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Released by: After Hours Cinema
Released on: March 11th, 2008.
Director: N/A
Cast: John Holmes, Suzanne Fields, Judy Angel
Year: 1971/1970
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Zodiac Rapist - Movie Review:
Very similar to the John Holmes/Bob Chin Johnny Wadd XXX detective films, this pair of porno movies from the West Coast adult movie scene of the early seventies is a lot of goofy fun. They plots are nonsensical as are the performances and, more often than not, the camera work but that's part of the charm derived from this type of material. These are full on hardcore films so those upset by hairy genitalia need not apply but fans of vintage adult films should find a lot to love here...
Disc One: The Zodiac Rapist (1971):
This film (originally titled Sam Dobbs Meets The Zodiac Killer) is actually a sequel to the second movie in this collection, but it's presented on the first disc so it gets reviewed first. It starts with a woman in her garden who pleasures herself with her rake handle. She doesn't realize she's being watched by the 'Zodiac Rapist' (played by John Holmes), who pops out and then has his way with her. Once this scene is over we get some newly created video generated credits before meeting Sam Dobbs, private investigator. Sam is interviewing a lady to work as his secretary, and in order to get the job, she's gonna have to prove to him just how bad she wants it. While she's going down on him, Sam says 'I don't mind getting fucked by you but I mind getting fucked by the Zodiac.' Another girl comes into the office and the first one takes off. Sam bones girl #2 and unbeknownst to him, the Zodiac spies on him while he does the deed.
The Zodiac takes off in his red convertible and preys on a pair of lesbians who seem primed and ready for him and not in the least bit upset that he's shown up on the scene. Meanwhile, Dobbs bangs another chick. Once he's done, he arrives at the lesbian's house and the Zodiac runs away avoiding capture. Sam takes the Zodiacs place and nails the two girls and then heads back to his office to fool around with his secretary. The Zodiac spies on yet another random girl, and then proceeds to have sex with her in the pool. Dobbs rushes over, his secretary servicing him en route, but the Zodiac escapes again and moves on to his next victim. This time, however, Dobbs is spying on the Zodiac...
Disc Two: Sam Dobbs And The Guru Gangbang (1970):
Sam's sitting around playing his guitar and getting oral from his secretary (Judy Angel) when the phone rings. It's a brunette on the other end of the call and she needs his help. She tells him there's a stiff in her pool so Sam heads over to check out the scene leaving the secretary to take care of business herself. The brunette, on the other hand, takes care of Sam once he's arrived. While Sam is getting down, the maid is making time with a TV repairman who has randomly shown up. Sam hears her moaning and goes to investigate and then both couples get it on together. Swinging!
While the orgy is going on, Sam's secretary gets it on with a chick (Suzanne Fields) who has shown up at the office. The do it on the desk, right beside an oddly placed Barbie doll for some reason but are soon interrupted by the arrival of some guy in a black suit who joins in on the fun. Sam finishes up and takes off, only to hop into a delivery truck with two chicks at the helm. The three get it on in the truck en route to a flophouse where a fat hippy guy in a muumuu who looks kind of like Captain Lou Albino presides over a stinky hippy orgy. One chick takes Sam aside into a bedroom and they make it on a big canopy bed beside a creepy stuffed rabbit. Once they're done, this chick doses Sam with a tab of acid and they go at it a second time, this time with strange whirly music and psychedelic camera work. They head out into the main room where the orgy is still going. It ends and they create an altar in the main room that Sam finds himself strapped to. The girls take turns giving him oral while the cult leader waves a bone around and chants. Will Sam make it out alive or will a giant random comet hit the Earth and kill everyone?
The plots in both films exist only to move the picture from one sex scene to the next but they do make for some fun filler. Time hasn't been kind to the sexier side of these pictures as they're obviously pretty dated but the girls are cute more often than not even if most of the male performers look like they need a shower. Couple this with a few groovy musical breaks and some incredibly bad dialogue and you're left with a pretty solid double feature.
Note that After Hours Cinema has made digital alterations to both films to create 'enhanced' versions that they can put a copyright on. The last frame of Zodiac Rapist is clearly a digitally added newspaper and the text 'OBSERVATORY' is obviously a digital font put overtop of the image.
Zodiac Rapist - DVD Review:
Both The Zodiac Rapist and Sam Dobbs And The Guru Gangbang are presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. Unfortunately both transfers are interlaced, meaning progressive scan set ups may exhibit some rather nasty sawtooth effects. Both of these films look a little tight, sometimes very tight, meaning that they were probably meant to be seen fullframe. Print quality is all over the place, some scenes are soft with faded colors while others look a little sharper and more natural. For the most part, everything is pretty watchable, just keep your expectations in check.
There's pops and hiss throughout both films and periodically the levels bounce around a bit but for the most part the dialogue stays pretty clear. These films don't sound good by any stretch but the low-fi nature of the productions doesn't really require anything fancy and on the same level they fit with the scruffy transfers and bad production values fairly well.
Extras on the first and second discs include trailers for a bunch of After Hours Cinema releases, animated menus and chapter stops.
Included inside the keepcase is a booklet of liner notes from the mysterious After Hours Collector. This four page essay talks about the hardboiled detective's place in the history of porn movies before providing some specifics about the two features in this collection.
Zodiac Rapist - The Final Word:
Two XXX obscurities have been rescued by the fine folks at After Hours Cinema. The transfers leave a little to be desired, the alternations are annoying and the extras aren't mind blowing but the movies are fun and genuinely rare, making this release an easy recommendation to fans of seventies smut.
