The Last Victim

The Last Victim is one of those films that it's hard to believe actually exists — an R-rated remake of the infamous 1973 'roughie' Forced Entry that not only stars future Charlie's Angel/Bond girl Tanya Roberts, but which also features Robocop's Nancy Allen in a minor role.

While this one might not be as downright nasty as the original movie (that's an understatement: the '73 version is a utterly repugnant experience), it's still a very sleazy piece of grind-house cinema, one that I imagine neither actress is particularly proud of. Of course, for many fans of obscure, gritty exploitation, the involvement of two future stars in such a mean-spirited, misogynistic piece of trash will only add to the fun.

Roberts plays Nancy Ulman, housewife and mother of two young children (which she must have had while she was still in school, given how young she looks), who finds herself targeted by psycho garage mechanic Carl (Ron Max), the man responsible for a spate of recent brutal rapes/murders in the area. Allen plays one of the unhinged grease-monkey's earlier victims, a pretty hitch-hiker whose lack of manners seals her fate.

Fans of Ms. Roberts might be surprised, and probably more than a little disappointed, to find that the actress keeps herself pretty much covered up throughout (even her obligatory shower scene offers very little titillation). The film's gratuitous nudity comes from Carl's other victims: a pretty motorist who is raped and killed after breaking down on a remote country road, a teenager who suffers the same fate after stopping by the nutters place of work to pump up the tyres on her bicycle (this scene is particularly sleazy given the girl's tender age), and Allen's unfortunate hitch-hiker, who is briefly seen stripped and bound in a flashback.

The final assault on Nancy in her own home is a long, drawn out affair that borders on tedium, and which ends in a ridiculous manner, the killer practically handing his last victim a massive carving knife (which amusingly turns into a smaller joke-shop knife with a retractable blade while she is stabbing him).

This film by Jim Sotos (the director of the surprisingly decent eighties slasher 'Sweet 16') is apparently a remake of the earlier infamous film of the same title by Shaun Costello and starring Harry Reems. Forced Entry was never meant to be a mainstream flick, but it would appear that Sotos was trying to turn it into one with this film as the plot is basically the same but we don't get any of the sexual violence, which is a bit of a shame because that's the only thing that most people will have tuned into the original for and it's always going to be difficult to make an R-Rated film based on this plot line and make it a success. The plot is very simple and focuses on a psychopath who works at a gas station. It's the old story of abuse as a child and this man suffered at the hands of his mother; which has lead to an acute hatred of women. Naturally, he decides to use his job (which involves meeting women) to find females to have his way with and murder. However, soon he meets Nancy and actually falls in love with her, which puts him at odds with his murderous rage.

On the whole, it has to be said that this film is not successful and the only part of it I really liked was the music on the opening credits sequence. Showing the violence and gore is not always necessary in films; but it is in this one. The original was meant to shock and it did; but this film's neglect towards showing the violence means that it is not shocking, not true to the original and it also doesn't feature a plot strong enough to hold up a film like this without violence. Ron Max is the lead and while he convinces as the psychopath, he isn't very charismatic and the performance feels a bit flat. Luckily, there's some female talent in the form of Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen on hand to help the film along. The film features a voice over that shows us what the psycho is thinking and feeling and it's all rather generic stuff and the film could have done without it. There's not a great deal of interest created in the plot and the ending is both predictable and generic. The film has a handful of decent moments and it's worth tracking down as a companion piece to the original; but it's not very good unfortunately.

Unknown to most people who are not true down in the dirt fans of all the sleaze / horror that used to dwell on the seedy, shadowy screens of N.Y.'s 42nd St. theaters in the 70's, this watered down version of Forced Entry is actually a remake of a film by the same title that came out a year or two earlier. The original was an XXX rated hardcore nightmare that starred a much younger porn legend Harry Reems (from Deep Throat fame) as the brutal killer / gas station attendant. The story is almost identical to this version, but is WAY more intense & disturbing.

The basic plot of this R - rated version revolves around a disturbed service station attendant named Carl who gets female customers info when they pay for gas & such with credit cards. He then proceeds to stalk them, and brutally rape & kill them in a vicious fashion. He not only rapes & kills them, but he rants & taunts them while in the process. This remake is a vein attempt to cash in on the originals viciousness & the then current stream of "Last House on the Left" rip offs. The highlight, though, is seeing the hot, young Nancy Allen & Tanya Roberts. But, if you want real nightmares, try to track down the original XXX version starring Harry Reems under the Pseudonym Tim Long. It's much more powerful than this lame R rated rip off.

Opening with an unseen attacker ranting about hookers, followed by some ridiculous set up assaults on female victims, "Forced Entry" has few redeeming qualities, and is in fact a quite tedious exploitation film. The psycho rapist, Ron Max, comes across as nothing more than a weak David Hess clone. Slow motion assaults are repeated in dream sequences, while voice overs further weaken an already weak screenplay. The climactic home invasion takes forever to get underway, as Tanya Roberts talks on the phone, makes tea, reads magazines etc. This movie actually pushes the viewers patience to the breaking point, and is not recommended even for die hard exploitation fans. - MERK

If THIS movie ever played in theaters with a 'PG' rating, (suitable for children) I will eat my hat. Truly, not one frame of this seedy slice of 70's perversion is "family viewing" material. This film about a woman-hating mechanic who spends his off time raping and murdering whatever pretty girl who has the misfortune of crossing his path, exists in two versions. The original came out in 1976, and ran only 75 minutes long..which is strange for a mainstream theatrical release. (That running time was more typical for porn films at the time.) That version is a lean and mean portrait of a psychotic serial rapist-killer, that precedes William Lustig's "Maniac" by five years, but has very similar themes and style. It's seedy location shooting and non-existent budget add to the dark and ominous tone of this atmospheric 70's gem. The film was reworked in 1981, for video release, when the names of Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen became well-known. (Allen must have been mortified when this thing resurfaced.) Suddenly it's running time increased to 90 minutes, thanks to clever editing, using flashback sequences twice and filming some additional scenes. Most noted difference is the inclusion of the voice-over narration provided by the killer, in an effort to give the audience a deeper understanding of what makes this guy tick. That was a bad choice, because while some of the narration is interesting, it is way overused, and it only strips away the mystique of a faceless maniac with no explained background. Unfortunately it robs the film of it's potency. Thanks to a recent Bluray release, that infamous, long unavailable 75 minute version is finally available to be seen again. Offered on the disc is two versions, including the 75 minute version, as well as a 'PG' rated 72 minute version, which again, is hard to believe exists. Missing is the reworked 86 minute version, which is a shame, because that version is part of the legacy of this movie, and should also be preserved. Tanya Roberts, looking stunning here, wisely opted out of doing any nude scenes. Nancy Allen did not make the same choice, but she was an actress who didn't seem to mind disrobing in later movies like "Carrie." The 4 star rating for this solid exploitation film, is a mystery to me. For this genre, this is very good stuff.