(1973)
Dir - David Lowell Rich
Overall: MEH
The largely moronic television movie Satan's School for Girls from producer Aaron Spelling takes an admirable stab at being atmospherically engaging, but it is too flawed to pull off such a thing. Pamela Franklin, Kate Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd make up the notable cast of TV actors and this was one of four such films from director David Lowell Rich in 1973 alone. All parties involved get us from point A to point B soundly enough, but unintentional humor creeps in and the meandering plot emphasizes the low budget. With such a fetching title, the central mystery plays out more as a waiting game for Franklin's character to catch up on what the viewers knew was happening before the film even started. Watching her walk around conveniently, (for a horror movie), dark hallways and interact with people who are clearly hiding something takes up a predominant amount of the running time and this is only interjected by silliness like a guy drowning by a couple of students poking him with sticks and a cop blowing a door's chain lock off with a handgun. The ending would be a little creepy if it was not so predictable or did not feel as if it took too long to get there, but alas, such is not the case.
(1974)
Dir - Elliot Silverstein
Overall: WOOF
Plenty of rape and revenge films unfortunately came in the wake of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left and Elliot Silverstein's Nightmare Honeymoon is one of the more idiotically plotted. The nasty elements set off the second act where newlyweds Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith stumble across a murder, which is the first incident that testes the audience's tolerance for unwholesome scumbags and absurd overacting. Instead of being a menacing sociopath as seems intended, John Beck comes off like an utter buffoon, mugging with his eyes bugged-out and veins popping from of his neck and forehead to the point of cartoon villain embarrassment. His character then makes a move that no murdering rapist on earth would ever make, allowing the rest of the film to play out under the pretense of a glacial plot hole that only gets more miserable. Rambo's protagonist then behaves just as hare-brained and it becomes impossible to buy into the trauma suffered by him and his new wife, something that is not helped by slack pacing that only picks up in the finale when we are treated to more of Beck making a fool of himself with such odious material.
(1976)
Dir - Brian De Palma
Overall: MEH
Brian De Palma returned to straight Alfred Hitchcock worship with Obsession, essentially an unofficial Vertigo remake which followed up his wackadoo, financially disappointing cult musical Phantom of the Paradise. Co-scripted by Paul Schrader, it originally featured a completely different third act which jumped ten years ahead of where the film ended. De Palma's reworking of the story to fit a more reasonable running time and sense of structure did not fit well with Schrader who practically disowned the final result. While it is lushly photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond and has a strong performance from Geneviève Bujold, it is primarily flawed in every other department. Cliff Robertson is unnaturally stiff in the lead, a traumatic role that would logically dictate more than the bare minimum of emoting which he gives off here. Bernard Hermann's score is obnoxiously over the top and plays continuously throughout the entire movie. Mostly though, the story is rather hare-brained and features a ridiculous twist ending that is surprisingly predictable in its stupidity. Certainly harmless and nothing to take all that seriously, it is still a haphazard entry for De Palma.
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