2. Switchblade Sisters (1975)
Switchblade Sisters is a fabulous, cheese-tastic girl gang movie and one of the pride and joys of my DVD collection. I can see how Tarantino thinks it is awesome and paid homage to it in Kill Bill. Yes it's trash but it is pure unadulterated entertainment for exploitation movie fiends. Maggie joins a high school gang called The Dagger Debs. Due to an altercation with a Repo Man they all get arrested and slung into Juvenile Detention. The film follows the exploits of the gang as a whole and also their individual stories. Maggie gets raped by gang leader Lace's boyfriend. Lace discovers she is pregnant and her boyfriend disowns her. Patch, who lost her eye in service to the gang, is jealous of the closeness between Lace and Maggie. There are violent clashes with a rival gang called The Crabs including a gang rape of one of the Dagger Debs. There is also murder and assault - after a fight at a roller rink, Lace miscarries. Her errant boyfriend is also killed. Maggie takes charge of the gang while Lace gets back on her feet and changes their name to The Jezebels. The girls team up with some militant African Americans to get even with the Crabs. Maggie finds out that Lace orchestrated the roller rink violence in order to get her boyfriend killed. Lace and her loyal second in command Patch try to convince the others that Maggie is the traitor - thus triggering a knife fight between Lace and Maggie. It's Good Night Irene for Lace and all the girls are arrested screaming that the Jezebels will reform some day. Except for Patch who is now ostracised from the group as Maggie is formally recognised as their leader. With third rate acting, lousy dialogue and improbable storylines, Switchblade Sisters is a joyfully deranged movie. The lead actresses are too good looking and fresh faced to be taken seriously as supposed hardened criminals. This renders all of the dialogue they spout completely inane. You will be in gales of laughter at this film if you are a true exploitation flicks fan. It is highly redolent of 1950s delinquent teen movies except with added 1970s cheesiness, sordidness and violence to cap it all off in a wonderful psychotronic way. Highly recommended.
Clare Simpson
Contributor
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
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Clare