The Candy Snatchers symbolizes the very essence of the perfect kidnapping plot going terribly awry, thanks to developing circumstances those responsible for putting it together weren't prepared for.It was simple, three hooligans decide to kidnap this school girl, hoping to receive diamonds from who they believe is her father. The girl's name is Candy, and the man these goons expect to shake is her stepfather, and he's not the jewelry store owner they think he is. Eddy(Vince Martorano), Candy's stepfather hopes these three kill Candy so that he can get her father's inheritance(..Eddy purposely married Candy's mother for this sole reason). This turns the plans of Jessie(Tiffany Bolling, glammed down in a plain button shirt and pants, and still looking HOT), the mastermind, and her associates, Avery(Ben Piazza)and Alan(Brad David)upside down and inside out. Candy, as played by Susan Sennett(..who is quite critical of the movie and her treatment in it claiming that the terror you see on screen is real), remains bound, blind-folded, and gagged, with little dialogue, for large parts of the movie. Candy is actually buried alive twice, and raped viciously by psychotic Alan, a smug, narcissistic, arrogant scumbag who loves pulling his switchblade knife. Avery, who seems less hostile, attempts to help Candy, and is successful for quite a while, but it was only a matter of time before Alan had an opportunity to sexually molest her. Jessie is pretty much unstable, at times reserved, and most of the time in control, and, in a radical shift regarding movies in the exploitation genre, often dictates the terms of their party. She only loses control when Avery can no longer withstand his sexual urges, rushing her into a wall with no where to escape...what makes this scene so eye-opening is Jessie's eventual allowance of Avery's advances despite a valiant effort to free herself from his grasp. Like a lot of films of this type, there are few characters to sympathize with..The Candy Snatchers is almost entirely made up of despicable people looking out for their own financial success and personal gain. Such as a sub-plot featuring an Autistic boy who doesn't speak, Sean(Christopher Trueblood, the director's son), and what he must endure concerning a loud, contemptible monster of a mother who is always angry at him..his inability to communicate has caused a definite stress and lingering hostility in his parents' marriage, even blaming him for their unsuccessful attempt at a dream promotion. Sean is the only one who might can help Candy, and contributes in a haunting finale(..knowing that Candy is buried under the earth, will he return to help her like he does the first time?)at silencing a nagging voice that has badgered him for quite some time. As these films tend to turn out, our trio are on the cusp of securing the desirables only for a sequence of events to spiral out of control. Very violent conclusion ends in guns going off, with lots of bullet wounds and blood. Candy's fate is rather troubling, considering the absolute hell she goes through for 80 minutes. Director Trueblood maintains a rather over-the-top, warped presentation, with all these loathsome cretins getting their comeuppance, but not after inflicting some damage on others along the way(..like this electrician they attempt to assault, with the guy getting the upper hand until Jessie smacks up side the head multiple times with a block of wood).

Even though the cover art and the tag lines used to promote this film are obviously blatant attempts to cash in on the "Last House on the Left" craze of the time this movie stands on its own 2 feet as a drive-in classic. Until it's recent DVD release, this film was rare and hard to find but well worth the search. It's difficult to categorize this movie because of it's humor it's not quite a horror flick and yet because of it's sex scenes it's not quite a comedy. Then again it's the comedy aspect of it that makes it not quite and exploitation flick either. "The Candy Snatchers" is in a unique class of it's own but whatever you categorize it as one thing is for sure you will be highly entertained when you view this rare little flick! The acting is above average and the storyline evolves quickly...there is little or no wasted film time or "fillers" in this movie. to top it all off there is a classic surprise ending to this one that will have you laughing till you pee! Classic line in "The Candy Snatchers"=any word coming from the mouth of the pint-sized deaf/mute child in the film. Check out this one...you'll be glad you did!

I read about the notorious The Candy Snatchers in a horror magazine here in the UK. The film apparently has been banned here since it's release back in 1973. Even to this day it is banned here in the UK and has never been available on VHS Video, Lazar Disc or DVD. Curious to see The Candy Snatchers I visited Amazon.com where it appears the film is freely available to US customers. So I ordered it and it arrived a few days later.The DVD came with a poster and 3 picture cards. The DVD has a number of extras contained on it. The extra's include a photo gallery, trailer and an interview with the woman who played Candy in the film. There's appears to be a lot effort gone into making the DVD. The film. The picture quality is great. Clear, colourful and no sign of dirt. Hard to believe it was made all those years ago, back in 1973.The film opens with a catchy country and western sounding song with featuring the lyrics money is the route to all happiness. To sum the film up, it's about a gang of 3 whole abduct a girl in order to obtain some diamonds from her father. I cannot see why the film was ever banned in the UK or became notorious. The subject matter, kidnapping of a school girl is distasteful. The film is comical, is filled with comical incidental tunes. Theirs is a small fight scene with the gang of 3 and a telephone engineer, the fight is very comical. There is no tension in the film and it drifts from one boring scene to another. Not a film I would recommend.The film is no where near as distasteful similar films, I spit on your Grave or Last House on the Left, to name two. The film is not grim, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Comparing Candy Snatchers to other bad/poor banned horror films, I'd say the film is little better than Driller killer.

Three down on their luck criminals kidnap little Candy, whom they believe is a diamond heiress, hoping to blackmail her father for a fortune in stones. Their "perfect" plan goes awry when they learn that the diamond dealer is her stepfather, whom doesn't care if Candy dies, as he'll get half of her hefty trust fund. While her kidnappers figure out what to do about this unexpected turn of events, poor Candy is left buried alive in the hills, with nothing but a shallow tube for air. The only witness to all of this is a mute little boy whom lives nearby with his abusive white trash parents. (Given that he audio quality on the subversive cinema DVD is pretty poor and it doesn't have subtitles enabled, having 1 character I didn't have to strain to hear was a bonus.)It's a smarter than average exploitation premise, and the first half of the film is full of the trashy goodness you'd expect from this type of cinema. Candy spends her screen time tied bondage style, writhing about in a Catholic school girl uniform, and the three kidnappers add campy charm to rather stock characters. Sexy Tiffany Bolling particularly stands out as Jessie, the bitchy ringleader, though the male leads are also pretty competent.Ben Piazza is also a bright spot, as Candy's utterly unfeeling stepfather.The revelation of the stepfathers true motivations is where "Snatchers" quickly becomes a mess, as the screen writer seems just as confused as his characters as to what to do next, and the second half of the film is a dull muck of poor attempts at exposing each member of the group's motivations, petty bickering, and a subplot giving us more information about Sean (the mute child, whom bears an uncanny resemblance to "Bob" in Fulci's "House By The Cemetery", and is just as incredibly annoying).After a few desperate attempts at trying to force the failed crime to work, two of the protagonists die in a ridiculous shoot out with Mr. Phillips (whom was awfully agile despite having an oddly bloodless bullet in his vital organs) and the resolving plot twist is left to annoying little Sean, who somehow finds a gun(where it came from, where he learned to be such a crack shot, or how he snuck it past his maniacal mother is never really explained) and exacts revenge for Candy, unwittingly trapping her to a slow death in the process. His sudden proficiency with a six shooter is further exercised when he kills his abusive mother and that ends what was easily the longest 94 minutes of my natural life.For all of the hype surrounding the "twist", I expected something as clever as the first half of the film, rather than something that is only surprising due to the sheer idiocy.3 stars, one for an initially promising premise, one for Piazza and Bolling, one for the "Money is the Root Of All Happiness" theme song (even though I want the 19.99 worth of happiness I spent on this DVD back)