Review of Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973) by Liam U — 20 Nov 2010

This revenge film opens with a young girl being raped, the trauma of which makes her mute. A few years later, and Madeleine (Christina Lindberg) is all grown up. But things soon turn unpleasant for her after she accepts a ride with Tony (Heinz Hopf), a young man who kidnaps Madeleine and gets her hooked on heroin. She is then forced into prostitution, forced to stick around with the promise of more drugs if she behaves. Naturally, she doesn't take too kindly to being whored out, and attacks her first client. Enraged, Tony decides to teach Madeleine a lesson by carving out one of her eyes. All she has to keep her going is the bloody revenge she's plotting.

'Thriller: A Cruel Picture (Thriller - en grym film) (Vibenius, 1974)' is also known as "Hooker's Revenge" and "They Call Her One Eye" - a Swedish rape and revenge film that is at times utterly brutal. Director Bo Arne Verbenius casts a stylish eye over a gritty story, and it's little wonder that this cult film has garnered quite a following.

The most effective scenes are those depicting Madeleine's prostitution. Trapped in a room, she is given a list of clients each morning and two hits of heroin to get her through the day. Verbenius splices actual hard core pornography footage into these scenes, unflinching portraying Madeleine's plight. They're powerful scenes that impact hard, acted superbly by a silent Christina Lindberg.

Once Madeleine starts getting some money together, with Tony promising her a cut if she plays nice, she begins training. She's allowed out of the house once a day each week, and she takes this opportunity to learn martial arts, shooting, and stunt driving. The pieces are carefully laid out, and it isn't long before blood starts to flow once Madeleine begins her path of vengeful destruction.

But the revenge scenes are painfully drawn out, with Vibenius relying heavily on super slow-motion. At first it's quite stylish, but it very quickly becomes tiresome. After the pleasant pace of the first two thirds, this roadblock causes the film to drastically slow down. Revelling in the revenge is understandable, afterall, Madeleine does deserve it, but the film becomes tedious and boring.

The sound design does deserve a special mention, as it is fantastic for the majority of the film. On the rare occasion it grates, but overall it's brilliant and effectively employed. The film dabbles in experimental visuals, with some sickening close-ups and some truly shocking scenes - particularly the eye-slicing which features an actual corpse.

However, 'Thriller: A Cruel Picture' is surprisingly competently made, and would be a very good film if it wasn't for the pacing issues. Christina Lindberg really can't be praised enough for a brave and daring performance, while Vibenius shows some directorial flair which has since been pilfered by the likes of Tarantino. If you can stomach rape and revenge films, and if you don't bore easily, then you may just find something worthwhile in this cult classic.