The Perfect Killer (1977)
Betrayed by his girl and best friend, thief Harry Chapman takes the fall for a racetrack robbery. While in prison, he is offered a chance to participate in an escape plan. What he doesn't know is that once he is on the outside, the group responsible for the prison break has Harry in their debt and they use him as a hit-man. Naturally, he grows tired of the job and splits because he is hellbent on getting revenge on the former partners. So the mob puts young hit-man Luc on Harry's trail.
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Pretty Good
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Lee van Cleef plays professional assassin Harry Chapman (also known as The Perfect Killer or The Satanic Mechanic) in this entertaining (if low-rent) Spanish-Italian co-production. Chapman gets sprung from jail early in order to fulfill an important contract, but naturally things don't go quite as planned and he finds himself the stalkee, not the stalker. Co-star John Ireland adds a modicum of Hollywood cachet to the film but doesn't have a great deal to do. If, however, your idea of a good action film involves knife fights between macho thugs and transvestites, you'll be in seventh heaven here. Star Classics VHS features letter-boxed credits but is otherwise lazily panned and scanned. On the plus side, however, Stelvio Cipriani's score is a funky delight!
Betrayed by his girl and best friend, thief Harry Chapman (Lee Van Cleef) takes the fall for a racetrack robbery. While in prison, he is offered a chance to participate in an escape plan. What he doesn't know is that once he is on the outside, the group responsible for the prison break has Harry in their debt and they use him as a hit-man. Naturally, he grows tired of the job and splits because he is hellbent on getting revenge on the former partners. So the mob puts young hit-man Luc (Robert Widmark) on Harry's trail. It is kind of surprising that Van Cleef didn't do more Italian crime flicks in the 70s. To my knowledge, he only did this, MEAN FRANK AND CRAZY TONY (aka ESCAPE FROM DEATH ROW), and THE SQUEEZE. As it stands, this one is just kinda average. It doesn't really pick up until the last third. However, there are some great stand alone scenes like an attack by razor-wielding cross dressers (shades of the previous year's STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM) and the final beach showdown. The craziest thing is how every woman seems to find Van Cleef - sporting a really bad rug - to be hot. Tita Barker (aka Carmen Cervera) is the love interest and John Ireland is Harry's confidant. Director Mario Siciliano previously worked with Widmark (aka Alberto Dell'Acqua) on some SARTANA westerns and also did the odd horror flick EVIL EYE (1975).
My sincerest condolences to anyone who has had the misfortune of watching this film. This is hands down one of the worst films to ever make it to video stores. I only hope you or your loved ones did not make the mistake of watching this movie alone -- it could easily be suicide. However, if you and your friends have a sadistic passion for seeing horrible movies, this should be at the top of your to do list. My favorite scenes include stock footage of a plane taking off (when in fact the plane should be landing), using a caged bird as a projectile, throwing a woman by her breast, and don't even get me started on the ending... Just amazingly awful. Plus, did I mention there are no mechanics or "satanics" in this whole film? Hahaha.
You may see this film under the title "Satanic Mechanic" I suggest to anyone who likes great bad films to view this little gem. The montage is absolutely insane. Fantastic dialogue. Porkchop sideburns. This film has it all.