The Candy Snatchers (1973)

Really Surprised!

Great Film overall

As Good As It Gets

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Of course this by no means is a great movie but within its genre it still works out as something great and enjoyable to watch! Actually, when you start over-analyzing it, it's a poorly made movie but with this sort of movies you shouldn't read too much into stuff like that. They are made for entertainment and simple entertainment does this movie provide! It actually is one of the better exploitation movies out there to watch, which already makes this a must-see for the fans of the genre.I say it's an exploitation flick but for normal exploitation movie standards, this movie is quite tame. There is a minimal amount of violence and there is some nudity and rape but nothing too graphic or hard to watch. It's more an exploitation flick with the setup of its story and characters and just overall atmosphere and tone of the movie.It's hard to say why this movie works out so well really, since the story really isn't anything special or original and the movie can be quite random at times. I guess it simply works out as a good movie because it has a good flow to it and plenty of variety. It can be a slow movie at times but it never becomes a boring one. Maybe it also helps that the movie is being so simplistic with its story. It makes the movie pleasant to follow.With these sort of movies it very rarely matters that they are cheap looking ones, with bad picture and sound quality and some bad actors in it. All of this only adds to the charm and appeal of these sort of movies. And this movie is very appealing and easy to like as well. If you simply want some good, fast, simple entertainment, exploitation flicks often are the ones to go to and this movie is perfect for that as well!Strangely enough I also liked the fact that this movie featured no music in it. I don't know, it sort of made some of the sequences and moments in this movie stand out and made things ominous and more direct, like straight into your face, without any needless distractions to them.A really enjoyable movie within its sort!7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

What an oddball mixture we have here. The plot concerns 3 inept but vicious thugs including a very attractive blonde who kidnap a teenage schoolgirl in order collect a half a million bucks from her father as with all of these schemes things just don't go to plan, stupidity and mayhem follow. This movie has a look and feel of a 70s made for TV thriller punctured with scenes of violence and comic relief straight from the grind house " how to make a movie guidebook " The characters are all as amoral as you can get with the exception of Candy and a little mute boy!!! The pace of the movie moves a little too slow in parts particularly in the middle section but picks momentum big time during the almost " jaw dropping " conclusion. In fact the conclusion is what has set this movie apart ( I think ) from many other similar but easily forgettable movies from the period. It shows several shocking, intelligent and believable plot twists, with the last being the most shocking of all. This movie isn't as visceral as Last House on the Left or as controversial as Fight for Your Life but has more than a good deal of intelligence and directorial talent than most of the 70s offerings, So check it out. And with the recent Subversive DVD release of this not quite a classic but... It is no more one of those " lost gems "

As she walks home from school, Candy (Susan Sennett) is kidnapped by three small-time criminals looking to make the big-time. Their plan is to hold Candy for a fortune in diamonds from the store her father manages. But when Candy's father doesn't make it to the drop-off point, things go from bad to worse for Candy.Going into The Candy Snatchers, I wasn't expecting such a competently made, entertaining film. It's a masterpiece of 70s sleaze and exploitation. Candy's ordeal is brutal and, at times, difficult to watch. The scenes of Candy being buried alive with only a one-inch pipe for air are so real that you can't help but feel for the bound and gagged Susan Sennett. The script is surprisingly intelligent and presents some nice twists involving Candy's father (played to perfection by Ben Piazza) and his reluctance to meet the ransom demands. The script also goes out of the way to flesh-out the three would be kidnappers and gives us an insight into what makes them tick. Finally, I love the ambiguous ending as to Candy's fate. It gives you something to think about long after the movie has ended. The Candy Snatchers is very nicely done.There's also a subplot involving a very young mute boy and his abusive parents. As bad as I felt for Candy and her predicament, I felt equally bad for little Sean. The events in the film's finale involving the little boy are amazing in their simple, but violent nature. Sean was played by the director's son, Christophe. I don't know when I've seen a better, more believable performance from someone so young. If you're a fan of 70s drive-in fare, you must seek out The Candy Snatchers.

THE CANDY SNATCHERS (3 outta 5 stars) Very nasty, ugly movie about a trio of luckless kidnappers who abduct a teenage girl and bury her alive. They call up her stepfather, a diamond merchant, and ask for a fortune in diamonds as ransom. Well, wouldn't you know it... the stepfather has been looking for a way to get rid of the bratty young teen anyway as he stands to make a lot of cash after her untimely demise. A young mute boy happens to see where the kidnappers bury the girl but, being mute, he can't make her whereabouts known to the police and his shrieking shrew of a mother won't listen to him anyway. The kidnappers get more and more desperate and the violence and depravity become more and more extreme... ending the movie in one of the most nihilistic and gutwrenching finales ever seen on film. Anyone who thought movies like "Natural Born Killers" or "The Devil's Rejects" were rough-going... well, you ain't seen nothing' yet.