Fans of outlaw biker films heads up. Those who dig the revenge genre gather round. If you enjoyed Plan 9 From Outer Space this... wait a minute, where did everyone go?!
Well it begins with an overlong scene of 30 or so young hippie folk laying around a garage (literally, there are no chairs!) getting drunk, smoking herb, and making out. There is no dialog so it serves to establish that.... well I suppose that the biker heroine of the film is one groovin' party host. Anyway, she and her brother go into the house to replenish the supply of brew when there's a knock at the front door. Brother biker opens the door and has his head blown off by a dark figure with a shotgun. At this point one might question whether this is a comedic effort due to the technical expertise here, we see what is clearly a fake dummy head explode, followed by a shot of the actor falling to the floor with head intact! And so begins Bury Me An Angel, as biker chick Dixie P. bids farewell to her mother with a nod, a spit in her direction, and some choice expletives (endearing her even more to the audience) and speeds away on her bike towards revenge.
Along for the ride are 2 male friends, and the three encounter some zaniness along the way. Most notably a strange lady living in what is maybe a desert hotel or restaurant, really not sure what it was supposed to be, but in the film it looks like a 2 car garage with curtains. At any rate, desert lady shows them love and hospitality and then declares she's a witch. The group is not hip to this and show skepticism, so the black magic broad starts with the psychic hot-line talk, "you have revenge in your heart" she tells Dixie. Well Broom Hilda might as well have described Dixie as 40 miles of bad road because she and her 2 pals go after the witch with a vicious verbal assault. The witch is unaffected by their tongue lashing, so Dixie snatches her spell writing hand and shoves it into the burning fireplace, but Zowee! Nothing Happens! She really is a witch they suddenly realize. For some reason the witch's love, hospitality, and passive attitude angered the group, but the realization that she is actually a witch endears her to the three. It's either that or the marijuana joint witch Zelda immediately produces saying "here, save this for the road, I have more" and they form a circle, fire up some wacky tabaccy, and all is well. The lesson learned? Nothing diffuses a dangerous situation from savage pothead bikers like an cannabis offering.
Parts of Bury Me An Angel are indeed dullsville, but there are enough oddball moments to recommend the film. The acting is what you might expect from a very low budget effort. Dixie Peabody's performance is so so throughout, but she pulls one out of the hat with the final confrontation and it becomes a powerful moment believe it or not.
Bury Me an Angel
1971
Action / Drama
Bury Me an Angel
1971
Action / Drama
Plot summary
Tautly directed biker film, told from the woman's point of view. The heroine sets out on the road to avenge her brother's murder, toting a shotgun and meaning business.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Easy Rider meets Plan 9
A bit before its time, and still before its time
The movie is about a biker chick who wants revenge for the murder of her brother. She goes on a quest with two guys, which is good, because they're somewhat more interesting than she is. Not that they're "angels", or even "mature", but they're "kids", so it is understandable that they're immature.
The movie seems to be full of "slices" of little parts of the journey. It's supposed to show character, and it does to some extent.
In 1972, there were some characters that you see here, but there are some stereotypes, especially at the school where adults cower to the bikers.
It's obvious that the film maker wanted to have a mix of "stereotypes scenes" like the bar room brawl and the pool hustling, but those are the weaknesses of the movie. However, the powerful punch of the film makes this weakness fit in a bit.
Using a "witch", although a very modern witch, to show the "wisdom" also makes this weak, and smacks of propaganda. The "witch" is the "mouthpiece" of the work.
However, the "witch" is the sane character in this mix.
Though it is obvious the lead woman is a maniac, the movie does a good job of leading the more naive viewer into the final outcome, where that becomes blatant.
There are many saving graces to the movie. The ending reveals much that some more sophisticated viewers will suspect much earlier, but it probably isn't obvious to the more naive. The ending will be sure to disappoint the kids who think vengeance is "cool". And the ending will even be a pleasant surprise, though a sad one, for the sophisticated viewer.
The two sidekicks are more interesting than the lead, as are some of the people she meets along the way. In a way, these two are the film, as they represent what "somewhat saner" people do when their friend is a psychopath.
This could have been a memorable film. In fact, the climactic scene does make it worthwhile. A good turnabout. Look for this film to some day be one of the classics of this era, for the very reasons it is unpopular with IMDb today. It dares. It is the ultimate in the iconoclastic.
A Howling Hellcat Humping a HotSteel Hog on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge
Dixie Peabody stars as "Dag" in this hypnotic biker film. Dag and her two male biker friends search for the murderer of Dag's brother, who was shot during a party. The film marches the trio into constant trouble,and a friendly encounter with Dan"Grizzly Adams"Haggerty as a young hippie. The music in the film reflects the times of free love and peacenik joy, but the background score in the flashback scenes invoke a witchy pride to the story that itself is dreamy and illusionary.