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Wonderful Movie

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Just perfect...

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Affable Ken (superbly played with chilling teddy bear charm by Peter Fonda), macho Greg (a terrific John Phillip Law), and nerdy, neurotic Art (a fine portrayal by Richard Lynch) are three Vietnam war veteran buddies who once a year let it all hang out for two weeks: they drink booze, have sex with whores, and mercilessly hunt people down in the woods like animals at their remote woodland retreat. The trio abduct married businessman Martin (solid Alberto de Mendoza) and his fetching mistress Nancy Stillman (lovely Cornelia Sharpe) and ruthlessly torment the couple prior to setting them loose for the big hunt. Director Peter Collinson, working from a harsh and twisted script by David D. Osborn and Liz Charles-Williams, relates the grim and gripping plot at a steady pace, maintains an appropriately hard, gritty, and mean-spirited tone throughout, builds a good deal of nerve-wracking suspense that culminates in an especially harrowing last third, and punctuates the sordid narrative with stark and startling moments of raw brutal violence. Moreover, this variant on that hoary old chestnut "The Most Dangerous Game" with elements of "Straw Dogs" and "Deliverance" tossed in for extra nasty measure makes a pertinent and provocative point on how war and military training turn men into lethal and predatory cold-blooded killers. Fonda, Law, and Lynch display a natural and convincing chemistry as our deadly threesome, with Fonda in particular a stand-out as a smooth-taking psychopath who hides his true savage nature behind a deceptively friendly veneer. William Holden acquits himself well in the small, yet pivotal role of the vengeful father of one of Ken's victims. Fernando Arribas' polished cinematography makes expert use of dewy soft focus, freeze frames, and the telescopic lens. The breathtakingly gorgeous sylvan scenery and Ruggero Cini's jaunty banjo score nicely contrast the otherwise bleak and nihilistic material. Well worth checking out.

We threw out the Television and broke its picture tube in the middle of this film.I'm not kidding.In my life I have only been fully repulsed by the theme, story, acting and directing of a movie a couple of times. Orca, the Killer Whale comes to mind....Not just bad, but disgusting and disturbing. The mixture of sexual violence and mayhem/murder, a combination I have reported on before, is below any line any film-goer can draw. Coprophagia and cannibalism are all that's left to sink to, and there's no bottom to hit.

This film was "big" news in 1974 when first released and got some bad press ostensibly because of the supposed excessive violence ,which is not the case. The real reason this film was "bagged" by the critics is the same reason Clint Eastwood (for his Dirty Harry movies) and Charles Bronson (for the Death Wish movies)were rubbished. That is because film critics tend to be left wing, bleeding heart liberals who have for decades put down any film that tends to support a person taking law and order into their own hands, irrespective of the provocation and the circumstances. "Open Season" is not overly violent but the violence is cleverly constructed and has real impact. The characters in the film are well drawn and believable (except perhaps the male victim who is abducted and held captive)particularly Peter Fonda who, like his Dad, can really come across as sleazy on-screen. The film is gripping and builds consistently towards the end and it really packs a punch in the final 30 minutes. I bought the VHS video many years ago and it is still worth watching.Try and see it.

This film was different, but very good. The beginning was interesting, and Peter Fonda played really well, he made this film worth watching. Although he was a "bad guy", he had a certain hidden charm. I wish this film would come out on DVD, so I could buy it.