Private Parts (1972)

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Paul Bartel's Private Parts was his first feature, and though billed as a cock-eyed comedy, it's much more of a horror-thriller (equally cock-eyed). Like Eating Raoul, this is set in a world of sexual perversion, and much more subversive than the similar Psycho. In this one, Ayn Ruymen is Cheryl, an teenage girl who runs away from home to stay at her older aunt's creepy hotel, but there are (cough, cough) private parts of the hotel from which a voyeuristic photographer takes an interest. Of mild interest until Bartel creates a mix of disturbia and absurdist humor in the peeping tom's fetishistic behavior. I'm not entirely certain he sells the twist ending very well, but you can be sure you'll see things you haven't before. From the two films of his I've seen, Bartel's recurring theme opposes extreme Kink and pious Prudishness, with neither coming off as normal. Given the subject matter and the fact the protagonist is meant to be underage, you may well need a good scrub after this one, but it's more fascinating than it is objectionable. 4 years 6 months ago