This is a trashy film and will be of no appeal to most viewers, but what's interesting about it is that it would make a great companion piece to the notorious 1980 "Maniac". I don't know why anyone would want to watch THAT film in the first place, but it's hard not to notice the obvious similarities. Although far less graphic and bloody, "Forced Entry" also allows as to "share" the maniacal killer's warped worldview, and the depiction of his mind seems pretty accurate. There is a minimal amount of plot, but it's starkly directed, and this is also one of the few chances you'll have to see Tanya Roberts giving a halfway good performance. (**)
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gridoon19 January 2002
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lthseldy18 April 2003I wanted to watch this one sense I am a fan of films such as "Last House on the Left" and "Maniac". This film follows in this same gener only less satisfying to watch than those above. This movie is about a garage worker who leads a double life as a serial rapeist, watching young women and taking advantage of them at the apropriate moment. He stutters when he's with a girl and starts to feel nervous which I felt was unapprpriate for the movie. Then we see him making his move towards the victim and them the movie switches to a different scene and then later on in the movie like when we see the killer watching TV or drinking a beer or scratching his rabbit which is his only friend we see flashbacks of what happened between the killer and the unfortunate victim which we should have seen while he was killing the victim. This I also found unnecisary in the movie. The part that I did like in the movie as compared to "Maniac" was the fact that we get to see what the killers thinking and just why he commits these murders and I liked that. Always wanted to know just what made those serial killers tick. But this one didn't tick to much for me, I gave it a 4.
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Uriah4314 April 2020This film essentially involves a socially awkward young man by the name of "Carl" (Ron Max) who works as a mechanic at a gas station. Because he was abused as a child he harbors an extreme hatred for women which manifests itself at certain times that results in his raping and them killing them whenever he gets the chance. There is, however, one woman he doesn't hate by the name of "Nancy Ulman" (Tanya Roberts) who he wants to possess more than anybody. Unfortunately for her, not only does she hardly know Carl but she also isn't aware that she is soon to become one of his victims. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, from what I understand, this was a remake of an X-rated movie by the title of "Forced Entry" a few years earlier only toned down for general theaters. Since I haven't seen the other movie in question I cannot compare the two but as far as this particular film is concerned I didn't really find it that enjoyable as the pace was agonizingly slow and the ending needed considerable improvement as well. In any case, although I thought Tanya Roberts performed quite adequately, I thought her talents were more or less wasted and because of the other faults just mentioned I have rated this picture accordingly. Below average.
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clockwork881413 December 2004Unknown to most people who are not true down in the dirt fans of all the sleaze / horror that used to dwell on the seedy, shadowy screens of N.Y.'s 42nd St. theaters in the 70's, this watered down version of Forced Entry is actually a remake of a film by the same title that came out a year or two earlier. The original was an XXX rated hardcore nightmare that starred a much younger porn legend Harry Reems (from Deep Throat fame) as the brutal killer / gas station attendant. The story is almost identical to this version, but is WAY more intense & disturbing.
The basic plot of this R - rated version revolves around a disturbed service station attendant named Carl who gets female customers info when they pay for gas & such with credit cards. He then proceeds to stalk them, and brutally rape & kill them in a vicious fashion. He not only rapes & kills them, but he rants & taunts them while in the process. This remake is a vein attempt to cash in on the originals viciousness & the then current stream of "Last House on the Left" rip offs. The highlight, though, is seeing the hot, young Nancy Allen & Tanya Roberts. But, if you want real nightmares, try to track down the original XXX version starring Harry Reems under the Pseudonym Tim Long. It's much more powerful than this lame R rated rip off. -
merklekranz1 November 2011Opening with an unseen attacker ranting about hookers, followed by some ridiculous set up assaults on female victims, "Forced Entry" has few redeeming qualities, and is in fact a quite tedious exploitation film. The psycho rapist, Ron Max, comes across as nothing more than a weak David Hess clone. Slow motion assaults are repeated in dream sequences, while voice overs further weaken an already weak screenplay. The climactic home invasion takes forever to get underway, as Tanya Roberts talks on the phone, makes tea, reads magazines etc. This movie actually pushes the viewers patience to the breaking point, and is not recommended even for die hard exploitation fans. - MERK
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The Last Victim is one of those films that it's hard to believe actually exists — an R-rated remake of the infamous 1973 'roughie' Forced Entry that not only stars future Charlie's Angel/Bond girl Tanya Roberts, but which also features Robocop's Nancy Allen in a minor role.
While this one might not be as downright nasty as the original movie (that's an understatement: the '73 version is a utterly repugnant experience), it's still a very sleazy piece of grind-house cinema, one that I imagine neither actress is particularly proud of. Of course, for many fans of obscure, gritty exploitation, the involvement of two future stars in such a mean-spirited, misogynistic piece of trash will only add to the fun.
Roberts plays Nancy Ulman, housewife and mother of two young children (which she must have had while she was still in school, given how young she looks), who finds herself targeted by psycho garage mechanic Carl (Ron Max), the man responsible for a spate of recent brutal rapes/murders in the area. Allen plays one of the unhinged grease-monkey's earlier victims, a pretty hitch-hiker whose lack of manners seals her fate.
Fans of Ms. Roberts might be surprised, and probably more than a little disappointed, to find that the actress keeps herself pretty much covered up throughout (even her obligatory shower scene offers very little titillation). The film's gratuitous nudity comes from Carl's other victims: a pretty motorist who is raped and killed after breaking down on a remote country road, a teenager who suffers the same fate after stopping by the nutters place of work to pump up the tyres on her bicycle (this scene is particularly sleazy given the girl's tender age), and Allen's unfortunate hitch-hiker, who is briefly seen stripped and bound in a flashback.
The final assault on Nancy in her own home is a long, drawn out affair that borders on tedium, and which ends in a ridiculous manner, the killer practically handing his last victim a massive carving knife (which amusingly turns into a smaller joke-shop knife with a retractable blade while she is stabbing him). -
This film by Jim Sotos (the director of the surprisingly decent eighties slasher 'Sweet 16') is apparently a remake of the earlier infamous film of the same title by Shaun Costello and starring Harry Reems. Forced Entry was never meant to be a mainstream flick, but it would appear that Sotos was trying to turn it into one with this film as the plot is basically the same but we don't get any of the sexual violence, which is a bit of a shame because that's the only thing that most people will have tuned into the original for and it's always going to be difficult to make an R-Rated film based on this plot line and make it a success. The plot is very simple and focuses on a psychopath who works at a gas station. It's the old story of abuse as a child and this man suffered at the hands of his mother; which has lead to an acute hatred of women. Naturally, he decides to use his job (which involves meeting women) to find females to have his way with and murder. However, soon he meets Nancy and actually falls in love with her, which puts him at odds with his murderous rage.
On the whole, it has to be said that this film is not successful and the only part of it I really liked was the music on the opening credits sequence. Showing the violence and gore is not always necessary in films; but it is in this one. The original was meant to shock and it did; but this film's neglect towards showing the violence means that it is not shocking, not true to the original and it also doesn't feature a plot strong enough to hold up a film like this without violence. Ron Max is the lead and while he convinces as the psychopath, he isn't very charismatic and the performance feels a bit flat. Luckily, there's some female talent in the form of Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen on hand to help the film along. The film features a voice over that shows us what the psycho is thinking and feeling and it's all rather generic stuff and the film could have done without it. There's not a great deal of interest created in the plot and the ending is both predictable and generic. The film has a handful of decent moments and it's worth tracking down as a companion piece to the original; but it's not very good unfortunately. -
Steve_Nyland18 June 2007I believe this is my first one-star rating for an IMDb comment entry, and the only reason I award it one star is that there is no zero star setting. I watched an extremely rare Greek made video of this film last fall and only now have found the stomach to discuss it: I gave up at about the fifty minute point, depressed, sickened and feeling used. This is a movie that had no artistic urgency behind it's making, it was just an attempt by some producers and distributors to cash in on a notorious XXX rape fantasy movie made under the same title, FORCED ENTRY. The plot for both is the same: Demented psychopathic retard working at a gas station uses the opportunity and in some cases house keys left behind by his female customers to rape, torture, and then murder them. Are we having fun yet?
I have never seen the original version. Rape fantasy movies are about as useful to me as a hemorrhaging spleen or perhaps the decomposing carcass of a camel. But from all accounts the 1974 porn version of FORCED ENTRY is one of the harshest, most uncompromising and gleefully evil movies ever made, working as a sort of a warped commentary on the post-Vietnam era violence obsessed culture which bred it's lunatic murderer. Even if offered the chance to partake I would decline, I do not need to see such things when stuff like the complete H.R. PUFFNSTUFF box set is available, or the bathroom needs cleaning. Life is short.
The XXX version at least stood for something and was an original idea taken to it's logical extreme; It is filth for sure, yet at least the filmmakers had the guts to get down there in the trenches with their viewers. By contrast, the 1975 MPAA R rated film is a dismal, depressing slog "livened up" by moments of suggestively sick violence involving things like the bondage rape & murder of a 15 year old girl who stops by the protagonist's filling station with a flat tire on her bike. The attack is not shown in detail but in a suggestive manner that is perhaps even more disturbing in that it allows the viewer to complete the images in their mind's eye. The retarded animal at the center of the story is a general walking disaster area, every attractive young woman who comes in contact with him ends up dead after being mauled & mutilated, and after about the fourth murder I simply decided I'd had enough. To this day I have no idea nor do I care as to how the movie resolved itself.
The problem is that the film does not have the interest to be true to it's own convictions, and uses the MPAA R certificate as an excuse to back off from showing exactly what it is that it's target audience of vicarious sex criminals are tuning in to see. It is more interested in selling tickets than being true to its own nature, an incredibly irresponsible approach since there are some who probably took the suggestions seriously. We already had the urban legend of the service station attendant who uses the trust put in him by his female customers to compromise them. It seems to me that what this movie serves to do is provide a sort of blueprint to how you go about bringing that fantasy to life, but does not have the balsam to show the necessary payoff to complete the circle and evoke the sheer revulsion that the XXX version reportedly does.
Frankly though, I have wasted too much time on this pathetic, stupid, meaningless and unredeemable movie. Cult DVD company Code Red is supposedly preparing a DVD release, and my question is, why? Who on earth do they think is interested in seeing this? aside from uninformed James Bond fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Tonya Roberts' tits, and the contingent of sick, dangerous perverts who get their jollies out of watching movies that show women suffering. If that's the best they can do for a demographic then they have missed the point of low budget cult horror with an erotic tinge: There are SO many clever, interesting and sick, demented little horror movies out there waiting to be discovered that there is no excuse for making this available aside from sheer greed. The notoriety of the title might ensure enough sales to earn back their production cost and make a few dollars, but it will do so at the expense of a lot of goodwill. Starting with mine.
1/10: Complete garbage, without any redeeming qualities at all and that includes the early performances by the A-list actresses snookered into making the film. -
Hi and welcome to my review of Forced Entry A K A The Last Victim - 1976.
The story gets a 1.5 out of 2: Forced Entry is all about the story. Henry Scarpelli, who penned both the story and screenplay, delivers a nicely gift-wrapped tale about a mentally ill rapist. There have been many stories along similar lines, however, Scarpelli tries to present the bad-guys mindset to the audience. On the whole, he achieves this admirably. It's these mental delusions that add all the creepiness to the film and story. It's this element that makes the movie so watchable.
The Direction and Pace receive a 2 out of 4: Sadly, director Jim Sotos isn't as adept with his direction and flow of storytelling. Neither of which are terrible; they are merely ordinary. They work to a degree, but the steady tempo and the unexciting camera work make the project rather average. Though, I did appreciate the arrival of the Triumph Stag at the garage. The sequence was smooth and composed. Shame there weren't more scenes like this throughout the picture.
The Performances get a 1 out of 2: Here's the sticky part. Most of the acting is above par. That is until we get to Ron Marx, who plays the rapist Carl. When it comes to Carl's thoughts and the narrators' voice, Marx is superb at developing a nasty persona. Regrettably, his on-screen performances are lacking, especially when he gets enraged and loses control. For me, they weren't believable. Marx is so much better as the gentle and mousey Carl, who helps people.
And, my Enjoyment level hits a 1 out of 2: Though I enjoyed the story, especially Carl's inner voice and his twisted "True" thoughts about women and the world. The filming of the story needed more. My attention started shifting in the latter sections of the film.
Giving Forced Entry a total of 5.5 out of 10: I'd not recommend this to horror fans unless you're the kind who believe psychos should have a place in the genre. However, if you want a more thought-provoking slasher story, you could do worse than this. As stated, the story rates the movie worth a watch.
Now jump into your English Sports Car and race over to my Killer Chiller Thrillers to see where Forced Entry entered my rankings.
Take Care & Stay Well. Get Inoculated. -
Nightman859 June 2008Awkward nut case goes around raping and killing women, now he turns his sights on a suburban housewife and soon invades her home.
From the premise of this movie one would like to think that it would be, at the very least, an interesting thriller. Well, you would be wrong unfortunately. Forced Entry, unsurprisingly a poor remake of an infamous sexploitation flick from 1973, is a completely tedious movie. Not only is the movie badly paced but the acting is utterly terrible, the cinematography dull, and there is a miserable lack of suspense and tension. On top of this it's tasteless and told entirely from the monotone point of view of its unconvincing villain. The only highlights are early appearances from later stars Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen (who plays an ill-fated hitchhiker) however they can't save a movie that's not only garbage but boring garbage!
Not on video, for good reason.
BOMB out of **** -
cenobites-222 February 2021For true fans of the genre, this is a must see. Sleaze galore and nasty sexualised violence should satisfy even the most hardened fans of horror. The UK pre cert is definitely worth tracking down. Go see it for yourself.
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Falconeer11 September 2019It's hard to judge the ratings here because it isn't known what version they are reviewing. But the ridiculously low score here suggests that most viewers have seen the 75 minute cut, the one that was released to theaters after the commercial success of actress Tanya Roberts. "Forced Entry" is of course, a loose remake of the hardcore feature starring Harry Reems. In that movie, the psychotic sex maniac was a disturbed Vietnam Vet, and that porn movie is so unpleasant and ugly that parts are difficult to watch. If they had spent more time on the horror aspect and less on the ugly hardcore sex, that film would be a classic. Apparently someone else thought so too, which is why this remake was made. Or is it a remake? Originally titled "The Last Victim," this time the maniac, Carl, is the product of an abusive mother who tortured him as a child. This movie, in it's original form, is a lean and mean, and very intense horror film that closely resembles "Maniac" that came out a few years later. With a 75 minute running time, the length typical of hardcore features of the time, the story is told from the killer's point of view. We follow the car mechanic Carl on his hunting adventures. He hunts for beautiful women to murder, and rape..in that order. Those who have the misfortune of crossing Carl's path, meet a horrific end graphically nasty end. Females are choked, beaten, stabbed and violated with beer bottles. But if you have only seen that 75 minute cut, you won't see any of the disturbing scenes described here. This film was reworked and played theaters with a PG rating, which is absolutely unthinkable, at least in the 1970s, when movies had reached their peak with graphic sex and violence . Every frame of this movie was seedy and lurid and i would not consider one second as family entertainment. But a few years later, when the name of Tanya Roberts, who made her film debut here, became a household name, the owners of the movie rights decided to clean it up, releasing an even shorter version, running a mere 72 minutes, that removed what little sex and violence there was in the 75 minute cut. In the end, that reworked version survived, while the original, 93 minute cut, seemed to disappear from the face of the Earth, other than it's survival contained within that rare VHS tape. To make matters worse, the movie was released on Blu Ray, but for some ridiculous reason, it's that truncated, heavily censored 75 minute version! Apparently the director prefers the soft version that omits all the sex and violence. For grindhouse movie fans, this Blu Ray is the most disappointing and worthless product ever..because the original is truly a powerhouse of exploitation insanity. Nancy Allen most likely wishes this one was forgotten, as her role of the raped and abused hitch hiker is short, but very graphic. She must be pleased that her rape/nude scene is GONE from the Blu Ray release. Credit must be given to Tanya Roberts however. She managed to star in this ultra sleazy rape movie, while managing to avoid doing any actual nudity. She comes very close, but manages to retain her honor as the terrorized housewife who turns the tables on her stalker. Fans of classic horror and rape-revenge grindhouse flicks should seek out "The Last Victim." It's a grimy, voyeuristic, misogynistic, and intensely atmospheric, forgotten gem of the exploitation genre. Sadly, that ancient VHS tape is the only way to see it. I'm sure that tape is a collectors item among cult horror movie fans. This exploitation movie lover is happy to have this rare item, along with the equally fine and rare "Bloodrage," another gritty and super-rare title that focuses on a twisted sociopathic killer, from director Joseph Zito. The fact that both of these titles are unavailable in their uncut form is a real mystery..
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petit-things3 February 2007I saw the first editing of this film (director' cut ?) in the Cannes Filmmarket under the title THE LAST VICTIM. I remember being the only one person in the screening room. I can assure it was a hell of a movie, very disturbing and, YES, very much in the spirit of a yet to come MANIAC. When the film appeared on Video format under the identity of FORCED ENTRY, I remember being very disappointed because a lot of graphic violence had been edited and a stupid commentary was supposed to give the killer point of view to temper the infamous character of the film. The film was now "ordinary stuff "and was more a vehicle for Miss Tanya Roberts" growing fame of the moment. It's a pity that this great "flower of evil" film is impossible to discover in it's original form. I know a VHS have been released in U.K under the title THE LAST VICTIM in the early times of video and was banned by the Nasty Movie law in the 80's. Can anybody help me to find a copy of this original version ? Please Mr Sotos do something! I am sure a DVD double feature edition with both original and re-edited versions would be a commercial success and will give this rarity of yours the place he deserve in Horror genre.
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If THIS movie ever played in theaters with a 'PG' rating, (suitable for children) I will eat my hat. Truly, not one frame of this seedy slice of 70's perversion is "family viewing" material. This film about a woman-hating mechanic who spends his off time raping and murdering whatever pretty girl who has the misfortune of crossing his path, exists in two versions. The original came out in 1976, and ran only 75 minutes long..which is strange for a mainstream theatrical release. (That running time was more typical for porn films at the time.) That version is a lean and mean portrait of a psychotic serial rapist-killer, that precedes William Lustig's "Maniac" by five years, but has very similar themes and style. It's seedy location shooting and non-existent budget add to the dark and ominous tone of this atmospheric 70's gem. The film was reworked in 1981, for video release, when the names of Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen became well-known. (Allen must have been mortified when this thing resurfaced.) Suddenly it's running time increased to 90 minutes, thanks to clever editing, using flashback sequences twice and filming some additional scenes. Most noted difference is the inclusion of the voice-over narration provided by the killer, in an effort to give the audience a deeper understanding of what makes this guy tick. That was a bad choice, because while some of the narration is interesting, it is way overused, and it only strips away the mystique of a faceless maniac with no explained background. Unfortunately it robs the film of it's potency. Thanks to a recent Bluray release, that infamous, long unavailable 75 minute version is finally available to be seen again. Offered on the disc is two versions, including the 75 minute version, as well as a 'PG' rated 72 minute version, which again, is hard to believe exists. Missing is the reworked 86 minute version, which is a shame, because that version is part of the legacy of this movie, and should also be preserved. Tanya Roberts, looking stunning here, wisely opted out of doing any nude scenes. Nancy Allen did not make the same choice, but she was an actress who didn't seem to mind disrobing in later movies like "Carrie." The 4 star rating for this solid exploitation film, is a mystery to me. For this genre, this is very good stuff.
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kevin-1678 September 1999This movie will no doubt offend many viewers. The story is seen through the eyes of a serial rapist. The movie is notable for early appearances by Nancy Allen and Tanya Roberts. The serial rapist is played convincingly by Ron Max who despises women and feels an urge to lash out and hurt any young attractive women. He sees them as "sluts". The viewer cannot help but feel for the young red-haired woman who has car trouble. When she sees the serial rapist pull up in his van ... Well, let's just say he puts his hands to use. He has a number of other crime conquests throughout the movie. I won't give away the ending but I would call this a gripping movie of sorts.
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HumanoidOfFlesh11 August 2010"Forced Entry" by Jim Sotos is about a psychotic mechanic whose history of childhood abuse at the hands of his mother leads to murderous rage against women.He rapes and kills some unfortunate victims.When he ends up falling for sexy mother of two(Tanya Roberts)the terrified but resourceful woman manages to manipulate his amorous feelings so she can kill him and escape.This mildly nasty and slow-moving shocker is a watered-down remake of very disturbing XXX roughie classic "Forced Entry" with Harry Reems as a rapist.It predates "Maniac" and Romano Scavolini's "Nightmare" too.The central performance of Ron Max is frighteningly realistic.He also played in lost regional Bigfoot flick "Sasqua" in the same year.7 rapes out of 10.
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lor_6 February 2023My review was written in March 1984 after a Time Square screening.
"Forced Entry" is a downbeat, technically subpar exploitation film about a rapist. Filmed in 1975 under the title "The Last Victim", with a new, re-edited version reportedly prepared in 1980, picture is reviewed here for the record.
"Entry"'s main point of interest is its status as a skeleton in the closet for two currently prominent actresses, Tanya Roberts and Nancy Allen, since it was made before either one got her career into gear. Roberts has a leading role (and despite the genre, avoids any nude scenes) while Allen is in briefly as a hitchhiker.
Ron Max portrays Carl, a gas station worker who is, as cliche would have it , a normal boy-next-door type that no one would suspect is an habitual rapist and murderer. Picture opens in a particularly negative film noir fashion with nighttime visuals of Carl driving around the city, voicing over an "I hate whores" rap loaded with violent verbal imagery. Ensuing raps and murders are presented with hokey slow-motion photography that seems more like padding than style.
"Entry" winds up with a very lengthy sequence of Carl invading the home of a young housewife (Roberts) and abusing her in a well-acted, but hardly entertaining segment. The only suspense is when will Tanya strike back and get rid of this menace, once and for all.
Photography and editing are crude. The film's rating by the Motion Picture Assn. Of America is in question; apparently the 1975 "Last Victim" received a PG, but the new version was never rated, pic's poster and advertising proclaim an unsubstantiated R rating. -
DJ Inferno14 March 2002Scruffy horror thriller about a sick rapist who suffers from a childhood trauma. The film begins like the low budget version of Scorcese´s "Taxi Driver" and turns to a nasty plagiarism of movies like "Last House on the Left", "I Spit on your Grave" or "Island of Death"... without ever reaching the level of these classics! Only interesting for seeing Nancy Allen ("RoboCop", "Dressed to kill") and later Bond girl Tanya Roberts in early roles..!