Review of Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973) by Daniel M — 03 Aug 2007

Even for it's flaws, this is one cool film! This little Swedish cheapie/thriller was Quinton Tarantion's inspiration for the Kill Bill movies, but while it is not as fun or as quirky of a film, it is easily the better of the two.

When Frija, a beautiful mute farm girl, is kidnapped, drugged, forced into prostitution and disfigured by having her eye cut out by her pimp, she spends her days off becoming a master of weapons, martial arts and defensive driving.

Then, when the time is right, she gets revenge on all those who wronged her. Christina Lindberg is incredibly sexy and charasmatic as the lead role, although she never once speaks a single word. Thriller is exactly what it says.

It is a cruel picture and not going to be everybodys cup of tea. The only flaws are some unappropriate and unsubtle hard core porn shots that were spliced into the film at the last moment. They are totally unnecessary and is what nearly turns this film from a cool exploitation film to smut.

..but if you can look past it this film still comes off being a masterpiece of grindhouse cinema. My only other regret is that there isn't a sequel. Not recommended to everyone, but if you love this kind of stuff you have to watch it.