"MOTOR PSYCHO" (1965) is not your typical Russ Meyer flick. Granted if you are a Meyer fan, you'll probably like this film ~ but you won't love it. The sparse plot concerns 3 bikers who rape a young woman and the husband who goes out for revenge. That's it for plot but the film looks good and is well edited. But the main problem is, if your a Russ Meyer lover, there just isn't enough boobies!!! Now Meyer's next film "Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!" put him on the map and if you pair the two together for your own at home double bill (MOTOR PSYCHO and FASTER PUSSYCAT) you will definitely have a good time! But "Motor Psycho" on its own is just typical 60s drive-in fodder~except that it made far better than more 60s drive-in features. Running in at just around 75 minutes you never get bored ~ you just keep waiting for things that just don't happen. If your a fan, see it! If not, you probably won't care for it! I love Russ Meyer films (and I'm gay) so your not getting a review from someone who likes films full of breasts! But in a Russ Meyer film, it's something you come expecting to see. If you've never seen a Russ Meyer film see "Faster Pussycat! KILL! KILL!." Now that is a fun night at the movies! INDEED!

This is a lousy, B/W movie with actors and actresses that do not deserve to be called as such. Really a sub-product of something called "cinema". You do not know what to do: to cry or to laugh watching these characters posing in front of the camera in a plot that takes them to nowhere, and written to allow these three bad guys to go places killing people for no reason at all and raping women. Nobody has a convincing role in the film. There are evident mistakes in continuity, such as car tires that repair themselves, so to speak. To add more disappointment, it seems that the copy I bought had been edited. Do not waste your time and money watching it.

In some ways 'Motor Psycho' is almost like Russ Meyer's dummy run for his trash classic 'Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!', featuring three men on a rampage instead of three women, but this is a much darker and more serious movie than we generally expect from him. There is the wonderful Haji and a few buxom women on screen, but no outrageous sexual humour or camp touches. 'Motor Psycho' plays it fairly straight. The budget is non-existent, but the acting is pretty good, and despite Brahmin and pals not strictly being bikers you can see 'The Wild Angels' on the horizon, and maybe even 'The Last House On The Left'. Stephen Oliver plays disturbed Vietnam vet Brahmin who terrorizes several women in a desert community. Alex Rocco ('The Godfather', 'The Stunt Man') plays the local vet Cory Maddox, and after his wife Gail (Holle K. Winters) is raped and beaten by Brahmin and his sidekicks he vows revenge. While tracking the thugs down he meets Ruby Bonner (Haji) whose husband was recently murdered by them and they help each other when they get stranded in the desert. 'Motor Psycho' is a very gritty movie for the time, and surprisingly effective. A very good b-grade movie that deserves some more attention. Check it out.

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.