Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Terrible Film Terrors Tuesday: Open Season (1974)

The scribble below is infested with SPOILERS


Open Season is (on the surface) a re-telling of The Most Dangerous Game sprinkled with Vietnam-era angst.

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Underneath the "humans hunting humans" plot, there are subtle comments about the privileged in America. If you have money and power, you can get away with anything. The world is your oyster for the eating. The people you mow down in your quest for thrills do not matter. You can rape, kidnap and murder without recourse.

Eventually, you are going to have to pay. In the end, you could have someone like William Holden hunting you down and making you swallow that silver spoon you have in your mouth.

The film's cast is just delicious. A trifecta of B-Movie coolness.

Richard Lynch?
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Playing a villain? I'm in!

Ironically enough in his first film he also played a rapist. He manages to not only almost rape Al Pacino in that film, but steal the scene from him too!

Open Season is a film of its time. Dark, morally ambiguous with one hell of downbeat ending. They don't make them like this anymore.

David Osborn (who also co-wrote the screenplay) wrote the novel the film was based upon. It's somewhat hard to find, but it is worth seeking out because, well, it's better than the film. Surprise!

The film is available in its entirety on Youtube. It has yet to receive an official release in the USA on VHS or DVD.


Other films that helped the viewing public realize the Summer of Love was absolutely over are:

Rituals (1977)
Shoot (1976)
and
The Sporting Club (1971)

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