Hunt Them, Kill Them, Win!

 10th Victim (1965) – Introducing “reality TV” long before it became the “big thing”.  In this Italian satire, “The Big Hunt” pitches contestants against one another in a kill or be killed competition.  Alternating being the hunter or the prey, the winner has to survive ten rounds to win.

Directed by Elio Petri

Starring – Marcelo Mastroianni, Ursula Andress

Why I Liked It – Ummmm, Ursula Andress is beautiful?  Not much else here.

What a dumpster fire.  This one is long on “style” and short on anything else you might want in a movie.  Mastroianni was blessed with movie star looks in the Italian style.  Tall, chiseled looks, dark hair…oh wait.  Some genius decided to give him blond hair.  It jarred my attention every single time he appeared on screen.  It’s a mindless, foolish decision.  Let Marcelo be Marcelo.  Meanwhile, Andress (the original Bond girl among other credits) is at the height of her beauty.  While never a great actress, she handles this role with reasonable skill.

The rest of the movie?  Well.  There’s not a lot of story here.  He’s Italian, with a wife and a mistress.  Paying off his debts is why he’s in the game.  She’s a professional huntress looking for the ultimate score of her career.  She arranges a sponsorship deal and TV coverage of the final victim.  Her disguise (the contestants don’t know who is hunting them or is the prey.  Finding out is part of the game) is as a reporter investigating the Italian male’s pre-occupation with sex.  None of it makes much sense.  But then, all this is taking place in 2079, after the third world war.  It’s one of the nicest looking post-apocalypse world’s you’ll ever see.  There’s  drugs, some of the mildest BDSM you’ll ever see, typical ’60s costume weirdness, shootings, betrayals, and an attempted death by crocodile.  All of it billed as a comedy.

Yes, I’m serious.

Looking for some silly, mindless fun some afternoon?  You could do much worse than this movie.  It even has a bit of a cult following.

But if there’s ANYTHING better to do that day?  Do that.

Rating – ** Not Impressed