Forlorn and unstable young lass Lisa (a strong and haunting portrayal by Leslie Lee) lives with her crippled grandfather in a remote farmhouse. Lisa fights back against three depraved and dangerous criminal fugitives who seek refuge in her home.Writer/director Frederick R. Friedel does a masterful job of crafting a potently odd, dark, and downbeat brooding atmosphere (Lisa's dismal and lonely plight in which she's meekly resigned to taking care of her helpless invalid grandpa really sticks in the memory), relates the gripping story at a hypnotically deliberate pace, wisely utilizes a spare no-frills style that in turn provides a compelling sense of gritty verisimilitude, and astutely pegs a pervasive tone of seething anguish and despair which gives this picture an extra heart-wrenching poignancy. The colorful trio of despicable villains rates as another significant asset: Jack Canon as ruthless ringleader Steele, Ray Green as paunchy, slimy, cigar-smoking creep Lomax, and Friedel as passive wimp Billy. The startling moments of ferocious violence pack a savage kick. Kudos are also in order for Austin McKinney's vibrant hand-held cinematography and the peculiar percussive score by John Willhelm and George Newman Shaw. Recommended viewing for fans of idiosyncratic on-the-beaten-path exploitation fare.

Axe is yet another very low budget exploitation flick that would be very obscure today was it not for the fact that it gained lasting notoriety as one of the infamous video nasties. These were of course films deemed criminally obscene by the British authorities back in the early 80's as a consequence of the unregulated home video boom. Furthermore, Axe was one of the 39 titles that remained on the list to the very end and so is regarded by purists as one of the 'true' video nasties. Having just seen it, it doesn't really warrant such a label as, while it has its moments, it's hardly all that shocking even compared with many other similar films from the time. It does appear to have taken a lot of influence from another more notorious video nasty, namely Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left (1972). The story-line has some pretty obvious similarities. Three criminals go on the run after killing two men and wind up at a remote house where an unstable young woman called Lisa lives with her paralyzed grandfather. They subsequently terrorise these people but the gangsters are in for a shock when Lisa enacts vicious revenge on them.I got the feeling when watching this one that its fashions implied that it might have been made in the early 70's as opposed to the specified release year of 1977. If this is so, it hardly seems so unlikely as this is an ultra-low budget affair with quite a number of deficiencies about it due to the inexperience of the film-makers and the obvious limitations of the production. It's exactly the kind of movie that could conceivably have sat on a shelf for a while before a distributer picked it up. Whatever the case, it seems to have been released as a film that would make up only part of the bill at the American drive-in circuit. It only clocks in at just over an hour and even the credit sequence is very elongated to extend the run-time (so protracted that I even picked up on the very minor trivia fact that the make-up artist was Worth Keeter the future director of the Pamlea Anderson soft-core classic Snapdragon (1993)). Despite the minimal run-time there is a pretty obvious lack of material and the film has many scenes that seem to just be padding. Little is explained in the film in terms of character motivations or background, things just happen. Aside from the lacking story, it's not in all honesty a very well-directed or edited film either.Yet despite all this, it does have something. The very low-key and minimalist approach does achieve a certain strange atmosphere and it's also shot reasonably well. The lack of any background or explanations does also inadvertently give the whole endeavour a somewhat enigmatic feel, which kind of works in its favour at least to a certain extent. I suppose it mostly falls under the rape/revenge sub-genre of film, which was quite popular at the time. It isn't really a very graphic example of this type of film though. Although I did find think the nastiest scene was the one where two of the bullies terrorise a nice cashier girl in a convenience store. They stop short of either killing or assaulting her but they humiliate her nevertheless. It was a scene I found very unpleasant to tell you the truth. The subsequent, more typical rape/revenge material was done in ways that was less disturbing oddly enough. Overall, while it's undeniable that this is a film with pacing problems, it does have a lo-fi ambiance that ensures that it's worth a watch, especially if you like 70's exploitation.

Strange, even as short 'Axe' was (running time barely just past an hour) the movie seemed so long. Some scenes were drawn so far out and even the opening and closing credits were all but on "pause." Then, as if the director/actor realized this, he jumps some scenes hilariously from one character/object to another at light speed. And speaking of jerking cameras, to prove there was little to zero budget, every time an action or horror scene was to happen, the camera would blink away. Case in point, one of the most hilarious scenes was a man jumping out of a window 10 or so stories (get this, to avoid death) and you not only can't see him jumping, you simply hear glass and a character looking behind drawn shades. Clearly, this was just another typical 70s horror, no budget revenge/bad guys getting what they deserve flick, a la 'Last House on the Left.' The title escapes me, because the heroine uses an axe (again off screen) but also uses many other devices. I suppose it was just to draw the same 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' audience. Three men who kill another man while watching, I guess, was his partner plunge to his death, try and secure safety in a farm house occupied by a paralyzed grandfather and his granddaughter. They apparently pose a deep threat to the twosome, yet no attempts at escape entail. When one tries to rape her, she goes savage and offs him. It doesn't stop there. Blah, blah, nothing new, even back then. Slightly creepy in closing, but again, this hour-long movie seems like three hours. Not even recommended for revenge/torture/rape victim rights group movie lovers.

A gang of three psychopaths on the run end up in a small farmhouse owned by Lisa (Leslie Lee) and her Grandfather (Douglas Powers). Grandpa is paralyzed, but Lisa's not-and she's not exactly mentally stable either.Producer Harry Novak ("The Child", "Rituals", "Hitch-Hike To Hell" and several soft core movies) and Writer/Director Fredrick ("Date With a Kidnapper")R. Friedel present "Axe", a surprisingly good no budget Grindhouse flick. While the low budget is a bit too apparent at times (a few performances are uneven, the blood is incredibly fake), this movie actually works thanks to it's low budget, which adds a sense of realism to the proceedings. Leslie Lee is quite effective as Lisa, exuding a sense of silent, feminine menace with her simple performance. Also, the score by George Newman Shaw and John Willhelm is an effective blend of organ, piano, percussion, and bongos. It's definitely 70's but it's still great."Axe" went through several different titles, including "California Axe Massacre", which is interesting considering that the movie owes more to "Last House on the Left" than "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." It also found itself on Britain's "Video Nasties" list, though its really not very graphic. What it is though, is a nice little Exploitation movie that, while not really a classic, deserves more attention.