Thriller: They Call Her One Eye

Sweden / 1974 Directed by Bo Arne Vibenius Starring Christina Lindberg Heinz Hopf Despina Tomazani Color / 104 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R0 - NTSC) Synapse Films

"When cruelty knows no bounds..." TV Spot | 0.3 MB WAV

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5     6   10 = Highest Rating   Guest Review by Troy Howarth

A young girl (Christina Lindberg), rendered mute by a childhood rape and forced into prostitution by a sleazy pimp (Heinz Hopf), exacts bloody vengeance on those who have brutalized her...     Long notorious as one of the more graphic and extreme revenge sagas ever filmed, Thriller (or They Call Her One Eye, depending on which version you see) gained new popularity thanks to Quentin Tarantino. The indie auteur quoted the film directly in his hit two-parter Kill Bill, and took the opportunity to sing the film's praises while promoting his own homage. Seen today, the film doesn't quite live up to its legendary bone-crushing glory, but it still has elements that can prove disturbing.     The story is a simple one: a young woman trains herself to become a literal killing machine with one simple goal in mind - to have revenge on the men who have ruined her life. Writer/director Bo A. Vibenius embroiders the straight forward sadism with a touch of arty Bergman-esque affectation, but the film is, at its heart, a straight forward exploitation picture. Nevertheless, the director gets some extra points for the skillful way in which he contrasts the idyllic beauty of the locations with the horrific acts of violence that dominate much of the running time.     If the film has a major flaw, it's the central performance of Christina Lindberg. Alas, since the film pivots on her presence, this proves crippling to the film as a whole. While attractive, Lindberg is wooden in her emoting, even taking into account the fact that her character is a emotionally retarded mute. She is also much too sleight of frame to be at all credible during her numerous slow motion ass kicking sequences. Quite simply, the sight of a frail figure like Lindberg acting like Lee Marvin against a slew of imposing "victims" is never convincing — worse, it is, at times, downright laughable..     Vibenius also overdoes the Peckinpahisms, relying way too much on slow motion photography in order to achieve an emotional resonance. What he fails to realize is that this technique worked for Peckinpah precisely because the director had gone to great pains in order to make the audience care about the characters — by slowing down the violence and focusing on their last moments of life, he adds an emotional punch to their deaths that goes above and beyond the squib effects. Here, Vibenius seems to be using it more for "cool" effect — slowing down the action for no particular reason other than to allow the phoney looking blood to flow more noticeably. With a vacant emotional center in Lindberg, and a supporting gallery of unsympathetic sons of bitches, the film never achieves the sense of delirium or pathos that Vibenius is clearly striving for.     Ultimately, one hates to be too harsh on Thriller. For all its imperfections, it does have some memorable images. The actual setup is, in fact, very effective. The material leading up to Lindberg's quest for vengeance is frequently gripping. Tellingly, her final act of revenge — handled more discreetly than the others — is all the more effective because of its (comparative) subtlety. If it falls short of Tarantino's "roughest revenge picture ever made!" hyperbole (frankly, Wes Craven's Last House On The Left, released a year before, is much more brutal and effective), it is nevertheless a film that lingers in the mind because of the elements that do come together.

Synapse's release of Thriller: They Call Her One Eye marks their second go at this controversial title. Their previous release, Thriller: A Cruel Picture, boasted a lot more in the way of extras, as well as an extended cut of the film that utilized some hardcore inserts. This version runs longer than AIP's emasculated U.S. theatrical release, but it does trim out the hardcore sex to offer a leaner, more single-minded cut. All the violence is intact, and the film that emerges is but one of many variant editions prepared by Vibenius for the world film market. The 1.78/16x9 transfer looks acceptable. Grain is abundant, and a few shots look a little worn out, but overall the transfer does justice to the film's gritty ambiance. Audio options include the Swedish track, as well as a dubbed English track, both in mono. Both soundtracks are a little soft, so cranking up the audio is definitely recommended. The English track changes the name of the heroine from Madeline to Frigga, for some unknown reason, but is otherwise acceptably dubbed. The Swedish track includes optional English subtitles.     Extras are limited to AIP's trailer under the title They Call Her One Eye. Also presented in 1.78, it makes use of some sound effects from AIP's Blacula and does its best to sell the seedier aspects of the film. 11/25/05

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