Expose' aka House on Straw Hill aka Trauma 76'

Paul Martin (Udo Keir) is a tormented writer who suffers violent hallucinations and hires an editor, Linda Hindstatt (the voluptuous Linda Hayden) to help him write his second novel, while staying in a secluded country house surrounded by a field of straw.

Martin's struggles to write as Linda acts as his typist, sexual tension begins on their first day together and Linda leaves to pleasure herself. Linda lays in a field near by and masturbates and is caught by two men who sexually attack her and she grabs hold of a shotgun and shoots both of them, leaving them for dead. She returns as if nothing happens and continues to act as Martin's secretary. Martin's girlfriend Suzzane (played by model Fiona Richmond) visits and creates more sexual tension between the three.

The story is slow and atmospheric with an eerie score that only hits extreme high points heightened by Sex and Violence. The BBC listed this one as a Video Nasty and approximately 30 cuts were taken out to tame the film to it's theatrical release.

The acting is strong and convincing despite the odd choices that the characters choose. The ending is definitly a WTF moment that leaves audiences scratching their heads. 

House on Straw Hill was remade in 2010 as Stalker featuring Hayden as the house maid. Severin Films released an uncut restored version sticking with the Australian title name House on Straw Hill.

7 out of 10

Living Dead Girl 82' La Morte Vivante

Jean Rollin, French Horror Sexploitation Auteur hits hard with a Zombie-Lesbo love tale about a ressurected woman, Catherine Valmont (Fransoise Blanchard) and her long time girl friend Helene (Marie Pierro) and their exploits of lust-filled murder, kidnapping and the consequences that follow.

Foolish Grave Robbing Thieves, who also dump toxic waste meet their eye-gouging demise with the beautiful Living Dead Girl after a small tremor awakens her from her coffin. After Catherine racks up a 3 man body count, she wanders the beautiful French country side barefoot and only wearing a white gown and is photographed by a tourist and her husband. The tourist woman becomes obsessed that this Living Dead Girl is the young Catherine only back from the dead and confronts her. After a few more naked dead people pile up, Helene unscuccessfully attempts to feed Catherine with a dead bird, then kidnaps a random woman and gives her to Catherine who then tears the victim apart.

Most fans of Rollin expect his films to be loaded with French styled gore and nudity and also are aware of the slow pacing in between scenes. Such is the staple for Euro Sleaze.

The films last 10 minutes kick in to high gear and to honest, it is pretty damn grueling to the degree of saying out loud "what other horror film can offer such goodies"?

(Spoliers)

Catherine then frees her next stripped bare victim and sets her loose, self-realizing that she is evil and is hating what she is becoming. Then Helene sets a tourist on fire who flees screaming and jumps off of a bridge and chops another tourists head with a midieval axe. Moved by guilt and self loathing. Catherine attempts to drown herself in a lake but is rescued by Helene. In Catherine's fury she rips her to shreds and devours her with a slow backwards moving camera shot, leaving the blood-soaked Catherine alone in the dark.

8/10

Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (72)

The title is a mouthful and a bit convoluted, however in the early days of Italian slashers (Giallo's) director Sergio Martino made a film that was head and shoulders above what was in Italy at that time. Your Vice is loosely based off of Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat starring the saucy thesp Edwige Fenech (a staple vixen for Giallo films), the abused wife Anita Stringberg and her villainous husband Luigi Pistilli.

A burnt out, writer/cheating husband humiliates his wife in front of guests during one of  his drunken parties then begins having hallucinations of his dead mother. The downward spiral of the inebriated husband becomes more unbearable as the wife becomes more afraid for her life, dead women start piling in the house and the police start questioning.  Fenech's role is a breath of fresh air to the cruel and foreboding atmosphere that looms over the villa. She plays a mysterious lovelorn and bi-curious character who brings unanswered questions from her past. The black cat plays his role admirably (named Satan) and the he plays the same plot device as Poe's story. Yet the "Black Cat" plays a red herring in this mystery for the viewer as well ,the storie's twist comes unseen as the victimized show their true deceptive motives.

 
Beautifully executed by Martino's masterful direction in a gorgeous Italian Villa. Martino's style is different then Argento's or Bava's surrealist approach to the genre nor is his violence as over the top as Lucio Fulci, Martino's focus on his stories is character struggle mixed with sensuality (see Strange Vice of Mrs.Wardh and  All the Colors of the Dark) Watch also for the hilarious placement of J&B bottles within the house. (Green J&B bottles are as much a character in Giallo films as a black gloved killer). 9 out of 10.