Roberta Findlay once speculated that, had her late husband not been able to channel his anger and misogyny into his art, he may very well have become the exact type of violent criminal depicted in his films. And it’s in that spirit that Spectacle proudly presents to our loyal audience of perverts and weirdos the Ultimate Degenerate’s own magnum opus, Michael Findlay’s infamous “Flesh” trilogy.
The trilogy begins with what was originally intended as a one-off sexploitation “roughie” in THE TOUCH OF HER FLESH (1967), about a cuckolded New York City arms dealer named Richard (played by Findlay himself) who goes on a murderous rampage targeting all women he deems to be “immoral”. But following the film’s unexpected success, noted for its at-the-time unique blend of graphic sex and graphic violence, Findlay quickly got to work on a pair of sequels.
The two follow-up films, THE CURSE OF HER FLESH (1968) and THE KISS OF HER FLESH (1970), doubled and tripled down on the perversity and experimentation of the first entry. Where TOUCH featured a fairly straightforward proto-slasher narrative interspersed with sequences of striptease and bondage play, the two sequels take the opposite track, arguably acting as showcases for go-go dancing, BDSM, paraphilia & kinks of all kinds, sexual contraptions, stag films-within-a-film, and a truly applaudable amount of wordplay around one victim’s insatiable “pussy” (referring to her pet cat… get your minds out of the gutter…), rounded out with strands of plot detailing Richard’s quest for vengeance against his wife’s lover and promiscuous women at-large.
But apart from Findlay, the real “star” of the series is none other than his co-writer, cinematographer, and spouse, Roberta, whose work on the trilogy extends the material well beyond the grindhouse and into the arthouse. Each film is its own masterclass in economical filmmaking, thanks in large part to Roberta Findlay’s incredibly crisp and nimble black-and-white photography that adds a visual dynamism to every act, no matter how perverse, and accentuates the curve of each blade and bosom. So even if rampant misogyny and sexual violence isn’t really your thing, we can still guarantee that the visual feast each film presents is worth the price of admission alone.
Special thanks to Muscle Distribution, Distribpix, and Something Weird Video.
THE TOUCH OF HER FLESH
Dir. Michael Findlay, 1967
United States. 78 min.
In English.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 – 7:30 PM
Richard Jennings (Michael Findlay) is a happily married weapons dealer getting ready to leave town for a little business trip. Everything in his life is great— until he swings back home to grab something he’s forgotten, only to catch his wife (Angelique Pettyjohn) in bed with another man (Ron Scardera). Overwhelmed by her betrayal, he staggers out into the street and right into the path of an oncoming car, losing an eye and gaining a limp in the process. Scorned and vengeful, Richard adopts a new identity and begins a murderous rampage against all women he deems to be “immoral,” with his former wife as his ultimate target.
THE CURSE OF HER FLESH
Dir. Michael Findlay, 1968
United States. 78 min.
In English.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 – 5 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 – 10 PM
In this outrageous sequel to THE TOUCH OF HER FLESH, the maniacal weapons dealer Richard Jennings returns to continue his misogynistic quest to rid the world of sex-crazed women. Posing as the owner of a burlesque club, Jennings ups the ante— and the body count— by devising an array of increasingly gruesome methods of dispatching his victims, all the while planning the ultimate revenge against his wife’s lover, Steve.
THE KISS OF HER FLESH
Dir. Michael Findlay, 1970
United States. 69 min.
In English.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 – MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 – MIDNIGHT
In this final installment of the trilogy, the maniacal arms dealer Richard Jennings has lost what little sanity he had left. Fully devoting his life to his quest to brutally slay any and every woman who crosses his path, Jennings finally meets his match in the form of his deceased wife’s sister, Maria (Uta Erickson), who might turn out to be even more deranged than he is.