Review: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill


Wonderfully-titled film directed by a noted breast fetishist is said to be John Waters’ favourite film, which tells you pretty much all you need to know. A drive-in classic about a trio of go-go dancers (Tura Satana, her lesbian lover Haji, and blonde Lori Williams) who drive their fast cars around the desert. After fooling around with a nice young couple (and kidnapping Susan Bernard, in real-life the first Jewish Playmate!), they hatch a plan to get a hold of wheelchair-bound patriarch Stuart Lancaster’s large amount of cash. Unfortunately, this randy old bugger turns out to be trouble, whilst he has two sons; one named Veggie (Dennis Busch) is mentally retarded but super-strong, the other is an older and comparatively normal, sensitive guy who takes a liking to Bernard.


The best-known and best-regarded of the films made by Godfather of ‘Nudie-Cuties’ Russ Meyer (“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”, “Supervixens”), this bizarre, well-shot 1966 film is like an amped-up (and seemingly tongue-in-cheek) AIP juvenile delinquent film but directed by a perve and starring a bunch of Amazonian women with huge tits. Few of the actors are any good, but Satana has genuine presence, Lancaster is wonderfully depraved, and some of the situations and visuals are just plain ‘out there’.


A one-of-a-kind experience, like it or not, Meyer’s world view (generally from the ground looking up at huge skyscraper-like bazooms- what a wonderful world view that is!) is like nothing else you’ve ever seen. The perve in me had a whale of a time, despite there being zero nude content whatsoever. I’d still watch “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” over this, however, because that’s both a great exploitation film, and genuinely well-made. This one’s certainly very well-made for this sort of thing, and for a meagre budget, but not quite as titillating (pun absolutely intended) as it probably was at the time. It certainly deserves respect, and perverts everywhere owe it to themselves to see it at least once.


Rating: B-

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