Tacticalin
An absolute waste of money
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW)
The 1970's was known for the drive-in sexploitation films. This one is just right for anyone who is nostalgia oriented. It's one of the few before "Meatballs","Little Darlings", or "Porky's". But in return, it's before the time of slasher films. So there's more sex, than comedy. And a touch of drama to go along with. Here you have four beautiful women, along with a cousin who work at a camp, meeting different people. Making love. Having fun. Pure and simple. However, that fun is about to come undone, when a mysterious figure starts killing people. One blonde was being chased by a biker who decided to stay behind at the party. She only met her end by a female figure with a knife. Then more victims are killed in different matter. A water skier is sniped by the same person. But after all what the ladies have been through, they managed to have a fun summer. Seems like anything or everything goes in that place. This is a cult classic that should be recognized by movie goers. It's a mixture of sex, intrigue, and surprise. I like it very much. 3 out of 5 stars.
lor_
Unlike other reviewers here praising THE ROOMMATES, I was a regular drive- in fan in the early '70s and can attest to the fact that not only was this Arthur Marks film not successful in that market, but it was not competitive at all with the other distributors' fare.This was an era when often sleazy but very entertaining R and Soft X movies were being released by prominent companies like New World (Roger Corman's at the time), Crown Intl. (later to hit big with THE POM POM GIRLS), Hemisphere (lots of Filipino-lensed exploitation films), Harry Novak's Box office International (and its Buckalew titles) and of course AIP. Below I will enumerate many of the shortcomings of ROOMMATES.First, its overwritten script is mired in previous decades: the key subplot of a mother persecuting her young son ("introducing Gary Warren Mascaro as Arnie") is right out of the '50s, poorly played and when finally revealed as a maniacal killer just a ripoff from Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert's Z-Man of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.Scenes of untalented bands and cast dancing around look like an early '60s movie, and much of the action set around a camp is puerile crap reminiscent of beach party movies from AIP a decade earlier.The heroines are poorly used, and the pederast daddy of Arnie bedding down two of them is really a throwback. Except for a peeping scene and a mercy- hump (by beautiful Laurie Rose), the campers get lost in the shuffle.Light and airy tone suddenly and unconvincingly turning to melodrama with the serial killer is climaxed by an extremely poorly staged massacre and neutralization of Arnie by the kindly deputy who is lead Marki Bey's lame black-on-black romantic interest. The red herring (previous closeup emphasis) of "lady" killer with orange nail polish = Arnie was particularly irritating.After the massacre, this poorly directed, way overlong film goes immediately back to business as usual, with the heroines' reaction to mayhem being one of idle bemusement. I was fortunate not to have this stinker from unsuccessful distributor General Film Corp. booked anywhere near me in the '70s, and catching up with it on DVD, replete with self-serving comments by the director, was merely a reminder of dozens of far better movies that delighted us fans in cars (as well as the many bikers who populated the front of the Drive-In parking area) back then.
Scott LeBrun
Carla (Marki Bey), Heather (Pat Woodell), Beth (Roberta Collins), and Brea (Laurie Rose) are four absolutely lovely young co-eds who head to the community of Lake Arrowhead for some R & R. The story mostly consists of their amorous adventures, while the activities of a psycho on the prowl form a major subplot.Written by director Arthur Marks and actor John Durren (who plays the small role of Socks the biker), this is good, straightforward exploitation entertainment that has its cake and eats it too. By that, this viewer means that Marks & Durren combine some enlightened sexual politics - the four main characters are independent women who know their own minds - with diversions of the far more lurid kind. The script has some surprising wit going for it, although there are some pretty silly lines as well. The assets of the female cast are stressed whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, our actresses are engaging and intelligent as well as being fine eye candy. Bey, in particular, shines.Many of the men in this series of episodes are not exactly portrayed in the most flattering light. Lee (Ben Pfeiffer) is especially sleazy, the kind of guy who has no more need for a woman once he's gotten what he wants from her. David Moses is very likable as Mike, the rural cop who becomes instantly smitten with Carla (you can't blame him).This is a very nicely shot movie that is simply gorgeous in more ways than one; Harry J. May performed the cinematography duties.Look for appearances by Connie Strickland as a victim of the killer, and Juanita Brown & Uschi Digard in the orgy scene.Seven out of 10.
OKCRay
This super-obscure movie was recently shown at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, TX as part of its "Weird Wednesday" feature, and it was well worth doing a little traveling to catch it (if I remember correctly, the last time this movie played in theatres was as part of a double-bill with THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS, so you KNOW it's been a long, long time!). I enjoy grindhouse/drive-in ("Joe Bob Briggs-type") movies from the '70s, and THE ROOMMATES certainly fits the bill. The movie starts off as a cheesecake romp with four lovely college coeds finishing the school year and getting ready for some fun in the sun during their summer break. They have the requisite wild party (described by some as an "orgy" but consisting mainly of binge drinking, heavy petting, a strip chess game and the aforementioned sit-up contest) then go off on their summer adventures (more or less separately, but all at or near Lake Arrowhead). Heather (Pat Woodell, the original Bobbie Jo Bradley from PETTICOAT JUNCTION) takes it easy at the family summer home along with her visiting younger cousin Paula (Christina Hart). They discover a young man camping out on the property and allow him to stay in a shed in exchange for chopping and gathering firewood. Carla (Marki Bey) works at a local library and catches the fancy of the deputy sheriff (not to mention some leering library patrons), Beth (Roberta Collins) works alongside a waterskiing instructor and pursues a relationship with a married man, and Brea (Laurie Rose) is a nurse at a summer camp and takes a somewhat sheltered teenage boy under her wing. As mentioned in other reviews, giving each girl her own separate story line was pretty much standard formula at the time for these movies, then once the summer adventures were well underway the film veers sharply and introduces a crazed killer who starts bumping off beautiful women at the lake. The individual stories continue as the summer goes on, leading to a frenzied climax at a country club gathering. Fans of '70s movies will love the wild clothes and hairstyles, and while the music is rather simplistic and minimal (reminiscent of background music from an early 70s diet cola commercial) it's still fun. Throw in some super-cheesy dialogue, a rather dysfunctional family who run a resort hotel, some biker thugs and several lecherous middle-aged men with a preference for jailbait and you've got one far-out, funky flick! THE ROOMMATES drew a pretty decent crowd at the Alamo Drafthouse (mainly college-age and mid-to-late 20s) and although the print was quite scratchy and the color didn't age well at all it got a pretty favorable response from everyone. It was great seeing everyone enjoying and really getting into a freewheeling movie from a bygone era, and they certainly don't make 'em like THE ROOMMATES anymore! Looking forward to the DVD release in 2009 from Dark Sky Films!
