Ms. 45

Between the ultimate video nasty Driller Killer and the films for which he is best known; Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, sits what I consider to be Abel Ferrara's finest work - the rape revenge shocker Ms. 45.

Despite it's low budget production; blood that looks very much like red paint and some dodgy prosthetics, it's a well put together film with a fine central performance by Zoë Lund as a mute girl who turns against the world after getting raped twice in one night, proving once again how powerful a character can be without a word of dialogue.

I can see it's influence in the work of some of today's auteurs; Lynne Ramsey's Morvern Callar and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin both spring to mind.

The tone is lightened somewhat by an infectious funky score and some knowing nods to the directors contemporaries. In one scene Ferrara shoots an exact replica of the iconic shot from Woody Allen's Manhattan - two characters in silhouette sat on a bench in front of the Queensboro bridge, but turns the romantic setting on it's head as the scene ends in a blood bath.

You can watch the entire film online for free here:

Ms.45