Axe (aka Lisa, Lisa) (1974) d. Frederick R. Friedel (USA)
After beating a former partner to death and sending his male lover out of a high rise window, three desperate criminals flee the city to lay low for a while until the heat blows over. Steele (Jack Canon), the leader of the bunch, Lomax (Ray Green), the ruthless muscle, and Billy (writer/director Friedel), the clearly conflicted newbie, finally decide to roost at an out-of-the-way farmhouse, inhabited by a young woman, Lisa (Leslie Lee), and her mute, invalid, unnamed grandfather (Douglas Powers). The thugs proceed to bully and boss their way into the house and make themselves part of the “family,” with Steele and Lomax clearly creating unsavory designs for their beautiful, unwilling hostess. But beneath a meek exterior, Lisa’s still waters run deep and dangerous, with a knack for utilizing sharp implements when the occasion calls for it.
