28 March 2024
Death Weekend (1976)
89 min.
Directed by William Fruet.
With Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata, Richard Ayres, Kyle Edwards, Don Gransberry.
Superior rape/revenge flick.

Revenge is sweet...and never sweeter than in William Fruet's Death Weekend, originally known as The House By the Lake.

Diane (Vaccaro) is travelling with her boyfriend (Shamata) when they encouter a car load full of thugs led by the supremely sadistic Stroud. Diane forces the hoods off the road, and breathes a sigh of relief that a conflict has been averted.

But little does she know that the posse of ruthless, amoral slugs has followed her and her beau to their secluded getaway. And they want to even the score...mercilessly.

While Wes Craven's The Last House On the Left might be more infamous and I Spit On Your Grave more notorious, Death Weekend is, by far, the superior and more polished of the bunch.

Boasting a decidedly nasty streak, this benefits from strong performances from Vaccaro and Stroud, and a palpable sense of grime, sleaze and exploitation. You'll want to take a shower afterwards.

Also known as House by the Lake.

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