What an odd little film. At just under an hour runtime- and with practically no dialogue- this mostly silent, noirish, horror-thriller is beautifully shot- and has more "gore" (a term used lightly here) than you'd expect to see in a film made in the 50's.
In it, we follow a young woman out on the prowl for vengeance. A woman who was "born into horror"- for she was raised amidst a domestic abuse situation, during which she witnessed her alcoholic father murder her adulterous mother (hence the alternative title: Daughter Of Horror).
She manages to enact revenge upon her father...and get away with it. And, thus, fancies herself a bit of a sociopath. But she also retains her extreme intolerance for misogyny.
She sees the misogyny of her father reflected everywhere she goes...and it's pushing her toward the brink of insanity. She still fantasizes about murdering him. And she can't even leave the house at night without being accosted by every other guy on the street; acting like they own her.
But this only pushes her toward her next act of vengeance. And this time she has a plan.
She pretends to be a prostitute; and makes a deal with the local pimp (The Devil). He sets her up with one of his wealthy clients: her target; and he gets to keep the money.
The man is a wealthy, glutton, and socialite, with a penchant for beautiful young women. And he just so happens to be the same john that his mother was seeing, when her father was driven to bitter, alcohol-induced insanity, and murder...
She has chosen to hang with the devils and walk with the ghouls, but is she really cut out for this path to Hell? Or is this Hell but a construct of her imagination, stemming from her guilt? The double twist at the end, reveals why everything turns so bizarre in the latter portion of the film, at least.
What makes this film so odd, is that it first comes off as if it is feminist, in nature. Like she's a superhero, of sorts: wandering the streets; luring in unsuspecting misogynists to their deaths. I mean, her actions are at least somewhat justified- in a Dexter sort of sense- you'd think. But the narration, and guilt trip she is sent on, kind of throw this into question- making the whole thing seem more like it was meant to be a propaganda piece, teaching the misogynistic patriarchy about the dangers of raising a young feminist-minded daughter. It's really hard to read what the "motive" of this film was for contemporary viewers, from a modern context. However, with that being said, it's certainly worth a watch for it's attractive mise-en-scene; bloodless gore; and that epic jazz sequence at the end.
6 out of 10.
In it, we follow a young woman out on the prowl for vengeance. A woman who was "born into horror"- for she was raised amidst a domestic abuse situation, during which she witnessed her alcoholic father murder her adulterous mother (hence the alternative title: Daughter Of Horror).
She manages to enact revenge upon her father...and get away with it. And, thus, fancies herself a bit of a sociopath. But she also retains her extreme intolerance for misogyny.
She sees the misogyny of her father reflected everywhere she goes...and it's pushing her toward the brink of insanity. She still fantasizes about murdering him. And she can't even leave the house at night without being accosted by every other guy on the street; acting like they own her.
But this only pushes her toward her next act of vengeance. And this time she has a plan.
She pretends to be a prostitute; and makes a deal with the local pimp (The Devil). He sets her up with one of his wealthy clients: her target; and he gets to keep the money.
The man is a wealthy, glutton, and socialite, with a penchant for beautiful young women. And he just so happens to be the same john that his mother was seeing, when her father was driven to bitter, alcohol-induced insanity, and murder...
She has chosen to hang with the devils and walk with the ghouls, but is she really cut out for this path to Hell? Or is this Hell but a construct of her imagination, stemming from her guilt? The double twist at the end, reveals why everything turns so bizarre in the latter portion of the film, at least.
What makes this film so odd, is that it first comes off as if it is feminist, in nature. Like she's a superhero, of sorts: wandering the streets; luring in unsuspecting misogynists to their deaths. I mean, her actions are at least somewhat justified- in a Dexter sort of sense- you'd think. But the narration, and guilt trip she is sent on, kind of throw this into question- making the whole thing seem more like it was meant to be a propaganda piece, teaching the misogynistic patriarchy about the dangers of raising a young feminist-minded daughter. It's really hard to read what the "motive" of this film was for contemporary viewers, from a modern context. However, with that being said, it's certainly worth a watch for it's attractive mise-en-scene; bloodless gore; and that epic jazz sequence at the end.
6 out of 10.