Lila: Mantis in Lace
From The Deuce
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Also Known As
- Mantis in Lace
- Lila
- La Mantide (Italy)
- Laila - Vampir der Lust (West Germany)
Taglines
- Sensual! Terrifying!
- Like a Female Mantis... to LOVE her was to DIE! (Mantis in Lace version)
- Let her show you the heat of desire -- the face of sin! (Lila version)
- SHE LOVED THEM... and loved them and loved them TO DEATH!
Main Details
- Released June 19, 1968
- Color
- Runtime: 86 min (Lila version) / 80 Minutes (Mantis in Lace version)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Production Co: Boxoffice International Pictures
- Distribution: Boxoffice International Pictures
Cast & Crew
- Directed by William Rotsler
- Written by Sanford White
- Produced by Bethel Buckalew, Harry H. Novak, Sanford White
- Cinematography by László Kovács
- Editing by Peter Perry Jr.
- Original Music by Frank A. Coe
- Set Decoration by Frank Borass
- Starring Susan Stewart, Steve Vincent, M.K. Evans, Janu Wine, Janu Wine
Film Review
Remember that famous line in Reefer Madness? "....Under the influence of drugs... who killed his entire family with an axe". If you always wanted to see how that scene might have played out, you could get a good idea of how the scene looked here in Mantis in Lace. But rather than a young boy who smokes weed, what we have instead is Lila (Susan Stewart), a quite popular stripper who performs (What looks to be) on the Sunset Strip. So popular in fact that you can always count on spending some intimate time with her after she's done with her dance routines. What she'll do is take you to a nearby abandoned warehouse which holds a bed, record player, and wine glasses! But one night, one of her admirers decides to spike her drink with a tap of LSD before they make out. As Lila goes into ecstasy, the intensity of her trip goes way off her boundaries resulting into her attacking and stabbing her lover(s). But this is one nasty mantis. Rather than just delievering a singular death blow, Lila has a habit of chopping her victims into little bitty pieces! It now appears that Lila becomes a little hooked to LSD. And god knows why she gets hooked on it. Perhaps she just enjoys the traumatizing high of killing people? Maybe so. Regardless, her chopping ways continue and the body parts lead to two police dicks, (Steve Vincent and M.K. Evans) who will solve the case of this boulevard ripper.
Well, I've only seen one version of this movie (The widely available 86-minute cut) but it's too bad I can't get a hold of one of the shorter versions because I'm willing to bet that a shorter version might have resulted in a much more of a well-rounded flick. Though I'm not knocking the elongated stripper dances because they're quite nice to look at (Which includes a trio of other strippers aside from Lila) but they seem to go on a little long. But again, this was 60's cinema. A time when filmmakers were experimenting with their new freedom (As well as giving non-strip club attendees what to expect in a strip joint) So this isn't anything new. There's also a very lengthy love scene involving a stripper named Angel and the club manager which doesn't add anything to the movie, but it's here as an added bonus for the certain patrons who want a little more bang for their buck. Undoubtedly, the movie's main highlights are Lila's trip-out sequences. Using a very simple and effective tactic of projecting kaleidoscopic art on the faces of Lila's victims. And I don't know what it was, but a thunderstorm never sounded so menacing to me (As there's quite a bit of thunderclapping down the stretch of this flick) So although this isn't a perfect little film (Again, someone lead me to a shorter version!) this is still one for the archives if you like topless dancing,belly dancing,psychadelic imagery,and a bit of slasher killing.
Reviewed by Laydback - 5/3/08
Comments
Mantis In Lace clearly was a film that introduced a new chapter in the history of Boxoffice International Pictures hinted at by White's previous film, Free Love Confidential, although it was a production that had some minor problems which in the end only added to it's history. According to some reports, the film had some extra minutes of topless dancing and blood by White which resulted in the Lila version (the one presented on the disc), although the original cut was promoted as the more violent version of the two. Either way one watches it, however, it is one of the better films of the company's history capturing a seedy feel that blends everything into one slightly hypnotic picture, although one could imagine a more Psychedelic edge in Rotsler's shorter and arguably sharper version (Which was actually Rated R when brought to the ratings board after it's release).
Screen13 - 5/8/08