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.
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.