Crosstrap (1962)
6/10
Very Cheap & Very Nasty
3 October 2019
Anyone familiar with the later work of director Robert Hartford-Davis will not be unduly surprised at the nihilism and sleaziness of his debut feature, with a noisy jazz score by Steve Race.

An early home invasion film following in the footsteps of 'The Petrified Forest', 'The Desperate Hours' and 'Private Property; complete with the creepy sexual element the latter had recently introduced to the genre. Despite the heroine remarking upon the prettiness of the countryside surrounding the holiday home upon which two rival criminal gangs converge, the bleakness of the surrounding landscape actually heightens the general grimness of the piece.

The creaky production values (not helped by the fuzziness of what may be the only surviving print) at first makes it resemble a old TV play, but it's air of ill-contained violence (and lust) - not to mention the abandon with which guns get waved about - would at the time have emphatically have made it drive-in fodder had they then had drive-ins in Britain...
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed