King Russ Meyer is dead
Long live King Meyer! That must have been one of the mottoes director Jonathan Yudis treasured whilst shooting this indescribably demented but surprisingly successful tribute to rancid 70's exploitation, and more particularly to the fabulous repertoire of the Fellini of the Sex Industry; mister Russ Meyer himself. "Pervert!" has a weak premise, an incoherent screenplay, monotonous & uninspired cinematography and horrid acting performances
but we wouldn't want it any other way! It's a silly, brainless smut-production and it advertises a famous porn star's big breasts on all the posters, that is all you need to know! Twenty-something James drives up to his father's isolated ranch in the desert to help him out with the chores during the summer. Father Hezekiah has clearly found some new hobbies since his wife died, like making females sculptures out of rotting meat and more importantly share the bed with the large-breasted Cheryl. James, understandably, wants a piece of her as well, which leads to father/son arguments on the ranch. Shortly after, Cheryl goes missing and Hezekiah new and equally voluptuous girlfriend turns up dead. The plot then takes a couple of grotesquely insane twists and ludicrous turns, and only truly die-hard exploitation fanatics will be able to tolerate them. The first words that can be heard in "Pervert!" are the lyrics of a song that is spot-on and immediately determines the atmosphere of the entire film: "Baby, I'm so sick
I'm so twisted. I'm a pervert, baby!". Hell yeah, everyone's slightly perverted (or at least deranged) in this movie! "Pervert!" is definitely inspired by the best work of Russ Meyer. For example, the compilation of moments when James & Cheryl have sex at various places around the ranch while Hezekiah is sleeping is clearly copied from "Supervixens" and the early scene with the yummy hitch-hiker is also a textbook Russ Meyer utopia. Adult movie star Mary Carey can't act, and she honestly isn't very attractive, but she sure has an impressive pair of blouse bunnies. Jonathan Yudis set aside an interesting role for himself as well, namely the nasty and sexually confused mechanic in town. He also rewarded himself with a totally gratuitous and unexpected kick-a-toddler moment, which was priceless. "Pervert!" is a strange, gory (some nasty butchering, too) and totally moronic no-budget fan-boy flick that proves that grindhouse cinema definitely isn't dead. Warmly recommended to people with a bizarre taste.
