Thriller: A Cruel Picture [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray]

Director: Bo A. Vibenius Bo A. Vibenius

Overview

After being raped as a child by a greasy derelict, Madeleine (Christina Lindberg) is left mute. Fifteen years later, she has grown into a beautiful, but very traumatized young woman. After missing her bus one day, Madeleine is picked up by a smooth-talking man named Tony Dill (Heinz Hopf), who hooks her on heroin and forces her into prostitution, slicing one of her eyeballs out with a scalpel in graphic detail (Lindberg claims director Bo A. Vibenius used a real corpse) when she revolts. When Madeleine's parents commit suicide, she snaps, and begins training in karate, stunt driving, and shooting, biding her time for a violent revenge. That's when the shocks really begin, particularly in the original version, which is 15 minutes longer than the truncated print released by American International. Lindberg suffered similar travails in Gustav Wiklund's smarmy (but less explicit) Exponerad three years earlier.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/26/2022
UPC:	0814456025414
Original Release:	1974
Source:	Vinegar Syndrome
Language:	English
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	10,585

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Christina Lindberg	Frigga
Heinz Hopf	Tony
Despina Tomazani	Lesbian
Per-Axel Arosenius	Actor
Raoul Kraushaar	Composer
Ralph Lundsten	Composer

Technical Credits

Bo A. Vibenius

Alex Fridolinski

Bo A. Vibenius	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Alex Fridolinski	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

An unflinchingly brutal and graphic cult revenge flick that toiled in obscurity for decades before being exhumed by Quentin Tarantino as the inspiration for actress Daryl Hannah's one-eyed murderess in Kill Bill, Swedish director Bo Arne Vibenius's sophomore directorial effort is not for all tastes. Of course, not being for all tastes and being effective are two items that are not mutually exclusive, and viewers would be hard pressed not to feel the utter anguish of tragic mute figure Frigga's plight after seeing her repeatedly subjected to a variety of savage acts -- both sexual and otherwise. Though some may find Vibenius's choice of utilizing hardcore sexual inserts to document her descent unsavory at best and unforgivably exploitative at worst, there is little question that the visionary director's unique approach was years ahead of its time (the same technique sharply divided critics when used in the 2000 shocker Baise-Moi), and that it most certainly makes the violation of the already fragile protagonist much more personal and effective. Equally important in making mute Frigga's slow descent into revenge-driven bloodlust believable is starlet Christina Lindberg's wordless, expression-driven performance -- and it's fascinating to watch as her heartache slowly gives way to a kill-crazed blood frenzy. Though Frigga's hard road to the bottom has been documented in the kind of graphic detail that can often be difficult to watch, when she does finally take aim at her tormentors, the eye-patch-wearing angel of death's roaring rampage of revenge is presented in even more graphic detail -- with virtually every kill hauntingly presented in super-slow motion to achieve maximum visceral impact.

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan