BLU-RAY REVIEW: SUPERVIXENS (1975)

 

SUPERVIXENS

Directed by:  Russ Meyer

Distributed by:  Severin Films / MVD Entertainment

  Recently, Severin Films reached an agreement with Meyer's estate to distribute three of his most iconic films,  VIXEN!, SUPERVIXENS, and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS in new 4K, BD, and DVD versions scanned in 4K from the original negative and restored by The Museum of Modern Art.  

  While I mainly focus on Horror films for this blog, I do like to branch out from time to time and have covered Exploitation, Sexploitation, and even Nunsploitation films in the past.   These films would definitely fall under the Sexploitation sub-genre and were an interesting batch of films to say the least.   I'll be watching them in order and then doing a review of each one, continuing with the next feature, SUPERVIXENS!

  While VIXENS was fun,  SUPERVIXENS was a vast improvement on that first film.   This is not a sequel by any means, but a continuation of Meyer's "Bosomania" film line.    This film contains a much better plot  and story line in my opinion.   Here is a bit about this film from the Severin Films website:

Following the ‘serious’ features THE SEVEN MINUTES and BLACK SNAKE, this 1975 return to form written, photographed, edited, produced and directed by Russ Meyer remains perhaps his most over-the-top and savagely entertaining epic of all: When a hot-blooded wife (Shari Eubank) and a psychotic cop (a startling performance by Charles Napier of THE BLUES BROTHERS fame) come together, it will ignite a cross-country odyssey of violence, vengeance and relentless coitus. John Lazar (BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS), Uschi Digard (BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS) and Haji (FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!) co-star in Russ’ “super-sexy live-action Road Runner cartoon” (Empire), now restored by Severin Films in conjunction with The Russ Meyer Trust and scanned in 4K from the original negative stored at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

  While again, not horror in any way, this film does have some horror elements in it.  One scene that really stuck out to me was when the psychotic cop was trying to break into the bathroom which contained the wife trying to hid out.   He gets a huge knife and keeps stabbing the door trying to break in, eventually making a hole big enough to get this face through.   I have to wonder  if Stanley Kubrick saw this film and used this scene as inspiration for his iconic "Here's Johnny" scene in his film, THE SHINING.   Eventually the cop breaks in and performs a horrifying bathtub killing, complete with radio thrown in the tub electrocution!  

  The film is fun in that it is just a series of adventures  (or misadventures I should say) involving the main character, Clint, in the film running from the cops after being falsely accused in the killing of his wife.   He hitchhikes to get out of town and avoid any trouble, but finds all sort of trouble along his journey.    Clint is picked up by a farmer who gives him a place to stay in exchange for doing work around the farm.  Clint is constantly seduced by the farmer's wife and is eventually caught by the farmer who runs him out of town.  

 

  Clint finds his way to a motel that is run by a man with a deaf daughter.   As you might imagine with this being a Russ Meyer film, he is again seduced by the daughter and caught by her father.   This leads Clint to embark out again on a journey that leads him to a gas station out in the middle of nowhere.  The gas station is run by a beautiful woman and she gives him a job there.    They eventually hook, up of course, and then the psycho cop that killed Clint's wife somehow shows up!   The cop eventually realizes where he knows Clint from and kidnaps Clint's new gas station owner girlfriend and takes her out into the desert.  He ties her up, and of course, Clint goes looking for her and finds her being held captive by the psycho cop.   A cat and mouse game ensues, which includes the cop throwing sticks of dynamite at Clint to keep him away.   Ultimately, this dynamite will be the downfall of the cop as our film concludes with a bang!

 

   SUPERVIXENS is available now on Blu-ray and 4K UHD and contains the following Special Features:

• Archival Audio Commentary With Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Producer/Director Russ Meyer
• Russ Meyer Versus The Porn-Busters – Mike Carroll Interview With Russ Meyer
• The Return Of Harry Sledge – Interview With Actor Charles Napier
• The Incredibly Strange Film Show Season 1, Episode 5: Russ Meyer
• Trailer
• TV Spot

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray 

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K UHD