THE FEMALE BUNCH is another trash-tastic sleaze flick from indie filmmaker Al Adamson, who never let a lack of quality and expertise get in the way of him churning out Z-grade flick after Z-grade flick. This one's set in the desert, where a gang of female runaways run drugs and generally abuse men in their own vindictive ways. It's a tawdry effort regularly punctuated by bursts of violence against male supporting stars (including Russ Tamblyn),although Adamson's emphasis appears to be on sweaty couplings and nudity. Saddest of all is the presence of an aged, ill and tired Lon Chaney Jr. in his final-ever role. His voice is gone and he's regularly necking vodka straight from the bottle, and it's a sad way for any star to end up (and just as sad as the fate that befell his fellow Universal icon Bela Lugosi a couple of decades before).

Interestingly enough, this view of misandry is written by men and directed by one, Al Adamson, a Z grade grindehouse sleaze fest with a bunch of embittered females who run a ranch where the intended target is the unsuspecting men who like naive flies crawl into their web. The initiation to become a resident of this house of harpies is to agree to be buried alive which is followed by a bunch of other initiation rituals to prove they've got what it takes to be a part of these alleged feminists who don't have a clue as to its real meaning.

The film is told in flashback by the sweet Jennifer Bishop, from her ill-fated relationship with an untalented Vegas club singer to her attempt to get out. She's rescued from her suicide attempt by cocktail waitress Regina Carrol, a rather rough looking female who makes Sylvia Miles seem classy. Once she's at the ranch, she's drugged up and basically raped by another one of the women, a disgusting scene with no point other than to titilate dirty minds. The only smart women are the ones told to leave because they don't pass the test. These females are also repulsive racists, truly vile as they verbally anniahilate a Mexican man they encounter when they go to Mexico.

The presence of Russ Tamblyn and Lon Chaney Jr. is a sad statement on their careers at this point, although Chaney died before this came out. The film only goes to show the hypocrisy of the director who used a serious theme to create an ugly view of that social issue. There's absolutely no point to this other than to exploit violence and show women in various states of undress. This is one of those films too that will challenge the viewer to even make it through half an hour of the film, let alone the full 80 minutes.

After viewing Al Adamson's "Angels' Wild Women", I was wondering if it was such a good thing that I rented this as well. Since "Angels" didn't actually feature much footage with the women, I was nervous that "The Female Bunch" would be another wasted opportunity. Well, it wasn't.

Jennifer Bishop is Grace, the butch leader of a group of feminists who make up a secret society in an isolated desert ranch (in reality the notorious Spahn Ranch, home of the Manson Family). A new member, Sandy (Nesa Renet),is buried alive in a coffin to ensure she has guts (great claustrophobic scene)! Regina Carrol does a sultry go-go dance before once again getting an underwritten part (Al! She was your wife! Couldn't you have given her better roles?!).

The male cast members, Russ Tamblyn, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Geoffrey Land, are not in the movie that much, which makes "The Female Bunch" all the more true to the title. Tamblyn doesn't do much but be a victim of the sadistic ladies when he has sex with Denise (Leslie MacRae) and attempts to rape Grace! It's very hard to watch Chaney in his last role; his voice has been irreparably damaged from years of smoking and drinking and is barely audible. I much preferred his silent role in "Dracula vs. Frankenstein". Land only becomes a character in the last 15 minutes, so this really is the female bunch's movie. Thank God Adamson lived up to the title! Things to watch for: the opening scenes of ladies on horseback and a plane chasing a young couple through the desert is stunningly choreographed by Adamson standards; the heavily claustrophobic scene of Sandy being buried alive; Grace brands Tamblyn with a branding iron; and basically any scene where the women appear. A very, very good movie. It isn't "Satan's Sadists", but at times comes very close to topping it! Highly recommended!