Motorpsycho!

Motor Psycho wasn't exactly the Russ Meyer film I was hoping to see. Not that it's a bad movie – far from it – but it lacks the eccentric character of his other work. Motor Psycho is a raw drama about delicate topics such as rape, murder and revenge. The plot involves a battle between vets! A veterinarian's wife is raped by 3 relentless bikers (one of them being a Vietnam-veteran) and he goes after them, accompanied by a busty lady who has been widowed by the same gang. Normally, Meyer's films are a feast for all senses…there's always something extravagant to discover or admire. Compared to that, Motor Psycho is pretty lame and it merely depends on two ultra-strong sequences and a delightful breast-parade (even though all female flesh remains covered). The sequence in which protagonist Alex Rocco forces his female companion to suck a snake's poison out of his leg is brilliant and so is the grotesque finale in which the main villain (Stephen Olivier) revives his Vietnam trauma's. I'd recommend the film for those parts alone! If you're a fan of the director's personal style, I advise you to check this film out…It won't take much of your time anyway, since the film only last a good 70 minutes.

In some ways 'Motor Psycho' is almost like Russ Meyer's dummy run for his trash classic 'Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!', featuring three men on a rampage instead of three women, but this is a much darker and more serious movie than we generally expect from him. There is the wonderful Haji and a few buxom women on screen, but no outrageous sexual humour or camp touches. 'Motor Psycho' plays it fairly straight. The budget is non-existent, but the acting is pretty good, and despite Brahmin and pals not strictly being bikers you can see 'The Wild Angels' on the horizon, and maybe even 'The Last House On The Left'. Stephen Oliver plays disturbed Vietnam vet Brahmin who terrorizes several women in a desert community. Alex Rocco ('The Godfather', 'The Stunt Man') plays the local vet Cory Maddox, and after his wife Gail (Holle K. Winters) is raped and beaten by Brahmin and his sidekicks he vows revenge. While tracking the thugs down he meets Ruby Bonner (Haji) whose husband was recently murdered by them and they help each other when they get stranded in the desert. 'Motor Psycho' is a very gritty movie for the time, and surprisingly effective. A very good b-grade movie that deserves some more attention. Check it out.

Really. How could anyone ever come up with a better film title than "Motor Psycho?" No one ever will. Now that we've said that, let's get on with the story. Alex Rocco makes his film debut as veteranarian Corey Maddox, whose wife is violently raped by a gang of motorcycle hoods. Maddox tries to hunt down the gang to glean a little retribution, or perhaps bring the gang to justice. In the process, he meets Ruby Bonner, whose husband has been murdered by the same thugs. Ruby and Corey team up and get caught in a canyon where they are forced to violently confront the by-now-totally-nutso leader of the group, who happens to be a wacked-out Vietnam vet. This film is a little-known Meyer gem; you get the opportunity to see how good he really was at shot composition and editing. What's it got going for it? Awesome title, incredible sixties twangy guitar soundtrack, great period dialogue, a great tense snakebite scene, and perhaps the first example ever of a film character who's clearly spent too much time in the Vietnam jungle. Odd side note: everyone in this 1965 film drives a Toyota. Three out of four stars.

MotorPsycho! (1967) ***1/2

"MotorPsycho! MotorPsycho! MotorPsycho! MotorPsycho! MotorPsycho! MotorPsycho! The most adult motion picture you will ever see! Cycle maniacs and reckless women gambling with more action than they could handle! Angels are devils! Violence! Terror! Criminal assault! They stop at nothing! MotorpPycho! Flat out on their murder-cycles. Violating! Assaulting! Looting! Molesting! Taking whatever their rapacious appetites demanded! Asking no quarter and giving none in return. Fair play was a dirty word to them, the badge of a weakling! MotorPsycho! A rocket-based motion picture that dares to reveal the devastating action behind the headlines. MotorPsycho! Incredibly strong motion picture entertainment. MotorPsycho! A powerful motion picture that strips and lays bare the frenzied emotions of today's motorcycle-riding hoodlums. MotorPsycho! Pulse-pounding entertainment! MotorPsycho! Three motorcycle maniacs assaulting and killing for thrills! For your own safety, do not fail to see MotorPsycho!"

That's the copy from the original trailer, and if you don't want to see this film after that description, this Russ Meyer film is probably not for you. A vicious biker gang terrorized a small town, and when they sexually assault a woman, her husband, a young Alex Rocco (Mo Green from THE GODFATHER), chases them down for the remainder of the film seeking revenge. One interesting twist to the story is that the leader of the biker gang is a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran, making this possibly the first film that might be considered "Nam-sploitation," where a disturbed veteran goes nuts, ALA THE EXTERMINATOR or ROLLING THUNDER. This film felt different from most of Meyer's other films in that it's more of an action film and less of a sexploitation flick. There's often action in his film, but that seemed to be more of the focus here than his usual focus on sexploitation elements. MOTORPSYCHO! Felt like the closest Meyer ever got to making a straight action film, which really would have been something. Outside of a Criterion Collection release of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, the Russ Meyer estate has carefully guarded his film library. However, they recently struck a deal with Severin for a gorgeous blu-ray release of this film and the Vixen trilogy. This film was a smash success and Meyer's most successful film up to that point, so for his next film, he took the same story of a vicious male biker gang and made it a story about a vicious girl gang of hotrod drivers. FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! Was not successful upon its release, but is the film Meyer is deservedly most remembered for. While Meyer films are unapologetically exploitation films that take the male gaze to another level, the female characters in his films are almost universally stronger and more in control than the men around them. Meyer is far from a feminist, but there is an element of female empowerment to his films, which set them apart from other '60s skin flicks. What also sets them apart is that Meyer was a legitimately skilled craftsman, having been trained during WWII by the most talented Hollywood cameramen in the business at the time. FUN FACT! If you've ever seen WWII footage of General George S. Patton, that was probably shot by Meyer. The photography, framing, and especially the editing are top notch, which is something you almost never see in low-budget exploitation flicks. However, where this film falters is that it's one of the few of Meyer's films where the female characters are not the main characters, and the female characters in the film are not the in-control, take-charge type of women that usually populate his films. The one exception is Haji, who'd go on to be one of the leads in FASTER PUSSYCAT, playing the wife of a man murdered by the biker gang who teams up with Rocco to take down the savage biker gang. Without strong female characters, the film simply feels sadistic and loses the fun of his other films. Still, as with most all of his films, the dialogue is endlessly quotable, the editing is exciting, and the ladies are lovingly photographed, even if the story was disappointingly more akin to lesser roughies of this era.

AI CAPSULE REVIEW: MotorPsycho! Is a brutal, high-octane slice of biker exploitation that trades Russ Meyer's usual sex-fueled fun for gritty revenge and Vietnam-era angst. While less empowered and more sadistic than his best, it's still stylish, savage, and packed with wild-eyed energy.

"MOTOR PSYCHO" (1965) is not your typical Russ Meyer flick. Granted if you are a Meyer fan, you'll probably like this film ~ but you won't love it. The sparse plot concerns 3 bikers who rape a young woman and the husband who goes out for revenge. That's it for plot but the film looks good and is well edited. But the main problem is, if your a Russ Meyer lover, there just isn't enough boobies!!! Now Meyer's next film "Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!" put him on the map and if you pair the two together for your own at home double bill (MOTOR PSYCHO and FASTER PUSSYCAT) you will definitely have a good time! But "Motor Psycho" on its own is just typical 60s drive-in fodder~except that it made far better than more 60s drive-in features. Running in at just around 75 minutes you never get bored ~ you just keep waiting for things that just don't happen. If your a fan, see it! If not, you probably won't care for it! I love Russ Meyer films (and I'm gay) so your not getting a review from someone who likes films full of breasts! But in a Russ Meyer film, it's something you come expecting to see. If you've never seen a Russ Meyer film see "Faster Pussycat! KILL! KILL!." Now that is a fun night at the movies! INDEED!