First of all, let me say that I am just beginning to get my 'Italian Horror' cinema education so I'm still getting used to the unique aspects of the genre. This is my first Ruggero Deodato film (Next on my list to view is his 'Cannibal Holocaust' film). So far, vintage Italian horror has an obviously different tone indeed from vintage and especially new American horror in the way that there's an unnerving sense as one is watching (if you haven't seen the particular film before or many in the genre, like me!) that they're really going to push the envelope. Naw... make that TOTALLY cross the line with depicting extremely explicit violence and gore, breaking many American film taboos. I find many recent American horror films to have a tongue-and-cheek feel to them, making the blood and gore into an almost circus-like show. Villains are comical, shooting off these one-liners as they slay victims or vice versa. Plus, in Italian films, the action is usually accompanied by this bizarre dialogue and/or THAT CRAZY MUSIC. I gotta say, the two songs they use in this movie, especially the disco one, as cheesy-bad as they are, have been haunting me ever since. However, 'House on the Edge of the Park' didn't quite live up to my anxious expectation. I WAS very nervous and fearful throughout the first half of the film in not knowing what to expect after psycho Alex (David Hess) and his friend hit the party. But, surprisingly, it wasn't TOO horrible... not like I had expected anyway. First of all, there wasn't as much violent rape depiction as I thought there would be. I thought there would be women assaulted left and right. But I guess there's only so much harm two hoodlums can do. Aside from the rape at the beginning of the film, the two other sex scenes shown looked downright consensual(!)... even titillating. Lots of female nudity in this one, guys. Yet the scene with Alex and Cindy and his straight razor WAS pretty unsettling. The idea of being randomly sliced at with a razor definitely gives me the Hobie-jeebies. But most creepy to me was the was how the rest of the part guests just stood by and watched this happen to their friend for as long as they did. I thought the blond guy (Tom) was such a wimp! In fact, through most of the scenes at the house, the victimized guests all seem so passive, pretty much just allowing Alex and Ricky do what they wanted to do. To me, they just didn't seem scared or freaked out enough in the beginning when bad stuff started to happen. But I guess that is, again, all part of that unique "tone" with Italian horror that is so disarming.
Perhaps the MOST interesting to me on the unrated DVD that I watched (the 'Shriek Show' edition) were the extras that include an interview with "David Hess and Family." First of all, the interview is filmed very informally at what looks like the Hess home. I have no idea who the interviewer is, but his questions are heard on camera, which is very unusual. Amusingly, some of the interviewer's questions are somewhat pointless and tactless, in my opinion. This is especially evident when the interviewer tries to touch on the subject of David Hess' wife, Karoline Mardeck, also being in the film. Mr. Hess quickly shuts him down and in a somewhat menacing tone tells him something to the effect of, "I thought I told you we weren't going to talk about that..." Weird! After the David Hess interview, when his wife Karoline is being interviewed by herself, the interviewer tries to again bring up the subject of her being in the film and she just looks away uncomfortably saying "I don't want to talk about it." Well, it's no wonder. Karoline Mardeck plays the girl that David Hess' character Alex rapes and kills in her car in the beginning of the film! Her name is Susan in the credits but I'm pretty sure I never heard her name uttered in the film. It's funny, because David Hess casually and openly discusses his relationship and interaction with the other actors in the film, but when it comes to talking about his wife's role in the film, he understandably becomes guarded. It's very awkward how they BOTH become so dismissive about it, like trying to deny it happened. But in a way, I have to say that I respect Mr. Hess for not wanting to talk about this degrading role his wife played in order to protect her/their privacy. I'm not sure if they were married at the time it was filmed, but in listening to Karoline recall during her interview how/when she and David met, it was on a plane to NYC in 1975 so it seems like they at least had been in some type of relationship for several years before this movie was filmed. In any case, I'm sure that's the LAST thing any married couple would want to talk about--how one sexually brutalized the other on film for all posterity. Amid all the sexploitation and violence surrounding this film, that was a humanizing aspect that comforted me in a strange way. What I also got from the interview is that David Hess, although strange, is a pretty deep and real guy with some interesting insights into the characters he's played and the movies he's made. Plus, the fact that he's had a fairly successful career as a musician (even composing songs for his other notorious horror flick, 'Last House on the Left') makes him even more intriguing as an actor and person.
As for 'House on the Edge of the Park,' I only recommend if you are a fan of the Italian horror genre, sexploitation films, and of course, David A. Hess.
