AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Shaza123 A man named Virgil is driving across the American desert, on his way to a long deserved holiday. He stops to pick up a young and pretty hitchhiker, who says she's been traveling from Chicago to meet up with her grandfather, a man she's never met. Our young little hitchhiker is named Rosalie. She's a teen who comes across as quite simple minded. Not only that, but strange as well. Little Rosalie claims she knows where her granddad lives because she saw it in a dream. Virgil pays no mind to this nonsense and humours her. And being the good Samaritan that he is, goes out of his way to drop off this peculiar stranger to her grandfather's shack, way out in the middle of no where. Now I know what you're thinking, Virgil might not be such a good Samaritan after all. We all know that tale. It is fortunate that Virgil's intentions happen to be pure in this instance, all he wants to do is make his flight to his holiday destination. Rosalie however, has other plans that aren't so pure. Virgil won't be making that flight of his. He won't be leaving that shack ever again. Sound familiar? I have to say, there is something about crazy chicks keeping males as captive, that I find so interesting. Usually, it's the other way around, guys keeping girls captive, so it's a nice change. Still, this story has been told a few times before. A few years ago, we had The loved Ones, a brutal display of torture and hilarity. Before that, Misery, which I feel Stephen King may have used this for inspiration. Misery had a crazy antagonist that succeeded in being a proper villain to the story. But here we have something far more interesting. I can't say for certain that Rosalie is actually the villain of this story. Naturally Rosalie isn't a good character, but it's hard to call her a bad character as well. Bonnie Bedelia plays Rosalie and she does such a fantastic job. At times she comes across as crazy, at other times, she is sympathetic, and at other times still, she's beyond annoying and vindictive. Many of her actions come across as calculated, as if she is toying with her victim, promising a doctor, a car pump, and never delivering etc. But Rosalie isn't a malicious character. She isn't out for revenge like Lola, she isn't obsessed with authors, like Annie, she just wants to love someone. Something I imagine we can all relate to. Sure Rosalie's actions are far beyond reprehensible, but at the heart of it, she's just a lonely girl desperately wanting to love someone, and be loved back. It's hard to hate her character, but at the same time, it's hard to completely sympathise as well. Rosalie might just be one of the most complicated characters I have ever seen. Then we have Virgil, our victim. When Rosalie asserts her dominance and breaks one of Virgils legs (with the back of an ax...cough...Misery...cough), his reaction isn't pleading for mercy to be let free. No, his reaction is to yell at her and belittle her like a child. Rosalie has an ax, but that won't stop Virgil being mean to her. Most of their dialogue is Virgil calling her names and belittling her time and time again. Now Virgil might have some right to be angry since she's keeping him captive and what not, but I started getting confused whether I should have been feeling sorry for him or not, in the same way I wasn't sure if I was siding with Rosalie or not. Ken Howard does a great job at being our helpless and nasty protagonist. We have one more character in the mixes here, by the name of Fry. If there is a villain in the movie, that would probably be Fry, who doesn't have any shred of sympathy from the audience. He is the pure bad guy that'll hurt both Rosalie and Virgil to get what he wants, which is gold that Rosalie supposedly has hidden away. I like how the dynamic between Rosalie and Virgil always changes whenever Fry is on screen. This movie runs for almost Two hours, and those three characters are the only actors in the movie. You'd think that would make things boring, but it doesn't. I was actually captivated the whole way through. The way the dialogue changed constantly between Rosalie and Virgil made them a very entertaining pair. Set in the desert, this movie feels isolated, lonely and cut off from life. It creates such an atmosphere to this movie, which I feel is helped more with its incredibly low budget look. This movie was hypnotic to watch. The ending is bound to divide audiences. I can see people hating the movie or loving it. I'm in the latter camp. To me, the actions of certain characters don't seem out of place, it makes this movie all the more memorable. If you enjoyed Misery, you'd love this flick too. But where Misery is an effective horror tale, this is an intense drama piece. There is no blood or gore, just fascinating dialogue and imagery. Characters that feel real, who are equally good and bad. All in all, this is just fantastic story telling. A must watch for all.

Tromafreak Whilst searching for the next slice of schlock for my B-movie collection, it's pretty much common knowledge, by now that I'm either gonna end up with something painfully bad, or if I'm lucky, something so bad it's good. But sometimes, on a one of those rare occasions, I'll unearth something unexpected. Something interesting. Dare I say something Incredible. If Stephen King got his idea for Misery from this movie, all I can say is that he sure could have done a lot worse. The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie, at first centers on Virgil, who is passing through the New Mexico desert on his way to a Hawain vacation. Uh-oh, a hitchhiker. Unfortunately, this is the early 70's. A time when people thoughtlessly picked up hitchhikers. But really. This is a teenage girl we're talking about, here. Rosalie is a Native American, kinda hickish, like the beverly hillbillies, in the way of not knowing about stuff. But anyway, she's nice enough. Once Rosalie guilt-trips unsuspecting Virgil into hauling her miles upon miles out in her shack in the middle of the desert, she repays him by breaking his leg. The thing is, Since Rosalie's grandfather died, it's been awfully lonely around the desolate homestead, and loneliness can do strange things to one's mind. In other words, Virgil ain't going' nowhere. Other than the fact that she's half-crazy, kinda immature and perhaps a bit backwards, Rosalie is pretty easy to get along with. So, to be fair, ol' Virgil could do much worse in the way of captors. No torturing, or anything like that. Just somebody to talk to... also, maybe someone to control.Man, what a strong feeling of isolation. Poor Virgil might as well be on another planet. At least ten miles from anything. Car ain't workin', leg sure as hell ain't workin'. Reasoning with the captor is frustrating, and possibly hopeless. As the captor, Rosalie can be an unlikeable character, yet often pitiful, and occasionally endearing. As the viewer, I found myself rooting for Virgil to just give up and stay in that hell hole. This would be around the time that Rosalie shows that she's nothing but poison, perfectly willing to mame or murder, if it suits her. It just doesn't seem like it's because she's a bad person. Poor girl just don't know no better. Besides the breaking of the leg, for roughly the same reason, what this film has most in common with Misery is that constant feeling of dread, hopelessness and isolation all rolled into one. The Strange Vengeance Of Rosalie isn't quite as well-known or big budget. This film is from a different time, and is for a different audience. This film has that odd drive-in obscurity feel to it, as opposed to the early-90's made-for-TV feel of it's counterpart. I wouldn't say the character of Rosalie is anywhere as deep or complicated as that of Kathy Bates, but Rosalie is a different kind of animal. While still stubborn and set in her ways, Rosalie's needs are more primitive, if you will. All the girl wants is some company. Someone to talk to. Perhaps a husband, if it leads to that. Whatever Rosalie decides. Virgil has no say, he has a broken leg. I truly have not been this impressed with an obscurity like this in a long, long time. Most low budget films I get a hold of are of the Horror genre. Rosalie is more of a suspense-thriller. So, in closing. If you ever get tired of the same old so bad it's good, gory, schlocky grainy-screen goodness, perhaps you're in the mood for something different. Something that'll make you think. This is quality Drive-In cinema. 10/10

dmacewen For the viewer who claimed Stephen King "ripped off" huge parts of this film for Misery: don't flatter yourself. Your insight simply isn't that sharp. Yes, it's apparent that the general scenario for Misery is indebted to this (vastly inferior) film, but that is where the resemblance ends. King is a profoundly original artist, and as is usually the case, his prodigious talent and inimitable vision transform the influences derived from his encyclopedic knowledge of the field into a finished product that transcends its sources. The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie is even less memorable than Starret's mediocre Race with the Devil. In fact, I am quite amused by the intellectual restrictions of these viewers and readers who fancy themselves sophisticated because they are able to spot the things that King has supposedly "ripped off": as if he's trying to get away with something. On the contrary, King is usually very forthright about his influences and urges his readers to check them out for themselves (unlike the creatively and ethically bankrupt James Cameron). That he didn't do so with Misery is likely due to a lack of cognizance of the influence. In short, those with developed critical skills assess the creative process at work. Those with a stunted artistic and intellectual capacity merely note that story scenarios and plot elements were lifted by King and yell "Rip Off!" And then they pat themselves on the back.

Year2889 The guy from White Shadow is lured to the home of a young hitchhiker. There she keeps him, first by wrecking his car, then by (uh-oh here comes the real "iffy" Stephen King part) busting up his legs and tying him to a bed cause she just doesn't want to let him go. Of course he spends the remainder of the film trying to get some help and kill the girl. I won't give anything else away. I have been tryin for ages to find someone who has seen this so they could back me up that Mr. King ripped-off huge parts of this storyline for his own use.