Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973) American International Pictures (US)/Action-Thriller RT: 107 minutes No MPAA rating (strong graphic violence, graphic nudity, explicit hardcore sex, some language, graphic drug use) Director: Bo Arne Vibenius (as “Alex Fridolinski”) Screenplay: Bo Arne Vibenius Music: Ralph Lundsten Cinematography: Andrew Bellis Release date: June 5, 1974 (US) Cast: Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf, Despina Tomazani, Per-Axel Arosenius, Gunnel Wadner, Solveig Andersson, Bjorn Kristiansson, Marie-Louise Mannervall, Hildur Lindberg, Stig Lokrantz, Olle Nordlander, Marshall McDonagh, Gunnar Palm, Pamela Patho-Galantai, Hans-Eric Stenborg. Box Office: N/A AKA: They Call Her One Eye and Hooker’s Revenge
Rating: *** ½
I never would have seen the Swedish exploitationer Thriller: A Cruel Picture if not for Quentin Tarantino’s referencing of it in the Kill Bill duology. Daryl Hannah’s eyepatch-wearing assassin is obviously modeled after the heroine of this nasty revenge picture that combines strong violence and hardcore sex scenes that definitely would have earned it an X rating.
Originally banned in its home country, director Bo Arne Vibenius had to trim Thriller: A Cruel Picture down to 82 minutes before the censorship board finally reversed its position. That’s the version that got released in the US about a year later under the title They Call Her One Eye. I can’t begin to imagine how it would have played with all the explicit material removed. I was actually shocked by its graphic sexual content. You don’t expect to see penetration and ejaculation shots in a violent thriller. To be fair, they were edited in post-production to cash in on the trend of pornographic films from Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark.
Life has been rather cruel to Madeleine (Lindberg). She was raped as a young child by a disgusting old man, an ordeal that left her mute. The daughter of simple dairy farmers, it’s unlikely she’ll ever speak again no matter how many doctors she sees. One day while waiting for a bus, she’s lured into a fancy car by a charming stranger named Tony (Hopf) who wines, dines and drugs her. The sleaze turns out to be a pimp who gets her hooked on heroin then forces her to turn tricks in order to keep feeding her habit. He also sends a forged letter to her parents informing them of her decision to leave home and never return. He renames her Frigga and makes it clear she has no choice but to cooperate, a point he gets across by cutting out one of her eyes with a scalpel after she disfigures a client’s face.
After her despondent parents commit suicide, Frigga decides to take back her life. She makes an escape plan funded by money she earns from providing additional services to clients. Judging by the indignities that occur in her room, they’re among the lowest forms of human life in Sweden. She takes lessons in martial arts, shooting and driving. She also finds a new drug source. Once she has everything all set, she begins her bloody mission of vengeance.
I like Thriller: A Cruel Picture. It’s a good exploitation flick. It doesn’t mean it’s flawless. It’s NOT. It has some humongous plot holes. Let’s take a look. Obviously, no kidnapper is going to allow their captive a day off to roam free and do their own thing like Tony does with Frigga. What if they go to the cops? In this particular case, it can be explained away by Frigga’s dependence on H provided by her captor, but then answer me this. How does Tony NOT know what she’s doing on her day off? Are we really expected to believe he never has her followed, not even once? Here’s another. After killing two thugs at a warehouse, Frigga sits and waits for the police to arrive. When they do, she beats them up and steals their patrol car. Why not take her own nondescript car instead? It’s less likely to be noticed. Also, there’s a greater chance she’ll be caught driving a stolen police vehicle (with the siren blaring, no less). Isn’t it possible the cops will put a BOLO out on it the minute they discover what’s happened? I’d say it’s very likely.
Ordinarily, I don’t go for English dubbing. It’s distracting because there’s something off about it tonally speaking. HOWEVER, this rule applies only to serious, more prestigious art films. It does NOT apply to spaghetti westerns, kung fu movies, cheapie Italian genre movies and exploitation flicks from all countries. At heart, Thriller: A Cruel Picture is just as trashy as any American-made exploitation revenge actioner with the added bonus of X-level sex. It has a solid leading lady in Lindberg, an erotica actress known to American men for her appearances in Playboy and Penthouse (Pet of the Month, June 1970). She convincingly plays a young woman who’s been in hell for most of her life and wants out. Frigga is damaged goods, but also foxy, tough, relentless and mad as hell. She wants nothing less than total retribution against everybody that wronged her. Boy, does she ever get it!
However, this leads to my other complaint about Thriller: A Cruel Picture. All of the violent scenes are filmed in slow motion, really slow motion. Why? I suspect it’s supposed to be artful. It is, after all, a European exploitation movie. The truth is it serves no purpose. It’s actually really annoying. On the other hand, I now know where Christopher George got his inspiration for his death scene in Enter the Ninja.
Thriller: A Cruel Picture is one of the earliest examples of a female protagonist refusing to be a helpless victim and taking action against her (mostly) male tormentors. The idea of making Frigga a mute is interesting; it’s clearly a statement about females not having a voice in a male-dominated society. This idea would be used to even better effect in Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank QT for bringing Thriller: A Cruel Picture to my attention. It really is quite an experience. The near-complete absence of a score enhances the bleak tone. It definitely gives credence to what your parents always said about getting into cars with strangers. It doesn’t always work stylistically and Vibenius’ screenplay could have used some polishing. The acting and characterizations aside from Lindberg are about what you’d expect of a movie of this ilk. The heroine is a bad ass hottie, the villains are slimy and nobody other than Madeleine/Frigga has more than one dimension.
I have to admit I like the American theatrical title They Call Her One Eye better than Thriller: A Cruel Picture. It sounds cooler. I know a cool title doesn’t always guarantee a good movie (I Dismember Mama anybody?), but it stays with you nonetheless. By any title, Thriller: A Cruel Picture is a good junky exploitation movie. It would have been better without all the damn slo-mo. Oh well, you know what they say. Forget it Movie Guy, it’s Euro-town.
WARNING: FOR ADULTS ONLY!!!
