Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)

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.

Director:

Bo Arne Vibenius (as Alex Fridolinski)

Writers:

Bo Arne Vibenius (screenplay) (as Bo A Vibenius), Bo Arne Vibenius (an original story) (as Alex Fridolinski)

Stars:

Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf, Despina Tomazani

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Lindberg	...	Frigga
Heinz Hopf	...	Tony / Pimp
Despina Tomazani	...	Lesbian sex buyer
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Frigga's Father (as Per Axel Arosenius)
Solveig Andersson	...	Sally / Prostitute
Björn Kristiansson
Gunnel Wadner	...	Frigga's Mother
Marie-Louise Mannervall	...	Woman in village
Hildur Lindberg	...	Woman in village
Olle Nordlander
Gunnar Palm
Stig Lokrantz
Pamela Pethö-Galantai	...	Young Frigga
Lennart Robertsson
Hans-Eric Stenborg	...	Sex Buyer

Storyline

Rendered mute after a horrific assault in the park by a sadistic old paedophile, young Madeleine tries to escape the traumatic experience living in silence in her parents' farmhouse. However, things will take a turn for the worse, when an innocent offer for a lift by a handsome stranger in a flashy sports-car leads to a nightmarish life of prostitution, abuse, and drug addiction. But when Madeleine finds out her evil pimp's cruel scheme, an irrevocable course of sweet retribution and a deadly sawed-off double-barrelled shotgun will inevitably set the stage for a bloody roaring rampage of revenge. And then, no one will ever dare to harm her again. Never again.

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Plot Keywords:

anal rape | rape | intercourse | sexual assault | female vigilante | 

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Taglines:

Sweden's sensational Christina Lindberg as the working girl they pushed too far! (US 1975 release)

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 2009 interview with Film Bizarro, a website dedicated to underground and independent films, Christina Lindberg confirmed that she did not appear in the hardcore sex scenes featured in the uncut version of the film. The actors were "Romeo and Juliet", a couple known for traveling around in their vehicle to perform live sex shows.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Tony: I like women who don't talk too much... but you set a new record!

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Alternate Versions

US version was heavily edited (ca. 20 min.) for a R rating. DVD release by Synapse is uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Banzai Motherfucker! (2006)

User Reviews

Very Good Rape/Revenge Film

THRILLER is a very well done rape/revenge film in the same vein as LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT or I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. The storyline is different but the results are the same...

Girl is raped as a child which causes her to be mute. She is picked up by a slick-talking guy and taken out for dinner and drinks. Back at his house, he drugs her and shoots her up with heroin for several days, so by the time he allows her to wake up out of her heroin-stupor, she is an addict. At that point she is turned-out as a prostitute and given some cash and drugs as "payment". She is given some free time to herself, where she uses the money earned to take karate,shooting, and driving classes. Needless to say, when she becomes proficient enough in these disciplines, she uses her newly honed skills to go after those that did her wrong...

Christina Lindberg is excellent as the beautiful and seemingly innocent looking mute girl. She is a real pleasure to look at, and the fact that she's naked through a good portion of the film doesn't hurt either. There is some "controversy" surrounding this film due to a couple of hardcore sex scenes (obviously not Ms. Lindberg, unfortunately...) that appear to be cut from a bad European porno. The scenes are not necessary for the film but were obviously added to heighten the shock value of the film overall. Other than those few scenes, and the famous scalpel-in-the-eye scene, the violence in THRILLER is relatively tame by exploitation/horror standards. Overall a really good film, if you are into the rape/revenge genre - I think it's always cool to see a strong, sexy, female lead who kicks ass, one of the reasons that I gravitate toward this type of film. The eyeball and sex scenes may be a little much for the casual movie-goer, more "extreme" fans should like this one. Recommended...8.5 out of 10

NOTE: Synapse films now has a "Vengeance" addition in a yellow box (original cover is red) that is the same film minus the XXX scenes.

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

5 June 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

They Call Her One Eye

Filming Locations:

Drottningholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

BAV Film, United Producers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 80 min (heavily cut) 82 min (R-rated) 92 min (R-rated cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1