User Reviews

"Sex, guts, blood & men are all mothers!"

If you are looking for finesse and polish, then you might wish to look elsewhere for your entertainment because Herschell Gordon Lewis' SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS is lacking in regards to overall quality in style, acting, and proper pacing. I think this kind of movie might appeal to biker movie aficionados rather than the typical genre fan for the premise concerns an all women gang on motorcycles(..called The Man-Eaters) who love to stir up trouble and control men(..treating them as little more than studs or slabs of meat to chew up and spit out once they are done with them). Indeed this was against the grain in regards to the typical male-dominated biker movie where the women were merely a babe on their arm, obedient to their command. The movie concerns the Man-Eaters who find themselves in a war with a group of male thugs after one of their girls is kidnapped and beaten. These girls are not to be messed with and the guys find this out the hard way. Pretty violent at times, but tame in other areas(..the women chose what man they want to sleep with as the result who finishes their race, but the sexuality and erupting orgy remain clean, without nudity).

A sub-plot features suburbanite Man-Eater Karen(Christie Wagner)having difficulties with her fellow gang, getting too cozy with a selected stud. Soon an ex-boyfriend(..wishing to be her savior)attempts to talk her into splitting from the gang. In a startling scene(..to prove her loyalty to the Man-Eaters)she must drag a stud(..one she was emotionally involved with, which is a no-no) attached by rope to the end of her bike. The cutie-pie Honey Pot(Nancy Lee Noble)serves as the group's mascot, eventually allowed into the biker sisterhood(..we witness her initiation through a blood pact with the gang, who follow by a smooch on the lips, and a "syrup-bath"). Honey Pot is the one the male goons kidnap as the result of a violent altercation between them and the Man-Eaters(..a show stopping highlight as we watch the girls beat the crap out of them, displaying just how tough these broads are), leaving her practically dead. In revenge, the girls use a wire to behead one of the boys which HGL's gore fans should appreciate.

I can't say I'm a fan of this one. I didn't particularly like how a great deal of dialogue is barely recognizable. Many of the jokes often spoken by the girls(..they seem to be enjoying each other's company despite the fact that I found them mostly repellent)aren't exactly giggle-inducing. The orgies lack authenticity(..I can understand HGL's desire to appeal to a wider, more general audience, but it's hard not to roll your eyes at such an unrealistic scene of bodies rolling around, clothes on for the most part)and characters are pretty bland for the exception of a few who get most of the dialogue. Betty Connell fares best as the leader of the gang, Queen, who doesn't take crap from anybody(..she uses this belt chain to assault a bartender for the whereabouts of the male leader of the gang she's pursuing). Noble and Wagner service the film as eye candy(..Wagner is pretty enticing in her tight green short-shorts) Most of the film takes place on an airfield or in this cramped room, so the limited locations become a bit stale. The camera(..even worse than past HGL movies)is all over the place and the editing is at times maddening. Still, I'm guessing the movie might just appeal to the drive-in crowd for which this was targeted towards. I think it lacks punch, though.

We covered this movie in July of last year, referring to it as "filthy, grimy, messy and completely wonderful." It's also one of Joe Bob Briggs' Sleaziest Movies in the History of the World (keep in mind, ten our of the fourteen movies on that list came from Herschell Gordon Lewis). Now, Arrow Video has released it along with Just for the Hell of It on one blu ray, so you don't have to shell out the big bucks for the Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast Box (but you totally should).

Arrow Video has lent their typical master's touch to this release, with both movies presented in high def 1080p and filmed introductions from Lewis for both films. As the Godfather of Gore states in that intro, this is the one movie that rivals Blood Feast for box office and was his answer to the question, "Why don't you stop cutting up all those girls and kill some men?"

This time through, I watched the film with commentary by H.G. Lewis and Something Weird's Mike Vraney. This commentary track is a real joy, with Lewis quite honest about his faults as a filmmaker while giving tips for would be exploitation creations for how to film things properly. I wasn't sure how much more I could love this movie, but this release exponentially increased my ardor.

Filmed with a legitimate cast of biker riding women, this movie is years ahead of its time. Heck, it's years ahead of its time now. These women outride, outfight and dominate every man they meet with no apologies whatsoever. Even Karen, our would-be protagonist, after being forced to kill a lover by dragging him behind her hog, still stays with the Maneaters. They terrorize Florida and every human being they meet because they're outside of the scope of humanity. They're superheroes - well, supervillains - who can't be stopped.

I love that Lewis realizes that adding on a post-credits scene in 1968 was a mistake. It was often trimmed or audiences left before they saw it. The film can't end with the Maneaters in jail. They speak almost directly to the camera, promising more chaos. It's as if they're the biker gang Avengers years before anyone would think to film such a sequence.

I also love that Karen rejects the straight world and her ex-boyfriend Joe, who wants things to be the way they always were. The women in this movie reject the roles their gender has enforced upon them and instead have no issues slicing, dicing, tearing and maiming their way through their rival gang, led by Joe Boy. The fact that he's a slice of mom and pop Americana, with bleached blonde good looks and it's astounding - not to be a broken record - that the film ends with her rejecting white picket fences and a certain future.

H.G. Lewis made 33 films between 1962 and 1972. Those films would run in drive-ins for years before the adventure of the VCR and Something Weird would bring them back to viewers. Most of these movies had lower budgets than this and less time ($60,000 spent over two weeks), but they all exhibit a zeal and love for shock and showing you something different than you've ever seen before. Lewis remains affable and happy throughout the commentary, the kind of uncle you wish you had who'd done some crazy things in his past and wasn't shy about sharing them with you. The loss of both he and Mike Vraney are palpable.

Needless to say, this movie has my highest possible recommendation.