What I love about exploitation movies is their sheer economy. Low budget film-making requires innovation and a clear idea of what film you're making and for who. Russ Meyer made 'Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' for boys who want to see action, sex and fast cars- now I'm not strictly part of that demographic, but this movie is so effective in what it does, that even I was hooked.
The ruthless way in which the film shows exactly what is required to pack a punch and no more, it is visceral and energetic. There are goofs all over the place- licence plates fall off and appear back in place and the state of the actresses clothes varies wildly- and some of the performances are really ropey, but the film also has real strengths. Tura Satana's pneumatically chested sociopath is truly iconic, Stuart Lancaster as the old man is lascivious and irredeemable and Lori Williams as Billie- while being by no means consistent- shows moments of real promise. More importantly Meyer's slick editing and Jack Moran's high-camp dialogue are memorable indeed. So, great title, great script, great direction and a great title song. Superb.
I often remark that a film can only be judged by how well a film achieves its own aims, on that basis it gets a full 10/10. I don't like this being ranked alongside something like 'Aguirre', though, so I'll bend my own rules- 9/10.
