I can't help but think this film was influenced greatly by the famous Kitty Genovese murder that occurred only a few years earlier where a lady was stabbed to death in Queens, New York while neighbors listened to her scream but didn't want to get involved enough to even call the police. While nothing quite that horrific happens here it is a similar idea of a whole trainload of people that never seem to be able to come together to stop a couple of knife-brandishing drunken hooligans terrorizing them and prefer to mind their own business even though they easily could do something. While this movie might be more relatable to city dwellers where one is conditioned to not get involved I think anyone can understand the self-preservation tendency overwhelming the desire for justice. This is a very thought-provoking film that's probably too good to be lumped in with the usual dreck I post on this blog but I think it deserves any attention it can get and sadly it's little talked-about. It's also quite a frustrating watch as you want someone to show a little backbone and put an end to the proceedings long before that happens. I'm not sure I would want to sit through this one again but I'm glad I got to experience it.
The cast here is pretty remarkable including a young Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Donna Mils and even Ed McMahon but the highlight for me is Tony Musante(who is best known to me as the main guy from Argento's BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) as our main thug who kinda reminds me of David Hess but not quite as sadistic and perverted.
No comments:
Post a Comment