MOTOR PSYCHO does not get as much attention as some of Russ Meyer’s other films, though it really should. It was released the same year as Meyer’s epic, FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, and even though that film went on to be a bigger scale cult classic, MOTOR PSYCHO actually did better at the box office back in ‘65. Better box office or not, FASTER, PUSSYCAT has cast in an incredible shadow over MOTOR PSYCHO—and rightfully so. Not that MOTOR PSYCHO is a bad movie (it’s great), but when put next to Tura Satana and the gang, it didn’t stand a chance.
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RM’s MOTOR PSYCHO is not as exploitive or “naughty” as some of Meyer’s other films, but it’s a great noir style, southern gothic type flick that Meyer did oh-so-well. If you’ve yet to delve into Meyer’s early black & white films, beyond FASTER, PUSSYCAT!, then you are missing out. While I mentioned that this film is not as exploitive as some RM’s other films, it is in fact, an exploitation film—and in case you didn’t know—no one did exploitation like Russ Meyer. In my humble opinion, the man is the King of Exploitation, with guys like Jack Hill & Joe D’Amato (just to name a few--both great exploitation directors in their own right) coming in a distant second place. I use the term “exploitation” when actually“sexploitation” is probably more accurate; it’s all exploitive cinema…glorious, glorious exploitive cinema.
This particular exploitation nugget tells the story of 3 beatnik/thug/hoodlum types that are on a road trip to Las Vegas via their motorbikes, and pretty much rape and pillage, whenever they can, along the way. They stop at a small town where they run into Alex Rocco’s character, Cory Maddox--a grizzled, square-jaw-type, manly-man, which would be a staple of Meyer’s films to come. Rocco is the town veternarian/stud muffin, whom happens to have a gorgeous wife, played by Holle K. Winters, that the gang decide to make their next victim. They do not kill her, but the rough her up enough to send her to the hospital. Needless to say, they messed with the wrong guy’s chick. The police are no help (RM make’s a cameo as an inept and chauvinistic policeman), so Cory sets off into the desert to find the three thugs, and seek his vengeance.
Meanwhile, also traveling through the desert is an old timer (played by Coleman Francis of THE BEAST FROM YUCCA FLATS fame/infamy) and his young wife, an ex-New Orleans whore, played by the exotically gorgeous, Haji (FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!). Haji’s character is basically using the old timer to break free from whatever life she leading prior, but the honeymoon seems over for the two when the film catches up with them. The couple runs across the gang on the road when they find the bikers broke down on the side. They stop to help—which turns into the old timer getting killed. They attempt to kill Haji as well, but she plays possum until the guys leave. They steal the couple’s truck, and Haji is left wounded in the middle of the desert. Cory is hot on the trail of the bikers, and he finds Haji along the way, and the two are sort of forced to team up because Haji really has no other place to go.
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The odd duo soon catch up with the thugs, and Cory ends up getting bit by a snake, which is followed by one my all time favorite movie scenes, where Alex Rocco screams at Haji to “Suck out the venom—SUCK IT!”—an awkward scene that is made all the more hilarious by its awkwardness. The leader of the gang of three, Brahmin (Steve Oliver) turns out to be a Army vet with a tendency for psychotic back flashes. He ends up turning on his buddies, and ends up having a climactic showdown with Cory & Haji.
MOTOR PSYCHO is a very fun movie, that although deals with some pretty serious subject matter, it never takes itself that seriously—which is what is great about a lot of RM films. That being said, one shouldn't venture into the film expecting the same level of camp featured in other Meyer films such as, SUPERVIXENS, UP!, VIXEN, or even FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, it’s a much more somber film (which is probably why it’s not met with as much enthusiasm as some of Meyer’s other films), but Meyer works his magic all the same. Meyer’s southern gothic era (early to mid 1960s) were filled with classics, and are incredibly well made films, by not only trash movie standards, but just film standards period. In all the previous films of Meyer that I have reviewed, I can’t help but repeat the fact that Meyer, although lumped with a bunch of hacky sleazeball directors, was no hack…he was a sleazeball, for sure, but he was one talented sleazeball of a director. His editing style and oddball camera angles (for example; between the legs shots) would go on to inspire a legion of directors that went on to much more acclaim than Meyer.
There are some standouts in the cast as well. First there is the ever sexy, Haji—was she a great actress? No, but every time she is on screen, she soaks it up. Alex Rocco—one of the best over actors of all time, goes for broke here—and it’s amazing. Just so it’s clear—calling him an “over actor” is in no way a put down. There is a mastery involved with going over-the-top when it comes to acting, some can pull it off, and some go down in flames—Alex Rocco nails it. Lastly, Steve Oliver—the Motor Psycho that the title of the film implies, nails his role as well. He plays Brahmil as a ticking-time-bomb, and keeps the audience guessing what the guy will do next. Steve Oliver probably should have gone on to more fame, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards. He did have a long career as b-movie supporting player, which is more than I can same for some others.
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Topping it all off—as with most RM films, is the killer jazz/rock score that goes uncredited in the film (!), but was supplied by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter. The score is sexy, classy, and trashy at the same time, and adds so much to the overall flow of the film. The only thing as cool as the film's score is the beatnik dialogue uttered by the bikers; a lot of “I’m hip to that”, “Crazy, man” and “Daddy-O’s” are tossed about. The script itself is just downright cool, and features some pure Meyer-isms. There is one scene imparticular, where Rocco’s wife is being roughed up, and one of the thugs is on the phone with his mother, assuring his Mom that he is safe, and how everything is fine, and not to worry—Meyer was a notorious momma’s boy.
MOTOR PSYCHO is an excellent and entertaining film. If you like 60’s exploitation, noir films, or just well made b-movies in general—do yourself a service and check this one out. As the tagline reads: “Cyclemaniacs assaulting and killing for thrills! Bike riding Hoodlums Flat-Out on their Murder cycles.” That about says it all.
No trailer, but here is the infamous 'snake bite' scene...
