Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

Review by Mari Lynne Rupp



This is grindhouse in its most rawest form. Also, another early rape-revenge flick.
It begins with Frigga, mute after a horrible rape when she was a child, mistakenly trusts Tony to drive her to town to a Dr's appointment. Tony drugs her, gets her hooked on heroin and forces her to work as a prostitute. After abusing her and cutting out her eye, losing her parents to the grief of her sudden disappearance, and the violent death of her one friend, fellow prostitute Sally, Frigga uses her money she earns and spare time to train in the deadly arts to extract revenge on those who wronged her.
Filmed in Stokholm Sweden, it is set in some of the most beautiful country, which contrasts the brutality of the film subject. It's well acted, especially by Christina Lindberg, who doesn't say one word during the entire two hours, using only pantomime and the expressiveness of her eyes to act her scenes.
The camera angles and dated furniture, very cheesy only add to the allure of this film. People had very queer ideas of what was Haute COuture in 1974. The slo-mo fight scenes do get annoying after a while but the pace of the film more than make up for it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this film is hardcore with hardcore scenes, and really should not be watched by anyone sensitive to violence or who is underage. By underage, I mean 18. Seriously, I wouldn't let my 15 year old nephew watch this. But for us Grindhouse junkies, it's a must-see classic.
8/10