Open Season (1974)

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Let me start by thanking my buddy John for insisting on dragging me to this utter trash of a movie in 1974. The (numerous) unpleasant scenes are still seared into my memory.Never before-or since-has an assemblage of unsavory characters and cruelty to fellow human beings'graced'the big screen. (Okay, I should give honorable mention to 'Goodfellas', but that's for another One- Star review I'll submit later.) Now here we are in 2017 and, as we all know,the world is a much more peaceful and brighter place than the one portrayed in this putrid 1974 film. Ya right. Is society shaped-or desensitized- by violence in films and on television? Who's to say? I used to laugh when our teachers and preachers suggested that rock music was "destroying the youth of today". But I will say I'm disturbed by the number of people who give this film a positive review as a must-see 'message'movie. There is no message here but mean-spirited cruelty and violence.

Three Vietnam war buddies have been given a taste for violence and make a game of torture,rape and hunting humans.They abduct a couple and imprison them in the lodge.After sexual degradation of the woman both victims are set free and hunted down.A father of one of their victims decides to take revenge."Open Season" is a taut and disturbing survival thriller with enough nastiness to satisfy fans of early 70's exploitation cinema.The screenplay was adapted by author David D. Osborn from his own novel of the same name.The film is exciting,brutal and suspenseful.The characters are well-developed and the scenes of violence are pretty hard hitting.Why this cult classic is not on DVD is beyond me.The same can be said about criminally underrated "Wolf Lake".8 out of 10.

I saw this strange film on late night cable way back in 1983 and found it oddly appealing.Obviously not filmed in the USA with dubbed dialog, weird atmosphere and the eventual appearance of William Holden as an added bonus. After searching on the internet recently I found an uncut version VHS tape for sale.* SPOILER *William Holdens character is arrested at the end which didn't occur in the edited version. The stark direction,unconventional editing techniques and haunting music make this one a seldom seen gem. I usually don't indulge in films of this type( like the repulsive, house by the lake ) but open season has enoughgoing for it to elevate it above other films of this genre. For Fonda/ Holden fans this film is highly recommended,others beware!

This film is a revelation in terms of editing technique, the use of stills right in the middle of the action (this is 1974, a long time pre-John Woo)and several passages of pretty associative editing. The photography is stunning with spectacularly framed images. There is a very thought-out way of using sound, with a change of perspective (from clos up to a wide shot and vice versa) that is counteracted by the sound - a lot of close-up conversation takes place on wide shots. and finally, because some folks think this is boring - the way the topic of the movie - the use of humans as living targets - is introduced is pretty compelling - the audience is not given a clue, or a well-worded plan - we are kept just as informed as the victims, and when seeing the movie for the first time, stuff like putting the chain on the woman in the kitchen really comes as an awful surprise - yet Fonda delivers this as if it was routine as usual (which it obviously is for his character) - thrilling stuff. They did a lot of experimenting with editing and imaging in the 70s which should not be lost. this movie should be put on dvd!