The House on Straw Hill

James Kenelm Clarke – 1976 – England

Sure it rips off Straw Dogs (1971) pretty shamelessly at least half-a-dozen times, but this film – which is alternately known throughout the world as anything from Exposé to Trauma to House on Straw Hill is still somewhat fun in a really smarmy kind of way.  Perrential Eurotrash weirdo Udo Kier plays an unhinged novelist who hires a sexy young secretary to transcribe for him as he holes up in an isolated country house to write his next book.  Naturally, the woman’s true motives prove to be about as clear-cut as Kier’s grip on sanity.  The film might have vanished into obscurity were it not for the fact that it earned a badge of honor by finding a place on Britian’s notorious “video nasties” list of banned films in the 80s.