Axe (film)

Axe

Theatrical poster
Directed by Frederick R. Friedel
Produced by J.G. Patterson Jr.
Written by Frederick R. Friedel
Starring Leslie Lee
Hart Smith
Carol Miller
Music by George Newman Shaw
John Willhelm
Cinematography Austin McKinney
Edited by Frederick R. Friedel
J.G. Patterson Jr.
Production
company
Frederick Productions
Empire Studios
Distributed by Boxoffice International Pictures (BIP)
Release dates
  • July 23, 1977 (1977-07-23)
Running time
72 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25,000

Axe (original title: Lisa, Lisa; released theatrically as California Axe Massacre[1]) is a 1977 American exploitation horror film written and directed by Frederick R. Friedel and starring Leslie Lee. The film is one of the infamous "Video Nasties" that was banned in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s.

Plot

A group of three psychopaths on the run from the law kill a man and flee into the countryside. They descend on an isolated farm which is home to a young girl named Lisa (Leslie Lee) and her paralyzed grandfather. After suffering much humiliation at the hands of the gang, Lisa takes a ghastly, murderous revenge.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location in a farmhouse outside Charlotte, North Carolina.[2]

Controversy

The film gained notoriety in 1984 when it was designated a video nasty in the United Kingdom and appeared on the director of public prosecution's list of banned films. It was passed with cuts in 1999 and finally released uncut in 2005.

Critical reception

TV Guide gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "a well-photographed, refreshingly naturalistic drama of almost mythic retribution and victimization. [...] The psychological narrative can be slack, and the acting and technical aspects are uneven. But overall, the film makes you wish Friedel had directed more pictures."[3]

References

  1. "California-Axe-Massacre". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  2. Albright, Brian. Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. McFarland. p. 273. ISBN 978-0786472277.
  3. Lovece, Frank. "Axe Review". TV Guide. Retrieved 2014-12-09.

External links


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