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Four thugs, fresh off a gangland killing, shack up at a remote farmhouse to elude the cops; there, they find a strange, silent young woman and her paralyzed grandfather. That's basically the entire first half of the film, as director Frederick R. Friedel, who also stars as one of the thugs, takes his sweet time developing the plot, quite possibly because he equates flesh-crawling suspense with draggy pacing.

But just when you think you've stumbled onto yet another example of low-budget catatonia, LISA, LISA (otherwise known as AXE--wait, I said that already) develops into a chilly little movie, due in large part to a creepy, enigmatic performance by Leslie Lee, the titular Lisa. You see everything from her point of view, so there's little surprise involved in her actions, but her weirdly robotic mien--is she nuts or what, exactly?--makes her a compelling presence. Another asset is the surprisingly decent original score.

More of a mood piece than a genuine thriller--it's only 68 minutes long, and not much happens in that time--this is a memorably off-center horror film.

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originally posted: 12/06/02 18:57:07
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