Defiance Review

Reviewed by SDC  on  7/7/2003

Defiance (or Defiance of Good) is a dark, relatively unknown, horror-tinged movie from 1974. The central character is Cathy (Jean Jennings), a teenage girl who, after being discovered with drugs, is sent by her parents for psychiatric observation. However, the hospital she attends is a hellhole where she is harassed and raped by her fellow inmates so, when the opportunity to move to another clinic presents itself, she jumps at it. Unfortunately she soon comes to realise that her new doctor, played by a very hirsute Fred Lincoln, is actually closer to a brutal cult leader than a traditional medical practitioner.

The film has quite a dark tone and (arguably) some philosophical under-currents but it’s neither as shocking as Through The Looking Glass or as thought-provoking as The Devil In Miss Jones. Defiance covers some rich narrative ground - bringing to mind One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, The Story of O and the Manson Family – but never quite manages to be as interesting as it should be. There are a couple of nice directorial flourishes but somehow it’s all rather pedestrian. There’s also an intriguing twist towards the end of the film but I wish that the (shocking) final scene had led us to the climax rather than providing it. The performances of Jennings and Lincoln are ok but nothing to get too excited about. Jamie Gillis – although perhaps a little young at the time – would certainly have been more convincing in the role of the doctor. Incidentally, Gillis and fellow porn luminary Marc Stevens can be found in minor roles here.

The running time of the disc, and a couple of rather jarring edits, makes me wonder if the print under review has been edited. The film runs for approximately 70 minutes and a couple of sex scenes end almost as soon as they begin. Having said that, the content of the disc is pretty strong by today’s standards. Jennings is raped and beaten at various points throughout the film while some of the later scenes mix hardcore sex and bondage.

The picture quality is as good as I’ve seen from a VCX disc but that isn’t really saying much. The image is sharp throughout but colours are quite weak and a lack of detail is particularly noticeable during (the numerous) darker scenes. The film is also presented full screen so is not in its original aspect ratio. The audio – a serviceable mono track - is generally clear with just a few pops here and there. The disk has nothing in the way of extras.

I have to admit that I was disappointed by Defiance although I did have very high expectations going in. It’s certainly worth viewing for anyone with more than a passing interest in the classics because it falls in to that category on the basis of its structure as well as its production date. However, I can’t whole-heartedly recommend a film that sounds more interesting than it actually is.

SDC