Death Weekend

Plot synopsis:
Set over a period of 24 hours on a cold November day in rural Ontario, Diane (Brenda Vaccaro), a former fashion model, meets Harry (Chuck Shamata), a wealthy dentist swinger. After a whirlwind romance, she decides to accompany Harry for a weekend party at his remote country house by a lake. On their way in Harry's Corvette, Diane asks Harry to let her drive the rest of the way.
They soon encounter a red-colored Camaro loaded with four drunken thugs, led by Lep (Don Stroud) and get into a fit of road rage where Diane forces the punks off the road and into a creek bed, wrecking their car. At the lake house, Diane learns that despite what Harry had told her in order to get her to come with him, there are no other guests joining them at the house, and that he is only using her for sex. Diane and Harry are unaware that the angry gang is seeking them, looking for some vicious revenge against the arguing, unhappy and unarmed couple. After the gang rampages through a camping park looking for the car that ran them off the road, they find the Corvette at a rural gas station where Harry had left it to be looked after while taking a less flashy station wagon to the country house. After intimidating the drunk station owners to give them the location to where Harry is staying, Lep and his friends drive off to their destination.
The four thugs break into the lake house and hold both Diane and Harry hostage. Over the rest of the day and night, Lep and his three cohorts Runt (Richard Ayres), Frankie (Kyle Edwards), and Stanley (Don Granberry), terrorize, harass, and humiliate their two captives from vandalizing the house to stealing Harry's speedboat and wrecking it, killing two townspeople in the process. When Diane attempts to escape, Lep recaptures her and, as punishment, rapes her.
At nightfall, the gang becomes more out of control with drinking and smoking dope. Harry confronts them with a pump-action shotgun, but he hesitates to shoot and Lep snatches the weapon from his hands. Lep then uses it to kill Harry as he attempts to flee from the house, and Diane is taken to a bedroom to be raped again, this time by Runt. Diane fights back and eventually kills Runt by slashing his neck with a shard of mirror glass and she manages to flee from the house. She later traps Stanley in the boathouse and sets it on fire, allowing him to burn to death. She then lures the pursuing Frankie to a nearby bog where he falls into a quicksand pit and drowns.
In the morning, Diane and the shotgun-toting Lep face off in a final confrontation in an open field where she attempts to hotwire and escape in Harry's car (with Harry's dead body in the front seat) as Lep tries to shoot her with the shotgun. When Lep runs out of ammunition, he climbs on top of the moving car to stop Diane attempting to drive away. The confrontation ends when Diane manages to shake Lep off the hood, and then runs him over, killing him.
Diane drives the bullet-ridden car away to a paved road where the car stalls on the side of the road. In the final shot, Diane, looking exhausted and dazed, exits the damaged car and looks down the empty road.

Tags: sadist, revenge, cult, murder, violence

Review:
Rich playboy (Chuck Shamata) and his 'supposed weekend fling' (Brenda Vaccaro) embark in some road rage with four thugs.
"Death Weekend" begins with a sleazy super rich dentist on the way to his country mansion with a buxom beauty in tow.The dentist has actually deceived Brenda Vaccaro into the country weekend foray-the sole purpose of the trip is to enjoy his latest conquest.On their way in their car the couple come across four hillbillies who start hassling the couple and chasing them in their car.Vaccaro manages to leave 'em behind.The enraged goons vows to extract revenge.The orgy of mindless violence begins in the dentists mansion...William Fruet's "Death Weekend" is an ugly and brutal rape and revenge flick inspired by "Straw Dogs" and "Last House on the Left".The most surprising fact is that it was banned as the video nasty in UK.The acting is great,the atmosphere is suitably sleazy and there is enough violence to keep fans of grimy exploitation flicks entertained.Give this one a look.9 out of 10..
"Death Weekend" is a more complex film than it appears on the surface.The violence is initially against Harry's property which he values more than anything else.
Her resilience against the grotesque mob of ugly greasers is exhilarating to watch and is comparable to the revenge actions that take place in the later "I Spit On Your Grave".The film's closing images are unnerving, keeping in tone with the somewhat excessive terror factor of the second half.Stroud and Vaccaro are excellent.7/10.
'Weekend' starring Brenda Vaccaro is a lesser known entry in the rape-revenge sub-genre.
Don Stroud plays the lead baddie who just couldn't take being out driven by a girl in the beginning (a pretty well done car chase sequence) and eventually tracks down Vaccaro at a nice vacation lodge.
Hardcore exploitation fans may find 'Death Weekend' to be a bit 'boring' but that may appeal to those who don't like films with an 'extreme' edge to them..
However, their argument pales when they are menaced by a quartet of scuzzy degenerates, who proceed to turn their weekend into a nightmare...Death Weekend is a misleading film, in the sense that any fan of exploitation will probably feel short changed, as in regards to content, it's pretty tame indeed.A film more interested in character exploration, it also takes its time to build to its effective and tense climax.I went into Death Weekend expecting a nasty exploitative shocker but what I got was a solid enough well made film in its own right.A recommended film for those seeking something just a little bit more offbeat, but again, exploitation fans should be aware that this will not be what they're expecting, and some may be underwhelmed by its slow burning style and tame content.
Solidly-done, low-budget thriller from Canada is a great tale of survival.In route to their weekend get away, a woman and her gentleman friend anger a gang of thugs and end up paying for it.Death Weekend is a little known thriller, which is a shame since it's a good entry in the vengeance/exploitation genre.
While Death Weekend isn't as violent or disturbing as Last House on the Left (1972) or I Spit on Your Grave (1978), it does possess a powerful tension and makes for a pretty strong watch.
Stroud has a powerful kind of presence in this film as the ruthless, but not unattractive leader of the gang.Death Weekend is a nicely edgy shocker that deserves a wider audience.
Harry is on his way to a country holiday home with his new ex-model girlfriend, Diane when they cross paths with a rowdy car-full of drunken yahoos who try to intimidate them.
After the couple run them off the road and ruin the suspension on their car, they are tracked to their country lair with the angry men proceeding to invade this picuresque idyll.Violence and rape ensues as the hillbilly gang seek revenge.
But then Diane turns the tables single-handedly and in brutal fashion.They are elements of both Last House on the Left and Straw Dogs within this film's premise (in the UK, this film played as part of a double bill with the latter film) but theres also enough to distinguish Death Weekend from these two films.
The hillbilly gang see what they don't have within the house and their lives and instinctively seek to destroy and tarnish it.Also, this isn't a case of the good vs the bad- when Diane arrives at the house by the lake she very quickly realises that Harry is a slimeball personified.
By the time i'd seen this, i'd seen virtually all of the murder/revenge films and just about everything that involved a group of chaotic thugs who terrorize some normal people, who in turn end up fighting back or trying to escape, and they pretty much all were cheap exploitative dribble that was wholly unrealistic and poorly layed out.
A movie like this can never surpass "Straw dogs" who's plot allowed for much more meaning and emotional depth, done so perfectly, where the violence also inevitably seemed more plausible the way it played out.The film opens with a very spectacular car chase where the thugs are harassing the dentist and his model companion who is at the wheel.
Finally the scene ends with the thugs landing in a ditch as the dentist and model drive off, having completely disgraced them, setting off a desperate need for revenge in the thug leader.
For example, when the leader opens up pretending to be nice and reasonable with the dentist in a very sardonic way, and his 3 comrades are snickering at it, as characters they all seem so believable, and this scene really does get across a foreboding sense of bad things to come, as we have already been shown just how fierce the leader can be.One scene that I found to be a huge detractor was where the drunken gas store workers were killed by the thugs with the dentists boat.
Firstly it was very coincidental that they borrowed the dentist's boat at this propitious moment, but more importantly, the way that they taunted and tormented the dentist and model, and the way tension grew and grew was so successful, that it seemed very much like a situation of bad luck, and one thing leading to another, though when we see them so callously murder these 2 people on the boat, it destroys much of that very well produced tension, because it means they were going to kill the dentist and model from the very beginning and the fate was sealed.The unfolding chain of death at the end was again, much better executed than in most movies of this type, though still as usual, a little contrived that the shed trap would work so perfectly, that the 2nd last thug would stumble into quicksand and die, while the model avoided the same fate.
In terms of drama and meaning, as with the rest of the film, it really does not delve beyond the mere surface, but it does serve as a final jolt to the viewer saying: Not a masterpiece, but this movie definitely has enough thought and effort put into it to place it above average sleazy schlock like "Last House On The Left" or "I Spit On Your Grave".
In the 1970s, a handful of films like Straw Dogs, Death Wish and Last House on the Left pushed back a few cinematic boundaries.
It is a fairly forgettable siege thriller with a few moments of gore and an interestingly resourceful heroine.Diane (Brenda Vaccaro) and Harry (Chuck Shamata) are on their way to a remote house.
However, Lep tracks them down to their secluded love nest and, aided by his cronies, subjects them to an even more degrading and sadistic ordeal.Vaccaro is far too good an actress for a sleazy, violent exploitation flick such as this.
I will throw "Death Weekend" (aka "House by the Lake") a bone as far as its influence over future revenge flicks is concerned ("I Spit on Your Grave" and "House on the Edge of the Park" come to mind), but truth be told, it can't touch the grand-daddy of them all:  "Last House on the Left."  It blatantly borrows from that film (and, to a lesser extent, "A Clockwork Orange") and mixes it up into a volatile yet shallow experience.
i wouldn't call this movie a horror movie in the usual sense.it's certainly a thriller,and it is terrifying.it's a lot like deliverance but it takes place an isolated area,with no none around for miles,except the psychopaths and their victims.this is a very disturbing movie,with lots of very coarse,and crude sexual language and strong sexual references.but the most disturbing thing is that the events could happen as they did in the movie.it's very authentic.the performances are terrific from everyone and the intensity is through the roof in this one.if you're squeamish or don't like strong language or sexual references,you might want to avoid this movie.once it gets going,it doesn't let up.but for me,Death Weekend is an 8/10.
There's also no protracted, difficult-to-watch rape scene, so there's that, although it is possible to argue that this actually makes Death Weekend/house by the Lake more exploitative because it pulls its punches in showing you just how horrible a victimised woman can be treated by a group of horny, ignorant men.
The former place has changed quite a bit since 1975, but you can still find some very nice, beautiful and roomy houses like the one that gets gloriously trashed in this film.This movie is really about a strong woman pitting her wits against five guys.
The four home-invaders are ignorant and aggressive, but are by contrast, a bit relatable in a way, and I almost forgot what scum they were for a moment as I laughed and cheered them on as they wrecked the house and totally went to town smashing everything in sight, pouring beer everywhere and just seemingly having the time of their lives.
Harry (Chuck Shamata), a rich lothario dentist, invites model Diane (Brenda Vaccaro, who, at 37, is perhaps a little too old for the part) to spend the weekend with him at his remote lake-side mansion.
Peeved at having been bested by a woman, head thug Lep (Don Stroud) vows to find the couple and make them pay.Tracking them to their weekend retreat, the gang terrorise the couple before finally killing Harry and raping Brenda.
However, the feisty model eventually gets her revenge; she manages to escape from the house and proceeds to bump off her tormentors one-by-one.Death Weekend, a violent rape/revenge thriller in the same vein as the infamous The Last House on the Left, contains all of the ingredients one might expect from such a filma pretty protagonist, a gang of thoroughly vile bad guys, and violent retributionbut, thanks to particularly poor pacing and not enough in the way of graphic nastiness, winds up being less effective than many a movie from the same genre.My main gripe with Death Weekend is that it takes ages to get going (an hour passes before the gang begin to kill and rape); whilst this admittedly gives us plenty of time to get to really hate Lep and Co.
Anyone who has seen 'The Last House on the Left' will know exactly what to expect from this film, and indeed it's clear that Death Weekend has took a lot of influence from it's illustrious predecessor.
In terms of Last House rip-off's, this probably isn't one of the best; but Death Weekend succeeds in drawing the audience into its premise, and overall - this is a hugely enjoyable slice of 'rape and revenge'.
Directed by William Fruet and originating from Canada, the film certainly gives the Italian heavyweight nasties a run for their money, and provides a social commentary different to the one portrayed in Wes Craven's earlier famous shocker.
At the start, we are introduced to rich playboy dentist Harry, who takes a different woman home every weekend.
This time he's got a model in tow, and the pair run into trouble on the road and end up getting into a car chase with four drunken men.
Naturally, the action ends up back at the playboy's mansion, and pretty soon the pair are being held hostage by the unpredictable madmen.The film was given the alternative title 'The House by the Lake' in an obvious attempt to cash in on Last House on the Left, and although the two are undoubtedly similar, this film plays out along different lines.
The acting isn't up to much, although everyone does an adequate job of portraying their characters, and while this might not be a 'great' genre film; it's certainly a very good one..
I'd never heard of William Fruet when I saw this film with Brenda Viccaro and Don Stroud back in '76 when it was released but I was struck by the resemblance to Sam Peckinpah's Straw dogs in both the story line and the violent action.
Savvy model Brenda Vaccaro, on a weekend date with a dentist she hardly knows, runs a car full of drunken thugs off the road; they vow revenge.
By having Vaccaro's date (a wealthy womanizer--and Peeping Tom to boot!) turn out to be as loathsome as the surly gang who invades the house by the lake, writer-director William Fruet seems to be making an ironic point on the thin line between rich creeps and poor creeps.
Fashion model Diane (BRENDA VACCARO) accompanies her playboy-swinger-dentist friend Harry (CHUCK SHAMATA) to his country house to join several others for a weekend-long party.
Of course, the vicious thugs eventually arrive at the lake house, terrorizing Diane and Harry, and really begin messing up the place.
Death Weekend is a Powerful atmospheric Film.
The dentist only gets upset and tries to act when his house and possessions are threatened by destruction.Don Stroud , a Favourite actor of mine has one of his finest hours on film as the leader of the thugs named "Lep".
She rejects him with a slap in the face and then he hits her but its an interesting scene.A few images of This scene is also cut to at the end of the film after she kills "Lep" by running over him with a car.
Its very funny to see these four morons totally lose it and shows they enjoy acting crazy.My Girlfriend watched this film with me and had a real hate for Don Stroud's Lep Character and the 3 other men in his gang.
Overall Well Directed.Stroud and Brenda Vaccaro are Great and Carry this film.....
Death Weekend is set in the Canadian wilderness where rich dentist Harry has a huge isolated mansion 10 square miles from anything or anyone, he has invited pretty model Diane (Brenda Vaccaro) there for the weekend.
Harry & Diane continue their journey to his place while Lep & his buddies are left understandably upset by being humiliated by a woman, they decide to get even & teach Diane a lesson so follow them to Harry's house where the nightmare starts...This Canadian production was written & directed William Fruet & is a decent piece of sleaze although while I liked it I didn't love it.
Interestingly Death Weekend paints all of it's male leads as scum, even Harry who likes to take nude photo's of his female guests from behind a two way mirror in their bathroom.
On the exploitation front this is actually quite tame, there are two attempted rapes unless a rape can be committed while both parties remain fully clothed & it seems to want to spend more time on Lep & his mate's wrecking Harry's expensive house.
The character's are OK but I didn't think Lep & his gang came across as anything more than one dimensional pantomime villains, Harry tried to bribe his way out of trouble rather than do anything proactive, Diane as expected suddenly turns into a female commando who takes four big guys down by herself & I could have done without the two drunk comedy relief gas station attendants.
Having said that it moves along at a nice pace, when it's good it's good & overall it's quite an effective piece of 'savage cinema'.Director Fruet does a good job, the opening car chase scenes are pretty cool although he does tend to chicken out when Death Weekend threatens to get really nasty.
The acting is good from all involved.Death Weekend may not be the best revenge flick ever but it's still a fine piece of Canadian sleaze that's worth a watch, you know they just don't make them like this anymore...
"Death Weekend"  or "House by the Lake", which actually is a much more appropriate title in case you know a bit about the sub genre  is another obscure and unscrupulous rip-off of Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left", filmed without much of a budget but containing loads of extremely brutal and sadistic images.
A wealthy dentist (who made a second profession out of luring gorgeous women to his remote mansion) and his love for the weekend encounter four savage macho men on their way to his...house by the lake.
The lake area, with its primitive appeal and natural death traps, forms an excellent location for an exploitation movie like this and the fast car race at the opening of the film is rudimentary exciting.
But it always stuck with me as a none forgettable film of great acting, very lovable and hated characters at the same time.I wish I had an actual DVD copy of this film, but it doesn't exist, why this is I do not know.
The film gives us an insight of so much rage in a woman after she gets raped, but also is with a dentist than is a cocky jerk in the beginning.Death Weekend aka House By The Lake is a great film and stands up beside Last House on the Left, and I Spit On Your Grave.
I'm guessing because it's a Canadian rape revenge film that stand above the rest of this sort of genre.