Lauren Worthington (Georgine Darcy) is a freewheeling New Orleans socialite with a problem -- she is promiscuous. When her husband goes away on business, Lauren goes on a binge. Unfortunately, she attracts mostly sleazy, predatory men, such as a grimy garage attendant who stalks her and eventually blackmails her into having (rough) sex with him.
Along the way, Lauren incites a violent barroom brawl, beds a male hustler, and seduces her daughter's boyfriend (Gerald McRaney). Throughout, she cries, "I've got to stop this," but does not.
Even though both Lauren and her daughter (Christina Hart) are presented as sexually liberated, the filmmakers are all too happy to give them tragic downfalls, including a "hot" scene in which the daughter is manhandled and beaten by a rapist. A smarmy bubblegum pop theme song includes lyrics that speak to Lauren's "heart of darkness," and flashbacks show that she was abused as a child. Ultimately, the moral of the story is that ladies should not be sexually aggressive.
WOMEN AND BLOODY TERROR is the companion piece to director Joy Houck's slightly more accomplished PSYCHO clone, NIGHT OF BLOODY HORROR (1969). Both movies are equally sadistic but competently produced low budget drive-in flicks, made in the days when political correctness was an unknown term.
The soundtrack, which was released on Capitol Records, includes songs by jazz man Gary Lemel and rocker Sonny Geraci (lead singer of The Outsiders, who recorded the hit single "Time Won't Let Me" in 1966).
