Exposé (also released as House on Straw Hill to link it to Straw Dogs and Trauma)is a 1975 (released March 1976 by Target International Pictures) British horror/thriller starring Udo Kier, Linda Hayden and 1970s sex symbol Fiona Richmond. It sparked controversy due to graphic scenes of sex and violence and was heavily censored by the BBFC. In the 1980′s it featured on the DPP’s list of original banned ‘video nasties’. It was re-released in the UK in 2006, with around thirty cuts.
A relatively rare example of a film where both the original and alternative titles are equally strong, Exposé is the only British film to have been banned and branded a video nasty; the commonly mistaken Xtro never actually made the list. Udo Kier (Blood For Dracula/Flesh For Frankenstein etc) plays Paul Martin, a tortured novelist struggling with that ‘difficult’ second novel.
He escapes to the country and hires a secretary, Linda Hindstatt (Linda Hayden from The Blood on Satan’s Claw) to do his typing for him (it was 1975). Linda makes herself useful around the house, in the rare moments she isn’t masturbating and then on her first excursion out of the house (to masturbate) is raped by local youths played by Karl Howman from British sit-com Brush Strokes and legendary stuntman, Vic Armstrong. Having shot them, the tension is ramped up even more when Martin’s girlfriend, Suzanne, played by the famous British muckpot, Fiona Richmond, arrives and the sex and violence go into overdrive.
Anything with Udo Kier is worth a watch, however bad, and it’s a great shame he appears here dubbed within an inch of his life; he is, however, as enigmatic as ever. Linda Hayden looks stunning, though has since admitted she regrets making the film – it’s certainly ‘full-on’ in terms of the sex and violence but it’s difficult to imagine this was added at the editing stage, appearing, as she does, throughout.
Considering the vast amounts of sex and nudity, the story is still extremely engrossing, part Straw Dogs, part High Tension but still with a dash of black humour; the youths are named Smedley and Aston (the producer was Brian Smedley-Aston) and Howman sports a ‘I am a Vampyre’ T-shirt, a playful nod to Smedley-Aston’s Vampyres, Despite the credits ‘introducing’ Richmond, her acting masterclass did not lead to breakout mainstream fare but her sex scenes are plentiful, a treat if you can ignore her fluorescent orangeness. Naturally, the role did her top-shelf career no harm at all.
Cuts were required to the British version to achieve an ‘X’ rating, both the rape of Linda and the bloody demise of Suzanne proving too much for the censors. The book Martin dictates to his secretary ranks alongside Stephen King’s book within a book in Misery as one of the worst ever devised and perhaps everyone can take some solace that it is interrupted by sex and mayhem. The oddly heavy, oppressive atmosphere (possibly simply a by-product of Kier staring and sweating so much) and the lingering shots and pacing add to the tension. The film has had many attempted releases aborted over the years and this is a shame, it certainly, at least, demands a sprucing up. Bafflingly, it was remade by Martin Kemp in 2010 as Stalker and stars… Linda Hayden, clearly hating it so much, she tried twice, just to make sure.
Daz Lawrence and David Flint
The film elements for this sleazy 70s gem were long thought lost or destroyed but in 2013 the original camera negative was unearthed in a barn in rural England and painstakingly restored for its first official uncut release anywhere in the world by Severin Films on 11th June 2013. Director commentary and cast and crew interviews round out the package.
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