If it wasn't for them I would never have seen these films.
Mundo Depravados starts with a woman being chased through what looks like the New York garment district by a masked man. He catches up with her and stabs her and strips her down. In come detectives Riley and Hamilton (played by the comedy duo of Decker and Reed) to find out who this bizarre sex killer really is. They end up at a health club for women run by Tango (Tempest Storm) who is also an exotic dancer. Of course she is.
There is lots of classic women getting disrobed, murdered and attacked. Tempest does a bizarre dance number and helps the cops find out who the sex killer is.
There are a couple of things that make this film so fascinating. It is shot in New York. 1966/67 New York. All the exteriors are like a fabulous time capsule of places that would never be documented otherwise. Sure, Tempest Storm is one of the more wooden actresses of her time but, let's be honest. We aren't here for her acting. She has more memorable assets.
The comedy team of Decker and Reed are great as the cops. Decker plays the straight man while Reed is hilarious in his adoration and worship of Tempest. This is an enjoyable 73 minutes of time in a place that doesn't exist anymore and we are all a little less for the disappearance of a more innocent time.
In Hot Blood is a different bird in the same nudie frame. Rita (Doris Porro) is a full figured bombshell who is sick of the grind of factory work. She knows she's got it so, why not get paid for it? First it's just innocent modeling, but it isn't long before she descends into a lifestyle of sex, drugs and...well, sex. Marijuana at first, but it isn't long before the dreaded needle comes out. What will Rita do? Continue to slide down that slippery slope or make a stand?
With nothing but narration to lead us through this bizarre world of In Hot Blood, we get a view of depravity. Depravity lite might be a better description. There is a lot of nudity, some I wish would have stayed clothed, but the drug thing is just there until the harder stuff in the film's climax.
NOW FOR THE SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only black girl in the film pulls out a baggie of heroin and proceeds to get a shot in the ass. Apparently this is a new, psychotic strain of heroin because she tries to force it on Rita and doesn't stop until Rita and her girlfriend beat her into unconsciousness.
When she awakens she is still in a rage, grabs a wicked looking cleaver from her purse and heads out to find the girls. She finds them after a lengthy lesbian tryst and hacks Rita up. The other girl grabs a gun from her endtable and shoots the drug crazed girl as she is hacked to pieces as well. The ending is so downbeat.
I did laugh when the narrator, who is also director Joel Landwehr, described Rita's coat as being orange. That would be great in a color film, but in a black and white one it becomes unintentional hilarity.
A really odd pair of films that work as a sign of the times and what things looked like back in the day.
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| I saved this one for last. She's the prettiest thing in the movie. |
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