5.2 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Director Chester Fox | 5.2/10 IMDb Language English Running time 1h 20m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Directed by Chester Fox
Alex Stevens Starring Sandra Peabody
George Spencer
John Moser
George Dzundza Release date September 1, 1973 (1973-09-01) Cast Sandra Cassel, George Dzundza Similar Death by Invitation, Mission Killfast, Teenage Hitchhikers, Anatomy of a Psycho, Night Train to Terror | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Massage Parlor Murders is a 1973 exploitation horror film directed by Chester Fox and Alex Stevens. The film stars Sandra Peabody, George Spencer, John Moser and George Dzundza. The film is about a killer that starts killing the staff of New York’s massage parlors. Despite having a successful run in the grindhouse circuit, the film nearly became a lost film and didn't have a home video release until 2013.
Contents
Plot
Detective Rizotti and his partner Detective O' Mara begin investigating the mysterious murders that have recently started happening in the red light district of New York's massage parlors. After Rosie, a girl that Detective Rizotti visited often at the massage parlor is murdered, Detective O' Mara goes to talk to Rosie' s roommate Gwen, whom O'Mara eventually becomes romantically involved with.
Gwen is asked by O' Mara if she has any clue on who the killer might be and she tells him about a guy that Rosie called Mr. Creepy. The detectives locate Mr. Creepy and see him exit his apartment, they follow and catch him, and demand that he leaves town.
The murders continue to happen. Gwen, who works at the Lust Lounge massage parlor, reveals to O' Mara that she doesn't sleep with her clients but acts more like a shrink. Rizotti later attends church with his wife and he then believes the killer is a "religious nut", using the seven deadly sins as his motive.
Rizotti goes to pick up Detective O' Mara and they go to a book store and look up the seven deadly sins and start to piece everything together. They realize that the killer is multilating the massage parlors workers because their job had a correlation with a deadly sin, Mad Hatter for anger, the Everybody's Envy massage parlor for envy, and the Lust lounge for lust which is where Gwen works.
The cops rush to the Lust lounge in an attempt to save Gwen, only to find her dead. The movie ends with another massage parlor girl being attacked by the killer and she frantically fights back, throwing hot oil on him which kills him when he catches on fire.
Cast
Release
The film was released into the drive-in circuit as a grindhouse film.
Home media
In 2013, Vinegar Syndrome released the film on DVD and Blu-ray. This release featured the original and alternate theatrical trailer, rare outtakes, a special edition lab card and extensive historical liner notes.
Reception
The film has been met with generally positive reviews. In a contemporary review, Michael Hauss of Theatre of Guts gave a positive review stating, "This film is odd. It is so unbalanced and bizarre that it jolts your sensibilities at times. It has scenes that lead nowhere, it has some good acting performances and some downright awful acting at times, badly framed and edited shots, murky camera work, but, the bottom line is it is a dirty, gritty, sleazy, funky, fun romp."
Last Road Reviews said, "For a low budget exploitation film the acting is actually fairly decent at least from the main cast.". The review also praised the film's score, noting that it helped the "scenes with no dialogue and only music.".
Legacy
The film was featured on Flavorwire's article "50 Films That Capture the Dark Side of New York City".