Thriller - en grym film (1974)

Director:

Bo Arne Vibenius

Writer:

Bo Arne Vibenius (writer)

Release Date:

5 June 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The first film, ever, to be banned in Sweden!

Plot:

A young woman, muted after a sexual assault as a child, is trained to seek violent revenge on those who have wronged her after being kidnapped and forced to work as a prostitute.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Heroin | Death | Brothel | Martial Arts

Cast

Christina Lindberg	...	Frigga / Madeleine / One Eye
Heinz Hopf	...	Tony
Despina Tomazani	...	Lip-stick lesbian
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Frigga's Father
Solveig Andersson	...	Sally
Björn Kristiansson
Marie-Louise Mannervall	...	Woman in village
Hildur Lindberg	...	Mother's Friend
Stig Lokrantz
Olle Nordlander
Marshall McDough
Gunnar Palm
Pamela Pethö-Galantai	...	Young Madeleine
Lennart Robertsson
Hans-Eric Stenborg

Also Known As:

Hooker's Revenge (USA) (reissue title)
They Call Her One Eye (USA) (censored version)
Thriller (Sweden) (short title)
Thriller: A Cruel Picture (USA)

Runtime:

104 min | UK:80 min (heavily cut) | USA:82 min (R-rated version) | Australia:92 min (R-rated cut)

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (cut) (1975) | Sweden:15 (re-rating: 1974) (heavily cut) | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating: 1973) | UK:R (original rating: 1974) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | UK:X (re-rating: 1976) (heavily cut) | Australia:R (cut) (1976) | West Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | USA:R (heavily cut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Drottningholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

BAV Film

Trivia:

In the shooting-up scenes, Christina Lindberg injected salt mixed with water.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the police car runs over a piece of grass between two roads, you can clearly see tire tracks from earlier takes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Terror (1978/I)

'Special' in more than one way

Thriller is not your average film. It wasn't in 1974 and it isn't in 2005 (31 years later). I must say, that I find it hard to describe the film, although the plot is relatively simple. What makes it difficult to describe this film is the way it is presented. First of all, despite not being an adult film, there are a hand full of penetration scenes which neither arouse nor sicken, which are thus basically useless for the plot or entertainment (if ANY elaborate penetration-scene can actually add something to ANY film is another question). On the other side though, this there is little action in this one to qualify as an action film and I must admit that most action scenes are badly executed (the spontaneous combustion of cars being one example). The exception to this is the hand-combat scene at the docks, which is excellent. The shoot-outs on the other hand however are at times excruciatingly long and useless. On top of that, the film also suffers a bit from the lack of dialog, although I must honestly say, that the acting (especially by Christina Lindberg) was of such quality that you didn't feel like turning the film off (which is strange for an adult film IF this qualifies as one).

The film has other qualities as well though. I was especially baffled by the quality of the special effects and in some way I feel that the film actually deserves a spot in movie history. Despite being somewhat slow and really not action-packed, I feel that this film among the first female-lead action film ever made. I know credit is often given to Mrs. Weaver and Mr.Scott for that (Alien), but I think this one might be in for the race, don't you? Of course there are other films in that race as well, like Coffy, Foxy Brown and perhaps Cleopatra Jones, which I haven't seen, but this one ranks right up there as a female version of Death Wish. That fact alone and the fact that this is a cheap, slightly pornographic Swedish film make this one special - or maybe just a rarity. I just know what it certainly isn't, a must-see.

6,25 out of 10 (with a 6 given upon voting)

post scriptum: this film isn't cruel in any kind of way and really doesn't warrant a 20 minute cut to receive an R rating. The adult parts didn't last that long did they? If you're talking blood, Reservoir Dogs is much crueler if you ask me.