The Centerfold Girls is a low budget thriller about a serial killer who hunts down women. Not exactly an original idea but the lead performance of Andrew Prine gives the film a bit more merit. In fact, the cast is full of B and Z rated actors (like Aldo Ray who plays an incredibly nasty character) which make things a bit more interesting. What's unusual about the filmn is it's harsh tone. Some of the things that take place on screen are pretty brutal even by today's standards. One wonders what audiences thought of the movie back in 1974. This is one film that women's groups have a right to protest about.
24 Reviews
The Centerfold Girls
Prismark1027 September 2020
This is the Grindhouse feature that Quentin Tarantino tried to make but failed.
Director John Peyser had a solid filmography for episodic television going back to the 1950s.
Here he turns is hand on a low budget sleazy horror thriller with equal aplomb. He just knew to give the audience lots of bare breasted women.
Andrew Prine is tall creepy Clement Dunne a religious fanatic who is turned on by the naked women who pose for men's magazine but also repulsed by these brazen hussies. Dunne wants to help these centrefolds out which means slashing their throats.
The film has three chapters each featuring a centerfold of the month. The women disrobe easily. The men are all scumbags willing to rape at the drop of a hat.
It has all the ingredients of 1970s Grindhouse but Peyser brings an artistic quality based on his production experience. The acting is better and there is a great scene at the end as Dunne gets his comeuppance.
Director John Peyser had a solid filmography for episodic television going back to the 1950s.
Here he turns is hand on a low budget sleazy horror thriller with equal aplomb. He just knew to give the audience lots of bare breasted women.
Andrew Prine is tall creepy Clement Dunne a religious fanatic who is turned on by the naked women who pose for men's magazine but also repulsed by these brazen hussies. Dunne wants to help these centrefolds out which means slashing their throats.
The film has three chapters each featuring a centerfold of the month. The women disrobe easily. The men are all scumbags willing to rape at the drop of a hat.
It has all the ingredients of 1970s Grindhouse but Peyser brings an artistic quality based on his production experience. The acting is better and there is a great scene at the end as Dunne gets his comeuppance.
Mostly an excuse for nudity
Leofwine_draca12 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS is a psycho-thriller of the 1970s that plays out more as a skinflick than anything else. Andrew Prine's weirdo killer stalks and slashes a bunch of women who posed as nude models, and he's on a moralistic crusade to clean up a tide of filth. A bit like Mary Whitehouse, then. Much of the running time contains young and pretty women stripping to their smalls (and less) while the rudiments of a plot serve to join the dots. The sub-plot in which a girl flees from a rapist hippy gang only to encounter Aldo Ray's sleazy motel owner before being straight-razored to death is quite arresting, but then there's a lot of padding in the middle section. Some brief P.O.V. stalking shots might have inspired HALLOWEEN. Things pick up again for the last section featuring the admirably feisty Tiffany Bolling.
Exploitation gold
Cujo10818 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Andrew Prine is Clement Dunne, a fanatic out to "help" the women who posed for some magazine's annual skin calendar. The problem? His brand of help involves stalking and slit throats. Sporting a skinny build, glasses, a bland suit and hideous shoes that don't match the rest of his attire, Dunne doesn't fit the look of your typical psychopath. However, what he lacks as far as physical menace goes, he more than makes up for in dogged determination.
The Centerfold Girls is the very definition of a grindhouse film. It is a gritty, mean-spirited romp with a bleak world view and a narrow plot. Most of the men in the film are rapists, sleaze balls or exploiters. Then there is Dunne himself, who seems to flip-flop in his motivation. One minute he is wanting to "help" his victims, and the next he is telling them how they have to be punished for the smut they implant in the minds of those who view their calendar. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is the way in which it is structured. We follow Dunne as he hunts down three girls in particular, one segment of the film for each girl. Reminiscent of an anthology, but with the same basic storyline and key character throughout. Only the victims and settings change.
The first act deals with Ms. March and her 24 hours of hell. She leaves her hospital job in L.A. to go see a doctor in a small town for a job interview. On the way there, she picks up a hippie girl who lies her way into getting a ride. Eventually, the former centerfold has to deal with the hippie's raucous friends, a rapist motel owner and naturally, the ever watchful Clement Dunne. This is without doubt the sleaziest of the film's three segments. The girl is toyed with and nearly raped twice, and it only gets worse from there. Aldo Ray plays the motel owner who has a thing for her, but only if she doesn't make things too easy for him.
The second story has Dunne stalking the young Ms. May. She and a few other models are going to an island photo shoot. Dunne follows them and gets to delve out more help than he originally bargained for. This is the weakest part of the film. It follows a typical slasher film structure, but the characters are uninteresting and some of the action is choppy. There are also some really poorly done day-for-night shots. Despite the flaws, it is enjoyable... just underwhelming compared to the opening and close of the picture.
The third and final segment finds Dunne gunning for Vera (the lovely Tiffany Bolling). When she's out one night, a blonde friend uses her bathroom only to fall victim to Dunne in a case of mistaken identity. Vera takes the hint and decides to get out of town. Unfortunately for her, the friend she asks to house-sit is a total moron who gives Dunne the info he needs to track her down. This is the best act of the film, thanks in large part to the strong screen presence of Bolling. I like her quite a bit, and she makes for a worthy adversary to the persistent Dunne. We also get a bit of interaction between the two sans telephone before the attempted murder, something that doesn't happens with the other victims. The final showdown in a patch of leafless trees makes for a strong close to the proceedings.
I have to say, as far as exploitation cinema goes, they don't come much better than this. If it were better known, it would likely be a classic of the genre. I have the Media VHS, and the print really compliments the mood of the picture. For exploitation/grindhouse fans, it gets my highest recommendation.
The Centerfold Girls is the very definition of a grindhouse film. It is a gritty, mean-spirited romp with a bleak world view and a narrow plot. Most of the men in the film are rapists, sleaze balls or exploiters. Then there is Dunne himself, who seems to flip-flop in his motivation. One minute he is wanting to "help" his victims, and the next he is telling them how they have to be punished for the smut they implant in the minds of those who view their calendar. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is the way in which it is structured. We follow Dunne as he hunts down three girls in particular, one segment of the film for each girl. Reminiscent of an anthology, but with the same basic storyline and key character throughout. Only the victims and settings change.
The first act deals with Ms. March and her 24 hours of hell. She leaves her hospital job in L.A. to go see a doctor in a small town for a job interview. On the way there, she picks up a hippie girl who lies her way into getting a ride. Eventually, the former centerfold has to deal with the hippie's raucous friends, a rapist motel owner and naturally, the ever watchful Clement Dunne. This is without doubt the sleaziest of the film's three segments. The girl is toyed with and nearly raped twice, and it only gets worse from there. Aldo Ray plays the motel owner who has a thing for her, but only if she doesn't make things too easy for him.
The second story has Dunne stalking the young Ms. May. She and a few other models are going to an island photo shoot. Dunne follows them and gets to delve out more help than he originally bargained for. This is the weakest part of the film. It follows a typical slasher film structure, but the characters are uninteresting and some of the action is choppy. There are also some really poorly done day-for-night shots. Despite the flaws, it is enjoyable... just underwhelming compared to the opening and close of the picture.
The third and final segment finds Dunne gunning for Vera (the lovely Tiffany Bolling). When she's out one night, a blonde friend uses her bathroom only to fall victim to Dunne in a case of mistaken identity. Vera takes the hint and decides to get out of town. Unfortunately for her, the friend she asks to house-sit is a total moron who gives Dunne the info he needs to track her down. This is the best act of the film, thanks in large part to the strong screen presence of Bolling. I like her quite a bit, and she makes for a worthy adversary to the persistent Dunne. We also get a bit of interaction between the two sans telephone before the attempted murder, something that doesn't happens with the other victims. The final showdown in a patch of leafless trees makes for a strong close to the proceedings.
I have to say, as far as exploitation cinema goes, they don't come much better than this. If it were better known, it would likely be a classic of the genre. I have the Media VHS, and the print really compliments the mood of the picture. For exploitation/grindhouse fans, it gets my highest recommendation.
Naked corpses: nerd with razor murders pin-ups
moonspinner5524 September 2017
Exploitation bottom-feeder casts Andrew Prine as a vintage car-driving, vintage record-playing nutcase in wing-tip shoes and horn-rimmed glasses who manages to get the phone numbers of all the centerfold models in Bachelor magazine (did his fingers do the walking?). He abhors their sinful displays of naked flesh, calling the nubile beauties to warn them of his wrath before following that up with a little straight razor action. Jeremy Slate as a police lieutenant belatedly shows up an hour into the proceedings to do the usual movie-detective work, but Prine's hit list is pretty well completed by this time. Absolutely awful mixture of titillation and bloodshed: first show off the naked body, then show off the naked corpse. Old pros Aldo Ray (as a camp manager who likes a fight from his women: "When it comes out easy, baby, it's not worth it!") and Ray Danton (as a glorified pimp brow-beaten by his lover) pretend to be interested. * from ****
Good exploitation
parkerbcn27 May 2021
This is a special exploitation film. There are no possible doubt around the intention of the creators (you have as much sleaze and nudity as you could ask for), but still the film manages to stand out from other similar works thanks to: fist, being a kind of anthology movie, with the common threat of a serial killer that prays on beautiful and successful women, but showing the story of each woman kind of independently. The other thing that makes the movie quite attractive in this subgenre, is its low budget and naturalistic attitude, that the natural grittiness of 70s cinema enhanced even more. From the first sequence of the burial of a body without any music or dialogues, the mood sets in immediately.
Trashy movie.
mhorg201813 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Today, trash like this would get made by the Asylum or someone with their own video camera. Nut in a dark suit (Andrew Prine who I mostly remember from V) is killing centerfold girls from Bachelor Magazine. How did he get their addresses and phone numbers is never explained. For the first two shorts, he's like Jason in a black suit with wingtips. Shows up where one girl is looking for a new Nursing job. Whacks her under pretense of helping her. Follows a group of six to an island and effortlessly kills five of them. He barely breaks a sweat. What happened to number six? In one of the dumbest, most predictable scenes, guy gives a girl a gun, says just point and shoot. YOU KNOW right then the wrong person is getting blasted. Well, that's what happens! One girl kills another. The shooter then goes screaming along, runs right into the real killer, who kills her. The acting is across the board and Aldo Ray who almost rapes the first murder victim, and Mike Mazurki must have needed the money. There is lots of bare breasts and the women are easy on the eyes, but how this mad killer gets everywhere he does is never revealed. He just kills and kills. His last victim finally does him in. Really a waste of time.
He just wants to "help" you.
Hey_Sweden12 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Andrew Prine is consistently amusing in this notable 1970s exploitation feature, which is divided into three acts. In each act, he stalks a young woman; the intended victim in each case has posed for the same pin-up magazine. You see, our boy Andy, a bespectacled, dorky man with a priceless wardrobe, is one of those self-righteous moral crusader types who thinks that it's his job to rid the world of "filth".
In act one, he pursues Jackie (future soap star Jaime Lyn Bauer), who makes a big mistake when she offers to help a seemingly harmless stranger named Linda (Janet Wood, "Foul Play"). Jackie is then hassled and terrorized by Lindas' creepy hippie friends.
Act two: Andy targets Charly (Jennifer Ashley, "The Pom Pom Girls"), who's travelled to an isolated island to participate in a risqué photo shoot. He proceeds to decimate Charly's companions on his way to doing away with her.
Finally, he aims to eliminate stewardess Vera (Tiffany Bolling, "The Candy Snatchers"), and it's here that he is actually presented with more of a challenge, since she's a tougher cookie than the others.
Some viewers may be dismayed at the nasty, hard-edged, mean-spirited approach to this story, as female characters are often put through the ringer. Almost every male character is a disgusting piece of work, and there's no shortage of unappealing women, to boot. Some victims are more sympathetic than others.
If you adore cinematic trash, you may be entertained by the story structure, and the graphic violence, but you'll especially be pleased by the abundance of female nudity.
An impressive roster of familiar faces helps to lend some gravitas to these sleazy proceedings: Aldo Ray ("We're No Angels" '55), Teda Bracci ("C.C. & Company"), Tallie Cochrane ("The Candy Tangerine Man"), Ray Danton (director of "Psychic Killer" and "The Deathmaster"), Francine York ("The Doll Squad"), Jeremy Slate ("The Hooked Generation"), Mike Mazurki ("Donovan's Reef"), Janus Blythe ("The Hills Have Eyes" '77), Connie Strickland ("Act of Vengeance"), Anneka Di Lorenzo ("Dressed to Kill" '80), and Dan Seymour ("To Have and Have Not"). Prine is a hoot as he chastises his victims over the phone, uses his straight razor to cut pictures out of the magazine, and puts on his favourite record.
Scripted by TV veteran Bob Peete ('Good Times'), and directed by John Peyser, whose credits were mostly in TV as well, this offers some twisted fun for any viewer who savours the trashy delights from this decade.
Story by Arthur Marks, himself director of such things as "J.D.'s Revenge" and "Friday Foster".
Seven out of 10.
In act one, he pursues Jackie (future soap star Jaime Lyn Bauer), who makes a big mistake when she offers to help a seemingly harmless stranger named Linda (Janet Wood, "Foul Play"). Jackie is then hassled and terrorized by Lindas' creepy hippie friends.
Act two: Andy targets Charly (Jennifer Ashley, "The Pom Pom Girls"), who's travelled to an isolated island to participate in a risqué photo shoot. He proceeds to decimate Charly's companions on his way to doing away with her.
Finally, he aims to eliminate stewardess Vera (Tiffany Bolling, "The Candy Snatchers"), and it's here that he is actually presented with more of a challenge, since she's a tougher cookie than the others.
Some viewers may be dismayed at the nasty, hard-edged, mean-spirited approach to this story, as female characters are often put through the ringer. Almost every male character is a disgusting piece of work, and there's no shortage of unappealing women, to boot. Some victims are more sympathetic than others.
If you adore cinematic trash, you may be entertained by the story structure, and the graphic violence, but you'll especially be pleased by the abundance of female nudity.
An impressive roster of familiar faces helps to lend some gravitas to these sleazy proceedings: Aldo Ray ("We're No Angels" '55), Teda Bracci ("C.C. & Company"), Tallie Cochrane ("The Candy Tangerine Man"), Ray Danton (director of "Psychic Killer" and "The Deathmaster"), Francine York ("The Doll Squad"), Jeremy Slate ("The Hooked Generation"), Mike Mazurki ("Donovan's Reef"), Janus Blythe ("The Hills Have Eyes" '77), Connie Strickland ("Act of Vengeance"), Anneka Di Lorenzo ("Dressed to Kill" '80), and Dan Seymour ("To Have and Have Not"). Prine is a hoot as he chastises his victims over the phone, uses his straight razor to cut pictures out of the magazine, and puts on his favourite record.
Scripted by TV veteran Bob Peete ('Good Times'), and directed by John Peyser, whose credits were mostly in TV as well, this offers some twisted fun for any viewer who savours the trashy delights from this decade.
Story by Arthur Marks, himself director of such things as "J.D.'s Revenge" and "Friday Foster".
Seven out of 10.
Slasher-Stalker Film That Delivers the Goods, 70s Style
gavin694223 March 2009
A men's magazine with beautiful women nude... a deranged killer who fights in the name of modesty. What happens when he gets their names and traces their private numbers? As you can imagine, bloody mayhem. And this is all before the hippies and rapists show up...
"Centerfold Girls" (known some places as "Girl Hunter") is a strange film... not visually strange, not strange in its telling... but strange in that the plot shifts in ways you will not expect it to at first. We seemingly follow Jackie, a nurse and former model, as she befriends Linda and stays lodged out of town... confronted by wild, rapist hippies (including one who wears a Coors box for a hat). But despite all this, Jackie is not the main character... we don't see much of her after the first half hour.
This film has a style that is hard to dislike. The murders are simple but effective, with the killer being a truly likable character with horn-rimmed glasses and saddleback shoes. (Don't worry, I'm not giving away anything -- he stands in the open throughout the film.) And the cast and crew is largely unknown, at least today. You may have heard of Aldo Ray or Ray Danton, but I doubt this. The director (John Peyser, mostly known for television work) and writers (Bob Peete and Arthur Marks) are obviously talented, but not household names in the world of horror.
Even the "star" (if one can call him that), is largely a television actor with bit parts. Andrew Prine, who plays killer Clement Dunne, is the glue that holds this entire movie together. Yet, as much as I loved him, I'm hard-pressed to name another movie he's in. Okay, that's not entirely true. The mid-70s saw him not only in "Centerfold Girls", but also in the now classic "Town That Dreaded Sundown" and "Crypt of the Living Dead" (directed by Ray Danton, and available in certain public domain horror collections).
My one concern, and this has been raised by other reviewers, is the lack of background on Clement Dunne. What does he do for a living? What made him want to kill women, and why did he pick the particular magazine he did? How does he track down the addresses and phone numbers for his victims? This lack of information did not take away from the picture, but makes me wonder. A sequel would probably have worked well, but it's a bit late now.
The box calls this a movie from the "sleazy" 1970s, an "exploitation" film in the "grindhouse" tradition. Now, I don't know if this is grindhouse, but they are dead-on with the exploitation and sleaze comments. Nudity abounds in this film, and if more than five minutes go by without someone getting topless (often for no reason), I'd be surprised. And then the (attempted and successful) rapes... not just one, but more like three. In one movie!
Dark Sky Films offers a nice, crisp picture and sound on this disc, while still capturing the gritty quality of the original film. While the special features are somewhat lacking (an audio commentary would be nice), the 15-minute featurette "Making the Cut" offers a great look back and really puts the picture in perspective. That, and a "musical cues" feature, which makes sense to me since the music was very unique and apparent throughout the picture (next to Prine, the music of Mark Wolin is my favorite thing about this film -- and this was his only work). I would encourage anyone to give this title a fair chance.
"Centerfold Girls" (known some places as "Girl Hunter") is a strange film... not visually strange, not strange in its telling... but strange in that the plot shifts in ways you will not expect it to at first. We seemingly follow Jackie, a nurse and former model, as she befriends Linda and stays lodged out of town... confronted by wild, rapist hippies (including one who wears a Coors box for a hat). But despite all this, Jackie is not the main character... we don't see much of her after the first half hour.
This film has a style that is hard to dislike. The murders are simple but effective, with the killer being a truly likable character with horn-rimmed glasses and saddleback shoes. (Don't worry, I'm not giving away anything -- he stands in the open throughout the film.) And the cast and crew is largely unknown, at least today. You may have heard of Aldo Ray or Ray Danton, but I doubt this. The director (John Peyser, mostly known for television work) and writers (Bob Peete and Arthur Marks) are obviously talented, but not household names in the world of horror.
Even the "star" (if one can call him that), is largely a television actor with bit parts. Andrew Prine, who plays killer Clement Dunne, is the glue that holds this entire movie together. Yet, as much as I loved him, I'm hard-pressed to name another movie he's in. Okay, that's not entirely true. The mid-70s saw him not only in "Centerfold Girls", but also in the now classic "Town That Dreaded Sundown" and "Crypt of the Living Dead" (directed by Ray Danton, and available in certain public domain horror collections).
My one concern, and this has been raised by other reviewers, is the lack of background on Clement Dunne. What does he do for a living? What made him want to kill women, and why did he pick the particular magazine he did? How does he track down the addresses and phone numbers for his victims? This lack of information did not take away from the picture, but makes me wonder. A sequel would probably have worked well, but it's a bit late now.
The box calls this a movie from the "sleazy" 1970s, an "exploitation" film in the "grindhouse" tradition. Now, I don't know if this is grindhouse, but they are dead-on with the exploitation and sleaze comments. Nudity abounds in this film, and if more than five minutes go by without someone getting topless (often for no reason), I'd be surprised. And then the (attempted and successful) rapes... not just one, but more like three. In one movie!
Dark Sky Films offers a nice, crisp picture and sound on this disc, while still capturing the gritty quality of the original film. While the special features are somewhat lacking (an audio commentary would be nice), the 15-minute featurette "Making the Cut" offers a great look back and really puts the picture in perspective. That, and a "musical cues" feature, which makes sense to me since the music was very unique and apparent throughout the picture (next to Prine, the music of Mark Wolin is my favorite thing about this film -- and this was his only work). I would encourage anyone to give this title a fair chance.
excellent exploitation flick.
tristanb-115 April 2005
Superb exploitation nasty. I loved this one. Real dirty and gritty and fast moving. Well-directed with some nice performances.
Andrew Prine is perfectly cast as a saddle-shoe-wearing nerd who is out to "save" all the calender/pin-up girls he can ("save" as in split their head open with a razor). And he really goes about his business. With his ultra-skinny physique and creepy/quirky demeanor he projects kind of a low-rent Norman Bates quality.
Film has three (or is it four?) different stories, each following a girl that Prine is tracking down. The killing is ruthless and quick and somewhat unsettling. Also unsettling is that the girls bounce from one horrific situation to the other like pinballs (ALL the men in this movie are creeps - and most of the women, too!!!).
If you get a chance, and if exploitation with a sharp-edge is your bag check this one out, you might like it.
Andrew Prine is perfectly cast as a saddle-shoe-wearing nerd who is out to "save" all the calender/pin-up girls he can ("save" as in split their head open with a razor). And he really goes about his business. With his ultra-skinny physique and creepy/quirky demeanor he projects kind of a low-rent Norman Bates quality.
Film has three (or is it four?) different stories, each following a girl that Prine is tracking down. The killing is ruthless and quick and somewhat unsettling. Also unsettling is that the girls bounce from one horrific situation to the other like pinballs (ALL the men in this movie are creeps - and most of the women, too!!!).
If you get a chance, and if exploitation with a sharp-edge is your bag check this one out, you might like it.
Great 70's exploitation slasher
HorrorFilmHellion29 July 2022
This is one of the better 70's obscure slashers, done how you would expect for the era. It's a great watch all the way through and has stylish sleaze to keep interest high. This is a worthy addition to your 70's exploitation sleazy slashers collection.
Sleazy fun
Wizard-87 April 2013
I really enjoyed Arthur Marks' drive-in movie "Bonnie's Kids", so I decided to take a look at the movie he did right after it, "The Centerfold Girls". While I would not label the movie a drive-in classic like "Bonnie's Kids", I have to admit that the movie does deliver a lot of nice sleaze. The women in the movie are always taking off their clothes, and there are a number of sexual situations. The movie does have some additional interest. Andrew Prine does well as the serial killer, coming across as believably deranged and awkward like I think many crazy people are in real life. Also interesting is that the movie isn't one story, but three stories connected by Prine's character. This was a wise choice I think, because I think if any of the stories been feature length there would have been some dull spots. As they are, they all feel at an appropriate length. Well worth a look if you are interested in 1970s sleazy drive-in cinema.
Beautiful women in a wicked world
Wuchakk25 December 2023
A puritanical psycho (Andrew Prine) targets women on the coast of the Los Angeles area who have appeared as centerfold models (Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jennifer Ashley and Tiffany Bolling), as well as anyone who gets in the way.
"The Centerfold Girls" (1974) is a crime thriller in the tradition of "Corruption" (1968) with the first act borrowing from "Psycho." The soon-to-come "The Toolbox Murders" was obviously inspired by it; "Island of Blood" (1982) as well. Needless to say, it was a precursor to the slasher genre and innovatively features the final girl trope.
There are several lovely ladies with quite a bit of top nudity (so stay away if that offends you). While everyone has their favorites, I favor Janet Wood (Linda) and Ruthy Ross (Glory), as far as looks go. Speaking of which, Francine York is a sharp redhead, but her character (Melissa) is such a cold biyatch, it's impossible to warm up to her. Blonde Kitty Carl (Sandi) is worth a mention.
The three-act structure is taken to the extreme with each act introducing a new set of characters linked to the prey, except for the antagonist, of course. The theme is depressing in that there are no noble men in SoCal with every male being motivated by either lust or misogyny. If a guy APPEARS good, it's just a pretense; and his lower nature will soon manifest.
The movie runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (Aloha Apts. & Topanga Canyon) and Malibu (Paradise Cove & Pacific Coast Highway).
GRADE: B-
"The Centerfold Girls" (1974) is a crime thriller in the tradition of "Corruption" (1968) with the first act borrowing from "Psycho." The soon-to-come "The Toolbox Murders" was obviously inspired by it; "Island of Blood" (1982) as well. Needless to say, it was a precursor to the slasher genre and innovatively features the final girl trope.
There are several lovely ladies with quite a bit of top nudity (so stay away if that offends you). While everyone has their favorites, I favor Janet Wood (Linda) and Ruthy Ross (Glory), as far as looks go. Speaking of which, Francine York is a sharp redhead, but her character (Melissa) is such a cold biyatch, it's impossible to warm up to her. Blonde Kitty Carl (Sandi) is worth a mention.
The three-act structure is taken to the extreme with each act introducing a new set of characters linked to the prey, except for the antagonist, of course. The theme is depressing in that there are no noble men in SoCal with every male being motivated by either lust or misogyny. If a guy APPEARS good, it's just a pretense; and his lower nature will soon manifest.
The movie runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (Aloha Apts. & Topanga Canyon) and Malibu (Paradise Cove & Pacific Coast Highway).
GRADE: B-
They don't make 'em like this anymore!
adrian_tripod16 June 2001
This is the sort of film that has you wishing you could time-travel back to the heyday of the drive-ins to catch it in its ideal environment. Scary, tight lipped Andrew Prine plays a murderous psychopath working his way through a bunch of pretty girls, whose only 'sin' is to have modelled for a sexy calendar. Well-shot, well-acted, but it's the doom-laden mood and oddball structure that makes Centerfold Girls stand out - three stories about three girls linked only through their encounters with the killer, sort of like Pulp Fiction without the self-congratulation. Should be sought after by anyone who likes the darker, stranger drive-in fare of the 70s.
Plot less and sleazy
lazarillo16 October 2004
A moralistic serial killer with a straight razor is carving up girls who have posed nude for a men's magazine. If this seems like pretty weak motivation for a killing spree, it also makes for a pretty weak plot for a movie. This one is all over the place. The first part focuses on a nurse staying at an isolated motel in the mountains (shades of "Psycho")who is abused both by the sleazy hotel owner and a Mansonesque group of hippies, and this is before she runs into the killer. In the second, and most preposterous, part the killer somehow follows a whole group of nude models and photographers to a deserted island where he kills the whole lot of them. In the third part the killer stalks a stewardess from her swinging singles apartment to northern California where her car breaks down and (after she gets picked up and raped by two sailors)the final showdown takes place.
This movie is VERY sleazy. All the girls are brainless sluts who don't even seem to get too upset about being drugged and gang-raped. Every single guy meanwhile is only interesting in assaulting, molesting, or otherwise taking sexual advantage of said women. Incredibly, the deranged killer is the most well-developed and likable character in the whole film. There are only two reasons to recommend this movie. One is Andrew Prine playing one his memorable psychos (he doesn't so much chew the scenery as just gulp it down whole). The other is the truly jaw-dropping collection of early 70's drive-in actresses on display including Tiffany "The Candy Snatchers" Bolling, Jennifer "Tinotera" Ashley, Connie "Black Sampson" Strickland, Janet "Slumber Party '57" Wood, perennial 70's TV actress Jamie Lynn Bauer, and Penthouse Pet of the Year/mafia moll Aneka De Lorenzo. (The only ones missing here are Candice Rialson and Claudia Jennings). Of course, all of these actresses appear au naturel at some point, and in these pre-silicone days they were, of course, all au naturel. So I guess if you REALLY like Andrew Prine or you REALLY want to see a lot of naturally impressive breasts, this movie might be worth watching--otherwise avoid.
This movie is VERY sleazy. All the girls are brainless sluts who don't even seem to get too upset about being drugged and gang-raped. Every single guy meanwhile is only interesting in assaulting, molesting, or otherwise taking sexual advantage of said women. Incredibly, the deranged killer is the most well-developed and likable character in the whole film. There are only two reasons to recommend this movie. One is Andrew Prine playing one his memorable psychos (he doesn't so much chew the scenery as just gulp it down whole). The other is the truly jaw-dropping collection of early 70's drive-in actresses on display including Tiffany "The Candy Snatchers" Bolling, Jennifer "Tinotera" Ashley, Connie "Black Sampson" Strickland, Janet "Slumber Party '57" Wood, perennial 70's TV actress Jamie Lynn Bauer, and Penthouse Pet of the Year/mafia moll Aneka De Lorenzo. (The only ones missing here are Candice Rialson and Claudia Jennings). Of course, all of these actresses appear au naturel at some point, and in these pre-silicone days they were, of course, all au naturel. So I guess if you REALLY like Andrew Prine or you REALLY want to see a lot of naturally impressive breasts, this movie might be worth watching--otherwise avoid.
The Thriller That's a Cut Above
alwaysandy5 November 2020
This film boasts a large cast of beautiful women in various states of undress. For some that may be plenty of inducement to watch. For others it might help to add that it is also the odessey of a serial killer in their midst, slitting throats where he can and extemporizing on other occasions. His motive, he says, is to help these women who have posed nude, or at least topless, in a Playboy-like men's magazine as centerfold models. At a guess, he believes he is helping them abandon their evil ways, the visions of which must haunt his darkest dreams. Though his motive is never explained, his speech patterns, mannerisms, and expressions plainly bespeak a psychopath. Andrew Prine as Clement Dunne shows us quiet madness and menace in a perfect composite. Everything about him, including his wardrobe (black) and living quarters (white) whispers "absolutely unhinged." The film consists of three separate stories, each featuring a different centerfold girl, but all three are bound together by the presence of Dunne and his scalpel. The third and final story may be the most intense as it concludes with a confrontation in a horrible landscape of burnt hillsides and charred trees, a nightmare background against which the violence unfolds. Dunne's third victim, Vera, (Tiffany Bolling) fights back and nobody skates. A truly fine thriller
Exploitation Masterpiece
Steve_Nyland2 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
First off, let's deal with the pinhead sect who are dissing this movie for daring to give them EXACTLY WHAT IT PROMISED -- A sleazy, disturbing, voyeuristic movie about a deranged psycho who murders centerfold models with a straight edge razor. Since nobody in the free world holds a gun to someone's head and forces them to watch a particular movie (aside from Al Gore's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, that is), anyone who went out of their way to see this movie and were horrified to find out that it actually had the **balls** to give them exactly what it was advertised as has nothing to complain about. Other than maybe sleeping in on the morning they were handing out working brains. They got theirs after all the good ones were gone, I guess, and had to make do with an addled mind that can't grasp basic concepts ... like trashy exploitation movies actually being trashy, and exploitational. How stupid can people get? If you want art, rent or buy art, and stay away from the gutter, which is where this movie deliberately set out to be.
With that scolding out of the way, CENTERFOLD GIRLS is one of the purest, most startling and twistedly imaginative examples of the Grindhouse Exploitation & Sleaze Film as I have ever encountered. Packed wall to wall with glorious female nudity, gory killings, and punctuated by yet another brilliantly twisted performance by Andrew Prine as yet another bizarre psychopath, this movie dares to give viewers exactly what they are looking for in such entertainment: Garbage.
And not just your standard run-of-the-mill so boring 'cos we've seen it all a million times garbage, but garbage that keeps one guessing. Not as to the identity of some masked killer hacking their way through a supporting cast of unlikeable morons, but guessing in terms of just where the movie is going from one given moment to the next. There was one murder that was so abrupt, so uncalled for, and so absolutely brilliant in how it was staged that this film should actually be "Required reading at the Academy, Mr. Spock" material for anyone who's interested in making a low budget amoral slasher film. It is still a vibrant, shocking, and sensationalistic masterpiece of exploitation thirty-five years after it was made.
Yes, there are vulgar, lurid moments that degrade the women who agreed to participate in the film, and none of the characters -- including the sexy women who's murders the film celebrates in such an unflinching manner -- are truly redeemable individuals. Even the usually heroic Aldo Ray comes off as a despicable monster, something that isn't easy to do, and his villainy is one of the film's great curve balls thrown mercilessly at the viewer. The one thing that impressed me more than anything else about the film was how it so specifically defied any formula for how psycho slasher horror films are "supposed" to be plotted out.
There are two keys to the equation of its success: The first are the women themselves, all of whom actually were (or could have been) the girlie magazine pin-up celebrities that the movie depicts them as. They are all stunningly beautiful, with nary a silicone implant to mar their natural female forms. None of them apparently had the slightest qualm with being undressed & paraded before the camera for our amusement to the sole function of any other role in the film. They don't exist as "people" so much as the exist to be Ms. April, Ms. May, Ms. June, Ms. July, and Ms. August. Their names & personalities are exactly as important to the plot as the models gracing the pages of a girlie magazine, existing only to be stalked, terrified, and slaughtered by the psychopath.
Is it misogynistic, regrettable, vile and sleazy? OF COURSE. But then again, what girlie magazine isn't? Don't blame the movie for telling things like they are, and indeed if you look at one of those kinds of magazines the first thing printed on the inside cover is a disclaimer pointing out that the habits, lifestyles and personalities of the models depicted in the magazine are not to be taken as actual representations of those people. Here is a movie that understands this concept, and uses it to great advantage.
The other key is Andrew Prine, who should have been nominated for some form of an Oscar years ago (I say it should have been for SIMON - KING OF THE WITCHES, but take your pick, really: All of his performances are universally marvelous). With his geeky glasses, Sears Roebuck catalog puritan's suit and complete resolve to see his mission through, Prine is the perfect embodiment of the psychopathic killer who slaughters women in an effort to "help" them, as he explains to more than one of his victims. The old Rambler station wagon he is given to drive is also a perfect extension of his character, and while there is some truth to the criticism that his is the only character in the film that is actually developed that's just part of the stacked deck. You can't fault it for being effective at what it set out to do, and once again Prine's acting stands out amidst a sea of dreck that would otherwise smother any other performer.
It is of course wrong to objectify women with pornography, and even more wrong to seek out & murder them for having taken part. But if every psycho killer movie were as honest about their intentions as CENTERFOLD GIRLS were maybe we wouldn't have such a low collective opinion of the idiom. It's the poseur films who wouldn't dare to go as far as this one do that give the form it's bad name. This one gets it right.
8/10, and then some.
With that scolding out of the way, CENTERFOLD GIRLS is one of the purest, most startling and twistedly imaginative examples of the Grindhouse Exploitation & Sleaze Film as I have ever encountered. Packed wall to wall with glorious female nudity, gory killings, and punctuated by yet another brilliantly twisted performance by Andrew Prine as yet another bizarre psychopath, this movie dares to give viewers exactly what they are looking for in such entertainment: Garbage.
And not just your standard run-of-the-mill so boring 'cos we've seen it all a million times garbage, but garbage that keeps one guessing. Not as to the identity of some masked killer hacking their way through a supporting cast of unlikeable morons, but guessing in terms of just where the movie is going from one given moment to the next. There was one murder that was so abrupt, so uncalled for, and so absolutely brilliant in how it was staged that this film should actually be "Required reading at the Academy, Mr. Spock" material for anyone who's interested in making a low budget amoral slasher film. It is still a vibrant, shocking, and sensationalistic masterpiece of exploitation thirty-five years after it was made.
Yes, there are vulgar, lurid moments that degrade the women who agreed to participate in the film, and none of the characters -- including the sexy women who's murders the film celebrates in such an unflinching manner -- are truly redeemable individuals. Even the usually heroic Aldo Ray comes off as a despicable monster, something that isn't easy to do, and his villainy is one of the film's great curve balls thrown mercilessly at the viewer. The one thing that impressed me more than anything else about the film was how it so specifically defied any formula for how psycho slasher horror films are "supposed" to be plotted out.
There are two keys to the equation of its success: The first are the women themselves, all of whom actually were (or could have been) the girlie magazine pin-up celebrities that the movie depicts them as. They are all stunningly beautiful, with nary a silicone implant to mar their natural female forms. None of them apparently had the slightest qualm with being undressed & paraded before the camera for our amusement to the sole function of any other role in the film. They don't exist as "people" so much as the exist to be Ms. April, Ms. May, Ms. June, Ms. July, and Ms. August. Their names & personalities are exactly as important to the plot as the models gracing the pages of a girlie magazine, existing only to be stalked, terrified, and slaughtered by the psychopath.
Is it misogynistic, regrettable, vile and sleazy? OF COURSE. But then again, what girlie magazine isn't? Don't blame the movie for telling things like they are, and indeed if you look at one of those kinds of magazines the first thing printed on the inside cover is a disclaimer pointing out that the habits, lifestyles and personalities of the models depicted in the magazine are not to be taken as actual representations of those people. Here is a movie that understands this concept, and uses it to great advantage.
The other key is Andrew Prine, who should have been nominated for some form of an Oscar years ago (I say it should have been for SIMON - KING OF THE WITCHES, but take your pick, really: All of his performances are universally marvelous). With his geeky glasses, Sears Roebuck catalog puritan's suit and complete resolve to see his mission through, Prine is the perfect embodiment of the psychopathic killer who slaughters women in an effort to "help" them, as he explains to more than one of his victims. The old Rambler station wagon he is given to drive is also a perfect extension of his character, and while there is some truth to the criticism that his is the only character in the film that is actually developed that's just part of the stacked deck. You can't fault it for being effective at what it set out to do, and once again Prine's acting stands out amidst a sea of dreck that would otherwise smother any other performer.
It is of course wrong to objectify women with pornography, and even more wrong to seek out & murder them for having taken part. But if every psycho killer movie were as honest about their intentions as CENTERFOLD GIRLS were maybe we wouldn't have such a low collective opinion of the idiom. It's the poseur films who wouldn't dare to go as far as this one do that give the form it's bad name. This one gets it right.
8/10, and then some.
A splendidly sleazy slice of 70's drive-in slasher trash
Woodyanders2 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
If anyone was to ask me who's my all-time favorite delightfully dweebish 70's B-horror flick actor, my answer would have to be the ineffably gauche, yet still bizarrely riveting Andrew Prine. With his tall, lanky, ungainly build, gaunt hangdog face, quivering voice, and often antsy, uneasy disposition, Andy was basically a poor man's Anthony Perkins for the Me Decade. Prine established himself as the early 70's twitchy psycho pic performer par excellence with his spot-on spaced-out portrayals of an evil, world-weary warlock in the trippy "Simon, King of the Witches" and a disgusting, desert-dwelling, mother-hating bargain basement misogynist Norman Bates-like oedipal wreck lunatic in the sublimely skanky "Barn of the Naked Dead."
"The Centerfold Girls" finds our boy Andy in first-rate fidgety, fumbling, *beep*ed-in-the-head freakazoid form as Clement Dunne, an awkward, bespectacled, sexually repressed and thoroughly nerdy nutjob sporting a ghastly Beatles shag haircut, equally ugly rumpled leisure suits and unsightly two-tone Buster Brown shoes. The only thing worse than Dunne's hideous coiffure and horrendous wardrobe is his nasty murderous propensity for brutally carving up the assorted sinful scarlet harlots who've posed in the buff for the sleazy skin mag "Bachelor." Dunne's luscious lady victims are a veritable distaff who's who of 70's grindhouse cinema: the gorgeous Tiffany Bolling of "The Candy Snatchers" fame, "Bummer" 's Connie Strickland, Jennifer Ashley (who was previously terrorized by Prine in "Barn of the Naked Dead"), future "The Young and the Restless" daytime TV soap opera series regular Jaime Lyn Bauer, busty brunette Janet ("The G.I. Executioner," "Angels Hard As They Come") Wood, Talie ("The Love-Thrill Murders," "I Spit on Your Corpse") Cochrane, onetime "Penthouse" Pet Anneka di Lorenzo, and no-name lovelies Kitty Carl and Ruth Ross, most of whom do gratuitous nude scenes before Andy bags 'em. The male supporting cast coughs up a similar roll call of down and out exploitation hack perennials: the ubiquitous Aldo Ray as a repulsive would-be rapist, Jeremy Slate as a crusty homicide detective, Ray Danton as a droll adult magazine publisher, huge, hulking, granite-faced veteran tough guy Mike Mazurki as a grouchy mansion grounds keeper, and fat guy character actor Dan Seymour as a motel manager.
John Peyser's tight direction, the almost constant avalanche of bared female flesh, and the harsh, bloody violence add immensely to the deliciously deviant junky fun, while the minimal music, crude cinematography and grainy film stock give this trashy treat the irresistibly seedy aura of a scuzzy no-budget porno feature. Perhaps the film's oddest , most startling and notable aspect is its shockingly blunt, in-your-face vile, sneering and hostile misanthropy and mean-spiritedness: Practically every last character, especially the largely creepy and unpleasant guys, comes across as really hateful, antisocial and unsympathetic a**holes; even Bolling's much-abused stewardess heroine is a snippy, stuck-up bitch. As a result, Prine's wonderfully warped wacko inadvertently seems like more of a semi-justified anti-hero instead of a full-fledged villain. It's this latter alarmingly off-kilter element which truly makes this depraved drive-in dreck one to relish.
"The Centerfold Girls" finds our boy Andy in first-rate fidgety, fumbling, *beep*ed-in-the-head freakazoid form as Clement Dunne, an awkward, bespectacled, sexually repressed and thoroughly nerdy nutjob sporting a ghastly Beatles shag haircut, equally ugly rumpled leisure suits and unsightly two-tone Buster Brown shoes. The only thing worse than Dunne's hideous coiffure and horrendous wardrobe is his nasty murderous propensity for brutally carving up the assorted sinful scarlet harlots who've posed in the buff for the sleazy skin mag "Bachelor." Dunne's luscious lady victims are a veritable distaff who's who of 70's grindhouse cinema: the gorgeous Tiffany Bolling of "The Candy Snatchers" fame, "Bummer" 's Connie Strickland, Jennifer Ashley (who was previously terrorized by Prine in "Barn of the Naked Dead"), future "The Young and the Restless" daytime TV soap opera series regular Jaime Lyn Bauer, busty brunette Janet ("The G.I. Executioner," "Angels Hard As They Come") Wood, Talie ("The Love-Thrill Murders," "I Spit on Your Corpse") Cochrane, onetime "Penthouse" Pet Anneka di Lorenzo, and no-name lovelies Kitty Carl and Ruth Ross, most of whom do gratuitous nude scenes before Andy bags 'em. The male supporting cast coughs up a similar roll call of down and out exploitation hack perennials: the ubiquitous Aldo Ray as a repulsive would-be rapist, Jeremy Slate as a crusty homicide detective, Ray Danton as a droll adult magazine publisher, huge, hulking, granite-faced veteran tough guy Mike Mazurki as a grouchy mansion grounds keeper, and fat guy character actor Dan Seymour as a motel manager.
John Peyser's tight direction, the almost constant avalanche of bared female flesh, and the harsh, bloody violence add immensely to the deliciously deviant junky fun, while the minimal music, crude cinematography and grainy film stock give this trashy treat the irresistibly seedy aura of a scuzzy no-budget porno feature. Perhaps the film's oddest , most startling and notable aspect is its shockingly blunt, in-your-face vile, sneering and hostile misanthropy and mean-spiritedness: Practically every last character, especially the largely creepy and unpleasant guys, comes across as really hateful, antisocial and unsympathetic a**holes; even Bolling's much-abused stewardess heroine is a snippy, stuck-up bitch. As a result, Prine's wonderfully warped wacko inadvertently seems like more of a semi-justified anti-hero instead of a full-fledged villain. It's this latter alarmingly off-kilter element which truly makes this depraved drive-in dreck one to relish.
Nice solid drama, manned by our excellent Prine
PeterMitchell-506-56436413 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I love these seventies movies that are so well made. The Killing Kind and Double Exposure are two that spring to mind here. Why does this film work so well? The fine performance of this excellent actor lead. He is so chilling and it's not just his looks. It's his tone of voice to character too, somewhat like a mislead child in one sense. I guess there's not many people familiar with Prines's work, e.g. Simon King Of The Witches, They're Playing With Fire, but he's an actor who f...in' acts. He's anti pornographic, killing off nude centrefold models of every month, chronologically of course. Cause he's a religious nut, he totally finds this immoral and he's out to punish them. It starts off where he's dumping a body, his trademark after murdering these lovelies, is he plays this creepily ill fitting tune, totally unnerving to the listening viewer I thought. The tune sounds like something out Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. What's different about this movie and it will come as a bit of annoyance to some people, who might just easily shut it off, is we spend a bit of time with each girl before their demise so we get to know em' a bit. I liked the aspect of that, cause even we may not care much about these girls, you still gotta remember they're human beings. With their screen time, we do tend to care a bit more about em' and in the climax we cheer on the lucky centrefold who outwits this psycho and gives Prine what he truly deserves, and what we've hungrily anticipated.
It ain't easy being sleazy
udar5523 December 2007
It ain't easy being sleazy but this film tries its hardest and succeeds. Andrew Prine stars as a repressed young man who decides to "help" centerfold models by killing them. That is the entire plot! The film does do something interesting in that it is an anthology with three separate stalking stories. At the same time, this could easily be the poster child for anyone who belittles horror films and believes they are nothing more than young naked women being stalked and killed. Prine is the film's biggest asset, reminding me of a cross between Val Kilmer and Michael Palin. Also, the final showdown in a burned out patch of forest is quite impressive and surreal looking.
The Centerfold Girls
Scarecrow-8827 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Andrew Pine stars as a disturbed wacko, Clement Dunne who is obsessed with "helping" beautiful women who posed for a nude pictorial in a centerfold magazine by stalking them, terrorizing them with unsettling phone calls, sending them flowers, and ultimately slicing their throats with a straight razor, removing a shoe from each victim as a keepsake.
CENTERFOLD GIRLS has three different stories featuring the next victim chosen from the magazine by Clement who circles their faces, tearing them away with his razor after finishing them off, consoling himself with a music from his record player. He's very clean cut, tidy, always seen wearing a suit, glasses, bow tie, the works. He drives a beat-up blue station wagon and later tells the third victim that he's a salesman so we might know how Clement works as a serial killer, his trips "up north" a way for him to successfully carry out his methodical acts towards those selected for execution.
The first victim is a beautiful nurse, Jackie(Jaime Lyn Bauer), who drives "into the mountains" to interview for a job falling prey to "the family"(Dennis Olivieri, Janet Wood, Teda Bracci, and Talie Cochrane), a group of weirdos, modeled obviously after the Manson Family, who torment her after she graciously gives one of them a place for the night in her aunt's home. Clement, perhaps a reason for his abilities as a psychopath, has a innocent, if nerdy, appearance, and doesn't seem to be such a dangerous threat, and is able to secure Jackie's trust after she is emotionally/psychologically destroyed by the family(..and after nearly being raped by the owner of a nearby hotel, Ed, portrayed by Aldo Ray)which results in a grim conclusion. The second victim, Charly(Jennifer Ashley), is a young woman who joins a crew shooting nude pictorals for another magazine. The crew consists of Melissa(Francine York), the one who calls the shots, setting up the schedule for the layout of the shoot, Perry(Ray Danton)the man "with connections" who enjoys the company of young girls and often "pimps" them demanding a cut of their profits, photographer Sam(John Denos), and two models(Kitty Carl & Ruthy Ross), renting a cabin on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Clement secretly boats to their location, awaiting his chances to kill each one of them. The third chosen victim, a pretty stewardess, Vera(Tiffany Bolling), provides the most problems for Clement as she, despite how fate arranges for her possible doom, finds ways to escape potential harm. Vera's car blows a tire as she rushes off to escape Clement, her pursuer(..she decides to leave her apartment after Clement kills Vera's roommate, believing the person was her)hitching a ride with two sailors who drug her, molesting her in the process. Clement offers her a ride, she discovers his magazine(..with the women's faces cut away, with hers circled as next), and a showdown will conclude the film within the charred remains of Topanga Canyon in a fight for survival.
I was really pleasantly surprised with John Peyser's CENTERFOLD GIRLS, the idea of an anthology featuring three separate stories linking the killer to all of them. Interesting how the film only provides little details regarding the killer. We are witness to Clement's methods of selecting victims, how he operates, and how he carries out his dedicated mission of "cleansing" them of their immorality, in regards to using their luscious bodies to stain the minds of the viewing public. The razor murders are expertly staged in not showing the slice in grisly detail yet maintaining an impact in how he's able to attack in a quick assault, mostly from behind, without their being able to escape(..except at the end, when Clement, unlike times past, wastes time, flashing his "friend" in front of Vera's face)..director Peyser uses blood spray(..such as how blood splatters a window, or collects in a pool) instead of the typical blade carving flesh in gruesome detail, quick and concise, moving to the next scene.
Pine is impressive(..the real standout, a reason his face is recognizable while others not so much)as the killer, a dedicated sociopath who hides his insecurities and sexual incapability under a desire to rid the world of filthy women. The women of the cast(..except York and maybe Bauer)won't knock your socks off with their performances, but their delectable flesh is featured extensively. The film shows the ugly side behind being beautiful and desirable, how the blessings of having alluring qualities can lead to mistreatment and cruelty. Perfectly 70's, particularly how sexually liberated women are in the film, and how mores had changed(..Clement is almost a reject from a different time attempting to right the wrongs of society by "cutting away" the trash that pollutes it). In every story, women are lustfully gazed upon by eager males who present themselves as respectable and helpful, only to reveal their primal urges later. Lots of nudity which is to be expected when dealing with such lurid subject matter. Startlingly resembles many 80's slashers with quite a head-start since John Peyser's CENTERFOLD GIRLS was released in '74..for the exception of 70's characteristics like the clothing styles and vehicles representing that era of cinema. Very effective use of Topange Canyon forests that had been decimated by a fire, whose remains, as Pine effectively proclaimed in an interview, resemble a type of hell.
CENTERFOLD GIRLS has three different stories featuring the next victim chosen from the magazine by Clement who circles their faces, tearing them away with his razor after finishing them off, consoling himself with a music from his record player. He's very clean cut, tidy, always seen wearing a suit, glasses, bow tie, the works. He drives a beat-up blue station wagon and later tells the third victim that he's a salesman so we might know how Clement works as a serial killer, his trips "up north" a way for him to successfully carry out his methodical acts towards those selected for execution.
The first victim is a beautiful nurse, Jackie(Jaime Lyn Bauer), who drives "into the mountains" to interview for a job falling prey to "the family"(Dennis Olivieri, Janet Wood, Teda Bracci, and Talie Cochrane), a group of weirdos, modeled obviously after the Manson Family, who torment her after she graciously gives one of them a place for the night in her aunt's home. Clement, perhaps a reason for his abilities as a psychopath, has a innocent, if nerdy, appearance, and doesn't seem to be such a dangerous threat, and is able to secure Jackie's trust after she is emotionally/psychologically destroyed by the family(..and after nearly being raped by the owner of a nearby hotel, Ed, portrayed by Aldo Ray)which results in a grim conclusion. The second victim, Charly(Jennifer Ashley), is a young woman who joins a crew shooting nude pictorals for another magazine. The crew consists of Melissa(Francine York), the one who calls the shots, setting up the schedule for the layout of the shoot, Perry(Ray Danton)the man "with connections" who enjoys the company of young girls and often "pimps" them demanding a cut of their profits, photographer Sam(John Denos), and two models(Kitty Carl & Ruthy Ross), renting a cabin on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Clement secretly boats to their location, awaiting his chances to kill each one of them. The third chosen victim, a pretty stewardess, Vera(Tiffany Bolling), provides the most problems for Clement as she, despite how fate arranges for her possible doom, finds ways to escape potential harm. Vera's car blows a tire as she rushes off to escape Clement, her pursuer(..she decides to leave her apartment after Clement kills Vera's roommate, believing the person was her)hitching a ride with two sailors who drug her, molesting her in the process. Clement offers her a ride, she discovers his magazine(..with the women's faces cut away, with hers circled as next), and a showdown will conclude the film within the charred remains of Topanga Canyon in a fight for survival.
I was really pleasantly surprised with John Peyser's CENTERFOLD GIRLS, the idea of an anthology featuring three separate stories linking the killer to all of them. Interesting how the film only provides little details regarding the killer. We are witness to Clement's methods of selecting victims, how he operates, and how he carries out his dedicated mission of "cleansing" them of their immorality, in regards to using their luscious bodies to stain the minds of the viewing public. The razor murders are expertly staged in not showing the slice in grisly detail yet maintaining an impact in how he's able to attack in a quick assault, mostly from behind, without their being able to escape(..except at the end, when Clement, unlike times past, wastes time, flashing his "friend" in front of Vera's face)..director Peyser uses blood spray(..such as how blood splatters a window, or collects in a pool) instead of the typical blade carving flesh in gruesome detail, quick and concise, moving to the next scene.
Pine is impressive(..the real standout, a reason his face is recognizable while others not so much)as the killer, a dedicated sociopath who hides his insecurities and sexual incapability under a desire to rid the world of filthy women. The women of the cast(..except York and maybe Bauer)won't knock your socks off with their performances, but their delectable flesh is featured extensively. The film shows the ugly side behind being beautiful and desirable, how the blessings of having alluring qualities can lead to mistreatment and cruelty. Perfectly 70's, particularly how sexually liberated women are in the film, and how mores had changed(..Clement is almost a reject from a different time attempting to right the wrongs of society by "cutting away" the trash that pollutes it). In every story, women are lustfully gazed upon by eager males who present themselves as respectable and helpful, only to reveal their primal urges later. Lots of nudity which is to be expected when dealing with such lurid subject matter. Startlingly resembles many 80's slashers with quite a head-start since John Peyser's CENTERFOLD GIRLS was released in '74..for the exception of 70's characteristics like the clothing styles and vehicles representing that era of cinema. Very effective use of Topange Canyon forests that had been decimated by a fire, whose remains, as Pine effectively proclaimed in an interview, resemble a type of hell.
The killer of centerfold girls.
HumanoidOfFlesh7 August 2009
I first read about "The Centerfold Girls" in a wonderful Stephen Thrower's "Nightmare USA" and as a big serial killer enthusiast I wanted to see it as soon as possible.This is seriously grim and sleazy piece of exploitation cinema from California.Andrew Prine plays a serial killer named Clement Dunne who spends much of his time slicing up the centerfolds from erotic magazines.He vents his rage by killing these models with the first seen during the opening credits as a pretty corpse falling out of a car and getting buried near the ocean.The film then splits into three separate stalker tales for each centerfold with the second one being the nastiest and most gruesome.The first razor throat slashing is extremely effective,the acting is solid and there is plenty of nudity.If you are a fan of violent 70's exploitation gems you can't miss "The Centerfold Girls".8 out of 10.
A stunning centrefold.
morrison-dylan-fan3 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
After my viewing of the terrible Mary Millington Giallo-Lite British (s)explotation film The Playbirds,which was an "unofficial riff" remake of the proto-Giallo Noirish British film Cover-Girl Killer.So when I heard about this film,my first feeling was one of dread that this would be another disappointing "riff" on the film.When I viewed the film,I instead found an extremely entertaining movie,that does an amazing job at juggling genres.
The plots- (note:due to the film being an anthology movie,I am going to write each "story" of the movie separately.
Serial killer Clemment Dunne decides that he is going to kill every girl who has featured in a "best of the year centrefolds" adult magazine,due to none of the girls now being "pure" and "innercent"
Story 1:
A nurse (Jackie) starts to get very threatening phone calls,from a man who is stalking her,who says that he wants to help "clean her of all her sins" by murdering her.After hearing this,Jackie feels that it is best that she gets as far away from the stalker as possible,by going for a new job that is very far away from her current working place.
As shes fuels up Jackie,meets a free-spirited hitchhiker (Linda Williams),who says that she is completely on her own.Feeling sorry for her Jackie decides to invite Linda to come along with her.
When they at last reach the new place that Jackie hopes to be working at,she is told that the doctor that she was meant to have an interview with for the job is off today.Luckaly Jackies aunt has a villa near by that is currently empty,which she can stay at with Linda for the night.Later in the night,some of Lindas friends decide to pay her and Jackie a visit,which gets Jackie to start thinking that a killer stalker may not be the only thing that she has to fear tonight..
Story 2:
A group of models,who are hoping to get a big "break" into being major stars for adult magazines,go to a remote island for a photo shoot by a man who claims to have all of the connections that they each need to make it big in the business. (Although they each must do him "favors" if they want him to help them break into the business)
When they arrive on the island,they discover that no one else is living on the island,and that the electricity is down.Although,with one of the models (Charlene) having recently been getting some very nasty phone calls from a man (Dunne),they may not actually be the only people that are on the island.
Story 3:
With having had a constant stream of threatening phone calls,and "funeral" flowers from Clemment Dunne,Air Steward-turned pin-up Vera Porter decides to go into hiding,so that there is no chance of Dunne finding her.Just before she leaves,Porter tells one of her best friends where she will be staying,and that her friend should not tell anyone where she is hiding,unless it is for a family emergency.
Inadvetantly,her friend gives Dunne all the details about where Porter is staying,due to him pretending to be her mums doctor.When Clemment finally catches up with Vera,he is astonished to discover that there are other people that are wanting to destroy Porter..
View on the film:
For the three stories in the film,which are all slightly interlocking,screenwriters Arthur Marks and Bob Peete have impressively been able to make each section of the film tackle different genres very successfully.For the first story in the film Marks and Peetes do an extremely enjoyable mini-Giallo! (with the killer wearing gloves during the murderers)
whilst the plot has a similar feel to Umberto Lenzis interesting (though pretty flawed) Giallo Oasis Of Fear,although in this version (which thankfully has made some of the uncountable Manson over tones in Lenzis film,a bit more subtle)the story progresses in a very well paced way,with Jackie warming to Linda,before realising that she may have let her guard down over Linda and her "friends" a bit too soon.
One of the main things that really made this part of the film stand out to me,was director John Peysers very artistic final death scene,which is very cleverly done,and is a scene that would put smiles on Lenzi and Dario Argentos faces!.
Peysers also chucks the viewer straight into a great slasher movie,which along with an excellent location that really sets the mood for the story,is also helped by a mesmerising performance of Andrew Prine as Clemment Dunne,who really shows the characters calculating and ruthless side,in this section of the film.
whilst the last story in the film,is a sadly less gripping road/chase story,it is still a huge amount of fun,with Marks and Peetes letting Dunne see a bit of a different side to one of the girls,and the final chase/battle scene seeming to take place on a stunning forgotten burnt-out planet!.
Final view on the film:
A cleverly written and directed (and very different) anthology film,that any fans of Giallos or Slashers will really enjoy.
The plots- (note:due to the film being an anthology movie,I am going to write each "story" of the movie separately.
Serial killer Clemment Dunne decides that he is going to kill every girl who has featured in a "best of the year centrefolds" adult magazine,due to none of the girls now being "pure" and "innercent"
Story 1:
A nurse (Jackie) starts to get very threatening phone calls,from a man who is stalking her,who says that he wants to help "clean her of all her sins" by murdering her.After hearing this,Jackie feels that it is best that she gets as far away from the stalker as possible,by going for a new job that is very far away from her current working place.
As shes fuels up Jackie,meets a free-spirited hitchhiker (Linda Williams),who says that she is completely on her own.Feeling sorry for her Jackie decides to invite Linda to come along with her.
When they at last reach the new place that Jackie hopes to be working at,she is told that the doctor that she was meant to have an interview with for the job is off today.Luckaly Jackies aunt has a villa near by that is currently empty,which she can stay at with Linda for the night.Later in the night,some of Lindas friends decide to pay her and Jackie a visit,which gets Jackie to start thinking that a killer stalker may not be the only thing that she has to fear tonight..
Story 2:
A group of models,who are hoping to get a big "break" into being major stars for adult magazines,go to a remote island for a photo shoot by a man who claims to have all of the connections that they each need to make it big in the business. (Although they each must do him "favors" if they want him to help them break into the business)
When they arrive on the island,they discover that no one else is living on the island,and that the electricity is down.Although,with one of the models (Charlene) having recently been getting some very nasty phone calls from a man (Dunne),they may not actually be the only people that are on the island.
Story 3:
With having had a constant stream of threatening phone calls,and "funeral" flowers from Clemment Dunne,Air Steward-turned pin-up Vera Porter decides to go into hiding,so that there is no chance of Dunne finding her.Just before she leaves,Porter tells one of her best friends where she will be staying,and that her friend should not tell anyone where she is hiding,unless it is for a family emergency.
Inadvetantly,her friend gives Dunne all the details about where Porter is staying,due to him pretending to be her mums doctor.When Clemment finally catches up with Vera,he is astonished to discover that there are other people that are wanting to destroy Porter..
View on the film:
For the three stories in the film,which are all slightly interlocking,screenwriters Arthur Marks and Bob Peete have impressively been able to make each section of the film tackle different genres very successfully.For the first story in the film Marks and Peetes do an extremely enjoyable mini-Giallo! (with the killer wearing gloves during the murderers)
whilst the plot has a similar feel to Umberto Lenzis interesting (though pretty flawed) Giallo Oasis Of Fear,although in this version (which thankfully has made some of the uncountable Manson over tones in Lenzis film,a bit more subtle)the story progresses in a very well paced way,with Jackie warming to Linda,before realising that she may have let her guard down over Linda and her "friends" a bit too soon.
One of the main things that really made this part of the film stand out to me,was director John Peysers very artistic final death scene,which is very cleverly done,and is a scene that would put smiles on Lenzi and Dario Argentos faces!.
Peysers also chucks the viewer straight into a great slasher movie,which along with an excellent location that really sets the mood for the story,is also helped by a mesmerising performance of Andrew Prine as Clemment Dunne,who really shows the characters calculating and ruthless side,in this section of the film.
whilst the last story in the film,is a sadly less gripping road/chase story,it is still a huge amount of fun,with Marks and Peetes letting Dunne see a bit of a different side to one of the girls,and the final chase/battle scene seeming to take place on a stunning forgotten burnt-out planet!.
Final view on the film:
A cleverly written and directed (and very different) anthology film,that any fans of Giallos or Slashers will really enjoy.
"I Groove On Quality, Not Quantity!"...
azathothpwiggins11 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS stars Andrew Prine as Clement Dunne, a murdering madman on a mission from God. Dunne seeks to rid the world of the beautiful, naked women who grace the pages of a certain adult magazine. The movie is split into three parts.
Part one concerns Jackie (Jaime Lyn Bauer), a nurse with a heart of gold who just happens to be on Dunne's naughty list. If that's not bad enough, she's got a group of free-loading hippies on her hands, severely abusing her hospitality. They're also a bunch of perverts! Sort of a brain-damaged Manson family. Will she escape the frying pan, only to jump into the fire?
Next on Dunne's roster is Charly (Jennifer Ashley) another "wanton woman" for his straight razor. Charly's on a photo shoot with a group of models and snobby photographer types. Nudity and soap opera antics ensue. When Dunne arrives, he finds another bunch of pesky people in his way. No problem, he doesn't mind adding a few extra blasphemers to his hit list.
Lastly, we're introduced to Vera (Tiffany Bolling), a flight attendant, and part-time pin-up girl. A little mix-up prolongs Dunne's latest "job", and Vera winds up getting stuck with a pair of creepy, drunken sailors out to take advantage of her. Will she escape their clutches, winding up in Dunne's instead?
According to this movie, being a young, pretty female is hell on Earth! Especially, if posing in a men's periodical is one's forte. A true drive-in / exploitation film, complete with wall-to-wall female nudity, bloody violence, and sleazy situations, this movie excels in its sub-genre. Prine makes a pretty good maniac, in his suit, tie, two-tone shoes, and glasses combo, making him look like a crazed bookkeeper! Certainly not for everyone, but entertaining in its twisted way.
P.S.- The grrrl power finale is worth the wait!...
Part one concerns Jackie (Jaime Lyn Bauer), a nurse with a heart of gold who just happens to be on Dunne's naughty list. If that's not bad enough, she's got a group of free-loading hippies on her hands, severely abusing her hospitality. They're also a bunch of perverts! Sort of a brain-damaged Manson family. Will she escape the frying pan, only to jump into the fire?
Next on Dunne's roster is Charly (Jennifer Ashley) another "wanton woman" for his straight razor. Charly's on a photo shoot with a group of models and snobby photographer types. Nudity and soap opera antics ensue. When Dunne arrives, he finds another bunch of pesky people in his way. No problem, he doesn't mind adding a few extra blasphemers to his hit list.
Lastly, we're introduced to Vera (Tiffany Bolling), a flight attendant, and part-time pin-up girl. A little mix-up prolongs Dunne's latest "job", and Vera winds up getting stuck with a pair of creepy, drunken sailors out to take advantage of her. Will she escape their clutches, winding up in Dunne's instead?
According to this movie, being a young, pretty female is hell on Earth! Especially, if posing in a men's periodical is one's forte. A true drive-in / exploitation film, complete with wall-to-wall female nudity, bloody violence, and sleazy situations, this movie excels in its sub-genre. Prine makes a pretty good maniac, in his suit, tie, two-tone shoes, and glasses combo, making him look like a crazed bookkeeper! Certainly not for everyone, but entertaining in its twisted way.
P.S.- The grrrl power finale is worth the wait!...
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
