I just never expected anything like the experience of watching "A Touch of Zen". I settled down to watch a quaint old film from 1960s' world cinema. Three hours later I was exhilarated after stumbling across of the greatest films made in the 20th century - and it wasn't a moment too long.

The film is carefully structured, in three contrasting sections. It is only when you look back that you realize just how cleverly King Hu has created those three sections. The same characters, for the most part, appear in each section, but each focuses on a different combination. The first section focuses on the artist Ku, slowly building a picture of a quiet life in a rural backwater. The second switches tempo, with amazing martial arts action focusing on the fugitive Ku and her friends. The final section calms down again, as the mysterious Buddhist monk comes into sharp focus, and the martial arts become more and more amazing.

All this takes place in the most beautiful Chinese countryside, sometimes bathed in light (the use of sunlight and the monk is particularly impressive) and sometimes in dramatic thunderstorms, making the film even more of a delight to watch. Don't be put off by the 'kung-fu' label, this is even better than "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger".


A Touch of Zen (1969) has to be one of the best films ever made. I am one of those people who can never truly name a personnel favorite film. I feel that there isn't a film that you can say is the best ever. I still do but if I had to say five or ten, A Touch of Zen would have to be in the top five. I haven't felt this way about a movie since I saw The Seventh Seal. I love this movie. Everything from the beautiful photography down to the deepness of the picture. The acting is superb, the writing is top notch and the direction is flawless. The film has everything you could want in a movie; action, drama, and comedy. The soundtrack is haunting and the wire work is amazing. No wonder why so many movies have copied off of this film (notably Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix Trilogy). Unlike those other films this movie will withstand the test of time

P.S.

This movie is awesome. A magical experience caught on celluloid. A true treasure.


Hsia Nu is not only one of the most remarkable martial arts movies one could imagine, but in any sense a most remarkable film. I at least am unable to name many other three hour long movies which I have not found slightly lengthy (not to say boring) at some stage. Moreover Hsia Nu is the kind of film one definitely would want to watch on the big screen of a cinema, something rather rare as far as martial arts films are concerned and generally rare for anything not an extremely expensive super-production.

Its panoramic nature sequences have not only esthetic value, but are also symbolically relevant. In fact if one wanted to do this, it would be possible to interpret the whole movie as an allegory of human existence. Fortunately there is really no need to get out the heavy guns of symbolism and artistic value to convince oneself that Hsia Nu is a great movie. It is gripping and entertaining, amusing and serious, and infused with a pathos hardly ever encountered in European (or American) movies. Pathos of course is something difficult to handle, but the director and cast of Hsia Nu manage it very well. The film has its deliberate light moments, but it never invites laughter at its moments of pathos.

Of course we are talking here about a martial arts movie. And indeed, the fighting sequences are brilliantly done - there definitely has been no progress since 1969 - but there is not only that. There is in fact not all that much fighting if one considers that this is a three hour film, and the fights do not carry the plot. In some sense Hsia Nu resembles more a Japanese samurai drama than what we more customarily associate with the Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts genre.

The plot is very long and complex - though perfectly understandable, and even logical - therefore I do not see any real interest in retelling it here. Suffice to say that it contains most principal human emotions: loyalty and treason, love and revenge, hunger for happiness and for...enlightenment. The acting is brilliant, and especially a more masterly 'great master' character, a monk in Hsia Nu, would indeed be difficult to find in any martial arts movie.

If anybody is not convinced by the merit of the martial arts genre and just wants to give it a sole and unique chance, then this is the movie that might convinced such a snob that cinematographic 'art' is not necessarily grey, quiet and slow, but can be colourful, vibrant and full of pathos.


I first saw 'A Touch of Zen' in the late 70s; it had such an effect on me that I looked for it on video for years and years, but to no avail - then to my relief it was shown on TV during a martial arts night twenty years later. In fact it was shown as the finale of that night - so perhaps I am not the only person who thinks this is the ultimate martial arts film.

It is over three hours long; the first hour is mainly scene-setting and not much happens, but this just adds to the impact. All you could want in a film is here - tension, action, arty filmwork, a kind of love interest, action, beautifully choreographed fights, intrigue, action, comedy, philosophy.... and a monk who is so pure that when he is wounded he bleeds.... well, you'd better see for yourself what he bleeds.

A must-see (if you have three hours to spare).


I came upon this film by accident, I looked for it on video, someone offered me a second generation copy for US$80! No thanks, then by magic it came up on digital TV in the UK, 3 months after I had started to look for it!

I saw the widescreen/subtitled 177 mins version, although it is 3 hours long it is not boring, it keeps your attention throughout. The fight sequences I did not find particularly thrilling except for the monks (they were exceptional). The film is a little too dark, not enough sunshine. The photography is excellent especially given the film was made in '69. You can see the similarity with the modern day "crouching tiger hidden dragon" Ang Lee has said he was inspired by this film. If you ever get a chance to see this make sure you do.


Touch of Zen is one of those movies that are on a class and genre of their own and probably never in the movie history will find their match. King Hu certainly lived up to his name, when crafting this piece of art that deserves even more respect and admiration than it has already had.

Blending different genres seamlessly together and paving the way for many movies to come, everything here is well balanced and thought over. The story that begins as a ghost story starts slowly but rewardingly layering up, developing and getting more dimensions, moving into Wu Xia styled action and politics drama, then leaping into the territory of Seven samurais -style tactical warfare depiction, finally getting some deeply mystical aspects in the end. Settings and photography are stunningly beautiful, and all the visuals are breath-taking timeless.

Looks like time simply cannot touch this movie, and that's why I compare this one to the works of Sergio Leone. Definitely one of the best movies I have ever seen. Now, if only my wish come true and we had some day better than watchable DVD release of this true classic, preferably fully restored from original film. One can only hope...

This is my truth. What is yours?


but this film ticks all my boxes. I have never seen anything quite like it.

I saw this well before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the comparison was painful to my eyes. CTHD was a beautiful film in its own way but it was far too westernised (e.g. it had an eye on the lowest common denominator, concentration on high production values rather than telling a story).

A Touch of Zen was mercifully made in a time before such depressing trends in films. It does not patronise the viewer with overly sentimental gushing that is needlessly inserted in order to generate a love interest. Or with OTT 'mood music' to prompt you how to feel because the script isn't up to the job.

One of the main fighters is a woman, but there is no attempt to portray her as some 'chick with attitude'.

The pacing of the film is also perfect, allowing the wonderful characterisation of the main player to develop fully.

At just under 3 hours, and with the unusual mix of pure action with an intelligent and sensible story, this film is not going to be to everyones tastes. But its well worth a look because if you like it, you are liable to love it.


Once there was a time when I thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the very best martial arts movie man could make. Both visually and story-tellingwise it was a joy to watch, and the fight scenes were the best ever with their unrealistic features. Once I saw King Hu's martial arts masterpiece A Touch of Zen I was rather surprised since it exceeded in almost every level. Made in 1969, this great film hasn't lost any of its power or splendor which is a fine merit on its own.

In the beginning of the movie we follow the everyday life of a poor artist Ku, an unmarried man in his thirties, who is living in a rather small town with his mother. This first part of the film (for it can roughly be divided into three parts) plays much like a family drama with some small comic moments. Ku's life gets a little more interesting when he notices strange people walking around town, a mysterious man visiting his studio and befriending him, and some strange noises coming from a house that is rumoured to be haunted. All this and the love (or is it just lust?) he feels for a certain woman change his life completely.

The next two parts offer a very different experience each providing the story with politics, war tactics and a growing spiritual element of mystery through beautiful photography, great direction and awesome fight scenes. What really stands out in the martial arts part of the film is how real it feels. I know it isn't real; some leaps and moves the characters make just can't be done in real life, but the clanging of the steel, swooshing of people's clothes when they perform their moves and the sound of footsteps are so impressive that I found myself holding my breath at some scenes. This is also helped by the near perfect choreography. It's nothing like the tricky and lightning-fast movements in CTHD and I like this much better. The fighters are really observing each other's moves to know when to strike.

I really can't find any serious faults in this movie. Being over three hours long there wasn't a single wasted minute. Any yawning I did was due to the late hour when I was watching this. It is true that the film moves slowly forward but I think it's necessary for the atmosphere to develop. The director really knew what he was doing since all the important scenes have that special quality to them that can only be acquired when superb direction, believable acting and a great sense of situation come together. The use of light is especially worth mentioning since it is so well done. The fight in the forest where light shines through the leaves creating a dreamlike scenery in the background has got to be one of the most captivating things I've seen on film.

A Touch of Zen is one of my favourite movies. It is very well executed in every way imaginable, and definitely among the best martial arts movies. If you like this type of movies where great action is mixed with spiritual elements and a search for peace, you must see this beautiful movie. It won't leave you cold.


This is truly a great film. It is unfortunate that the only DVD versions that are available are in pretty poor shape (though, I must add, not in as bad shape as the more recently filmed Ashes of Time by Wong Kar Wai).

How the translation of Hsia Nu got to become A Touch of Zen, I'll never know - and it's too late to change it now as A Touch of Zen is how the film is known outside of China.

This film really has it all. Some wonderful cinematography; a great story; marvelous special effects (using good camera work - without the use of computers); and, some good emotional content.


"A touch of Zen", the English title is perhaps the only thing about this film that isn't beautifully and subtly conceived... This is a film about about ambition, perception, personality and what evil might be... it isn't really a standard action movie.

The storyline is highly compelling, but not rushed; the pacing is wonderfully handled, moving from the slow, almost lazy quotidian existence of the unambitious, scholarly protagonist to the fast paced, highly dynamic camera work of the action scenes. The shape of the film, perhaps the most amazing aspect of this 'masterpiece', starts with the small (even petty) and slowly ramps through the heroic to the iconic and finally to the divine. Each stage is a brief, often profound meditation on the nature of life and humanity of that state.

The cinematography is always lavish and startling, and, as with many of the Japanese films of the time, not afraid of a screen beautifully composed mostly of shades of darkness.

The martial arts displayed are never exhibitionary nor obviously proficient. This understated quality to the skills is sometimes disappointing (if that is why you are watching the film), but ends up being the best way to capture the the unknowable skills of some of the characters. As a matter of interest, a young Sammo Hung makes an appearance as a bodyguard and there are some other kung fu faces amongst the stunt men.

All in all, this film is profound and compelling. Well worth a watch


Three hours will fly by when you catch King Hu's amazing, spectacular "A Touch of Zen", possibly the greatest feat in the history of martial arts film-making.

The surface story about a poor student skilled in the ways of tactical warfare, who helps a master swordswoman and her bodyguard overcome the shame and dishonor of her father's murder at the hands of corrupt officials, gives way to a spiritual journey of enlightenment, making this an adventure film of the best kind, where the violence is only second place to the inner journey of the protagonist.

These three hours feature subtle romance, elegant action sequences that showcase the Chinese approach to psychological and strategic warfare, while yet serving as a poignant statement about the horror of war and the possibility of redemption.

The ending will strike you with a sense of awe that you have not felt since "2001", that's how good it is. For those of you who have not seen it, none will ever forget the sheer power and scope of the story that you have been told by the film's end.


***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Touch of Zen

This movie requires a patience that most Kung Fu fans lack. Today I finished watching it for second time through. Few would argue that this is not King Hu's masterpiece and indeed it is just that a masterpiece. While I certainly understand how sometimes classics get dwarfed by the films they inspire (how insulting is it that hidden fortress is often labeled simply as the film that inspired C-3PO and R2D2) I think it is too bad here. Yes Touch of Zen is Ang Lee's favorite martial arts film and was a huge inspiration for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Yes It's true, and perhaps the film will find more fans as a result and I think that is great.

Touch of zen is cinema in it's finest form. It is three hours long, lacks the fancy wire work or CGI of modern Wuxia pan films but still stands the test of time. When you consider that this film was made in 1968/69 it makes it so much more impressive. The scenery is filled with beautiful imagines throughout the film of rural China. The camera balances light in most impressive ways. The main monk of the film is consistently beaming with natural sunlight which expresses in a beautifully cinematic way his connection to nature. Anyone who used a video camera in intense sunlight understands how hard those shots must have been.

If you the kind of Kung Fu fan that was really bothered by the fact that Crouching tiger didn't have a fight scene for 15 minutes don't bother. TOZ doesn't get to the action until 55 minutes in. However the tone of the film requires that we understand a few things about the artist whose eyes the story is told through.

***********Spoilers*********************

TOZ is the second only to 36th chamber when it comes to making a Buddhist monks look badass. When the henchman HZU brings his violence onto the sacred ground to capture our renegade heroes he learns he can't defeat the Buddhist monks. There power is too great. He resorts to lying. Begging on his knees to be accepted by the monks, Indeed it is there only weakness, by the grace of Buddha he wants to help. Yet still the Buddhist monk doesn't resort to violence. He calls on Buddha and the powers of the universe and the henchmen destroys his sons and then him self. At least that is my take.

***********End spoilers********************

Touch of Zen is an excellent martial arts film for fans of films like MUSA, Hero or Crouching tiger. It must however be viewed as a film of it's period.


Let me first say that this film is indeed a work of art - it is lyrical, spiritual and visually intriguing. However, as an action film I'm not entirely convinced. The fight scenes are nothing that special, though they are exceptionally well filmed, and our heroes leap around the screen in a way that doesn't seem inappropriate or false - you believe in the world of these people. But it is an extremely clever film and undoubtedly a highlight of Eastern cinema. The character development of Ku, is particularly impressive - initially refusing to grow up and take on responsibilities such as marriage, and eventually becoming a cunning freedom fighter and protector of a child. Unfortunately the other characters are too opaque, too much like ciphers, to really sympathise with. The development of genres is also very interesting, with the film starting out as a kind of ghost story and becoming a thriller with artistic and spiritual elements. If you are looking for lots of action and the kind of over-the-top antics we expect from Hong Kong, then don't look here. If you want to see stunning scenery, a languid but atmospheric pace, and beautiful images such as the sun rising over the silhouettes of Buddhist monks, then enjoy.


Imagine the perfectionist forms Kurosawa had achieved with samurai epics, Ford and Lean with lyrical, volatile nature, Tarkosvky and Bresson with the spiritual-bound outer space or dinky office desks of priests and cops, then add a too-generous wallop of Clouzot's suffocating suspense flooding from the dark recess of human nature - and King Hu's universe of the Wuxia STILL has plenty of its own identity left! This is truly groundbreaking in every way, in context of envisioning the worlds of Jiang Hu, civilian life, elite politics, and spiritual dissidents.

A previous comment noted "A Touch of Zen" as a "minor masterpiece" next to its Japanese contemporaries, which is as ethnocentric as saying Asian films deserves such broad-sweeping generalization DESPITE their completely different context of cosmology, specific relations and development of individual and social structure, etc., even given the surface similarities of skin color, religious practice, select cultural affinity, and more.

(For example, what's the value in judging Billy Wilder's best _at the expense of_ those by Ernst Lubitsch, or vice versa, simply because both had Germanic backgrounds and exiled to America and excelled at witty romantic comedy? They operated in rather different production settings, cultural milieu, sources of inspiration, etc.)

Back to "Zen". Forget all the hierarchies of Taoism, Confucianism some elite reviews want to force upon the film. Just watch what's really on screen: a well-mapped structure is charting the course of violence itself. See bookish nerd get inducted in the ways of bloodshed, see that self-congratulatory reflecting its power-hungry society collapse, and finally see that collective last gasp sacrifice its own young - in vain of any redemption.

The ending is less about Buddha (in fact THROUGHOUT the whole film when characters' gaze perpetually hint at a mythic, towering world order and all-enveloping consciousness larger than their conflicts or King Hu could cram on screen), than such spiritual path as critique of all the commotions that preceded it - and made up the film. Hu's remarkable balance of nihilism and transcendent possibilities, are pretty much the same aspirations of the increasingly personal film-making in 60s/70s America, Europe, and Japan. It's also astounding to see Hu reach in the same epic manner this conclusion, more than a decade before the venerable Kurosawa's "old man's lament" in "Ran".

A last note: "A Touch of Zen" may rub fans of the usual wuxiapian the wrong way, since its artistic ambitions are a bit more personal than regaling the audience-as-king. There are no immediate gratifications (not even Hitchcock at his bleakest or Clouzot teased viewers for 45 minutes straight without rewards!) And even when they occur, the style is often serving the story and Hu's point (i.e. bamboo scene is NOT for pure thrill of spectacle so it's shorter than the "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" version; the "too dark" photography during ambush is setting up for "nerd's epiphany" later.) So expect none and the experience will be more enriching.


I rented this movie from Netflix. The DVD shows it in letterbox format with bright white English subtitles in the lower black space. The quality of the print that was used to make the disc is good for outdoor action, but the action in two long night scenes is so dark as to be mostly invisible.

Obviously a lot of people love this film, but I'd give it only 7 out of 10 because it's way too long, over 3 hours. It was shown in theaters in the early 70's as Part I and Part II on separate days, which would be okay except the climactic fight in the bamboo forest which ends Part I is repeated in entirety in Part II. And there are other sequences which could be trimmed back. Towards the beginning, for example, Scholar Ku makes a long, long annoying nocturnal investigation of the spooky old mansion where he lives with his mother, finding nothing. Because the print is so dark, we see nothing as well. Again, in Part II, after the heroes have tackled the evil forces of the Eastern Chamber (a never-explained reference to some part of the Imperial Palace, I suppose), Scholar Ku wanders around the battle site laughing humorlessly over his own cleverness in the ways he spooked the Imperial guard force that came to attack. A little of this stuff goes a long way.

Nonetheless, it's a good Netflix rental. I particularly enjoyed seeing Pai Ying in a heroic role as Gen. Shih, and hawk-faced Miao Tien as the evil Commandant's lieutenant. It was also interesting to see 1970's Taiwanese hero actor Tien Peng (often billed as "Roc" Tien) as a handsome official of intermediate strength and skill working for the evil Eastern Chamber people. And I loved Ku's mother.

Two other people deserve honorable mention. The Chinese title "Hsia Nü" means "gallant lady", according to the subtitles, but lead actress Hsü Feng is hard to warm up to, and usually seems off-putting rather than gallant. She never smiles in this film or shows any emotional content when she fights.

The other interesting person is Chiao Hu (often billed as Roy Chiao), who plays the Buddhist monk that injects the Touch of Zen. Chiao was always a likable actor, but he too never smiles or seems like anything but a chilly person here. In both cases, however, their demeanor is perfectly appropriate to the roles, so I didn't mind that.

And was that Sammo Hung in a bit part, supporting the evil general Hsü in the final struggles?


This is one of the most awfully and painfully boring movie I have ever watched. Let me explain, the story is rather interesting with many plots. The problem is the SCENES. OH MY GOD they are making every scene feel like an eternity. A simple and unimportant scene can be 5 MINUTES longer than needed. they are really dragging the audience' patience here. I slept through many parts of the movie simply because it is so dull.

I have to say that the background music is very annoying too. By today's standard of course. maybe it wasn't at the time the movie was made but it only make sense to review it by today's standard because people live and watch movie in the present.

If you enjoy those artistic movie where the scenery and slow pace are important too then I think this movie will be very enjoyable to you. Otherwise, avoid this movie like the plaque.


I skimmed the favorable reviews and wonder if I just watched the same film. For the first hour or so, I was hoping it would get better. Then I was hoping it would just end. The pacing is very slow. The night time scenes are poorly lit. The dialog--at least in English translation--is at best stilted.

The film is poorly written, poorly directed, and poorly acted. It often seems like the actors are moving from pose to pose rather than acting. Among the funniest scenes are when characters are attempting to not be seen by moving about in the open in very conspicuous fashion.

Another point of humor: when characters are chasing other characters in fight scenes, the chasers are often on wires and hop down the bunny trail towards their opponents. I'm not used to bunnies doing the pursuing. The unfortunate thing is that this was, apparently, not intended to be humorous.


With all due respect to the HK Movie Association who puts this movie as #9 on the 100 best Chinese films of the last 100 year, I believe this movie is rather dated. As with "Lady Snowblood" (1973) which I put in my two cents recently, they might be at the vanguard of their respective genres at the time, but now, 30 odd years later, they haven't age well at all. This happens, I think, especially with genre movies where technology plays an important part. Dramas such as "Rebecca" (Hitchcock) or "Now, Voyager" (Bette Davis), which are still some of my all-time faves, fare much better because technology won't really make them better; they already have great direction, story, pacing, acting, etc.

I also want to dispute a reviewer from UK who mentioned that this movie is much more Chinese than "Crouching Tiger" which is too westernized. I can't disagree with him more. Having actually read the wuxia novels that many of these movies are based on, I have to say "Crouching Tiger" beautifully captures the lyricism and essence of the wuxia world without any Western influence. But I digress.

The pacing of this movie is really too slow. Fully an hour was devoted to people, chiefly of the male protagonist, walking around and around in that same little village. An HOUR of nothing much happening to propel the story! As a matter of fact, a large portion of the 3-hour movie time is eaten up by showing people walking from point A to point B which is totally pointless. The bamboo forest scene will remind many of a similar scene in "House of Flying Daggers" and is probably its inspiration. Alas, it was done much better in the newer movie, due to better choreography, wire works, and kinetic energy that "Zen" sadly lacks. Same argument for all the other set pieces. The ending is anticlimactic since there is no tension when one party is the living Buddha (or something like that). The use of negative film to denote some sort of divine intervention is jarring and a little laughable.

During the opening credits, it indicates that this movie is based on a book which is written in the Manchu dynasty, probably in the late 18th or early 19th century. I don't know of a direct translation of the book but it is available in English with the title, "Chinese Ghost and Love Stories" by Pu Songling (I coin him the Chinese Edgar Allen Poe). It is one of the premiere books in Chinese literature. Not all his stories are about ghosts but all have a fantastical element and most have a moral to it. But the book are all short stories and none is long enough to be a novella; so stretching a short story to 3 hours entails lots and lots of padding; hence, all the walking. I haven't actually looked for the story that the movie is based on but I can say for sure that in old Chinese society and in Pu's stories as well, no woman who is from a respected family (as the female character is) would bed down with a practical stranger, EVER, unless she is a demon or a ghost, which does happen quite frequently in his stories and are almost always not a good thing. It probably had happened in real life when there was a strong attraction, but she was basically feeling pity for his mother and so decided to give her virginity to him. Yeah, I don't think so! The DVD quality from Tai Seng is abysmal which probably also contributes to my discontent. The transfer is horrid; pixilated (like in a VCD) in some scenes, looks like it's forever raining in dark scenes, some black spots permanently imprinted on the screen throughout the entire movie. The big fight scene that happens at the deserted house at night is so dark that is practically unwatchable. Moreover, the audio is muddy and barely audible even with volume turns to the loudest.

The Chinese title is translated as Heroine but the official English title is a better description of the movie given the spiritual element in the movie.


I remeber my brother playing this nonstop on our Original Nintendo and then we sold it... 5 years later we got it on our computer and I played it for awhile. It is a great game and even better on computer because the computer won't screw up every ten seconds like the original Nintendo did. Who needs good graphics? When you've got non-stop adventure there is no need. 10/10


While the very first adventure in the Final Fantasy universe is far from the best of the games, it does manage to be a fine addition to the lineup and is far from the worst. The gameplay is a bit simple and the graphics by today's standards are horrid, but what can you expect from an 8 bit engine? The elements that fans have come to expect from an FF game are all here to be seen, although they are in an infancy stage since this is the first game. Still, fans can expect monsters, knights and heroes, and villains trying to destroy the world. As with the early games in the series, characters are not named, that task is left up to the gamer, and only a basic storyline is given. While this makes for a less than satisfying story experience, there is some signs of things to come. Worth a play for nostalgia's sake.


I own all eight of them. I've played at least part of every Final Fantasy game of the series. And you know what?

I still have a special place in my heart for that very first Final Fantasy game to ever hit the world of Nintendo (once THE hottest game system around).

It was the game that I never owned as a kid, but always wanted to play. I played it sometimes when I visited friends that owned it. Now I have it and all seven of the others.

Not to brag. But it is an excellent series. And I sound like I'm 13. But that's ok. Because Final Fantasy is simply cool.


This is a very rare film that you're not likely to ever get your hands onto. It was released about 20 years ago on VHS in England. Those were the days before the BBFC so it was not censored in any way.

The film is about two girls who are on their way home but after taking a shortcut their car brakes down. They end up asking a bunch of dope-smoking hippies for help but end up getting raped in every sexual position imaginable for nearly 20 minutes of the running time! After the all the hippies have had their way they leave them to themselves. So they decide to wander off and look for help. However they stumble upon a crazy cult of yet more evil people who want to "reduce them to sexual beasts" before killing them. All this time a police investigation is on its way, triggered by the anxious father of one of the girls. And there is even a completely unnecessary and unrelated side-story about two villains who want to smuggle a drugged girl across the Mexican border to sell her to a brothel - but not before raping her themselves ...

As you can probably tell from this summary, this is sexploitation at its best (or worst, depending on your point of view). There is no hardcore sex in this film but almost 50 per cent of the running time has various girls getting raped over and over again. I wasn't able to take any of it seriously so I wasn't offended in the least but consider yourself warned. More than once this all but lost film reminded me of Meir Zarchi's I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. Only that I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE had more plot and less sex.

With so much nudity on display, maybe I should talk about how the actors look? Well, I thought the girls were all quite beautiful in a very 70ies way, meaning no implants and no plastic surgery. But the men ... Now, I can enjoy a naked guy as much as a naked girl but when they are all about 50 years old, obese, beer-bellied and sporting greasy hair and silly mustaches I get turned off. I guess that was the point as it further accentuates the violation of these girls and I should probably be glad that I wasn't aroused by overlong scenes of rape but sometimes it was just painful.

The acting is amateurish and the same goes for the directing and editing. And the music is just weird ... it is mostly made up of dreamy folk-pop songs! It's crazy and often extremely out of place. I'd say it is not such a bad thing that this film has faded into obscurity right after its release. In fact the sole reason that I enjoyed it a little bit was that I had to hunt it down and search for it. I get a kick out of watching films almost nobody else has ever seen. In the end you've to decide for yourself it is worth the effort.


It is really astonishing when one thinks that, unlike today, there actually was a movie-making climate which allowed for films like Wrong Way to be made and put in real movie theaters. This is an astonishingly bad film but it is a fascinating example of early 70's sleaze no doubt.

Two very pretty girls take the "wrong way" which is a short cut, their car breaks down, two hippies come along in their truck to give them a ride to help, but take them to their other hippie friends instead. They rape the girls repeatedly in the middle of nowhere until finally letting them go, where the girls then meet other crazies who rape them too. Stick in a very mild police investigation and, for the hell of it out of nowhere, toss in some drug runners who have sex with another pretty girl and there's the movie.

The group of hippies that rape the girls first are an amazingly sleazy bunch. Beer bellies, greasy hair, all unattractive, a total nightmare for any woman. They also are real "backwoods" and that's scary in itself. For instance, one (named "Crabs" I think) keeps scratching his groin, then complains to another that he got that itch after he let the other guy "suck" him. Ouch! The "acting" (especially by the two girls, who give it their best) is hilarious, but the rape scenes are truly wonders to behold. When the hippies rape the girls, you see much more of the men's ugly bodies than the girls. One guy's butt is even green! The rape lasts a very long time, with cheesy folk guitar music playing in the background. Before the rape, we even see another group of hippies hanging around who are against raping the girls, but a shotgun held by the leader chases them away.

Then later on for seemingly no reason, two ugly drug runners have sex with a very pretty drugged out girl, in another overlong scene. It all ends soon after in a quick "resolution" to the "plot."

Of course Wrong Way is a horrible movie. It's not even that much fun to watch. But you can't take your eyes off it.


How can a film that contains so much rape and sleaze be so damn boring??? That is the question I asked myself numerous times while watching this mess of an exploit film. I typically love sleazy/trashy films, and budget-constraints don't usually bother me - but WRONG WAY really had about nothing going for it. Nothing new was brought to the table and is nothing that the serious exploit fan hasn't seen before - but WAY better done...

The story concerns two girls whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Two scumbags come along playing the "heroes" - but they take the girls back to their camp where they, and two of their other buddies rape the girls for what seems like an hour. They eventually let the girls go, who then stumble upon a group of killer hippies who rape them some more. Then, for some unknown reason - a completely unrelated plot is introduced totally out of left field about two drug-runner/slave-traders on their way to Mexico who stop off in an abandoned shack to bone their newest "acquisition". Eventually the cops catch on and justice is served...

Now, from the above description - this probably sounds like an exploit-lover's dream-cum-true, right? WRONG!!!! Almost EVERYTHING about this film is garbage. The rape scenes are protracted and boring, and show more pasty white man-asses and dongs than any female flesh - and this gets old REAL fast. The women in the film are attractive enough - too bad you don't see more of THEM. The production is horrible and reminded me of the 70's XXX-roughie films, minus any of the hard-core content. The only person in the whole film who could act even a shred, is the hippie-cult leader - but he's only in the film for about 5 minutes. Honestly - WRONG WAY is low-budget exploit film-making at it's worst. The only credit I can give it is for it's sleazy and relatively "graphic" exploration of rough subject matter for the timeframe. I guess it would be worth a look to the exploit completist, as it's a pretty rare film to get ahold of - but everyone else, and even semi-serious exploit fans should probably not bother with this one...3/10


The original pre-cert videotape of this changes hands for crazy money these days, it's very very rare. I was 'fortunate' enough to get hold of a DVD-R of this, as it sounded right up my street...

And the verdict?.....Jeeez! As noted previously, this is definitely "inspired" by 'Last House On The Left" but the tone is totally different. It's proper early-70s rough-ass grindhouse business, sexist as hell, dumb, with sub-porno standard acting. It's not disturbing in the slightest however, and whilst the subject matter (rape rape and more rape) is nasty, the way it's done is just funny. The soundtrack is absolutely wild - incoherent hippy wailing over acoustic guitar meandering, you couldn't make it up, honestly. Has to be heard to be believed.

This is a great period piece...the work of anonymous drunken old hacks exploiting the hippy counterculture. God knows who any of the people involved in this are, but hell, I'd be fascinated to know how and why a movie like this came about. Worth seeing to sate your curiosity...this film is one of a kind. It is DEFINITELY bad though.


Usually, I love this sort of film...but Wrong Way just doesn't cut it. The influence from Wes Craven's classic The Last House on the Left is clear and obvious throughout, but the film doesn't do anything new with it and overall is really rather boring. The Last House on the Left inspired a number of rape and revenge films; the majority of which hailed from Italy and are rather good if you're into this sort of stuff. That's what makes Wrong Way all the more disappointing; it's not a bad thing to rip off Craven's film, but when all you've got is a series of sex scenes, you know that it hasn't been done well. The plot is virtually non-existent, and simply focuses on a couple of girls that end up being raped and abused by a few bored hippies. The film is notorious for its rape scenes that go on seemingly forever, but it gets old fast. I have no problem with sex in movies, and in fact actively seek out this sort of dirty, grisly film...but there really is no reason to bother seeking out Wrong Way. It's currently unavailable in Britain, and that certainly isn't a bad thing.


This is the type of movie you get when giving a camera to a bunch of drunken fat guys that watched way too much porno in their lives. They presumably intended to make their very own imitation of Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" with aggressive sex scenes and violent revenge-action, only they only got around filming the sex footage and completely forgot about the action. Two young girls, surprisingly cute-looking and sympathetic, are picked up by bored rednecks and brought to a remote place where they get raped and beaten for hours! It's unbelievable how LONG these rape sequences last! Viagra must have been popular in the early 70's already. When the dirty beer-drinking & pot-smoking farmers have finally satisfied their lusts, the girls try to get back to civilization on foot but  sadly for them  they get captured by a pathetic hippie-cult, led by what unquestionably must be THE most annoying guy I've ever seen. The agony of this film ends with two totally unrelated characters having sex with a prostitute in a sleazy motel room. Who the hell are those people??? Just in case you still have doubts, "Wrong Way" should NOT be watched by anyone who still has some good taste left in him/her. The absolute low point was when the camera zoomed in on the girls as they were washing their vagina after being raped several times. At that point, I was really wondering why I was still watching this crap. The editing is lousy and the choice of music couldn't be more wrong. None of the cast members starred in another movie ever again and that's probably for the best. Rating 2 out of 10; a point for the girls each because I honestly felt sorry for them.


Central Park West is quite simply one of the best soaps ever and it was really cheap of CBS to cancel it after only 21 episodes. This was such a terrific, trendy and very well-acted show with some of the most intriguing storylines ever. All the actors did remarkable jobs, especially Raquel Welch. Another thing that is so great about CPW is that it wasn't so completely wild, stupid, idiotic and over the top like Melrose often was. It was just one season, yes, but what a season! CPW had sophistication, style and great lines. I'm just waiting for a similar and equally entertaining TV series to show up.


I'm a fan of the prime time soaps of the 80's (DALLAS, DYNASTY, KNOTS LANDING & FALCON CREST) until 1989, the ones that entered the 90's became a shadow of what they were in the beginning (Only KNOTS was good until the penultimate season, last one was a mess but had a great final episode). With the 90's I missed a prime time soap opera with the quality of early Dallas, KL or Dynasty... I never liked Melrose Place or Models... Then CPW came in and I was excited. I know the series didn't had the success it deserved and changed by mid season, becoming more Dynastic with ambitious Raquel Welch marrying Lauren Hutton's ex-husband to see him die in her arms... inheriting his fortune??? We didn't know, because the series was canceled at that precise moment. I enjoyed all the episodes, but I must say the first ones, were the best. And I love the character of Carrie Fairchild, maybe because she was like the first Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin) Carrington my favorite Dynasty character: a spoiled rich girl, intelligent, cunning and ambitious to get what she wanted.


A mother and a daughter live in a large home,playing games of sexual domination and re-enacting the murders of various servants that they have hired and then killed.A private detective called Singapore Sling comes searching for Laura,a woman he is fixated on but whom they have killed.They imprison him,using poor guy as a sex toy and torturing him."Singapore Sling" by Nikos Nikolaidis is easily one of the most demented horror films ever made.This extremely weird piece of film-noir is loaded with erotic regurgitation,cannibalism,incest,lesbianism,bondage,bizarre sex and sadistic violence.The relationship between the mother and her daughter is extremely bizarre to say the least.The acting is absolutely awesome and the performances are incredibly real.The atmosphere is simply insane and wonderfully nightmarish.There is also a good amount of sickening violence and gore including the most nerve-wracking dinner sequence I have ever seen."Singapore Sling" is shot in exquisite black-and-white and classical music plays on the soundtrack and this makes it even more unsettling.In one truly demented scene the male lead is tied down to the bed, ETC paddles jammed against his forehead and he is left convulsing in shock while the mother rides him and then moves up to urinate on his face.So if you are a fan of twisted cinema like "Visitor Q","Salo" or "Sweet Movie" give this gross-out masterpiece a look.10 out of 10.


What do you get when you cross Preminger's LAURA with the Kuchar/McDowell brain-frier THUNDERCRACK!? Something that looks a lot like SINGAPORE SLING, one of the more demented European films of, well, ever. The story of a gut-shot Greek detective in search of a mysterious "Laura" who stumbles upon the house where she's living with her "mother" (who's probably neither that or female, for that matter) gets stranger by the turn, and does not shy away from bizarre sex, ultra-violence, and regurgitative gross-outs in the process. Filmed in beautiful black-and-white, it's a one-of-a-kind film, more purely noir than most noir retreads of recent years, yet far too demented to be considered merely noir. Viewers with strong stomachs seeking the ultra-outre will find this to their delight; all others had best shy away.


Going into Singapore Sling I knew almost nothing about it. I knew that it was supposed to be somewhat "extreme" and that's about it. But what was delivered was nothing I could ever have expected. Holy moly was this a strange movie. Let me rephrase that. Holy f@ckin sh!t was this a strange movie! Yeah that's much better.

Singapore Sling is about a mother and daughter duo who have gone completely nuts after father died. Not saying they weren't nuts before, but I'm guessing father wouldn't have approved of everything they're now doing....even though father was a murderer. Haaha, OK, the story revolves around this duo and a man they named Singapore Sling. Singapore is a investigator on the trail of a woman named Laura who is missing and presumed dead. He follows a trail of clues and ends up finding these two whackos. The duo then hold the injured Singapore hostage in their home, while pretty much just trying to make him go nuts. But it's really just they're way of playing and having fun. Having fun for them consists of torture, sex, role-playing, masturbation with fruit, messy eating and the list goes on and on. The movie goes like this for quite a while, just the viewer getting to know these ladies.

Singapore Sling is one of the strangest flicks I have ever seen, and also one of the most well made. Shot in a film noir type way, reminiscent of old style classics and combined with stylish, beautiful shots and fantastic music, the movie looks and sounds incredible. But the high praise should go to the actors involved. They were fantastic. Especially the daughter, talking about a role she was born to play....hot chick too. Singapore Sling's only problem is that it is a little long. It's a movie you definitely should watch more than once to fully digest what they're throwing at you. The acting alone is worth another watch. And it's not really a movie to fast-forward either. It's a movie to soak in. Singapore Sling should be a must see for any serious film lover out there. It's too unique not to be. 9 outta 10


A beautiful, sexually charged, noirish horror pic from Greek director Nikos Nikolaidis. A mother and daughter, whose modus operandi has parallels with the duo in Shindo's "Onibaba", trick and sexually toy with various gentlemen until Singapore Sling, looking for his lost love, arrives on their scene and unconsciously fractures the mother-daughter dynamic. The two enjoy a very hot sexual relationship that is vividly but not graphically depicted. Other sexual episodes are depicted in delicious detail and the film does not hesitate to go totally hardcore when necessary. For mine, this is an amazingly erotic film that depicts sexual desire as a form of raw anarchy. Various fetishes such as vomiting, urination, sado-masochism and necrophilia are presented honestly and without judgment. Stylistically, the film has a strong, theatrical quality, and it is interesting how Nikolaidis has the actors address the camera at various intervals. The stand-out performance is that of the insane daughter, played by the extraordinary and outlandishly sexy Michele Valley. Panos Thanassoulis, as Sling, has virtually no dialog, but makes his mark in a pivotal but surprisingly neutral role. Black and white cinematography by Aris Stavrou is stunning, as is the splendidly rich production. "Singapore Sling" is an original in every sense of the word and is one of the most accomplished horror films of the modern era.


SINGAPORE SLING is one of the strangest films out there. Now, I've watched a good bit of twisted fetish material in my day - but those are typically laid out porn-style, with no plot, and just scene-after-scene of twisted sh!t. This film is different, as it has a full-blown plot, incredible cinematography, excellent acting...and all the twisted nastiness that a true "shock-film" lover could want.

Initially, the audience is introduced to a mother/daughter team of complete whackadoos who "kidnap" a private-dick that they begin to refer to as "Singapore Sling". Singapore enters the picture when he goes poking around the womens' house looking for a woman named Laura who he encountered a while back and has become obsessed with. Captured by the nut-jobs, Singapore is subject to all sorts of fun abuse at the hands of the two freak-o's, and the story begins to get "stranger" as we start to find out a little more about the actual background of the women...or do we???

SINGAPORE SLING is a VERY strange and original film. Shot in striking black-and-white in a very 1940's detective-story/film-noir style, but rife with "extreme" exploitation material - I honestly can say I've seen nothing like it before. The performances by the mother/daughter team are completely believable - same for Singapore (though he's mainly silent throughout the film). The depravity on-hand includes lesbionic incest, bondage, vomit-play, fruit-masturbation, cannibalism, golden-shower action, knife-rape-vag-stabbing - you name it, this one has it. This is one of those rare films that shows that "extreme" subject matter and depictions can still be stylish and innovative, and "viable" in film. Most will be repulsed by this if they aren't a fan of this sort of thing. The rest will appreciate it for being one of the weirdest and most stunning exploit films ever made. My only gripes are that it runs a little long and drags in some spots - and that with all the depravity on display - the sex/fetish scenes could have been more "graphic". Other than that - a fine exploit film indeed...9/10


This is one of the most unique films I've ever seen, and I'll probably remember scenes from it till the day I die. Beautiful photography? Check. Non-linear plot line and weird storytelling techniques (talking to the audience, language mixing)? Check. Haunting soundtrack? Check. Black humor? Definite check. Some of the most bizarre erotic scenes ever filmed outside of porn? Oh yeah. A mix of utter revulsion and sensuous, wayward eroticism. Certain morsels of cinema that's classified as seriously weird by most run the risk of being weird for weirdness' sake; I'm happy to say that this is not one of them. Everything adheres to the film's internal logic, which would be my biggest criticism of movies that are considered 'out there'. Goes without saying this is not for the faint-hearted. A serious, deranged noir poem, one I will relish springing upon friends without any forewarning.


Homage to film noir is not an uncommon element for modern filmmakers but this is quite an uncommon film. Singapore Sling is a schizophrenic melange of some of the most offbeat characters ever committed to film and some of the most perverted images ever to make the final cut of a "real" film. Mixing in copious amounts of emetophilia and graphic masturbation is just the icing on the cake. I don't think Singapore Sling would be the same without all the shock elements, but the ideas surrounding the images are confronting enough on their own.

"Singapore Sling" is a hard-boiled detective on a mission to find a girl who (as we are constantly reminded) is most likely dead, or maybe never existed at all. His search leads him to a villa, bleeding from a gunshot wound on a night where the rain is pouring down hard and two women (supposedly mother and daughter) are burying the gutted remains of their chauffeur in their wispy nightclothes (with no underwear, of course). This place is where "Laura" took a turn for the worse. The ladies of the house certainly know about Laura. They find Singapore Sling in bad shape and take him inside for their unique brand of hospitality--questioning the man and playing mind games with him, and most importantly, subjecting him to torture (sexual and otherwise), humiliation, and domination. In between interrogations, they use him for their own pleasure (as if the naughty girls haven't had enough)--one scene has Singapore Sling raped at Luger-point! There's also a delicious rope bodage menage a trois to boot.

As the viewer, you are treated to some tasty sights, namely the nearly constant sexual exploits of the mother and daughter. Perversions are par for the course and explored rather graphically. Mother and daughter have a unique relationship spiked with lesbian sex, eroticized shellfish eating, and a strong dose of emetophilia. All this spectacle is part and parcel to the movie. If this frightens you, do yourself a favor and let your curiosity get the better of you. I don't believe you'll be disappointed. 10/10.


How do you review of film that is too bizarre, too extreme and generally too unique for words? Probably just by stating that you should track it down yourself and be as amazed as the rest of us were! "Singapore Sling" is indeed one of the craziest Euro-cult movies ever released; a totally 100% original hybrid between 1940's film-noir and relentless 1970's drive-in exploitation, shot in elegant black and white and introducing some of the most eccentric characters movie-goers have ever beheld. Not a single taboo is left untouched in Nikos Nikolaidis convoluted screenplay, whether it involves tasteless sexual perversions or insanely violent tendencies, and yet  in some inexplicable fashion  it's all beautifully illustrated in the eye of the camera. Nikolaidis main inspiration clearly goes back to the golden years of widely acclaimed noir-cinema, particularly Otto Preminger's "Laura" and John Huston's "The Maltese Falcon", as the primarily storyline introduces a lonely detective desperately seeking for his lost and unreachable muse Laura. But this only covers a small part of "Singapore Sling's content, as the investigation leads him to the secluded mansion of a demented Greek lady and her equally insane daughter. Mother and daughter spend their days mourning over the recently deceased man of the house (whoms body they still keep around, mummified in the attic) and enacting sex-laden role plays of how they eliminated previous perpetrators. When Singapore Sling  the detective's nickname  literally tumbles down on their doorstep, he promptly becomes an important part in their deviant universe of unusual lusts and fetishes. Apart from maintaining their incestuous lesbian relationship, the women now also compete for the sexual interest of their male guest, and it doesn't take too long before ambiguous conspiracies are thought up.

"Singapore Sling" implements a seriously inventive narrative structure, with all the three lead characters regularly facing the camera to talk to the audience. This perfectly portrays their different persona's without reverting too much to overlong acquaintances. The male lead is mysterious and a bit unworldly, the young girl is definitely crazy but mainly docile because she doesn't know any better and the adult lady can't possibly be categorized. She nearly always repeats her lines  once in French, once in English  and looks genuinely uncanny with her wild hair-styles and penetrating eyes. The odd couple's depraved sexual habits are extendedly & graphically shown, resulting in numerous jaw-dropping sequences including vomiting during intercourse, masturbating with all sorts of kitchen devices & fruit, urination, necrophilia and bondage. But apart from the strong sex, "Singapore Sling" also contains other repulsive and unusual viewing material, most notably the ladies' nauseating eating rituals. Not only does the food (human leftovers?) look disgusting, their table manners are sickening enough to put you off of having dinner for the next couple of weeks. How can a movie stuffed with such a large amount of extreme filth still come across as watchable, let alone stylish, you ask? I have no idea, but director Nikolaidis succeeds seemly without efforts in making his film appealing to audiences much wider than just sick puppies and sexually frustrated lunatics. "Singapore Sling" is compelling and oddly comical, constantly firing off demented quotes ("I vividly remember the day daddy took my virginity" or "corpses are the best garden-fertilizer") and uncensored sleaze. It's not entirely without flaws, unfortunately, as I personally anticipated more genuine horror shocks. You have to wait until the film's perplexing climax to witness the first and only bit of unsettling bloodshed and I found this to be a little too long. Also, Nikos Nikolaidis occasionally crosses the line tributing older films, as the music and even some of the dialog are a little TOO reminiscent to Preminger's classic "Laura". Other than that, "Singapore Sling" is an absolute must-see for fanatic cult-pursuers.

* Special word of thanks to IMDb'er Dario 2nd!


I have to be honest before I give my opinion towards this movie. I was looking for Shannon Tweed's "Singapore Sling" (1998) but by accident, I got this movie. I don't regret. Strangely enough, I ended up liking it. It's a raw movie that goes directly to the point. Also, I couldn't believe what I was watching. I wasn't exactly shocked by it, but I was watching in awe and incredulity. It's just such a weird movie... Black and white cinematography, antique clothes, scatological situations, hard-core sex, fruits, strange characters with strong personalities (each on it's own), and strange fetiches.

Expect some violent scenes involving S&M, and a raw fruit masturbation scene that has a major role in the movie. The setting is as strange as you can get; also the costumes of the characters. Not to mention the make-up; most of the characters use black make-up on their eyes and mouth. The black and white cinematography adds another element of weirdness in my opinion. The correct use of shadows and rain in some important scenes made it more shocking. I had the luck to find a sub-titled version of this movie because otherwise, I wouldn't understand the plot, which is minimal, but still explains (or tries) some strange situations of the movie. Not exactly a "sexy" plot but it's strangely a turn-on.

The hard core sex scenes are somehow disgusting but great; and also are asked for by the movie's plot. The ending is weird enough to end up classifying this movie as 100% strange. Track this movie down if you are interested in a raw, gory, and brutal sex.

I'm glad I didn't find Shannon Tweed's movie. This is the "Singapore Sling" to track down.


Well...it doesn't get much more bizarre than this! To sum it up simply, Singapore Sling is a work of extreme cinema; featuring all manner of things from sadomasochism to incest...but it's shot in a style reminiscent of the classic film noirs from the golden age of cinema. The two styles offset each other constantly, and this gives the film an extremely surreal atmosphere as well as a completely unique style that ensures Singapore Sling is nothing like any other film ever made. The film was made in Greece, which makes it almost unique in its own right as Greece isn't a country famous for film-making. The plot focuses on a detective who is looking for a girl named Laura. One night, he stumbles upon two women burying a body and we are introduced to what has to be one of the most "offbeat" mother and daughters in cinema. We then follow the daughter as she details the things her and her mother get up to, before the weary detective; who is given the name 'Singapore Sling', stumbles into the pair's home and ends up becoming 'involved' in more insane games.

The film is shot in beautiful black and white, and director Nikos Nikolaidis does an excellent job of making the film as picturesque as possible. In fact, the film is so damned pretty that even morbidly sick practises such as a mother having lesbian sex with her daughter don't seem quite so grotesque when seen in this film. The film only features three performers, but it never gets boring even though the film runs for over 110 minutes. The director somehow manages to keep things interesting despite the fact that the film often retreads similar ground. Much of the credit for the film must go to Michele Valley and Meredyth Herold, who both provide brilliant performances as the mother and daughter central duo. Panos Thanassoulis is good also as the title character, but he remains silent for most of the film and never gets a change to fully impress. The film plays out well throughout, and it all boils down to a suitably sick finale which gives credence to both its pornographic and film noir styles. Overall, Singapore Sling is a fabulous piece of celluloid which needs to be experienced by everyone who considers themselves a fan of cinema!


A detective (Panos Thanassoulis) arrives at an isolated villa looking for a missing girl, Laura, and is imprisoned and sexually tortured by a mother/daughter (Meredyth Herold, Michele Valley) duo who have killed Laura, among others, and buried them in their backyard.

This thoroughly bizarre film contains obvious homages to the great film noir, Laura (1944), from the initial plot (a detective in love with a dead girl, whose painting is on the wall) to the beautiful black and white cinematography, to the detective's voice over narration but moves off into directions that are totally unexpected if not downright silly (for example another homage, this time to The Mummy (1932) where one of the main characters is being sodomised by her father who's dressed as the mummy).

Although there's much nastiness and depravity on show (from Thanassoulis being tied down and given electro-shock treatments before Herold urinates on his face, to Valley raping him and then vomiting on his face, to the denouement where Thanassoulis kills Valley with a knife he has strapped on like a dildo), the film never really feels nasty and sick. This is obviously quite incredible and an achievement in itself. How does it pull it off? Well there's a very playful air about the proceedings (some even call this a comedy); Valley and Herold's relationship is almost child like and Valley often speaks to the camera (which is an irritation) in her sweet, pleasant voice discussing what has happened. The whole situation is like a game, albeit fetishistic and depraved games, which, in spite of the fact that we know they're killers, doesn't create any real sense of danger or dread. Interestingly Thanassoulis never really speaks to the ladies, they speak predominantly in English and a little French whilst all we hear from him is the voice over (another common noir technique that the films employs), which is in Greek. Is he consigned to a dreadful fate or does he also not really feel in any real danger? The latter is unlikely but he never really tries to turn the tables on his captors. A truly bizarre film, well made and shot, with excellent and appropriate music in the style of 40s noir. Obviously not for all tastes but certainly worth a look for viewers of challenging and offbeat cinema.


Singapore Sling was one of my very first forays into the world of underground and/or extreme cinema. Years later, I've seen many, many such films, but SS still holds a very special place in my heart, simply because not only is the film truly demented, but it's also very well done, which is rare for an exploitation film.

The plot concerns one anonymous detective who, in search of his long lost lover, gets shot (the exact circumstances surrounding him getting shot are never explained.) He manages to crawl to a nearby house, where he is found by the mother and daughter who live there.

It should be noted, at this point, that the mother and daughter are sick, kinky, incestuous lesbians with sadistic streaks.

Anyhoo, after he has the fortunate opportunity of falling into the aforementioned duo's clutches, the real action begins. He is nicknamed "Singapore Sling" by the pair, is tied to a bed, and is humiliated in various ways (one particularly interesting one being when the Mother urinates in his face while administering electroshock.) After a while, the film just kinda drifts off the deep end, as if it wasn't strange enough already...illustrative of this are the famous "dinner scenes", which have to be the most memorable parts in the movie, and the Daughter furiously ramming a kiwi into her vagina. All this is set against the backdrop of the Mother-Daughter team seriously screwing with Singapore Sling's head by pretending that the Daughter is Laura (the woman who he is looking for). This all comes to a head in the ending, however, which has to be one of my favorite endings in any movie ever. I WILL SAY NO MORE! Overall, SS is excellent. Shot in beautiful black and white, it's pure sleaziness combined with genuinely good acting skills on the parts of the characters involved make it a treat to watch. I do, however, have two minor complaints. My first is that the movie could have been a bit shorter. My second doesn't have to do with the movie, but the DVD. I got the Synapse DVD of this film, and the original burnt in subtitles that the film originally had are covered by large, annoying black boxes in the altered version. This is far worse than the original version, so I just turned that feature off. The DVD in itself doesn't have anything on it, other than the feature film, a photo gallery, and trailer. That's it...it's really a quite bare presentation. I would've like to know a little more about the background of the film, personally.

All in all, though, it's great. Highly recommended.


*********Spoiler******************* The Secret of Singapore Sling is revealed! I saw this fine masterpiece of modern post-morbidness and cracked open the perverse brain candy shell to uncover the hidden meaning.

The big clue is when the mother and daughter discuss the rules of servants. If you look up the 3 laws of Robotics established by Isaac Asimov you will discover the similarities between "robots" and "servants."

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

The women talk about "servants" following laws like these. They are really talking about how THEY too are "servants" (aka robots) trapped by these rules.

Now take note of the women's spastic movements and bizarre speech patterns. And the Singapore Sling character.. he spends a lot of time motionless and never speaks.

They are all robots.

They are robots struggling to re-enact the Laura storyline (from the classic movie released in 1944) so that they can learn about humanity.

As robots they do not understand things like nuances in speaking.. natural human movements, and human sexuality.

A further clue is when they are eating. Robots cannot eat! Thus they force food in, and then regurgitate that food back up. Without discomfort except for the regurgitation process itself. And they do not realize how this is not standard eating behavior.

And finally, Singapore Sling "himself" is seen rusting... asking about water supposedly. No he was telling them that he had become wet from the outside and his lips were rust covered. Look closely, those are not swollen lips that need water. Those are rusted lips that needed to be polished and cleaned.

The woman does not pee on Singapore Sling, she tries to kill him with water released from a valve because she does not know what else to do.

If you watch Singapore Sling with this secret uncovered, it becomes a movie that makes sense, and you can delight in seeing a story about robots trying desperately to re-enact a movie they knew about, to try to learn to become human. The water outside and in the pool is the constant threat that keeps them trapped inside.

The tragedy is that a robot cannot become human and thus at the end Singapore Sling decides to bury himself and deactivate instead of living the lie.

Watch it again with your Isaac Asimov books hand, and enjoy it for what it is... a fascinating study of humanity as seen from an alien perspective.


What happens to good films made totally against the grain? What if Botticelli's Venus was painted urinating into an acolyte's mouth? In cinema, such works can find their way to late night screenings, safely past the bedtime of anyone who might object or find them too 'off-beat'. Such was the birth of films that include The Rocky Horror Show and Eraserhead. Or films openly shocking like Pink Flamingoes. Late nighters may be rubbish  or they may be the last bastion of artists that are out of synch with popular and critical tastes. At the time of writing, The Filmhouse in Edinburgh runs seasons of 'psychotronic' film  one of the many sub-genres at the midnight masses of secretive cinephiles.

Our film was fittingly introduced by a masked man with a heavy European accent. "How many films," he asks, "satisfy both your voyeuristic and artistic tastes?" He goes on to mention the awards Singapore Sling has won in its native Greece. The promise of kinky sex, even with vomiting, incest and torture, sounds so much more respectable if it has subtitles and a dialogue in Greek, French and English. And a cinematography award so we can make polite conversation about the nice photography.

But before we write it off as art-house exploitation, let me add that the plot machinations and breakthrough acting devices alone (that blend character, voice-over, narrating to the camera and rehearsing to the camera) put it in an exceptional class of movie. And the cinematography would be Oscar-worthy were it not for the subject matter.

Without giving too much away (Singapore Sling is basically film noir with other elements forcefully mixed), the story concerns a dodgy private detective in love with a dead woman. If that sounds familiar, it's meant to be. The woman is Laura  cue the plot line from the Otto Preminger classic  and she is hauntingly described by the wistful Julie London version of the eponymous song (from a cappella to romantic Glen Miller). Singapore Sling is just the nickname that the detective earns from a couple of female sociopaths, one of whom is worryingly like his dead Laura.

The black and white photography leaves us open-mouthed from the outset. Lush, atmospheric shadows are thrown together as our senses are pounded by a thunderstorm. Rain fights with the flora, ricochets off surfaces, drenches the faces and bodices of two women who, with Hamlet-like grandeur, dig a grave. You feel drenched. And each scene in Singapore Sling is composed with equally mesmerising beauty. Baroque magnificence and delicate taste insulate us from the nastiness to follow. Murder is a parlour game. . . . in the old days, father would murder the servants . . . the girls would only have to plant flowers.

Our female protagonists are mother and daughter. They re-enact murders as a refined sado-masochistic and incestuous ritual. Who is Laura? Was she just a serving maid? Who is in the picture hanging on the wall? Singapore Sling is drawn into their deadly web after knocking on their door, a bullet wound in his shoulder. He feigns a degree of distractedness to give himself time. At what point does the torture make his loss of mental capacity real? While this is not a film to watch if you have a queasy stomach (think, Greenaway's, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover), our sense of revulsion is numbed by being drawn into the twisted aesthetics of the protagonists. I am not kidding  they tie him up, give him electric shocks, and use him for sex before urinating on his face. Later, his abuser realistically makes herself vomit over him as she orgasms. Are you OK with that? If you're still reading, let's get back to the cinematic technique . . .

Singapore Sling occasionally narrates a voice-over, stoically treating it as 'just another case.' Our other two characters go one further. They will narrate what is happening or about to happen to the camera. At one point, Mom (we never learn their names) rehearses dramatic lines in French and English. For a coming role play or for our benefit? Whichever it is, the barrier between audience, character and actor is broken down. When we are simultaneously being inundated with extremely visceral and unsettling material, the effect is challenging. Cocteau once said that film is a, 'petrified fountain of thought.' We might want to analyse, the plot, the Freudian symbolism, even the techniques. But we are helplessly frozen in the terrible vision, and swept along by a smorgasbord of extreme sexual fetish that makes 'The Story of O' look like 'Gone With the Wind.' This makes it even harder work piecing together the mystery when 'all is revealed' (there are a number of interpretations to the central mystery). One of the first things I did was order a copy of Preminger's Laura from Amazon to re-examine the detailed references.

At the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Singapore Sling won a triplet of Best Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Director. Although as deliberately shocking as, say, Pink Flamingos or Thundercrack!, it oozes style in equal proportion to perversion. British censors promptly banned it. The director called it, "a comedy with some elements of Ancient Greek Tragedy" but reacted to the ban by realising it maybe depicts an underlying malaise in all of us. A darker side we try to ignore. A side that inveigles without substance. The stuff hidden in dreams. Like Laura  'the face in the misty light . . . that you can never quite recall', as our song says.

Love it or hate it, a policy of late night screenings on rare movies is something that keeps independent cinema alive. Singapore Sling may not be to your taste, but such willingness to dare keeps the doors open for a wider selection of films than can be found anywhere outside of film festivals.


The best Hollywood film that Hollywood never made! This has instant classic stamped all over it. A film that plays, teases and laughs both with and at it's many possible influences, not to mention itself along the way.

Stunning cinematography and 'bravura' performances from the female leads, this is the perfect TV Sunday afternoon film if the world was sound instead of being the bonkers screwed up place it actually is.

Unreservedly recommended to anyone and if you don't find it engaging, maybe it's yourself that needs a reassessment.

Now just how does one get to see his other movies??!!!!!


wow - this movie is mind-blowing in so many ways... it's on a ranking with the best of world cinema, and is not merely transgressive (though be aware -- it is extremely transgressive). The two female leads personify commitment to an acting role, and along with the male lead go all out for their art. This movie is an integral piece - a complete cinematic vision, from the stellar black and white cinematography (with "deep focus" throwback to Gregg Toland, the man-with-the-print waxed enthusiastically to me about) to the noir overtones and the hard-boiled detective, the "Laura" musical theme interwoven throughout -- to the perverse erotic aesthetic. Plus it takes all this to an operatic level - as fully constructed as a Greenaway film but without the arty label. This movie lays on the sexual taunts and the threat of death in ever-increasing doses. It is ending from the very beginning -- but it takes a long, increasingly loaded ordeal before it finally hits us with the tragic conclusion. You will not have seen anything like Singapore Sling -- it is a work of beauty though it bears repeated viewings to assimilate everything it has to offer.


You'll probably never find this one at your local video store, or even a major one. But if youre in the mood for noir, horror, mystery, and tastefully done, if not graphic, erotica, hunt this one done! The movie starts out with a injured detective, and a mother/daughter burying there driver in a ditch, which they killed. Then, after some weird dialog/interactions between the mother and daughter, the wounded detective shows up at their door. Then it takes off from there, electro therapy (although its not used as its suppose to be) golden showers, perfect and a little weird dialog, threesomes, and some nasty violence/masochism. Although I would watch out, there are some copies of the movie in which the subs are fuzzy.


This is a tough one to describe, maybe noirsploitation? Maybe if Billy Wilder were to remake Preminger's Laura as an exploitation movie after dropping six tabs of acid and watching Eat The Schoolgirl, Arsenic & Old Lace, and a Joe D'Amato flick... and doing it in a mix of English, Greek, and French. Singapore Sling is a dark and twisted neo-noir black comedy about a mother and daughter with a special kind of relationship and the introduction of a new man into their lives. So we get some disembowelment, murder, sex, incest, bondage, puking, urinating, electro shock, a good helping of nudity, and lots of other fun stuff. It's been a while since I've seen a good bizarre flick like this, it's right up there with Visitor Q and Penetration Angst. Good stuff!


I just finished watching this move, twice. I watched the Synapse DVD (absolutely awesome picture quality) and was delighted to see an adult tale, well told.

A comment on the Synapse DVD; the subtitles default to 'new' ones which cover up the original ones burned onto the DVD. According to Synapse, the original subtitles were not too good. I watched the movie with the default 'new' subtitles and while the content was good, they cover up a LOT of the movie. Hence the second viewing with the less obtrusive though inaccurate ones. The use of subtitles is actually quite minimal. However, in two scenes, they cover up some shocking footage better viewed with the less intrusive old ones. Enough of the DVD.

...........Possible Spoilers..........

I just loved this movie. I loved the photography, the extreme behavior, the brilliant acting...everything. The daughter, who I think was played by Meredyth Herold, was incredibly sexy and appeared constantly on the point of orgasm with the slightest provocation pushing her over the edge. What a stunning performance. People have compared this to what you would expect from John Waters etc. however, while I like his movies, nothing comes close to the beauty, acting, photography, atmosphere and sheer stomach turning quality of this work of art. (That goes for the infamous Pink Flamingoes regarding grossness also). I was also concerned that the movie was in Black and White. I shouldn't have been. Aside from making this one of the best photographed movies, ever..it makes the gross stuff even more extreme. And there is a lot of gross stuff; incest, cannibalism, sexual regurgitation, urination, torture, masturbation (with food ... and without), violence etc...and it looks just wonderful.

..........Spoilers Over........

This movie is for strong stomachs only. Some of the scenes will likely offend 99% of the viewing population. However, this is a movie of great physical beauty and is not to be missed. A pure work of art!! To think I didn't plan to watch this for several weeks after getting the DVD. Thank goodness I changed my mind. If you have a strong constitution, don't miss this movie. VERY highly recommended.


A strange collision of film-noir, performance art and Sirkian melodrama, Singapore Sling is an absolute must for fans of extreme film-making. The film tells the story of a wounded Sam Spade-like detective captured by two women he's investigating and becomes coerced into participating in their disturbing torture games.

Although the vomit and cruelty get a bit much, the most haunting aspect of the film are the strange, surreal monologues presented by both women during the course of events. Their performances are so off kilter and deranged that it would be virtually impossible not to feel like your skin is trying to crawl away.

The cinematography is shimmering black and white with Greg Toland inspired deep focus. It's not hard to believe that this may be one of the most aesthetically beautiful films ever.

The film isn't really 'gory', but it's very upsetting and totally confrontational. An adaption of an avant-garde Greek play, the film can feel stagey sometimes, but as mentioned above, it's exceptionally cinematic.

Watch it with someone you love or shiver alone!!!


This movie surely is the best artistic piece of cinema ever made in Greece.

The story tells us about a guy who has to confront the nightmares of his broken heart visualized as a couple of bizarre women doing horrible things in their lame house. During his stay out the house, he will soon come to realize not only that his passion was a mere delusion, but will also discover the emptiness of many things that are generally considered enjoyable such as food and sex.

The storyline is neither straight nor clear. However, this non-straight format is essential because the films aim is not just to tell a simple story. I would say that it deals more with ideas and thoughts than with persons and their deeds.

Carefully crafted to the last detail, with great performances, I would consider this film equivalent to Eraserhead by David Lynch and Vargtimmen by Ingmar Bergman.


It was once said that the whole of a movie should not be in so much whether you like or disliked a movie, but rather, did it leave a lasting impression upon you? Taking that idea into account, I would have to say that "Singapore Sling" is without a doubt an indelible addition to the film noir genre, albeit the bizarro kind. As one of the reviewers has mentioned before, this movie shouldn't be taken seriously. You should come into this one with an open mind and you'll be rewarded with a beautifully photographed film noir filled with black humor. "Singapore Sling" is like the demented cousin of "Laura", "Sunset Boulevard" and "Grey Gardens". It's your basic detective story but with torture, bizarre erotica, and outstanding overacting. Just make sure the parents are asleep and that you've got the right kind of friend in tow when watching it.


A gun-shot gumshoe stumbles upon a secluded villa inhabited by a certifiably insane, incestuous, sadomasochistic mother-daughter couple. The daughter straps him down and administers high electric voltage through his forehead, while the mother rides his convulsing pelvis and then proceeds to cool him down with a golden shower. Then things get weird...

I won't give you a play by play of this sick and twisted piece of European cinema. If you're simply interested in seeing some of the most extreme S&M stuff ever put on cinema, then by all means see it. However, if you're looking for a little bit more than that, then you might be left wondering "what was the point of all this?" Interesting themes are developed in this film, such as the omnipresence of the absentee father who is the root cause of the womens' insanity, the gumshoe's Pygmalion-like stubborn attempt to "rescue" the girl from her predicament, the mother-daughter rivalry with the inevitable matricide, death as liberation from the misery of life. But none of these themes are adequately fleshed out, making the plot feel disjointed and incomplete.

Some of the scenes in Singapore Sling would make Marquis de Sade proud, but Nikolaidis' storytelling would make Pasolini wince. Still, the movie is competently directed and photographed and overall is worth a look. Just don't eat anything before you watch it. You'll thank me later.


I saw this movie years ago at a film festival, and ended up looking it up here after it came up in conversation with friends last night, partly to prove to them that I was not making it up, and partly to see for myself if there was actually any record of the film's existence, or if it had sunk into some kind of merciful oblivion after doing the festival circuit.

In my festival-going days, I sat through a lot of films that cleared virtually the entire theatre, and usually took a certain pleasure in being one of the last few survivors who made it through to the closing credits. This was the film that caused me to reconsider that practice. Of all the cinematic trainwrecks I've sat through, this was far and away the very worst.

I don't even know if I can fully explain why. It's not just that it's essentially two hours of vomiting, disembowelment and cannibalism, interspersed with about the least erotic sex scenes ever committed to film. It's not even just that the above is shot in grainy black and white at torturously slow art-movie pacing (and I couldn't figure out, even at the time, if that made it better or worse). Or the atrociously bad acting. Or the barely existent plot.

I think more than anything it's the sheer pointlessness of it all. Given how much time, money and energy it takes to make a feature-length film, you've got to ask: WHY? Why make a film like this? What on earth is the point? And 15 years after seeing it, I still have no answer to that.


Enzo G. Castellari, once again delivers quite a piece of cinema. The story is rather dull and uninspired (except by JAWS of course), but Castellari remedies that with very energetic direction, an excellent musical score by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, and a lot of his mouth-watering wide angle use of slow motion. Lots of cult film actors (Including Vic Morrow, James Franciscus, and Giancarlo Prete) and a lot of goofy effects and stock footage, make this film completely silly and enjoyable rather than disturbing or shocking as most horror films set out to be. That's probably the opposite of what ZOMBIE producer Ugo Tucci wanted, but this film is quite fun to watch and worth repeat viewings.


Personally, I have a weakness for cheap and trashy Jaws rip-offs and I'm on a mission to track them ALL down one day! So, I was destined to like this little movie no matter what, but even from a more objective viewpoint I can't possibly bring myself to say that this is a bad film. The story is a clean copy of Steven Spielberg's classic (not even bothering to alter the species of the shark) but the makers never make a secret out of that and even openly refer to it. Not good enough for Universal Studios apparently, as they started (and won) a lawsuit in order to ban "The Last Shark". The story is structured exactly the same as "Jaws", with the first half revolving on the introduction of a tourist beach communion where local politicians rather risk peoples' lives than cancel the popular annual surf contest. During the second half, a bunch of brave (but very stupid) people try to destroy the shark themselves. There's quite a lot of suspense and the underwater camera-work is surprisingly nifty. The shark itself is an engaging creation, even though it's over-the-top gigantic and a little too robotic-looking when it pops out of the water. I was also expecting more gore and nudity but director Enzo G. Castellari obviously opted to make his film a serious-minded and ambitious horror adventure (unlike the Mexian "Tiger Shark" by Rene Cordoba). The music is excellent and the acting performances are far above average. Maybe the owners of the official Jaws rights were a bit jealous, as this should have been an official sequel to the 1975 classic. It unquestionably is better than Jaws 3-D and the god-awful Jaws 4: The Revenge. Recommended!


I've no idea why a guy like Enzo Castellari would stoop to such a wholesale rip-off of the Jaws movies, but we're talking about the wacky world of Italian cinema, so who knows? Castellari never ceases to amaze me with his action-packed, stylistic films like Street Law and the Big Racket, and although folks say that he lost it a bit during the eighties, the Last Shark is the only film I've seen by him that's less than great (c'mon - Bronx Warriors and The New Barbarians are still a hoot, despite their limitations).

The plot is a bit of Jaws and a bit of Jaws two mixed together. We've got an Italian b-movie cast from heaven - James Franciscus (Cat o Nine Tails) is our hero, with Vic Morrow (Bronx Warriors) as the pseudo Scottish Robert Shaw facsimile, Joshua Sinclair as the troubled mayor torn between his polls and the safety of his folks, Romano Puppo as a shark hit-man (or something like that), with Giancarlo Prete and Massimo Vanni turning up as a ruthless film crew.

Basically: it's Jaws. A large Great White turns up in the sea outside of town and starts eating folks. The mayor doesn't really want to shut the beach due to an upcoming Regatta, and Vic Morrow offers his hand in wasting the troublesome fish. The plot is so nearly identical that Spielberg sued the film right out of the USA! It never come near the original's level of tension, and there's not much by way of shocks (the 'head popping out from under the boat bit' in Jaws is a classic), but I'd say that the Last Shark is mainly interesting for fans of Castellari himself, as well as his perpetually recurring actors. Every non-shark orientated shot is full of primary colours: blues, yellows and reds abound. There's a ton of style injected into these proceedings, plus plenty of Castellari slow motion, and the usual gore (though not so much as Jaws).

The Last Shark starts off well, slumps slightly in the middle, and picks up again towards the end when Joshua Sinclair tries his hand at fishing the shark out the water using a helicopter. Plus, any film that has Massimo Vanni being bitten in half earns extra points.

At the end of the day though, it's still a blatant rip-off of Jaws, and the low budget rears its head whenever shark footage appears, with some dodgy models and terrible stock footage. Some copies of this film are very dark too, which would hamper viewing (although the first version I watched, on Italian television, was as clear as anything).

For Enzo Castellari fans only - his mark is all over this film. Check out Vic Morrow's Scottish accent too! I've never heard a Scotman talk like that, and I live there!


Italian exploitation riff on "Jaws" was notorious for being yanked from theaters after the producers mounted a multimillion dollar ad campaign (that looks like it cost a lot more than anything in the actual film) that attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg and Universal Pictures. Spielberg and crew took legal action against the makers of "Great White" and had the film removed from theaters.

Vic Morrow does his best Robert Shaw impression when a 35 foot (yes, 35 foot) great white infiltrates a popular tourist beach and starts eating windsurfers and other ditzy people who like to fall off boats into the water whenever they see a giant shark fin circling.

I can't imagine why Universal sued. While obviously similar, it's not really the plot from "Jaws" any more than Ovidio Assonitis's "Tentacles" was; in fact, "Great White" shares a lot in common with "Tentacles". Both films have very similar regatta disaster scenes, where their title creature rampages through a group of boaters (or in the case of "Great White", windsurfers). Interestingly, both films also reveal that the filmmakers are not American due to unrealistic depictions of American celebrations. Both films feature bizarre "Uncle Sam" type characters entertaining crowds of laughing, cheering people, and this one even shows a cheering New England crowd waving both American and the Confederate flag. Hmmmmm.

Well, back to the movie itself; if you haven't seen it, you're probably wondering what it could be like. If you've seen any Italian exploitation pictures from the 70s or 80s, then just imagine one of the worst ones you've seen, such as Lamberto Bava's "Monster Shark" or Joe D'Amato's "Killing Birds". The soundtrack has the same kind of pseudo-disco thriller music that appeared in "Tentacles", in fact the music is very similar. But the biggest problem that I had with "Great White" is that the shark effects are way more ambitious than the film can handle. When Spielberg's shark didn't look real enough, he started filming around it and cutting it out of the picture. The shark in "Great White" is front and center so often that it ruins any credibility that it may have had otherwise. It's supposed to be 35 feet long, yet we never get the idea that it's that large. The bits that are intercut with shark stock footage do not match the fake shark, and even the fake shark scenes don't match. Perhaps worst of all, the director shows the entire body of the shark in the frame, and we can easily see that it's nothing more than a model. I could go on, but you get the idea. The movie tries to give us a few grisly attacks, including one where a man has both his legs bitten off, but it's hard to feel any real dread or tension over impending death by fake shark head. There's a notorious scene where a helicopter crashes into the water after the shark gets ahold of it, and it's a bizarre clash of toy models. Combine all this with Vic Morrow's scenery-chewing performance, the typical Italian dub job, and the shoddy special effects, and you've got one of the cheesiest sharkfests to rise from the depths.


I was surprised when i watched this movie, it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be in fact it was quite good. well it's quite a Jaws Rip off but hey - it's a lot better than some other shark movies for instance - "Tintorera" which was a complete waste of time. i was also surprised when i read that it was released as Jaws 3 in some countries when it hit the theaters, well it is better than Jaws pt 3 and 4. one thing that i like with this movie (spoiler warning) is the ending - right about after the sharks death - when they all get safety on land just before the end text is coming and the sad music is appears - it reflects sorrow, evil and even madness, and the survivors gets into the car - it is a great scene probably the best in the entire movie (according to me). the movie also contains crappy and dumb scenes, but hey - doesn't every classic cult flicks do ?. the shark looks part of better than in the Jaws (a little but not much). it has a great opening too (spoiler warning) - a guy vanished on his windsurfing board, a little bit rip from Jaws 2. the movie is a very like Jaws in someways - there is a guy who looks just like Robert Shaw and same job. well i like the movie, it is my favorite "Cult Classic" - if you should see a better shark movie that Jaws 4 - see The Last Shark. can't wait for it to get an official release, i only know that there is an bootleg but with Japanese text on it. another info (just for fun): it was released in Sweden as "JätteHajen - Vindsurfarnas Skräck".

7/10.


Its a lot of fun watching the really fake shark that isn't scary at all,you will crack up when you see the shark coming out of the water with his head. There is also alot of documentary stuff used for this movie, that are maybe the most bad parts of the movie, the storyline is alot like "jaws". The acting is OK (not more then that) i give it 3/10, BUT IT IS FUN WATCHING THE SHARK !!!