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DEATH BY INVITATION (1971)
Directed by Ken Friedman
Something Weird DVD-R
Reviewed 04.06.06
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it from Something Weird!
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Women's Lib. It's definitely a good
thing. When Miss Lise crashes the
party with her bag of body parts,
the angst can only grow sweeter.
Or stranger. Suddenly, I feel a
need to join the cause.
Before knuckling under mounds of
porno in the 1980s, producer-director
Leonard Kirtman uncorked our minds
with three steps into grody horror.
If Carnival
Of Blood (1970) and Curse
Of The Headless Horseman (1974)
are the contrasting bookends of
the trio (one amazing, one incredibly
shitty), then Death By Invitation
(1971) is the pleasing compromise.
This time around, the addition of
director Ken Friedman can't fool
anyone. Kirtman's Carnival-soaked
paws are sunk deep into this downbeat
clump of artsy/inept witchcraft
recklessness. Come to think of it,
Lise's talons sink in pretty deep
too. Who's ready for dinner?
The colonial-era Lise (TV actress
Shelby Leverington in her first
role) is dragged through a town
square. Some of the locals wear
Herk Harvey spook paint and possibly
Jordache jeans. Lise is bound and
gagged, then (assumingly) burned
at the stake. Jump to the 1970s.
A fat ad executive with not one,
but two lazy eyes pops
veins while his affluent family
get the bump from a reincarnated
Lise. Damned be the ancestors! Between
silent dinner scenes and cops talking
about doped-up delinquents, Ms.
Lise stares into the camera and
delivers two lengthy monologues
about ancient feminist cannibal
orgies ("Greased and oiled
bodies...eating...naked!").
She kills by fingernails, suffers
from flashbacks, and may or may
not want to have sex. Revenge can
be sweet, but only if you're single.
Death By Invitation may
be an incoherent mess, but nobody
involved ever caught on. That's
why it works. The film thrives on
dedicated nonsense, but like Satan's
Black Wedding, there's
a whole lot to love: Lise looks
like a model, but everyone else
is a freak. Music cues jump from
air organ simplicity to sappy library
cues to pounding, epileptic freak-outs
in a matter of seconds. The shots
are atypical, ambiguous, and sometimes
terrible. Most everyone answers
questions with other questions.
The film introduces bits of treading
that would dog Curse Of The
Headless Horseman, but even
the slowest (and most humorous)
scenes are touched with a creepy,
early 70s magnetism. It's ingrained
from the get-go. Even the bloodied
little kid says so.
Domesticate the men and...do something
with the women...? Sure, why not!
Raise your fists and join the fight.
Lise is counting on us.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
This print is struck from the only
color 35 mm negative in existence,
but don't be worried. Every green
emulsion line, every buzzing camera
noise, and every odd jump cut is
a glowing addition to Leonard Kirtman's
Special Vision. The print is slightly
rough, but colors are thick with
contrast and 1970s purity. I loved
it. No compression artifacting was
evident during the feature.
EXTRAS
All of Something Weird's DVD-Rs
put out for nearly two straight
hours, stopping only when capacity
calls. Naturally, the surprises
are always a treat. Highlights among
the random goodies are trailers
for Carnival Of Blood/Curse
Of The Headless Horseman, Terror
At Orgy Castle, The Curious
Dr. Hump, and four TV spots
for The Deadly Organ aka
Feast Of Flesh. A fifteen
minute LSD freakbeat party scene
tucks us in before bed, along with
a filthy little trailer for Evil
Come, Evil Go.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Death By Invitation is
dark, disorderly, and mostly baffled,
but it delivers to those who are
patient. If you enjoyed Carnival
Of Blood and appreciate Nick
Millard's films, this one's giving
you the eye. |
Lise'd at the stake
Stallone would lose
Those things can cut diamonds
Goody guts
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