Ah yes, the Italians, they sure know how to make a quality slasher flick and exploitation film. The House on the Edge of the Park, however, is not a great quality film in any right, even if the main character was in the Wes Craven classic of similar name. The movie is one of the most boring pieces of exploitation cinema, but features a few saving graces, especially when the revenge is set forth and we see a bit of mercy from the cast of idiots…I mean actors.
The film starts off with a very disturbing scene. A very deranged man chases a woman and then cuts her off, forcing her to stop her car. She then rolls down the window to see what the man is doing, and he forcefully takes her into the backseat and rapes her. This is a harsh one, and sets the tone for the rest of the film, even if we don’t see much violence until the end.
The rest of the film really plots along slowly, with our main character and his buddy going to a villa and playing cards, getting sexually frustrated, and ultimately starting to take over with sinister urges. The two start to assault the homeowners, but over time, one of them starts to realize that it’s wrong, and starts to pull away. As the main character (Alex) decides to start killing, he is defeated and the whole film turns upside down. The main characters launch revenge, and end up leaving the main character lying in a pool (swimming pool) of blood.
The film is slow moving, as aforementioned, and has no major saving graces at time. Sure, if you’re a fan of nudity, you’ll find that there is some great stuff here. Outside of the nudity and deliberate crotch shots, the film is an uneasy one to watch. If you can get past the initial rape scene, you’ll be on a slow burning ride through hell. The House on the Edge of the Park plays on a lot of fears, if you’re rich, and really doesn’t climax that well. I found myself bored of the banter and camera movements within the first two acts, and my girlfriend didn’t even make it to the final acts. I don’t recommend this one, unless you’re a diehard fan of Italian horror, David Hess or Ruggero Deodato. You have better things to do then watch this one, I’m sure of it.
I always liked the title of this one "The House on the Edge of the Park" it always sounded so cosy although your reveiw made me realise that i was deluding myself about that obviously.
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