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Per-Axel Arosenius, Heinz Hopf, Despina Tomazani, Christina Lindberg

After being raped as a child by a greasy derelict, Madeleine (Christina Lindberg) is left mute. Fifteen years later, she has grown into a beautiful, but very traumatized young woman. After missing her... read more read more... bus one day, Madeleine is picked up by a smooth-talking man named Tony Dill (Heinz Hopf), who hooks her on heroin and forces her into prostitution, slicing one of her eyeballs out with a scalpel in graphic detail (Lindberg claims director Bo A. Vibenius used a real corpse) when she revolts. When Madeleine's parents commit suicide, she snaps, and begins training in karate, stunt driving, and shooting, biding her time for a violent revenge. That's when the shocks really begin, particularly in the original version, which is 15 minutes longer than the truncated print released by American International. Lindberg suffered similar travails in Gustav Wiklund's smarmy (but less explicit) Exponerad three years earlier. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Flixster Users

66% liked it

4,641 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

5 critics

R, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Bo Arne Vibenius, Bo A. Vibenius

Release Date: June 5, 1974

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DVD Release Date: September 28, 2004

Stats: 348 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (348)


  • September 22, 2010
    Essentially everything that I Spit on Your Grave wishes it could be. This takes revenge to the next level with some truly flawless slow-motion death scenes. It's really nutty in a good way, sort of a cautionary tale for young women. Don't ever take a ride froma stanger because he... read more'll take you home and drug you for three days and get you addicted to heroin. Then he'll enslave you into prostitution and cut your eye out if you misbehave. It's a really experimental film, a lot of drawn out shots and long shots, but that's one of the things that makes it so great.
  • October 16, 2007
    Lots of unforgivable ridiculousness with the only highlights being Christina Lindberg and her lady garden you could undoubtedly hide a VCR in. It starts off pretty upsetting with childhood rape and I'm guessing the filmmakers planned on hitting the gas until they crashed through ... read morethe wall but instead took the scenic way and ran out of momentum. The slo-mo action is nothing short of painful and the sleaze factor doesn't justify the viewing. Thriller could've been a whole lot better if it weren't for the unexplained randomness (i.e. where the hell did that horse come from?) and complete and total lapses in logic. I understand that I was supposed to abandon the regular thought processes I normally run with here, but caaaahm ahhhhn!
  • October 16, 2007
    Alot of really bad slow-mo...somehow this was made by Ingmar Bergman's assistant director
  • September 20, 2007
    Thriller: A Cruel Picture also known as They Call Her One Eye ( the title I prefer)is among the most infamous films in exploitation cinema. It was eclipsed by I Spit On Your Grave which was made a few years later. I can honestly say it fully deserves its reputation as a truly dep... read moreraved film. Its also a rather original film that remains unique even today. The art-house approach to grindhouse material isn't always successful, I've seen some that have been a little too pretentious, This is one of those b-films where the filmmakers obviously wanted to create something quality as opposed to just collect a rent payment and yet not slide into the pretentious category

    Bo Arne Vibenius's direction, as mentioned earlier, makes a unique aesthetic. The material is great exploitation film fodder, some of the grittiest and sleaziest stuff ever caught on camera. However, he manages to make a sympathetic protagonist out of the main female character who always remains easy to root for even when he revenge becomes just as sadistic as her previous tormentor's actions. There are some flaws to the film, mainly the overuse of slow motion when the violence occurs. While it can sometimes lend an eerie, almost poetic quality to the film (such as the scene with the cops in the warehouse), it detracts the sudden impact the material could potentially have. The film would've moved at a better pace without this unnecessary technique. Also, the hardcore porn inserts are often awkward and really interrupt the flow. I really wonder what Vibenius was trying to achieve by inserting these sequences.

    However, whenever Vibenius occasionally fumbles, the lead performance of Christina Lindberg is always fantastic. She never speaks during the entire film but her performance has the subtlety many other aspects of the production lack. Shes also an incredibly beautiful women capable of projecting both innocence and sex appeal. Its no wonder she has a sizable cult following - shes an extremely talented performer. "Thriller: A Cruel Picture" is a completely successful exploitation cult film, despite the flaws I mentioned it works really well and is a film worth checking out if your a fan of grindhouse cinema.
  • September 24, 2006
    If you like exploitation fare, this one is a must see. Yes, that's a real eyeball.
  • March 2, 2008
    Gritty 70's exploitation revenge movie. Very culty and not for everyones tastes.
  • May 30, 2012
    As perfect as films come, for the sexploitation junkie and fan of the disturbing and extraordinary. Even if distasteful to some, there is a feeling of balance in this film where all of the subjects it criss crosses are accounted for in order to deliver the goods. The film makes i... read moret easy for the viewer to sympathize with the main character given her circumstances and it's what enables fascination with the character evolution. The rawness of the sex I believe fits well with the intent of the rest of the film (Displaying unadulterated unfortunate events; why trivialize sex trafficking, ever?) but the low budget in other scenes lessens the cohesiveness and it's what makes the sex seem out of place. It's great to see a violent female figurehead in this movie era kicking ass the way modern day female characters can hold their own, and the climax is just a series of stunning poetic images filmed courageously.
  • December 11, 2011
    The hardcore porn aspect threw me and I'm not sure what it adds other than, along with the close up shots of heroin being injected and the eyeball being punctured, being part of a visual motif of penetration.

    The badassery of One Eye running around docks in a fringe-lined duster... read more brandishing a shot gun cannot be denied.

    I enjoyed this film despite its flaws.
  • April 25, 2011
    As perfect as films come, for the sexploitation junkie and fan of the disturbing and extraordinary. Even if distasteful to some, there is a feeling of balance in this film where all of the subjects it criss crosses are accounted for in order to deliver the goods. The film makes i... read moret easy for the viewer to sympathize with the main character given her circumstances and it's what enables fascination with the character evolution. The rawness of the sex I believe fits well with the intent of the rest of the film (Displaying unadulterated unfortunate events; why trivialize sex trafficking, ever?) but the low budget in other scenes lessens the cohesiveness and it's what makes the sex seem out of place. It's great to see a violent female figurehead in this movie era kicking ass the way modern day female characters can hold their own, and the climax is just a series of stunning poetic images filmed courageously.
  • November 11, 2010
    Mute rape victim is forced into heroin addiction and prostitution, then uses her whoring money to become a killing machine. Also sex. Needless to say, fucking wonderful film.

Critic Reviews


A.H. Weiler
May 9, 2005
A.H. Weiler, New York Times

Miss Lindberg, who is easy to look at, is constantly doleful since most of what occurs in One Eye is dreary. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
January 30, 2008
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Lindberg executes the vengeance audiences came to cheer, and spiritually dissolves. Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.
July 10, 2007
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

An awfully uneasy and chilling bit of savagery involving one of the primary themes for grind house cinema... Full Review

March 28, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Really depraved stuff from Sweden. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Tarantino completists and fans of Abel Ferrara's Ms .45 might salvage something. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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