Pulpmovies Reviews

Russ Meyer once said: “What the public wants are big laughs and big tits and lots of ‘em. Lucky for me that’s like I like, too.” It appears that writer Mike Davis and director Jonathan Yudis are very much on the same wavelength.

Pervert! starts with James (Sean Andrews) driving through the desert to spend the summer with his estranged father, Hezekiah (Darrell Sandeen). On arrival, he discovers that his dear old dad is now living with the rather lovely Cheryl (Mary Carey), who takes quite a liking to James.

This is quite a turn up since James hasn’t had a lot of luck with women until now. But, of course, the good times can’t last forever and when the bodies start to pile up, James is forced to accept that there is a serial killer on the loose and take matters into his own hands…

This is not the most complex plot in the world and, quite frankly, if you’re looking for depth you really are in the wrong place. What Pervert! offers is plenty of jokes, a smattering of splatter and lots of breasts, all packaged within an amiably silly atmosphere. And, on this promise, the film delivers superbly.

The characters are a broadly drawn collection of clichés and stereotypes and the acting isn’t the strongest I’ve ever seen. But far from being a problem, this adds to the gloriously campy nature of the film. And this is a deliberately campy film clearly made by people who both know and love the genre in which they have chosen to work.

The mood of the film is underlined perfectly by the soundtrack which – with its often silly effects and occasionally ominous tone - would be perfectly at home on a feature length cartoon. As such, it adds much, both to the sense of fun of the film and to the general air of unreality that permeate the proceedings.

And in keeping with the sensibility of the film, the action and the dialogue are way over the top and often tacky. And this is deliberate. This type of film is inherently silly and the creative team behind Pervert! have embraced this silliness and played the film for laughs throughout.

Pervert! is packed with jokes, which are linked together with a series of sight gags. And breasts. Not every joke works, but they come so thick and fast that for every gag that falls flat, there are always several more on the way. And breasts.

It’s a wonderfully silly sex comedy and a glorious tribute to the exploitation films of Russ Meyer that not only understands Meyer’s sense of fun, his disregard for authority and his sly subversiveness but brings it all, fully formed, into the 21st century.

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