4.0 out of 5 stars
Poised For Greatness, May 21 2012
By Bryan A. Pfleeger - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Russ Meyer's Motor Psycho (DVD)
Motor Psycho is a 1965 film by Russ Meyer. Made just before the better-known Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), the film explores similar themes of sex and violence. This film deals with a male motorcycle gang, unlike the female gang of go-go dancers in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! The film is notable for containing one of the first portrayals of a disturbed Vietnam veteran character.
Motor Psycho tells of a three man motorcycle gang who are general miscreants and civil disturbers. Led by War veteran, and total nutjob Brahmin (Steve Oliver) the three set about picking on women wherever they can. They chance upon Gail Maddox (Holle K. Winters) whom they set about harassing, that is until her husband, horse vet Cory (Alex Rocco) turns up and pushes Brahmin to the ground. This gets Brahmin angry and they hang around until Cory leaves the house before setting themselves on Gail.
Cory arrives home from a job only to find that his wife has been beaten and raped, and takes it upon himself to track the gang down after the local Sherriff (E.E. Meyer aka Russ himself) refuses to take the xcrime seriously and do anything about it.
So Cory sets out to track down the gang, and on the way picks up a sidekick in the form of Ruby Bonner (Haji) whose husband had been murdered by the gang, and she herself had been left for dead. The pair track the gang into some hills in the middle of a desert, and after an encounter with a snake, set about exacting their revenge..
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This film is classic Meyer, and fun to watch with its short 74 minute run time. The characters are all traditional Meyer's creations: the tough guy, the busty hard chick, the doddering, emasculated husband. Motor Psycho also acts as the template for Meyer's next outing Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! which simply switches the genders of its villans. All in all a good little film that was part of Meyer's gothic period. Moody black and white with the theme that evil always brings revenge and vengence on its participants.