MANTIS IN LACE Directed By William Rotsler. Starring Susan Stewart (1968).
Lila (Stewart) is the devious red hot stripper described in the title song as "The Mantis" in question. More buxom strippers show up, gyrating to some tough 60's garage beats as a dopey fellow with a tiddlywink for an earring in a Mod shirt, plays pool with Lila.
They all talk that square invented "Dragnet" hippie lingo, and it's pretty hilarious. Later on they both drop acid at an abandoned warehouse on a dirty floor mattress. Lila carries her theme song on a vinyl record and does a strip tease to it, whenever given the opportunity. All she needs is an outlet and a turntable!
The sex scenes are excruciatingly dull and they pepper it with that cheesy lingo, "Ya Dig?" But then the acid starts dribbling in and things get real spacey! The echoey flashback noises and projected footage over random faces reminds me of the opening of a Something Weird video tape.
A conveniently placed screwdriver is used as a weapon against loud colors and psychedelic lights as Lila accidentally stabs her sexual conquest.
Ok, What I thought was an accident continues on with some meat cleaver butchery!
Two starchy shirt wearing pigs troll around Go-Go joints looking for the maniac responsible.
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| the glory days of Go-Go |
The strippers in Mantis are all busty and have fake eyelashes and beehives. One does a gross belly jumping trick that was a turn off for me! Stuart Lancaster, the famous Russ Meyer resident actor shows up, he plays a psychologist named Frank. Lila returns to the dank creepy old warehouse, which is her favorite location to party with acid!
Mantis is more of a time capsule than an anti drug propaganda message and Lila is definitely the worst female to ever be around with while on LSD, because it drives her to commit murder.
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| I've seen bigger boobs on the Russ Meyer casting couch |
I like how voices of authority start yelling at her to eat he vegetables and after killing Frank, she says "you look so funny like that"!
The splatter effects are pretty tame, they could have used H.G. Lewis' makeup specialist. It never discourages the fun however, the whole film is a blast in that SWV style we all know and love!
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| The most wretched kissing scene in cinema |
There's a very awkward kissing/audition scene that made me queasier than all the meat cleaver hacking scenes combined. That nauseating moment is conveyed with smaltzy romantic music. Hey movie, You can't just drop new disgusting characters into my lap and expect me to take it! These people disappear into thin air, by the way and aren't connected to anything else!!! I want those 10 minutes back!
The two detectives invade all the grimy joints and in the process walk by a marque for Procol Harum, pretty sweet!
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| Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah, Let's hit up Dunkin Donuts! |
During one striptease, they play a lackluster cover of Mary-Lou by Young Jessie (which The Oblivians later did a stellar cover of)! Lila should get her head checked for all the acid flashbacks that cause her to murder innocent creeps, but she never even considers it, which makes it seem like she enjoys killing! She's also stupid enough to leave blood stained instruments of death lying around without bothering to hide the evidence!
Everything about Mantis was dumb in that highly entertaining way that can only come from a Something Weird Video. They were the giants back in the days of clamshell videos and deserve to be back on top churning out real fun garbage like this!
It's in the same vein as Blood Mania, which was reviewed awhile ago, only with more vintage stripping and no Greedo! Harry Novak who produced so many trashy gems like The Sinful Dwarf, Mondo Mod and Please Don't Eat My Mother also dumped his pocket change into this project!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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| I'm not wasted, I'm dead! |
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| A Ho carrying a Hoe |
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