One of the sweatiest, sleaziest psychopaths you're ever likely to see on film pursues a stewardess. Who will survive this cat-and-mouse game from the gutters of grindhouse cinema? Let's press play and find out.
The film begins with a hapless (and bra-less) young woman being followed by some faceless stalker, shot from the killer's POV Jason Voorhees style.
Predictaby, we watch her undress and subsequently strangled to death. Queue title...
From the director/writer of the Catholic film Rosa de Lima (1961) and the family friendly comedy romps Mi adorable esclava (1962) and Muchachas en vacaciones (1958)... kinda weird to see ol'
José María Elorrieta take such a dark and twisted turn.
Meet stewardess Maria (
Maria Perschy), returning from a trip, she heads into a deserted parking garage (never a good idea in a seventies grindhouse flick).
In the backseat of her car is Charly Reed (
Aramis Ney), this sweaty, slobbering, perverted mess. Maria is able to run to safety, but she is tormented by the stalker over the next several days.
Every time Charly creeps into her house or finds her on the street, Maria is saved in the nick of time by someone, usually her boyfriend.
At a local pub, Maria finds herself seated near her stalker, who eyes her short skirt lecherously. Again, she manages to get away. Either she's a really slick damsel-in-distress, or Charly is the worst serial killer ever.
Who is this Charly guy? He's a Vietnam vet, who's come back home all messed up in the head.
Charly meets a nice prostitute at a discotheque. The share some J&B and cigarettes before heading to his disgusting homestead.
And he's killed again. Charly strangles the girl and then carries her to his basement for disposal. Worse, we have to watch him drink lots of milk and scream at his bedroom mirror.
Party time! Everyone's having a blast in swingin' Madrid.... actually, not really. Charly is being humiliated by one of his Vietnam buddies, and subsequently murders his ass in the bathroom.
Maria finds Charly's residence and discovers he's just as creepy as she'd imagined, with old dolls and newspaper clippings everywhere. What did she hope to accomplish by going to this rapist/murderer's house?
Charly comes home and finds Maria there. He locks her in the basement with the dead prostitute who's being dissolved in a vat of acid.
Maria Perschy was an Austrian actress who had the world in the palm of her hand in the late fifties, early-sixties. She was nominated for the Golden Laurel Award for Top Female New Face in 1964, and appeared in dozens of Euro flicks, ranging from slapstick comedies to horror. She even started to make a break in Hollywood when tragedy struck.
She suffered a severe burn on the face while filming in 1971. This seemed to have derailed her career. She was bedridden and had to undergo several operations. I can't really tell from this film, but then this film feels like it was marinated in a puddle at a gas station bathroom.
Charly picks up Maria's friend and strangles her... but the camera hangs on her face long enough for us to see she actually survived the attack. The film ends with an epic showdown between Maria and Charly. The background music sounds like silent film piano - the stereotypical scene where the villain ties the damsel to the railroad tracks.
Indeed, this film ends on the railroad tracks, but instead of the helpless damsel who needs to be saved by the generic hero, Maria is capable enough to kill his sorry ass in the end.
All in all, it's not a bad movie; just a straightforward film about a messed-up vet who kills women. Nothing special. And I guess that's why it never really became a cult favorite - there's nothing to latch onto, nothing beyond the mediocre.
Maria Perschy is fantastic as the girl who won't settle for being the victim. Aramis Ney does an all-too-perfect portrayal of a twisted, pervy psychopath. But the story is pretty meh, and the direction is totally uninspired... worse, it's so poorly shot, you can hardly tell what the hell is going on in the action scenes. Could have been much better with a script with a dash or originality and some creative, skilled direction.
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
