Available now on Blu-ray from Severin
A woman who has been assaulted and the husband of another victim go after the group of men who are responsible for their suffering.
Written by Billy Sprague, Russ Meyer, and James Griffith with Meyer directing, Motorpsycho! is less rape-tastic than the rest of the recently re-released Russ Meyer films, something to be noted as it can get really old, really fast. Here, yes, there is rape but once the film moves into the revenge part of rape-revenge, the story gains from less of the former and more from the latter. Given that Meyer’s films are being re-released under the group name, “Russ Meyer’s Bosomania”, one would expect boobs and lots of them and sex because (consensual or not) in a lot of different sequences. Here, the film is older than the others, in black and white, and seemingly had more effort put into the story which makes this the best of the re-released bunch so far story-wise. For those not into adult content or adult content heavy films, this is likely the best place to go to discover Meyer as a director.
The cast here is meant to fit specific broad stroke types of characters, thus not needing much more than the look for the part and the willingness to be in the film. Thankfully, the leads here do decent work with their parts and keep the realism at a higher level. Haji, one name like Madonna or Cher, plays Ruby, the woman who escapes her rapists and stumbles upon the husband of another victim, Cory played by Alex Rocco. Haji is the sun of this film, being the one everyone in the film and watching is attracted to. She’s beautiful but also giving a performance that works beyond the material at hand. Yes, she’s likely involved more for her looks than anything else, but she’s clearly making the effort to make the part one that is more than the sum of its parts. Rocco works decently as the pissed off husband, the man grieving and looking for an outlet for his anger. His work here is decent, but not exactly super memorable. The supporting cast here mostly come and go, giving them not enough screen time to make much of an impression, which is a blessing in some cases.
In terms of the technical side of filmmaking, this was clearly made on a budget that was on the smaller side. However, the budget does look like it is all on the screen, so kudos on that. The film’s black and white cinematography is quite pretty and lends itself to the film quite well which makes sense as Meyer is also responsible for it. He also co-edited (uncredited) with Charles G. Schelling. The film looks good and sounds good in this new release as well.
Motorpsycho! Is one of those film that will appeal to a smaller percentage of the film-watching population, but works decently as a rape-revenge film. There is something here that makes it feel less exploitative and grimy. It’s still very much a Russ Meyer film, but it’s basically what one could call an entry-level Russ Meyer film. The best extra here is possibly the interview titled Desert Rats on Hondas which feature both Haji and Alex Rocco. For fans of the filmmaker, the commentary will likely be more their speed with film historian Elizabeth Purchell and filmmaker Zach Clark.
