7. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)
Also known as They Call Her One Eye, this is a Swedish exploitation film which fits within the Rape-Revenge genre (alumni include Ms. 45 and I Spit On Your Grave). This film has been a major influence on Quentin Tarantino, especially the character of Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) in Kill Bill. The plot basically concerns Frigga (Christina Lindberg) who is mute as a result of severe sexual abuse in childhood. As a grown woman she accepts a car ride from a man who beats her, becomes her pimp, sends her out as a prostitute and gets her addicted to heroin. She is stabbed in the eye for refusing a client. In a display of feminist revenge, Frigga saves up money to pay for weapons, driving lessons, martial arts lessons... How will she dole justice out? The film possesses a lot of little more kicks that delineate it from a traditional "woman gets raped and then gets a shotgun" film. The movie is starkly filmed and simultaneously packed full of symbolism and realism. There are scenes of martial arts training and sawing off a shotgun but the fight scenes are filmed in extreme slooooooow motion. There is not a lot of dialogue in this film, seeing that our heroine is mute and there is not a lot of gory mayhem. But it is an excellent mood piece, definitely for you if you liked I Spit On Your Grave and most who watch it enjoy it immensely, including moi, the reviewer.