Entry Thirty-Seven: Forced Entry (1973)

Forced Entry (1973)

Dir: Shaun Costello

"He was trained to kill...and kill...and kill...and kill."

I took a bit of a break, but now Fuck Flick February continues!  This one is a bit rougher than the last, but please join me as I throw on my best glare-reducing yellow shades, pour an extra-stiff cocktail and journey down into the Basement of Sleaze to spend a little time with the infamous 'Nam vet rape-porn XXX flick Forced Entry.

After a pretty pretentious introduction that includes a newspaper clipping describing "Vietnam disorder" and a quote from an Air Force psychologist describing the need for Vietnam veterans to "find an enemy...ANY enemy," we're introduced to porno legend Harry Reems (Deep Throat) as our nameless antagonist-I'ma call him Joe, since he works at "Joe's Friendly Service" station and my friend Joe acquired this film for me (how's that for a legacy, J.C.?).  After Joe pumps gas for a buxom young woman, he follows her home and, after climbing her fire escape, watches her fuck her boyfriend, who kinda looks like David Cross with hair.  After they finish, Joe goes downstairs and, in the movie's best scene (and a genuinely great acting moment by Reems), admires his reflection in the mirror, his facial expression going from dour to lighthearted, before sticking his chewing gum upon it and imagining himself back in 'Nam, complete with combat helmet.  He then breaks into the woman's apartment and forces her to blow him while images of Vietnamese children and explosions flash across the screen(!), promising to kill her quick if she does a good job.  After she finishes blowing him, Joe slits her throat (a VERY unconvincing makeup effect).  After going back to work, Joe encounters a cute woman who asks him for directions, and...JESUS CHRIST, MORE 'NAM FOOTAGE!  This time, we see children laughing, singing and dancing in a village juxtaposed with what appear to be random explosions.  Joe follows "direction woman" home and forces her to go down on him at gunpoint, while he laughs at the prospect of anally violating her...Oh yeah, he makes her lick his balls, too, and says "Take it easy with those teeth, lady; you bite me, I'll put a bullet through your head!"  Joe is unsatisfied with the eventual anal experience ("You got my prick all full of shit!"), and somehow kills "direction woman" by cutting her shoulder.  Later, Joe fills up the van of a lesbian couple (in another genuinely effective shot, Joe's "Nam vision" is superimposed upon the van's backdoor windows while they laugh together) and follows them home but, when they invite him to join their tryst, he suddenly goes into full-on  flashback mode, revisiting both his recent crimes and his experiences in 'Nam before shooting himself in the head.

Y'know, I don't really know what to say about Forced Entry.  Yeah, it's basic concept is offensive (it manages to exploit both woman and veterans), yet it's so goddamn pretentious that it's tough to take seriously (the "'Nam footage" flashbacks that interrupt every "intense scene" are so obvious and ham-fisted that it's hard not to laugh at them).  This film does have a deserved legacy, however; it inspired Scorsese's Taxi Driver and predates the "Nam-vetsploitation" genre (My Friends Need Killing, First Blood).  It was shot on 16mm, which only enhances it's scuzzy atmosphere.  If you've read this, you don't really need to see it.