AXE: A Low budget, dark and gritty rural film about 3 criminals who murder and terrorize their way through the backwoods of the Carolina's and find themselves hiding from the police in an old isolated farmhouse where they meet Lisa, a young girl who lives alone with her paralyzed grandfather. She was young and beautiful. She was innocent and mysterious and She wielded an AXE. This is HER story of revenge and survival
For a low budget exploitation horror film, AXE really succeeds in creating a terrifying atmosphere for suspense and mystery. The horror and gore might be on the mild side, but when it appears, it's effective and rightfully disturbing. The acting ranges from raw talent to dreadful, but it seems to fit rather realistically in the backwood Carolina setting. Jack Cannon and Lesile Lee provide the strongest performances with Lisa being the true stand-out talent. It's sad that she gave up acting after only one film, her talent really shines bright in this forgotten classic.
Yes, this movie has a slow pace and feels rather drawn out at times, but it makes up for it in the clever photography and over-all story. It will never win any awards, but it's certainly worth the time spent for any true student of film and exploitation films of the late 70's.
NOTE OF INTEREST: This film was banned in the UK and labeled among the Video Nasties for several years before finally being released in it's complete uncut version. After viewing, one might wonder why it received such harsh treatment as it's content is rather tame.....but still very effective.
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