Operation Makonaima

The Obsessed One (1974)

1/2 (out of 4)

Insanely weird and awful film from The Netherlands has a man thrown in prison for the rape and murder of his wife. It turns out that a group of thugs actually did it so the man breaks free before he reaches the prison and sets out for some vengeance.

THE OBSESSED ONE is a truly awful movie on all levels but thankfully it's so bad that it's easy to recommend it to people who enjoy such trash. It was released the same year as DEATH WISH and I'm going to guess that this was shot in less than a week and that probably explains the cheap look and bad technique. There's really nothing here that I can call "good" as everything from the writing to the acting to the direction are downright horrid.

The amazing thing about this movie is that it seems to be trying to do something good and creative but the end result is just a disaster. I guess you really could compare this to a movie by Edward D. Wood, Jr. where it's clear the director wanted to do something serious but the lack and money and talent just led to some really, really bad. There are so many bad sequences here that you can't help but laugh at them and this includes the rape scene, which is so poorly acted and shot that you'll be laughing when you should be in terror.

The action scenes are all poorly staged and more times than not it seems like the actors are in a rehearsal and not taking it overly serious or perhaps they just didn't know how to shoot a fight scene so the actors were doing everything in slow motion. The performances are beyond awful but these do lead to some rather funny scenes.

I love revenge movies and will watch any that I can but there's no question that THE OBSESSED ONE is a truly horrid film that narrowly escapes a BOMB rating because of how awful it is. The unintentional laughs and the insane look to the film means that it's worth watching.

Fans of the "rape/revenge" genre will likely seek out this obscure 70's film, based on a trailer that makes it look quite promising. They will be disappointed. This is an ugly, rather boring production, filled with pointlessly drawn out exposition, ridiculous fight scenes that are uninspired and utterly silly, and ugly cinematography. Tyrone's girl is raped, and then stabbed to death by a gang of stupid, ridiculously dressed hippies. After this, the viewer is treated to a drawn out scene of the longhairs, sitting around a crappy apartment, smoking weed, and making silly faces as the camera gets tight, claustrophobic shots of their faces. Tyrone then goes on a spree, hunting down, and killing the scum who did him and his girl wrong. End of story. There is NOTHING new here, and this movie is SO bad that it seems like the makers of this clunker were TRYING to make a bad movie. Even those looking for some cheap thrills, will be sorely disappointed, as the sex and violence is kept to a bare minimum. There is a movie called "The Guy From Harlem," that is always referred to as the typical bad movie of this genre, but in fact, that blaxploitation flick is much better than "The Obsessed One," in the sense that it is at least, a "fun movie," to sit back and enjoy with friends. "The Obsessed One" is not fun, or enjoyable, on any level; depressing, boring, and forgettable. The fact that this received a BluRay release, is a complete mystery, especially considering all the good exploit stuff that hasn't gotten the restoration treatment, like the Jim Kelly movies, which have a huge cult following. To date, there is STILL no way to see "The Black Dragon" in it's uncut form. I recommend to all that have a burning curiosity to see this movie, to watch it online before you buy it. I'm betting you will be glad you saved yourself some cash.