Death Weekend | 1976 | Canada | William Fruet

Well-acted and skilfully shot, Death Weekend is a rape and revenge thriller that unfortunately seems to have slipped through the cracks in modern releases, despite being produced by Ivan ‘Ghostbusters’ Reitman. Ex-model Diane is taken to the country by the schmoozing Harry for a luxury weekend at his large house, only for the pair to irk a fellow driver Lep and his gang of drunken bums. Catching up to the couple after an incident of road rage, Lep and his goons hold the pair hostage and terrorise them before eventually killing Harry and raping Diane. The headstrong Diane refuses to be victimised any further and mounts a counterattack against the thugs, making them wish they hadn’t tagged along after all. The film is notable for its incredible chemistry between the main protagonist and the lead antagonist, providing a degree of nuance to an otherwise standard narrative. The Vampix VHS was slightly shortened but the strong language and sexual violence got this branded by the ‘nasty’ moniker regardless.