Three motorcyclists by the names of "Brahmin" (Steve Oliver), "Dante" (Joseph Cellini) and "Slick" (Timothy Scott) are riding through the California desert when they come upon an attractive woman sunbathing in her bikini. When her husband comes to her defense they beat him up and then rape the woman before continuing on their way. They then come upon a woman by the name of "Gail Maddox" (Holle K. Winters) and her husband "Cory Maddox" (Alex Rocco) who proceed to escape. Undaunted Brahmin leads his two companions to Cory and Gail's house and then rape her while he is away. Swearing revenge he decides to follow them. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good film all things considered. I especially liked the performance of Haji (aka Barbarella Catton) as "Ruby Bonner" who seemed to dominate every scene she was in. On the flip side, however, I didn't really care for the rather bizarre ending that much. In any case, I enjoyed this movie and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Originally planning to watch director Russ Meyer's Faster Pussy Cat Kill! Kill!,I was surprised to find out,that despite Pussy Cat being the next film in line in a Meyer boxset that I had picked up,Meyer had actually made Motor Psycho as a follow up to his great Mudhoney,which led to me getting prepared to find out how psychotic Meyer's motorist really are.The plot:Heading for a weekend of gambling,a biker gang quickly decide to change plans,when they notice a beautiful girl cross a road,who looks a lot more fun than any gambling table will ever be.Surrounding the girl on their bikes,the gangs fun is interrupted,when the woman's (Gail Maddox) husband Cory Maddox puts a stop to the gangs harassment,by pushing the gang leader off his biker,and taking Gail safely back to their house.The next day:Secretly following the Maddox's journey home,the gang wait for Cory to head off to work,so that they can get their revenge on him spoiling their fun.Kicking the door down and entering the house,the gang ignore Gail's pleas for them to leave,and instead push her to the ground,so that they can rape and beat her up.Returning home from his work at a veterinary,Cory is horrified to find Gail brutally beaten.Talking to the local sheriff about the ruthless biker gang, (who Cory correctly suspects of raping and almost killing his wife) whilst Gail is being taken to the hospital,Cory is astonished to be told by the sheriff that he cant do anything at all about the gang problem.Angered over the sheriff's decision to sit on the fence,Cory decides that the only way to clear the town of this biker gang,is for him to take their motors out one by one.View on the film:Backed by a high kicking Surf Rock score by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter,co-writer/ (along with Hal Hooper,James Griffith,W.E. Sprague) co-producer/ (with his wife,Eve) co-editor/ (along with Charles G.Schelling) cinematography and director Russ Meyer mixes the stylish,dark shades-wearing.rough'n tumble world of the bikers with a surprisingly strong Western aspect,thanks to Meyer setting Cory's (played by a chiselled Alex Rocco) drive for revenge against a gritty,deserted desert,which along with the wonderfully "eyeless" bikers help to create a strong Western atmosphere,as Cory shows the bikers that he is no longer going to let the town to be ruled by outlaws.Whilst the screenplay does seem to offer the chance for an exciting,psychotic ride,I was a bit disappointed to find that after the smooth Film Noir style opening,the writers really seemed to struggle in keeping the speed up before they hit an exciting Western open road,with Cory's search for the gang lacking any sense of trail-blazing action,which leads to the motor psycho's only being half as psychotic as they should have been.

"Mad Max" being one of my absolutely favourite insane "on-wheels" flicks, this one is of course inferior (the two bad guys out of the trio are not bad enough, the drama is not as high-power as it gets in "Mad Max", the good guy in this one is quite unimpressive if compared to "Goose" or "Max", etc.). But the music is catchy, the hierarchy in the wicked trio is shown well enough, and the confrontations are edgy and realistic. Realistic till the final epic battle: still cannot understand where this good man got the dynamite from. It really looked ridiculous to me: all of a sudden there was a piece of TNT in the hands of our snake-bitten hero and BOOM! Thus he saved the day. Besides, we don't see the main villain being smashed to atoms by the explosion. And some suspicion starts to gather in our minds: is he really dead? In "Mad Max" there was no such incompleteness.With more polish this movie could have been of "Mad Max" calibre.A 7 out of 10 is a good mark. Thanks for attention.

MOTORPSYCHO was made in 1965, the same year FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL was made. MOTORPSYCHO was made first and it's basically the male version of FASTER PUSSYCAT: three bad guys roaming the desert and looking for kicks. There are several plot points that are even identical between the two movies. But today, MOTORPSYCHO has been totally eclipsed by FASTER PUSSYCAT or BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. It's ironic because MOTORPSYCHO was a bigger hit than FASTER PUSSYCAT, the latter having flopped on its initial release. FASTER PUSSYCAT is now a bona fine cult hit while MOTORPSYCHO toils in near obscurity. And it's unfortunate because it's one of the grittiest Film Noir I've ever seen. It's a true pulp novel come to life. It's a combo of Orson Welles' A TOUCH OF EVIL and a countless Film Noir from the 1940s. But unlike TOUCH OF EVIL or the older Film Noir films, MOTORPSYCHO doesn't shy away from the violence or the "thrilling" aspects of the story.Some might say the subject matter of rape is too serious to be used in a so-called exploitation film but Meyer handles it pretty well. It's still unpleasant at times (when the guys forces the wife to dance with them) butthe film never crosses the line. In fact, MOTORPSYCHO is a rare breed of movie: it depicts the actual disturbing subject and even exploits it (close-up of women's bodies) but doesn't go overboard with it as it never stray away from its story. The film keeps interest with its characters and situations until the very end. It's never overshadowed by its sensationalistic aspects. This is because some of the acting is pretty good and the stunning use of B&W photography (excellent composition from Russ Meyer himself) and the overall grittiness of the story. It's a pretty darn good feat for an exploitation film.The acting from everyone is surprisingly good. Alex Rocco is excellent and believable. The bad guys are never over-the-top. The woman who played Rocco' wife, the beautiful Holle K Winters, is also excellent and believable. Her scenes when she's harassed by the three men feel authentic and are difficult to watch. Strangely enough, this was Holle's only movie. And then there's Haji. Haji is THE ultimate Femme Fatale ever put on screen. You can't help being attracted to her and know she's nothing but trouble. She's like a babe on the cover of a pulp novel come to life.I prefer MOTORPSYCHO over FASTER PUSSYCAT, which is also a remarkably well made actioner but it's more campy and at times too over-the-top to be taken seriously, or BTVOTD, which is just plain stupid. MOTORPSYCHO has just the right amount of violence, grittiness and believability to make it feel like a great if overlooked Film Noir.