When the "nudie-cutie" and nudist camp films began to lose popularity, filmmakers like Russ Meyer, Doris Wishman and Dave Friedman began to add a little violence to the mix and shoot in black & white to get the look of old stag films. A simple tale of the abduction and abuse of a girl from Minnesota by two thugs looking for "kicks." Sure it's distasteful but Byron Mabe is very good as the more twisted of the pair of abductors, which is all the more remarkable when you consider that he was hired as part of the crew but stepped into the lead role immediately after the original actor froze in front of the camera. The DVD commentary by Friedman is a very informative and entertaining talk about the making and distributing of exploitation films like this and the hilarious array of characters he worked with in those days.
14 Reviews
Decent mid-60's sleazo exploitation flick!
shepardjessica16 September 2004
Saw this on DVD (along with SCUM OF THE EARTH) and was actually expecting it to be even sleazier after reading about it. The main character is a complete sociopath but this was fairly well-made. Good music some of the time and the acting was decent, especially Byron Mabe (who directed some films). The lead girl looked perfect and was completely believable (not from acting; just being the type). A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Byron Mabe.
This would have been completely unwatchable in color, but B/W lends itself to this kind of material. The barbarous freedom of the two young men is pretty frightening (especially in '65). I've seen a number of 60's "exploitation" flicks and this one scores some points (acting, mood, cinematography) and slightly better than most. THE AGONY OF LOVE is one of the better ones with Pat Barrington.
This would have been completely unwatchable in color, but B/W lends itself to this kind of material. The barbarous freedom of the two young men is pretty frightening (especially in '65). I've seen a number of 60's "exploitation" flicks and this one scores some points (acting, mood, cinematography) and slightly better than most. THE AGONY OF LOVE is one of the better ones with Pat Barrington.
1960s Drive-In sleaze.
michaelRokeefe21 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Actually above average Drive-In "make out" flick. A depraved story line with bare bouncing boobs and more. THE DEFILERS is directed by R. Lee Frost and is the sordid story of two young men who love to drink and have their way with nice looking young women. Carl Walker Jr.(Byron Mabe)and his pal Jameison(Jerome Eden), just for kicks, kidnap a sexy blonde(Mai Jansson)and take her to the basement of one of Carl's father's warehouses. There kept in panties and bra, the young woman is their own personal sex slave. "Rough" sex, sick and depraved. Photography is pretty damn good for a sleaze feature. Daring full female nudity and the girls are not run-of-the-mill "woofers". Exploitation...you betcha! Worth watching...you betcha! Also in the credits: Kathy Sharpe, Carol Dark, Linda Cochran and Sandy Sind.
The Defilers
Scarecrow-8820 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
While producer David F Friedman helped Herschell Gordon Lewis give birth to the first true gore films, he also went to Hollywood and assisted director Lee Frost in delivering a "roughie" nude picture(..although next to something like FORCED ENTRY, THE DEFILERS is a walk in the park)..roughie being an exploitation film featuring both sex and violence in a union, kind of evolving from the popular "nudie cuties" of the time. This whole history lesson I actually learned from Friedman himself during his audio commentary for SOMETHING WEIRD's release of THE DEFILERS.
The defilers of the title are a couple of aimless "blood brothers", Carl Walker Jr(Byron Mabe) & Jameison Marsh(Jerome Eden), privileged young men who would smoke dope, gulp some beer, and score with chicks. The defiled is an outsider from Minnesota, Jane Collins(Mai Jansson) hoping to fulfill her dreams, like so many young women, in Hollywood as a star or model. For their amusement and joy, Carl(..quite well known for playing rough with dames)influences Jameison into kidnapping Jane, imprisoning her in a vile, miserable basement located in his pops' warehouse. She's subjected to rape and attacks, slowly withering away as Carl continues tormenting her, a sadistic sex fiend who overpowers her, feeding Jane scraps brought from home. Soon Jameison(..after molesting her numb body, Jane staring at the ceiling due to a weakened state, unable to resist anymore)has had enough, urging Carl to end their mistreatment, allowing her to go free. But, Carl, the sadist that he is, has other plans for her, culminating in a brawl between long-time friends.
I can't say I was head-over-heels for THE DEFILERS because it's essentially a series of make-out sessions with tops removed showing bare breasts. It was okay at first, because the curvy gals were attractive, but the whole ordeal becomes rather repetitive and tedious. And, before the film really ever gets underway, the opening shows a group of young people, girlfriends accompanying Carl and Jameison to Malibu Beach, which seems little more than filler, as does Jane's arrival to Hollywood where the filmmakers basically show a travelogue of the city's memorable sights. The film is only 67 minutes, and about half is devoted to filler with only a small portion focused on Jane's traumatic experience of sexual slavery at the hands of Carl and Jameison. I'm sure the important ingredients for the audience this film aims to please are orchestrated well enough. You have plenty of slow disrobing scenes, two violent spankings by Carl to the bare asses of victims, Jane's strip & bubble bath, and the violent fracas that explodes with a tragic conclusion. Some shapely ladies in the cast makes this junk tolerable. Shot in evocative B&W which does, I have to admit, give THE DEFILERS an allure. The pacing in this film is my main criticism, and Lee Frost could've certainly "cut the fat" to make THE DEFILERS more easy to digest.
The defilers of the title are a couple of aimless "blood brothers", Carl Walker Jr(Byron Mabe) & Jameison Marsh(Jerome Eden), privileged young men who would smoke dope, gulp some beer, and score with chicks. The defiled is an outsider from Minnesota, Jane Collins(Mai Jansson) hoping to fulfill her dreams, like so many young women, in Hollywood as a star or model. For their amusement and joy, Carl(..quite well known for playing rough with dames)influences Jameison into kidnapping Jane, imprisoning her in a vile, miserable basement located in his pops' warehouse. She's subjected to rape and attacks, slowly withering away as Carl continues tormenting her, a sadistic sex fiend who overpowers her, feeding Jane scraps brought from home. Soon Jameison(..after molesting her numb body, Jane staring at the ceiling due to a weakened state, unable to resist anymore)has had enough, urging Carl to end their mistreatment, allowing her to go free. But, Carl, the sadist that he is, has other plans for her, culminating in a brawl between long-time friends.
I can't say I was head-over-heels for THE DEFILERS because it's essentially a series of make-out sessions with tops removed showing bare breasts. It was okay at first, because the curvy gals were attractive, but the whole ordeal becomes rather repetitive and tedious. And, before the film really ever gets underway, the opening shows a group of young people, girlfriends accompanying Carl and Jameison to Malibu Beach, which seems little more than filler, as does Jane's arrival to Hollywood where the filmmakers basically show a travelogue of the city's memorable sights. The film is only 67 minutes, and about half is devoted to filler with only a small portion focused on Jane's traumatic experience of sexual slavery at the hands of Carl and Jameison. I'm sure the important ingredients for the audience this film aims to please are orchestrated well enough. You have plenty of slow disrobing scenes, two violent spankings by Carl to the bare asses of victims, Jane's strip & bubble bath, and the violent fracas that explodes with a tragic conclusion. Some shapely ladies in the cast makes this junk tolerable. Shot in evocative B&W which does, I have to admit, give THE DEFILERS an allure. The pacing in this film is my main criticism, and Lee Frost could've certainly "cut the fat" to make THE DEFILERS more easy to digest.
Early Roughie
Michael_Elliott4 January 2014
The Defilers (1965)
** (out of 4)
Friends Carl (Byron Mabe) and Jameison (Jerome Eden) have a lot of great things going for themselves and especially when it comes to women. They've slept with most of the ones in town but when they meet Jane (Mai Jansson) they have different plans for her. Those plans include kidnapping her and forcing her into a warehouse where they're going to hold her as a sex slave. THE DEFILERS often gets called one of the best "roughies" from this period and I will admit that it's a notch or two above most but it's still far from a "good" film. I've always found these roughies to be a rather strange genre but what's even stranger is how popular they were back in the day. The female abuse here is all over the map but there's an early scene where a woman doesn't behave so the guy pulls her panties down right there and spanks her very violently. There are a few other scenes of women being slapped around but there's nothing overly graphic here. The rape sequences all take place off camera so there's nothing like that either. There is plenty of female nudity all around as every woman in the cast takes her clothes off at some point. The performances aren't all that bad and there are a few good touches from the director. THE DEFILERS isn't the greatest film in the world but it's certainly not the worse either. Fans of the genre should enjoy it.
** (out of 4)
Friends Carl (Byron Mabe) and Jameison (Jerome Eden) have a lot of great things going for themselves and especially when it comes to women. They've slept with most of the ones in town but when they meet Jane (Mai Jansson) they have different plans for her. Those plans include kidnapping her and forcing her into a warehouse where they're going to hold her as a sex slave. THE DEFILERS often gets called one of the best "roughies" from this period and I will admit that it's a notch or two above most but it's still far from a "good" film. I've always found these roughies to be a rather strange genre but what's even stranger is how popular they were back in the day. The female abuse here is all over the map but there's an early scene where a woman doesn't behave so the guy pulls her panties down right there and spanks her very violently. There are a few other scenes of women being slapped around but there's nothing overly graphic here. The rape sequences all take place off camera so there's nothing like that either. There is plenty of female nudity all around as every woman in the cast takes her clothes off at some point. The performances aren't all that bad and there are a few good touches from the director. THE DEFILERS isn't the greatest film in the world but it's certainly not the worse either. Fans of the genre should enjoy it.
Sick exploitation film
preppy-36 September 2003
Two sociopaths, Carl (Byron Mabe) and Jamieson (Jerome Eden), kidnap, torture, rape and beat up young innocent Jane Collins (Mae Johnson). Why? For kicks.
Badly done and boring when not downright sickening. Most of the beatings are staged (badly) and heard but not seen, but Johnson's screams and crying sound way too realistic. The scene where she submits to Eden sexually is haunting--the look on her face will never leave me. She's not the only one tortured--many other woman are bitten (!!), slapped, beaten and in one truly disgusting sequence, a woman has her bare bottom hit again and again and again...To make the scene worse, she likes it and willingly has sex with the man who beat her!
Mabe is just dreadful as the lead psycho. His laughing and overacting quickly got annoying. Eden was actually quite good as the other one. He showed some good acting ability and actually gave credibility to some lousy dialogue. Johnson wasn't that good acting but, as I said, she was very realistic while being tortured. There's also tons of gratuitous female nudity (mostly topless) and a blaring score which gave me a headache.
Sick, pointless and dull--a truly terrible film.
Badly done and boring when not downright sickening. Most of the beatings are staged (badly) and heard but not seen, but Johnson's screams and crying sound way too realistic. The scene where she submits to Eden sexually is haunting--the look on her face will never leave me. She's not the only one tortured--many other woman are bitten (!!), slapped, beaten and in one truly disgusting sequence, a woman has her bare bottom hit again and again and again...To make the scene worse, she likes it and willingly has sex with the man who beat her!
Mabe is just dreadful as the lead psycho. His laughing and overacting quickly got annoying. Eden was actually quite good as the other one. He showed some good acting ability and actually gave credibility to some lousy dialogue. Johnson wasn't that good acting but, as I said, she was very realistic while being tortured. There's also tons of gratuitous female nudity (mostly topless) and a blaring score which gave me a headache.
Sick, pointless and dull--a truly terrible film.
Boring and unpleasant trash
amosduncan_200019 May 2018
Just because a movie is bargain basement explotation does not mean it's any good. The soft core sex scenes bores, the "roughie" scenes are dull and repelant. The wrap around story is barely there. I like he half hearted attempt to give this some weight by showing the mean defiler's parents. A film with little to reccomend it.
The DVD is worth the price of admission
archive12 June 2001
This is a great DVD package from Something Wierd with two early sixties exploitation classics ("the Defilers" and "Scum of the Earth"), two great short subjects, three drive-in intermission promos(if you don't believe this world is gone forever, check out the butter-and-red-meat saturated 'refreshments' offered by the friendly drive-in snack bar!) , a great commentary track by David Friedman tracing the history of West Coast poverty-row movie production, and a dozen cool trailers for such masterpieces of cinema as "Banned" and "Sex Killer"! The folks at Something Wierd should be commended for a great job of packaging which captures the time period better than a thousand pretentious documentaries! For fans of the genre, I would give the DVD an eleven!
Of the two features, "the Defilers" is the'better' of the two, almost artistic in some sections, and although it's very tame by today's standards, I personally think it is a thousand times more sensual and interesting than the pro-forma 'erotic thrillers' the industry turns out today.
Of the two features, "the Defilers" is the'better' of the two, almost artistic in some sections, and although it's very tame by today's standards, I personally think it is a thousand times more sensual and interesting than the pro-forma 'erotic thrillers' the industry turns out today.
Excellent key trash movie
christopher-underwood3 August 2009
Amazing Friedman production, generally considered to be the first 'roughie', so it's black and white soft-core sex. Plus because there were restrictions as to how much sex action could be seen, we get violence instead. Great irony as others have noted that you couldn't show too much loving but you could show hitting. This is a bit slow in places and the cars, the girls and the guys all look more 50s than 60s but the flesh, the fashions and talk of 'kicks' brings us more into the period. The extent of slapping and spanking is astonishing and the sleaziness of the kidnapped girl's basement surprising. Friedman reckons this would get an 'R' rating today - he's living on another planet if he thinks it would even get made. Excellent key trash movie.
Early Roughie from Lee Frost and David F. Friedman.
czar-1025 March 2001
Although quite tame by todays standards, this early roughie produced by the king of Exploitation David F. Friedman, and Directed by Lee Frost (Director of such drive-in classics like Love Camp Seven, and Chain-gang Women) is still enjoyable to watch if your a fan of Exploitation films. The story goes The Defilers are two hedonistic young men who, just for kicks, abduct a sexy blonde (Mai Jansson) as their own personal sex toy. They keep her in a litter, graffiti infested basement room, and when she does not go along with their plan, they beat her unmercifully until she submits. There is not much nudity this film (or Defiling as the title suggests), too risky for those innocent times when nudity on the screen was a big deal. Even the violence in the film is just downright cheesy in this day in age. But fun nonetheless to watch. The Opening sequence with a cool Jazz score is so cool!! They do not make films like this anymore. A lost art.
Based on a true Chicago story...
sixtwentysix25 October 2004
Shown usually in a double feature DVD, Scum of the Earth was definitely more entertaining than The Defilers but I found them both equally tragic in how horrible films like this were made.
Something Weird doesn't do much with fixing the print which is jumpy and bad but it's still well worth a look if you love sleazy drive in fare. The film captures an awkward age between the sexual revolution and the early century moral values. "We need a CAPER!" & "I said KICKS! KICKS! not chicks, sheesh, next you'll be suggesting BEER!" Good movie for those who like this sort of thing.
Terrible acting but yet still interesting to watch.
Something Weird doesn't do much with fixing the print which is jumpy and bad but it's still well worth a look if you love sleazy drive in fare. The film captures an awkward age between the sexual revolution and the early century moral values. "We need a CAPER!" & "I said KICKS! KICKS! not chicks, sheesh, next you'll be suggesting BEER!" Good movie for those who like this sort of thing.
Terrible acting but yet still interesting to watch.
early "roughie" not so bad
PaulyC27 July 2007
David friedman wrote this and it's no surprise. The acting is actually pretty good for this kind of film which makes it more realistic. Two young thrill seekers kidnap a girl and make her their slave. It is "purely for kicks" states one of the kidnappers but the other begins questioning his partner and wants to let her go sooner rather then later. Their life seems to consist of driving around town or making out on the beach with babes. This film has a reputation for being rough to watch for its subject matter but I think most will find it pretty tame. There is however a scene or two where they spank the girl and hit her with a belt but not much is shown. I found this film fairly entertaining but it is certainly not for everyone.
An on the money nasty roughie
Woodyanders2 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Two depraved young men kidnap a sexy blonde (a sympathetic portrayal by the sumptuous Mai Jansson) and hold her hostage in the grubby cellar of an old warehouse so they can their sick kicks doing assorted foul and perverted things to the poor lass. Tautly directed with trademark streamlined efficiency by exploitation ace Lee Frost (who also did the stark black and white cinematography and razor-sharp editing), with an unflinchingly harsh script by the legendary David F. Friedman, a brisk pace, plenty of yummy bare distaff skin, a hard, warped, and utterly amoral tone, excellent use of the grimy and claustrophobic basement location, a dynamic bebop jazz score by Dave Roberts and William Castleman, and jolting moments of sadistic misogynistic violence, this nasty little number packs quite a harsh punch. Bryon Mabe and Jerome Eden are both perfectly slimy as our odious twosome, with Mabe a particular stand-out as the meaner and most scary of the disgusting duo. Moreover, the fact that these two bastards are basically well-to-do good-looking guys who engage in all kinds of foul antics primarily to alleviate the tedium of their comfortable lives makes them that much more despicable. A sleazy and sordid treat.
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