La casa sperduta nel parco (1980)

Director:

Ruggero Deodato

Writers:

Gianfranco Clerici (writer)
Vincenzo Mannino (writer)

Release Date:

February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Delivers Shocks To The Maximum ... Pushes The Limits Of Acceptability

Plot:

Two lowlife punks invite themselves to a party at a posh villa and after being taunted by their snobbish hosts, hold everybody hostage and subject them to various torture and mayhem.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Mentally Challenged | Torture | Villa | Rape

Cast

David Hess	...	Alex (as David A. Hess)
Annie Belle	...	Lisa
Christian Borromeo	...	Tom
Giovanni Lombardo Radice	...	Ricky
Marie Claude Joseph	...	Glenda
Gabriele Di Giulio	...	Howard
Brigitte Petronio	...	Cindy
Karoline Mardeck	...	Susan
Lorraine De Selle	...	Gloria

Also Known As:

House of the Park on the Edge (USA) (trailer title)
House on the Edge of the Park (USA)
The House on the Edge of the Park (International: English title)

Runtime:

91 min | UK:79 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:R (original rating: 1981) | Australia:Refused Classification | Singapore:(Banned) | Sweden:15 (uncut) | Norway:18 (uncut) (2007) | Finland:(Banned) (1986) | Finland:K-18 (2007) | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM18 | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | UK:18 (heavily cut) | USA:Unrated | Norway:(Banned) (video rating) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

F.D. Cinematografica

Trivia:

Filmed in 1978.

Quotes:

Ricky: I made a real royal straight!

Movie Connections:

References "Kojak" (1973)

"Be careful, Ricky...they're taking you for a ride."

And what a ride it is. "The House on the Edge of the Park" is yet another variation (I'll avoid the term 'rip-off') of "Last House on the Left," which succeeds because of David Hess's outstanding portrayal of a razor-wielding psycho. Unlike "Last House," which made generational conflict its primary theme, HotEotP is an unashamed exploitation picture that director Ruggero Deodato uses to embellish the excesses of the genre, and there's no better an actor than Hess to carry out such activities.

Hess plays Alex, a NY mechanic who, before the opening credits begin to roll, rapes and strangles an anonymous female (although it's not made clear whether the girl is actually dead). Cut to him and his friend Ricky (Giovanni Lombardo Radice), who have plans to go "boogie-ing" when they're accosted by a rich young couple with car trouble. Ricky fixes the problem (a torn alternator wire), and Alex persuades the couple to invite them to a little 'get-together' at an appropriately-secluded villa. Before long, Alex and Ricky are engaging in some rather heavy petting, and things turn violent.

That's the basic plot setup. At times, the movie moves from scene to scene as if being improvised on the spot, which either intesifies the action or slows it down. That the house (as a setting) is rather small limits the amount of action that can go on inside it. Yet Ruggero Deodato knows how to manipulate his audience--his use of violence and sex to advance the film along works in all the right ways, and keeps your attention. And the sex, violence, and depraved behavior here is pretty extreme, to say the least (the film boasts only one murder, but is far more vicious than LHotL, in my opinion).

Also elevating the film a few levels is a surprisingly name cast of genre actors, including Christian Borromeo ("Tenebrae"), Radice ("The Gates of Hell"), and Lorraine De Selle ("Cannibal Ferox"). These familiar actors add a unique gloss to the sleaziness of "House on the Edge of the Park."

7/10