Michael_Elliott
Axe (1974)** (out of 4)Extremely low-budget thriller about three crazy criminals who are on the run and decide to stop in at a farm house where they take things over. Lisa (Leslie Lee) stays at the house taking care of her paralyzed grandfather but the three criminals don't know what they've gotten themselves into.AXE was released under countless titles back in the day when low-budget movies like this could play across the country on drive-in screens for years. At just 67 minutes there's really not too much plot wise as what we've basically got a mix between THE DESPERATE HOURS and THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. Even though this film got on the Video Nasties list it really isn't all that shocking, graphic or gross.Again, there's really not too much here and there's really zero character development or any sort of story. The three criminals harass some people. They wind up at the house and you can guess what happens to them. Director Frederick R. Friedel isn't Stanley Kubrick but I thought he did an okay job with the material and at least tried to make it somewhat different than your run of the mill psycho movie. I thought the music score was rather effective and I liked that the director at least tried to create some stuff through the editing.I also thought Lee was better than average in the lead. She really doesn't get too many lines and instead she goes around as the silent type but I thought she was effective enough. Jack Canon was also good as the criminal Steele. As I said, there's some minor gore footage but nothing all that believable. The highlight is the sequence where the criminals harass a store clerk and the "shot" joke was rather funny.AXE certainly isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but if you enjoy this type of low-budget stuff then there's certainly much worse out there.
ed-gains
This was one that was banned in the UK years ago under the auspice of "video nasty". It's only nasty because it's rubbish and a pain in the bum to watch. It's only sixty odd minutes long and quite frankly it feels like for ever.I'd heard that it's short, it's worth the watch, it's a classic.It's not, it's not Last house, It's not a good story, it's not well acted, it's very very poor. The direction and script from Frederick R. Friedel is amazing.... amazingly BAD! Don't be tempted to spend your money I wasted time looking on Amazon and even after spending less than three quid, feel cheated. I've lodged my copy on amazon again - please God I hope that no potential buyer reads this review.
Scarecrow-88
Weird psycho-drama regarding a trio of killers, in suit and tie, who flee a city after pummeling someone to death(..the victim's gay lover takes a dive out a 12 story window to escape them!)barging in on a teenager and her senile grandfather, hiding out in their farmhouse, intruders demanding food and shelter. What the these three don't expect is that pretty Lisa doesn't hesitate in using a chopping ax to defend herself. Meanwhile, the grandfather, lost to the world around him, remains comatose, staring blankly, as the men offer danger to his granddaughter.At a mere 61 minutes, you'd think a film with a synopsis as this would be over-the-top and gratuitous, but director / writer Frederick R Friedel adopts a more minimalist approach instead and both the performances and mood are very low-key. Most of the characters(..what few there are)are rather vacuous, empty vessels and the film presents them all as outsiders from society, misfits "hiding away" from civilization. The score uses a lot of drum beats and tambourine, along with a rather depressing music box tune and some chilling piano chords..like many low budget movies during the 70's, the score has moments where it's very eerie, while other times it can be a bit overbearing due to an overuse. Despite the graphic nature of the titular weapon used by Lisa to escape two attempts at rape by her captors, there is very little violence shown on screen, I'm guessing due to little budget. The film looks like it cost 10 bucks, with limited locations, and rather claustrophobic story staging most of the action within the farmhouse. There's more dependency on film blood while the blunt blows of the ax is shot off-screen. Leslie Lee never breaks, as Lisa, from a look of other aloofness, seemingly off in another world. Perhaps her mundane existence and watching as her grandfather left her emotionally(..just a human shell, rotting away day by day) not to mention having no other family members, has created the person she is. Jack Cannon as ringleader Steele, plays him rather antagonistic, at times quite calm, with outbursts showing the kind of monster he truly is(..a little eccentric touch shows Steele cutting his finger nails before commencing to kill the fellow at the opening, and his toe nails the night they besiege Lisa's house). Ray Green, as tubby cigar-smoking Lomax, is about as depraved as Steele is, while Friedel(..the director of the movie), as Billy, seems to be a reasonable enough chap, along for the ride..Billy didn't partake in the clubbing of the victim, and openly chastises them for killing the man. But, even when they provoke and attempt to harm others(..like a supermarket check-out girl), they're more restrained than what you might see in other films concerning murderous bastards who enjoy hurting innocent people. While nothing exactly extraordinary, Axe might appeal to those who enjoy low-budget oddities..I imagine this would be perfect material for a drive-in double bill. The story itself is simple enough and doesn't waste time..the history of it's production might account for why this is the case. Axe is another representative of an era(..the glorious 70's) where film-making was a possibility for quite a many folks. I think the most memorable aspect of the film is the central character, Lisa, because Leslie Lee paints a haunting figure, a young woman without much of a future, who seems to be merely existing, her only purpose as caregiver.
Leonard Smalls: The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse
Well, my journey down the 'video nasty' road has brought me to a little-known gem called "Axe." My buddy loaned it to me and I checked it out with great expectations. I'd heard lots about this movie and how gritty it was. I have to say, I am not too impressed.I like the mediocre acting, the cheesy plot, and the music, but there just wasn't enough violence and blood in this film for me. You never actually see someone get hacked up. It's one of those 'camera cuts away just before' movies. The plot was pretty much a run of the mill "Last House on the Left" ripoff. Sadistic lunatics torture a family. Big deal.Even for the low budget, "Axe" should have been better. I mean come on...how expensive is fake blood? 4 out of 10, kids.
