Schoolgirls in Chains
| Schoolgirls in chains | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Don Jones |
| Produced by | Don Jones |
| Written by | Don Jones |
| Starring |
John Parker Gary Kent Stafford Morgan Merrie Lynn Ross Cheryl Waters |
| Music by | Josef Powell |
| Cinematography | Ronald Victor Garcia |
| Edited by | Maria Lease |
Production company |
Mirror Releasing |
| Distributed by | International Film Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Schoolgirls in Chains is a 1973 American slasher film directed, written, edited and produced by Don Jones and starring Gary Kent, John Parker and Merrie Lynn Ross. The film was shot in Redlands, California in 1972.
Plot
Two deranged brothers, who are under the domineering influence of their crazed mother, kidnap young girls and keep them captive in chains in their basement, where they subject them to depraved "games" that often end in torture and murder.
Cast
- John Parker as John
- Gary Kent as Frank
- Stafford Morgan as Robert
- Merrie Lynn Ross as Sue
- Cheryl Waters as Bonnie
- Suzanne Lund as Ginger
Production
According to an interview with actor Gary Kent, writer-director Don Jones lost his house acquiring funding for the making of a film: "He hocked his house to make the film. He's one of the few directors ever that I know of, besides myself, who actually paid his deferments...When he finally got money from the film, he paid us first before he paid off his house."[1]
Release
It was released theatrically in the United States in 1973. The film was released theatrically in Canada in 1978.
In the 1980s it was released on VHS as "Let's Play Dead." The film was later released in Australia and the UK as Abducted and again in Australia as The Abduction. It was released on DVD in the United States by Media Blasters as Girls in Chains in 2005,It was also titled Come Play with Us. It was re-released with its original title by Code Red on Blu-ray in 2016.[2]
Reception
House of Self-Indulgence calls it "a pretty effective thriller," calling the directing "top notch" and the acting "solid." [3] Mondo Digital says: "Gary Kent, a drive-in regular going back the late '50s in numerous Ray Dennis Steckler and Al Adamson films, is the only major name in the unsavory story of Johnny and Frank, a pair of brothers devoted to their domineering mother who pass their lonely days by swiping ladies traveling through the area and subjecting them to a variety of demented games." [4] Jerry Downing from Letterboxd gave the film three and half stars, calling it, "a pretty solid exploitation flick. It's sleazy, but not quite as much as I expected from the title and artwork."[5]