User reviews

A few years back I found this to be unwatchable but viewing it again and seeing it not so much as a porno but as a 'roughie' and this time able to appreciate the sleazy streetscape backcloth, this doesn't seem so bad. It is over ambitious but is surprisingly convincing at times, even if it is still difficult to watch, here and there. Zebedy Colt is disturbing and his baby like gibbering as he coerces people to f*** does not endear one to him. It has to be said though that when he is chased out of a subway, instead of roaring off down the street he pauses to grab a sexy looking girl and take her into some storage area shrieking, 'It's all your fault', we fear we are witness to something horribly believable. Harry Reems does well in the central role, C J Laing gives a spirited performance, the black couple do well and Zebedy Colt

Ah, my first experience of Zebedy Colt. An interesting fellow, gay cabaret singer (and apparently great, though I've not heard any of his music) and reputedly respected off Broadway actor who figured on getting into porn but found that the gay porn scene of the time offered little artistic outlet so got into straight roughies instead, becoming somewhat notable for his talents at playing damaged lunatic sadists. He is the main reason to watch Sex Wish, a film that otherwise isn't especially noteworthy. A simple story, Harry Reems plays a poor schlub whose fiancée gets raped and killed and seeks revenge on the advice of a friendly hooker. Various sex scenes, a couple more grim 'n grimy rapes and a nutty finale before it all wraps up. Reems does a fair job, he really isn't much of an actor and his failings show when he has to emote but he carries the film pretty well, he has a certain compelling physical presence and a rocking moustache, plus he's a solid performer in his various nookie adventures so he generally comes across OK, if forgettable. The women are generally more effective, CJ Laing bleakly convincing in her brutalised turn as his fiancée (and cutting a lovely figure with her cute bush and small but delicious breasts) Deanna Darby likable as the aforementioned friendly hooker, Toni Roam sympathetic as an unfortunate black hooker and Terri Hall in a brief role credited only as Raped Woman. Colt is by far the best performer here though as the lunatic killer, electrifying in his jabbering, childlike turn he comes across weirdly like some horror-show XXX Adam Sandler, taking the most jarring aspects of that abhorrent retard and amping up the unsettlement a hundred fold, he regrettably only gets three scenes to strut his stuff but when he does its really freaking' great. Otherwise the film is too vanilla to be that good, competently lensed and paced in such a way that it never bores, but it rarely pops. Standard hardcore action, one love scene with amusing faux romantic editing, a bit of angst and tracking on sleazy streets (accordion players are apparently a good way to find guns), it all bowls along in vacantly watchable fashion, the three bitching' nasty scenes and a reasonably tight final block keep this one worthwhile but it doesn't have much to offer if you ain't a 70's porn devotee already. Small thumbs up from me, but its probably only for completists.

Sex Wish (1976)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hardcore take-off on DEATH WISH has Harry Reems playing a mild-mannered architect whose life is turned upside down after a serial rapists sexually assaults and then murders his fiancé. Soon Reems buys a gun and plans on murdering the creep but soon he learns that this maniac has killed others close to him. This film clocks in at only 79-minutes and there were times where tears were nearly running down my face from laughing so hard. I know this is a "roughie" from the period but I didn't find anything here too overly graphic and in many ways the rape sequence in DEATH WISH was a lot more brutal. With that said, I think fans of the Bronson classic would probably get a kick out of this movie. There's really not any scenes that are ripped off or any nods to the Bronson film but they do follow the same storyline with only the hardcore material being the difference. The reason this film kept me so entertained is because of how bad and laughable some of the stuff is. Just check out the scene when Reems returns home to find his fiancé dead. His reaction is incredibly funny as is a later scene where he gets mad at a cop asking personal questions. More laughs follow when he goes to get drunk to forget about his pain only to have two skanks pick him up and pretty much force themselves on him. Even more laughs follow when the rapist breaks in on a black couple where we get some extremely funny dialogue that would make even the blaxploitation genre blush. I think it should go without saying that there's really nothing "good" here in terms of what you'd find in a regular movie. The performances are all rather bad and there's no sense of storytelling but at the same time there are some impressive things here. The killer is some pervert, clearly disturbed in the head, who hands out in a gay club. I found his reasons for doing this stuff to be rather interesting and I thought Zebedy Colt was decent in the role. Reems gives his typical performance, which is good enough for the material but his attempts at crying really don't come off very well. The rest of the cast are what you'd expect to find in a hardcore movie from this era.

"Sex Wish" is a truly sadistic and sick porno horror that is very hard to watch.The plot deals with a drug-sniffing homosexual killer(Zebedy Colt,a true sicko of 70's hard core who can really act)who kills all the acquaintances of the helpless Ken(Harry Reems)for reasons which will not be made clear till the end of the film.The first victim on his slate is Ken's fiancée Faye.Wearing a stocking over his head,he forces himself into her apartment,ties her up with leather harnesses and rapes her graphically with a vibrator,all the while talking like a little child who has done something naughty.After masturbating on her,Colt then slits her throat with a rapier he has concealed in a cane.Ken returns to the apartment and to his horror finds Faye dead body.Ken remembers bumping into someone in the hallway and vows to hunt this man down and kill him."Sex Wish" is a nasty and mean porno horror.The torture scenes are pretty graphic and Zebedy Colt is hauntingly believable as a sadistic killer.The gore effects are amateurish,but the film is well-acted and dirty.Not for the squeamish.8 out of 10.

Truly depraved, sadistic, and misoginistic porno feature that mixes an extreme amount of violence and gore enough to be considered as Porno--Horror.

The movie starts with a steamy and arousing sex scene taking place in a bathtub; later followed by the highlight of the movie that deals with a sadistic sex twisted killer who rapes, humiliates and brutally murders a sexy woman. This woman's boyfriend later finds her corpse and swears he will apply a cruel revenge on the murderer who happens to be an ill mental sex repressed maniac with serious issues (he acts like a boy).

Later, this man delivers weird scenes involving voyeurism and even murders a black couple after they give an erotic show for him; he even castrates the black man. Ouch! The plot is really interesting and demonstrates that the vigilante-Talion Law formula will always work and makes the viewer hate the villain to the point of imagining the worst revenge for him.

The fact that it was filmed in such a cheap and dark way increases the disturbing factor making it look like an amateur or even snuff effort.

Recommended for fans of porn and violence. One of my favorites.

Zebedy Colt had to be one of the most deranged porn actors/directors of the 70's. His three most memorable films (Sex Wish, The Devil inside her, and Terri's Sweet revenge) all also featured his pervy ingénue Terri Hall, and over the top mixtures of violence, sex, and drama. A potent mix! Harry Reems is great in the lead role as a blissful husband who's wife is raped and killed by a freak with a pantyhose on his head (Zebedy Colt) who has been doing the same to other innocent women and couples throughout New York. The attacks are twisted and not for the faint of heart, as Colt alternates between gleefully tittering as he pretends to be a 6 year old boy, and then becomes "Mommy" and starts screaming "You taught my boy dirty tricks! I'll teach you!!" Fans of Cannibal Holocaust will be interested to note that that films star Robert Kerman shows up in a supporting role as cop hunting for the twisted psycho. Robert is in a non-sex role in this xxx outing, but he wasn't a stranger to porn showing up in many porn films under the name Richard Bolla. I would love to know what mossy, slime-coated rock Mr. Colt crawled under after his tenure in 70's triple x, because the industry certainly hasn't seen many like him since.

The Great Harry Reems plays a typical guy, who is romantic and caring, and who goes over the edge when he finds his beautiful wife with her throat slit in their living room. First seeking the oblivion of alcohol, before deciding to hunt down the man responsible for the spate of vicious sexual assaults and murders that have been happening throughout the city. What can be said of Zebedy Colt? Certainly NOT that the guy couldn't act. Colt turns in a notably chilling, twisted performance as the sex maniac with multiple personalities, including a little boy, and his sexually repressed, murderous mother! Unless you are really looking for nothing more than shock value, you might be relieved that the throat cuttings and decapitations tastefully happen off camera, unlike "Forced Entry," which forces the viewer (effectively) into another state of mind, due to it's hate-edged depictions of bloody killings. "Sex Wish" deserves to be restored, like so many other lost films, as it's a fascinating example of 1970's porn, as well as just being a good film. Right now it is very hard to find.. I believe the reputation of "Sex Wish" is worse than the actual film. Because of the intense subject matter viewers imagine that they are seeing more than what is depicted on screen There is actually very little on screen sex, for a "porn film." So much time is spent on the story, which for once, is truly engaging and quite fascinating. Reems gets to exercise his acting chops like never before, as his role calls for him to develop from a happy, care-free and devoted husband, to an emotional wreck, and then again, into a vengeful man whose anger has changed him into a man obsessed with finding and destroying an evil psychopath, as he prowls the streets of 1970's NYC, methodically gathering clues that will bring about a final resolution. Unless I saw a censored print, all the gore that people talk about, is not present. There are throat cuttings and stabbings, and even a vicious castration; however we see none of it, as these horrors tastefully happen off camera. The fact that audiences recall intense, gory killings that actually aren't shown, is mere testament to the strong writing and believable performances present. And likewise, for a film that's a part of the "roughie" genre, there is a noticeable absence of those open clit, "gynocological" closeups that only cheapen these movies; in that respect, "Sex Wish" is almost...tasteful. A perfect comparison would be the other film starring Reems, that shared similar themes of brutality; "Forced Entry,' a truly vile and unpleasant movie experience, that does show everything, and leaves nothing to the imagination. Throat cuttings, breast stabbings etc are shown in graphic detail, along with the ugly hardcore footage that is, for lack of a better word...gross. And that movie gets so much more recognition today, than "Sex Wish," a film that is infinitely superior in every way. So for fans of the 'Rape/Revenge' genre, and for those curious about the "roughie" genre, "Sex Wish" is a good place to start, as it is one of the absolute best of the bunch.