded online regrettably: It didn't attract audiences in Denmark (just 825 tickets sold). A cautious projected total gross of 7 mil. $ is not unlikely. The film was nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Anderson brought McDowell's Travis character back in two later films, again portrayed by McDowell: O Lucky Man! (1973), - he only directed an episode of Play for Today (1972) in the years between, - and Britannia Hospital (1982). McDowell first returned in The Wednesday Play (1969, TV-series) and theatrically in Figures in a Landscape (1970). If.... is certified fresh at 90 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of If....?

Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976) - Edmonds returns with Thorne in dubious Arabia-set sequel

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Scantily dressed young women titillate from left and right on this poster for Don Edmonds' Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks

 
Ilsa, the 'She Wolf of the SS' now for some reason runs a gruesome prison for women in the Arabian desert. Here degradation and sexual satisfaction is the order of the day.

 

Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks is written by Langston Stafford, a person never credited with anything else, and produced and directed by Don Edmonds (Wild Honey (1972)), who also made the popular original film which this is the first sequel to, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975).

The 'plot' here is more or less an illusion as most of the film consists of episodic scenes of sex and cruelty with commentary from two seemingly unrelated men in an airplane!?! Dyanne Thorne (Up Yours (1979)) as Ilsa is still a captivating whip artist, and the film is adorned with a hot twink slave but it also delivers several atrocities such as forced feeding, breast torture and, naturally, rape. The two ninja amazons who can rip a grown man's teeth out are strong arguments in favor of the film, it would appear. But the episodic, nonsensical structure gives Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks a long character, which is also spoiled by involving a child (a boy to be precise) in its solution, which must be considered, in the context of the film at hand, incredibly tasteless and amoral.

 

Related post:

 

Don Edmonds: Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975) - Edmonds' notorious Nazisploitation sensation

 

 

Watch a clip from the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 200k $

Box office: Projected 5 mil. $

= Uncertain but projected a mega-hit (projected return of 25 times its cost)

[Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks was released in March (USA) and runs 85 minutes. Shooting took place in California. The film is listed as having been released in just 4 markets; North America, Japan, West Germany and in Denmark. In the latter, very small market, it sold an impressive 85,277 tickets, coming to approximately 640k $. It is not unlikely that the cheaply made film grossed upwards of 5 mil. $. Ilsa returned in two more films, though only the first of the two is with Thorne, and Edmonds no longer was involved. Edmonds returned with Southern Double Cross (1976). Thorne first returned in Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy (1976). 3.1k+ IMDb users have given Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks a 5.0/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks?

It Follows (2014) - Mitchell's strange critical horror darling

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One piece of critical hyperbole looms over a creepy picture of a couple on the backseat of a car in the dark on this poster for David Robert Mitchell's It Follows

A young woman is with her boyfriend in his car one evening, but their sexual activity develops into a nightmare for her, as she henceforth gets pursued by mysterious persons.

It Follows is written, co-produced and directed by David Robert Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010)).

Shot enormously deliberately and with a visual focus of energy, (cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (Reptile (2023, VoD))), It Follows seems very carefully executed and never rushed. A seemingly floating use of different techniques stamps the film as highly modern and stylishly cool while also being rife with throw-back elements, (Children of the Corn (1984) and Halloween (1978) spring to mind, among other films.) Keir Gilchrist (Katie Says Goodbye (2016)) is luminous in the young cast with a star-of-tomorrow quality.

It requires a lot to get sufficiently involved in the strange scenario for the film to become truly frightening, and it is likely too self-conscious for me to ever arrive to that level with it. Although there is arguably some brilliance to the film's subtext that the entering into adult life is to learn and get used to sexual and homicidal lunatics lurking everywhere. The ending is not entirely satisfying. In sync with the surrounding film, the 1980s-nostalgic score (by Disasterpeace (Under the Silver Lake (2018))) is dominated by style, and like It Follows over-all, it is a matter of taste.

 

Watch a teaser for the film here

 

Cost: 1 mil. $

Box office: 21.8 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 21.8 times its cost)

[It Follows premiered 17 May (Cannes Film Festival, side competition) and runs 100 minutes. Mitchell wrote the script based on a recurring nightmare of his. Shooting took place from September - October 2013 in Michigan. The film opened #30 to a 160k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #5. behind new releases Home and Get Hard and holdover hits The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Cinderella, in 1,218 theaters, grossing 14.6 mil. $ (67 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (6.9 %) and France with 733k $(3.4 %). The film was nominated for 3 Independent Spirit awards and won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Maika Monroe (Longlegs (2024)) is back with Mitchell for sequel They Follow, shooting in 2025. Mitchell returned with Under the Silver Lake (2018). Monroe returned in Echoes of War (2015); Gilchrist in Sea of Fire (2014, TV movie) and theatrically in Dark Summer (2015). It Follows is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of It Follows?

Indignation (2016) - Sympathetic if muted Schamus debut

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Two very nice-looking young co-stars seated in a window sill is the unexceptional motif on this poster for James Schamus' Indignation

Marcus is a Jewish boy from New Jersey, a top student with an ambitious mother and a father who is a butcher, and he falls for a different type of girl, when he goes to college in Ohio...

Indignation is written, co-produced and directed by debuting James Schamus (The Ice Storm (1997, writer)), adapting the same-titled 2008 novel by Philip Roth (American Pastoral (1997)).

It is a well-acted portrait of the tightly wound America of the 1950s, a country at the cusp of change, with a thematic core about the relationship between Christianity and atheism, about the individual's right to his own story and perceptions, - and to attempt to convince others of his beliefs.

Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)) and Sarah Gadon (Black Bear (2020)) are good and palatable as the precocious young couple. Tracy Letts (Eric Larue (2023)) is excellent in a supporting part as a Conservative dean. Linda Emond (Only Murders in the Building (2023, TV-series)) as Marcus' mother is also terrific. Schamus succeeds in making the longer, dialog-based scenes vivid and thrilling. SPOILER The ending is somewhat confusing and unresolved: He soon after perishes in the Korean War, while she lives for decades...? Too many balances are cut out, and the title's indignation is never felt. - What here is supposed to leave us indignant? On whose behalf? The young man's, I presume, who is kicked out of college for being himself and not go to church, and therefore sent to war, but the film, - at least from a Christian perspective, - mostly merely portrays a less desirable time.

 

Related posts:

 

James Schamus: The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Lust, Caution/色，戒/Sè, Jiè/Sik1Gaai3 (2007) - Lee's erotic spy thriller is an exquisite, complex masterpiece (co-writer) 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

Hulk (2003) - Lee's fantastic comics adaptation drama (co-writer) 

The Ice Storm (1997) - Lee makes one of the year's great American films (writer)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 3.9 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-flop (projected return of 0.39 times its cost)

[Indignation premiered 24 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 111 minutes. Shooting took place from June - July 2015 in New York in just 25 days on a reportedly low budget, here projected at 10 mil. $. The film opened #34 to a 93k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #16 and in 317 theaters (different weeks), grossing 3.4 mil. $ (87.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Brazil with 72k $ (1.8 %) and the UK with 54k $ (1.4 %). Schamus returned with a short for 30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing (2019, anthology) and is hoping to return theatrically with College Republicans. Lerman returned in The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017); Gadon in 11.22.63 (2016, miniseries) and theatrically in The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2016). Indignation is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Indignation?

Longlegs (2024) - Auspicious marketing and hype surrounds Perkins' so-so fantasy horror

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An eerie and viciously red font across an ominous still of a girl in front of her snow-draped house looking back at someone unseen make up this effective poster for Osgood Perkins' Longlegs

Lee Harker is a young female FBI agent who is tasked with apprehending North America's most confounding serial killer, an unknown, letter-leaving perp who seemingly gets normal families to eradicate themselves completely. 

Longlegs is written and directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat's Daguhter (2015)).

Successfully marketed in a The Blair Witch Project (1999) type online focused scheme and critically hyped beyond reason, Perkins arrives in a big way after 3 mostly unnoticed prior efforts (and a 2020 The Twilight Zone episode), all of them similar horror mood pieces with satanic elements.

Longlegs starts well and succeeds in creating suspense early on, especially in a scene in Harker's home. The film seems to intentionally make you think of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Se7en (1995), but neither of the these comparisons to towering films in the horror-thriller genre are to Longlegs's advantage. 

The film is packaged so neatly, made with such self-assured style, - changing formats, color choices, unusual compositions and music, - all working to the film's 'hip' appeal: Maika Monroe (It Follows (2014)) is the strange Harker, whose prowess is explained early on by the deux ex machina writing trick of 'she's psychic'. SPOILER It seems unprofessional that she doesn't act on or report when the mass murderer comes to her home, but then her boss (Blair Underwood (Bad Hair (2020)) is no paragon of professional inspiration himself. SPOILER Longlegs veers from its rolemodels' realistic serial killer narratives, as it becomes clear that its killer has supernatural powers (from Satan), which he infuses his unlucky victims with through freaky dolls that a strange fake nun (Harker's hoarder mother) brings into their homes and then removes again after their deaths.

Cult icon actor Nicolas Cage (The Croods (2013)), who also co-produced the film, gives a strange performance as the strange Longlegs, singing, moving and screaming as only Cage could do. Stills of rock music icons Lou Reed and The Cure front man Robert Smith hang on the walls of Longlegs' strange dollmaker dungeon home, and he himself looks like a Smith look-a-like, who has undergone several facial filler injections and a nose job. Little to nothing in terms of details are given about the man. Cage looks strange more than scary, and he never hurts anyone other than himself by his own hands in the film. We move into The Boys from Brazil (1978) territory, and you may also think of Psycho (1960), the perennial horror classic starring Anthony Perkins, director Osgood's father. There's a deep, driving paternal connection to Perkins' career, and he seems to think of himself as a horror savant, and now one with huge success. But the referenced pictures are all infinitely better than Perkins' own creations. Longlegs is not without merit at all, but it is also something of a copycat card-in-a-hat trick. 'She's psychic.' 'The devil did it.' Alright then. Never truly haunting.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil. $

Box office: 90.5 mil. $ and counting

= Mega-hit (has returned 9 times its cost so far)

[Longlegs premiered 31 May (Beyond Fest, USA) and runs 101 minutes. The budget has only been revealed as 'under 10 mil. $'. Shooting took place from January - February 2023 in British Columbia, Canada. The marketing budget was also 'under 10 mil. $'. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Despicable Me 4, to a 22.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#4-#5), grossing 71.2 mil. $ so far. The film is slated to open in 10 more international markets, including big markets like Mexico and Italy. Perkins returns with The Monkey (2025). Monroe returns in In Cold Light; Cage in The Gunslingers (2025) or The Prince (2025). Longlegs is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Longlegs?

In the Bedroom (2001) - Field debuts with refined drama

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Fervent critical praise fills up a large part of this erotica and adult themes promising poster for Todd Field's In the Bedroom

A young man in Maine carries on a 'summer flirt' with an older woman who is a mother of three. Her ex-husband is a violent prick, and one day he shoots the young man. Due to a poor witness statement, he is later released on bail.

 

In the Bedroom is written by Robert Festinger (Trust (2010)) and great Californian filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Todd Field (Tár (2022)), whose debut it is. It is an adaptation of the 1979 short story Killings by Andre Dubus (Finding a Girl in America (1980)).

Tom Wilkinson (Denial (2016)) and Sissy Spacek (The Help (2011)) turn in terrific performances as the parents of the young man, who pains and grieve in each their own way. The film's pressurized silence during the first hour is unusual in a modern American film, (or more accurately in any American film.)

The film has strong, finely choreographed domestic spat scenes. The title, which alludes to a lobster-catching contraption and not the room in a house that we will naturally think of, seems poorly selected, and the film is too brightly lit in some scenes. The ending is not as powerful as it might have been, and the film overall may have been a tad overrated at its arrival in 2001.

 

Related posts:

 

Todd Field: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 1.7 mil. $

Box office: 44.7 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 26.2 times its cost)

[In the Bedroom premiered 19 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 131 minutes. Shooting took place from June - July 2000 in Maine. The distribution rights were purchased by Miramax, and a reportedly terrified Field followed the advice of his friend Tom Cruise in how to avoid notoriously meddling executive Harvey Weinstein ruining his film: first let Weinstein recut the film, then receive poor test scores, and then remind Weinstein of the great reception the film originally got at Sundance. The strategy worked, and the film was eventually released as Field intended. It opened #37 to a 93k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #12 and in 1,103 theaters, grossing 35.9 mil. $ (80.3 % of the total gross) The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 1.3 mil. $ (2.9 %; here the film was not released until 2005!) and the UK with 945k $ (2.1 %). It was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Picture to A Beautiful Mind, Actor (Wilkinson) to Denzel Washington in Training Day, Actress (Spacek) to Halle Berry in Monster's Ball, Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler (2008))) to Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind and Adapted Screenplay to Akiva Goldsman for A Beautiful Mind. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, 3/4 Independent Spirit award nominations, 3 National Board of Review awards, 1/5 AFI award nominations, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Field returned with Carnivàle (2005, TV-series) and theatrically with Little Children (2006). Wilkinson returned in Another Life (2001); Spacek in Midwives (2001, TV movie), Last Call (2002, TV movie) and theatrically in Tuck Everlasting (2002). In the Bedroom is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Bedroom?

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975) - Edmonds' notorious Nazisploitation sensation

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Promises of sensational sex and violence feature prominently on this no-holds-barred exploitative poster for Don Edmonds' Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS

In SS commandant Ilse's small concentration camp in Nazi-era Germany, women are rotting their lives away or getting trained in pain to be prepared as prostitute slaves for the German soldiers, while the male prisoners are used - and castrated. But a rebellion smoulders ...

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is written by Jonah Royston (The Starlost (1973, TV-series)) and John C.W. Saxton (Blackout (1978)) and directed by Don Edmonds (Wild Honey (1972)).

This sensationalistic and entirely sleazy and tasteless film is elevated by good camera-work (cinematography by Glenn Roland (First Strike (1984))) and a thoroughly sadistic performance by Dyanne Thorne (Hellhole (1985)) as the title character. The story is titillating (for the right audience) and the tension builds slowly despite possible confusion as to who is supposed to be the 'hero' of the tale.

 

 

Watch a clip from the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 100k $

Box office: Unknown, projected 5 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of 50 times its cost)

[Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS premiered in January (Boston) and runs 96 minutes. The story is loosely inspired by the Buchenwald camp commander's wife Ilse Koch, who was imprisoned following WWII for her crimes. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California on the left-over set from Hogan's Heroes (1965-71), which the production was allowed to use on the condition that they demolish it after. The film was released to derisive reviews, bans in Australia, Germany and Norway, - and thunderous audience interest. Regrettably the gross numbers are not public information, but they were likely huge: The film sold 186,204 tickets in the small market of Denmark, one of its relatively few markets, coming to approximately 400k $. It may well have grossed more than 5 mil. $. It inspired three sequels, all with Thorne, and none that logically made sense in relation to each other, the first one being Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), which was Edmonds' return. Thorne first returned in The Swinging Barmaids (1975). Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is rotten at 36 % with a 4.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS?

The Intruder/Shame/I Hate Your Guts/The Stranger (1962) - Corman's impassioned political drama

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A fiery cross is outlined against the serious visage of star William Shatner on this stark poster for Roger Corman's The Intruder

A mysterious stranger arrives in the racially segregated Southern town of Caxton; he is a good-mannered rhetorical figure, promoting 'social reform' while actually spelling trouble, - by inciting a race riot.

The Intruder is written by Charles Beaumont (Night of the Eagle (1962)), adapting his own same-titled 1959 novel, and directed by great Michigander filmmaker Roger Corman (Highway Dragnet (1954)).

William Shatner (The Big Bang Theory (2019, TV-series)) shines in the central part of Adam Crane, and this rare, idealistic, topical issue-driven film impresses as an accomplishment in itself as well as in terms of what it succeeds with: The casting of the town's locals is strong, and central scenes will etch themselves into the audience's memory banks. The Intruder is among the best race-themed American films of all time.

 

Related posts:

Roger Corman: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (documentary subject)

Philadelphia (1993) - AIDS and homosexuality acknowledged in great drama (actor) 

Galaxy of Terror (1981) - Clark and Corman's delightful space-set gore-fest (producer)

Death Race 2000 (1975) - AIP's dystopic car smash (producer)
The Wild Angels (1966) - Young biker rebels deliver a counter-culture punch in Corman's hands

Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's Gothic AIP castle horror (producer) 

Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) - Cheap, fast, amusing spoof/spy thriller/creature feature (producer/director)
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

House of Usher/The Fall of the House of Usher/The Mysterious House of Usher (1960) - Corman's exuberant first house of Poeish horror

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 90-100k $

Box office: Unknown

= Unknown but reportedly a flop

[The Intruder premiered 14 May (New York) and runs 84 minutes. Major studios had passed on the adaptation, which Corman and his brother Gene Corman then did on a much smaller budget, partially with their own money. Shooting took place in 3½ weeks in Missouri. The production was careful not to share the script with the locals, fearing getting forced to leave. Still they reportedly encountered threats, sabotage and revoked permissions for shooting due to the film's anti-racism message. Corman later shared that the film, distributed by his own company domestically, was his only film at the time that lost money, which he attributed to its raw 'lesson'. He learned from it to focus instead on entertainment value and relegate themes and messages to subtext. The film was nevertheless also released in at least 14 international markets. Corman returned with Tales of Terror (1962). Shatner returned in 13 short, TV and narration credits prior to his theatrical return in The Outrage (1964). 4.1k+ IMDb users have given The Intruder a 7.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Intruder?

In China They Eat Dogs/I Kina Spiser De Hunde (1999) - Olsen finds comedic gold with terrific Jensen script

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The four main stars in black jumpsuits walking away from an explosion makes up this poster for Lasse Spang Olsen's In China They Eat Dogs

Arvid is a bank worker, who one day stops a bank robbery using a squash racket. But he later decides that he was wrong to do this, and that he and his brother Harald should be part of the robbery of a money transport.

 

In China They Eat Dogs is written by Anders Thomas Jensen (The Promised Land/Bastarden (2023)) and directed by Lasse Spang Olsen (Operation Cobra (1995)). The title is a literal translation of the original Danish title.

Possibly among the funniest Danish films of all time, Jensen's script is brilliant, and the lines and plot are highly original. The performances are delivered with bravado by Kim Bodnia (Krigarnas Ö (2016)), Dejan Cukic (Borgia (2011-14)), Trine Dyrholm (Brecht (2019)), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Riders of Justice/Retfærdighedens Ryttere (2020)) and Tomas Villum Jensen (Old Men in New Cars/Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler (2002)).

Olsen, previously known as a stunt coordinator, is no great director, and the action elements and sound work in the film are often sketchy.

 

Watch a very short clip from the film here

 

Cost: 8 mil. DKK, approximately 1.17 mil. $

Box office: At least 1.5 mil. $, projected final gross of 1.8 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a big flop (projected return of 1.53 times its cost)

[In China They Eat Dogs was released 10 September (Denmark) and runs 91 minutes. Very unusually for a Danish film, Olsen did not secure any state funding for his film, for which it was denied repeatedly, and instead gathered funds from different avenues. Shooting took place in Denmark, including in Copenhagen. The film sold 223,248 tickets in Denmark, coming to 1.5 mil. $. Regrettably the gross numbers from its foreign markets (Norway, Iceland, Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic) are not reported online. Likely small, they could have resulted in a projected final gross of 1.8 mil. $, which would result in a big flop rating. The film won 1/3 Robert award nominations (Denmark's Oscar). The film got a sequel in Old Men in New Cars/Gamle Mænd i Nye Biler (2002) with returning stars and creatives. Olsen first returned with Kløcler & Vingsøe Udfordrer Afrika (2000, TV game-show) and theatrically with Jolly Roger (2001). Bodnia returned in Dragonfly/Øyenstikker (2001); Kaas in Taxi (1999, TV-series)), Kajen mod Vest (1999, TV movie)) and theatrically in Max (2000). 23k+ IMDb users have given In China They Eat Dogs 7.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of In China They Eat Dogs?

I Spit on Your Grave/Day of the Woman (1978) - Zarchi's infamous, unrelenting rape-and-revenge picture

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A sensation-promising and quite long tagline overheads an image of scantily clad Demi Moore (who does not act in the film, however!) with a bloodied hunting knife in a forest on this great poster for Meir Zarchi's I Spit on Your Grave

Jennifer is a short story writer from New York who arrives at a summerhouse in Connecticut, and her partially bared body induces four local men til beat her up, gang rape her and leave her for dead. But she doesn't die. In fact she wakes up with revenge on her mind!

I Spit on Your Grave is written, directed and edited by debuting Meir Zarchi (Rachel (1960, writer)).

We get to know a repulsive sediment of men through fairly well-acted performances here, and Camille Keaton (The Butterfly Room (2012)) is beautiful as the victimized Jennifer, who exacts gruesome vengeance: SPOILER Especially the castration scene is grim.

Apart from this, the film actually has some fine imagery (cinematography by Nuri Habib (Bipanah (1953))) and is fundamentally ambiguous, - it seems simultaneously feminist and exploitation-minded, - and shocking. The trailer and poster indicates that audiences should be outraged that Jennifer would allegedly not be convicted for her revenge in any American court. The ascertainment is highly speculative, and most will probably also find that it is not her revenge that is outrageous but the crime that precedes it.

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 80k $

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[I Spit on Your Grave premiered 23 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 102 minutes. Zarchi has explained that inspiration for the story came from his meeting and helping a rape victim in New York in 1974. Keaton was reportedly chosen from a New York audition out of 4,000 women. Shooting took place from July - August (1978) in New York and Connecticut. 2 crew members resigned during production, because they could not take the portrayed violence. Zarchi limited mention of anal rape to obtain the R rating. Zarchi himself distributed the film initially at drive-ins, without much success, before Jerry Gross Organization eventually distributed it wider in North America, now under the title I Spit on Your Grave, although still to reportedly small results. Gross had the poster made seen above with a then unknown Demi Moore posing with her back to the camera, as she was working on another film for him at the time. I Spit on Your Grave was released in a handful of other markets but didn't find a mass audience before it was released on video. It was banned in many countries, including Norway, Ireland, Australia, the UK, Iceland, Canada and West Germany. Roger Ebert gave it a 0/4 star rating, translating to 3 notches under this one. The film inspired an unofficial 1993 sequel (with Keaton), three remake sequels (2010; 2013; 2015) and finally an official sequel by Zarchi and with Keaton, entitled I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2016). Zarchi first returned with Don't Mess with My Sister! (1985). Keaton returned first in Raw Force (1982). I Spit on Your Grave is rotten at 51 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Spit on Your Grave?