Hollywood 90028

As teens in the mid to late 1970s, we often went to the drive-in for our weekend's entertainment, loaded with six packs (drinking age was 18 in Ohio for some beer). One night, we were pretty toasted and tired for the third movie on the bill called 'The Hollywood Hillside Strangler'. Somehow, I fought through the haze and noticed the peculiar artiness of this otherwise typical serial killer story. The characters were real, the dialogue was strong, although the atmosphere was on the dreamy side. Not David Lynch's Los Angeles, but I would discover that much later. I was really surprised that there was art in this exploitation flick and some years later searched for this film. Despite many resources, I couldn't identify it. I thought it was a Ray Dennis Steckler film, but no, not quite. Finally when I found this movie called "insanity' on the print I watched, I got the reward of seeing this drive-in classic again. The writing is still quite original and the direction, tone, and style all are wildly successful compared to other genre films in this budget range.

Admittedly, I had some minor expectations for "Hollywood 90028", what with this being an ancestor of misogynist slashers like "Maniac" and "Don't Go in the House", and simultaneously being the work of a female writer/director. But the sad truth is that the film fully deserves its current obscurity status. The story of an ambitious cameraman not being able to find decent assignments in Hollywood, and his job of shooting sleazy adult movies driving him to strangle random women, certainly holds potential, but it's dull and amateurish beyond comparison. Some sequences, like the family-photos montage during the opening credits, indicate that director Christina Hornisher really had a tragic story to share, but she lacks the financial means - and the talent - to make it happen. The film is ugly to look at, poorly acted and edited even worse, and it's full of padding footage of the lead actor pointlessly driving around in LA's sleaziest red-light districts.

Surprisingly good, despite the sleazy context and marketing.

By modern standards, we don't see many examples here of this "serial killer" in action, but not only is there a real attempt to provide a plausible familial backstory for his actions (not that that's an excuse), there's also a complementary discussion around societal factors which exacerbate his feelings of disconnection. This element in particular - for example with the old houses of Bunker Hill being demolished to make way for modern "unaffordable" apartments and office blocks - sounds bang up to date, despite the intervening 50 years.

Worth a look.

I just saw this at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles on a double bill with "Don't Go In the House". The print they showed had "TWISTED THROATS" as its title. I wonder how many times this film was released in theaters under various titles. The premise sounded promising, but turned out to be long and very dull --- full of non-stop rambling dialog and shots of people walking around slowly that went on and on forever and ever. This is no horror movie!!! It's basically "Maniac" without the gore or killings. There are some nice shots or early 70's Los Angeles --- especially when it shows old closed down strip clubs of yesteryear like The Pink Pussycat.

I am guessing I was at the same New Beverly Cinema screening as the other commenter, where the audience went from confused and generally amused to teetering on the brink of rioting. As has been previously stated, this is not a horror film. It is incredibly unique, however - the kind of bastard love-child of Antonioni, "My Dinner With Andre," "Death Bed: The Bed That Eats," "Peeping Tom," and the novels of Bruce Wagner. At the very least, it surely deserves a DVD release, for the jaw-dropping final shot alone.

There's a good Psychotronic article in here somewhere - feminist manifesto sold as a genre film, with a cast and crew that came out of nowhere, nailed the film, then all but vanished. At the very least this movie could be programmed with the likes of "Sorority House Massacre" on some kind of "lesser known Psychotronic women" bill.

Worth seeking out, but be warned: It's not a horror film, it's molasses slow, and it's one of film's true buried curiosities.