Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

Strange artsploitationer about a mute girl forced into prostitution who gains her revenge on her tormentors. Starts off well, with the girl's humiliations documented in painful detail (including hardcore porn inserts and the most disconcerting example of eyeball violence this side of Un Chien Andalou); however, when it gets to the nitty-griity revenge, the movie loses itself. Instead of providing the necessary thrills, it veers into outlandishness (boy, those junkie whores sure get a lot of off time to teach themselves how to drive, shoot and fight!). Director Bo Vibenius (who worked as an AD for Ingmar Bergman and is, apparently, quite ashamed of this film) has an interesting, dreamlike touch that works early on but sours when he turns the fight scenes into endless slow-motion ballets. Still, it's not uninteresting -- it has moments that work (the last five minutes are striking) and it does maintain a mean edge throughout. Plus, Christina Lindberg is so fucking hot that she almost melted my TV tube.

Grade: C+