Note: For the Summer months, C&L is hosting "a Friday night drive in movie" instead of the music club. Music Club will continue Sundays through Thursdays, and Chiller Theater will continue on Saturdays throughout the year. -- eds.
Originally titled Sweet Savior, and then again later as Frentic Party, 1971's The Love Thrill Murders stars former teen idol Troy Donahue as a Charles Manson figure named Moon. He’s got hippie followers who love him as he reads them bible scriptures while their all tripping on LSD. He then has all of them following him on a free love and a lot of drugs adventures through New York City.
What funds all these adventures? Well, Moon organizes drug fueled orgies for rich squares trying to make the cool scene. Eventually, the hippies snap at one of them and the blood flows.
To write this off as another cheesy exploitation film is selling it short as the film has some nice cinematography and actually okay acting.
During the time this film was made, Troy Donahue was past his teeny bopper pin up days of the late 50′s and early 60′s. In 1968, he was bankrupt and lost his home. By the time the gig starring in this film came around he was pretty deep into alcohol and drug addiction and has personally claimed that he was living on the streets of New York City with nothing but a backpack with a few person possessions. Living such an experience may also be what gives this film the feeling that it is taking at least one step out of low budget sensationalism and one step closer to trying to tell an actual story.
(This article originally appeared on my Tumblr page More Transistors Smashed. You can find much more random bits of junk culture there.)
