Rating: C-
Dir: Peter Wittman
Star: Sheila Kennedy, Shelley Winters, Edward Albert, Pat Paulsen
This slice of hicksploitation is, apparently, taken from an unexpected source: the Greek myth of Electra. I did not see that inspiration coming. It takes place on a farm in the South, where Cora Jackson (Winters) acts the black widow, killing off her new husband Sidney, after getting him to change his will so she inherits everything. Her “brother” Art and sons are in on the plot, but his daughter Ellie is not, though can’t prove Cora’s involvement. She’s played by Kennedy, who was the Penthouse Pet of the Year for 1983, and in 2023 accused Axl Rose of raping her back in the eighties (the case was settled out of court, without any admission of guilt by Rose).
Chunks of this are definitely a chore, crammed full of bad country music and worse slapstick humour, such as Cora falling into the grave at Sidney’s funeral. Oh, hold my sides for I fear they may split. Or the endless sequence of Ellie being photographed by a step-brother, memorable mostly for Kennedy’s spectacularly eighties bush. But there are occasional points where things want to take a dark turn, such as one of her siblings saying, “Ellie is like a field of ripe wheat. First we’re going to harvest her. Then we’re going to thrash her good.” I’m kinda glad that never happens. The reality is Ellie luring them in, one by one, with her lush sexuality, then arranging for “accidents”, whether that’s falling off a cliff or from the barn.
From the start, Cora is just as convinced of Ellie’s guilt as her daughter was of her step-mother’s. Again, it’s proving it that’s the issue, with local sheriff Pete (Paulsen) keener on getting into Cora’s bloomers than investigating. Hey, I guess that’s a choice. The final step-brother, Tom (Albert), does pose more of a challenge to Ellie, being rather suspicious of her. Though personally, if my two siblings had met such a suspicious and lethal fate, Ellie’s pussy could be made of platinum and I would still stay well away. After her first attempt, a water-based death, is foiled, she has to resort to the old “Is that a snake under the sheets, or are you just pleased to see me?” trick.
She then causes Art to have a heart-attack, which pushes Cora over the edge, and into shotgun-wielding mode. If you predicted that this all leads to a mud-wrestling bout between Cora and Ellie… Well, you’re a) right, and b) better than me at this kind of thing. All credit to Winters – then in her sixties – because at least some of that fight is genuinely her. However, it’s all rarely very interesting, and Kennedy doesn’t do more than look rustically attractive. It’s understandable why her acting career never mounted to much. Though to be fair, the material here is weak, and nobody comes out with much credit. Not even Winters, who had two Academy Awards on her mantelpiece when she was rolling around in the dirt.