MS 45 DVD (MR)

From Drafthouse Films. Abel Ferrera's 1979 revenge thriller, newly remastered and reissued. This early 1980s cult classic still stands as a potent and uniquely feminist entry in the urban revenge subgenre. Mute fashion seamstress Thana (Zo Tamerlis) is assaulted on her way home from the grocery store and then assaulted by a second attacker who has broken into her apartment, all within the first 15 minutes of the film. She kills the second attacker with an iron and, after recovering from the shock, starts dismembering his body. Thana then wanders the New York streets at night in a sexy black dress with her attacker's gun strapped to her garter belt, blowing away any man who tries to pick her up. What begins as a revenge film gradually becomes a disturbing portrait of urban alienation and sexual fear. New York director Abel Ferrara (THE FUNERAL, BAD LIEUTENANT) directed this, his second film, from a religious-symbol-soaked script by longtime friend Nicholas St. John. Joe Delia composed the eerie EXORCIST-style score. Highly regarded by both audiences and critics, MS. 45 is that rare breed of exploitation film--intensely disturbing yet sexy, clever, intelligent, and even funny. Tamerlis delivers an astonishing performance as Thana, and Ferrara brilliantly captures her character's distorted perspective.