The voyeuristically loaded opening credits apply camera flashes and exposed body parts, which cue the audience in the direction of the story’s sexual nature.  The subsequent scene presents the sexual nature of the film in a much more tangible manner, as Cheryl sneaks a look at her friend and her boyfriend.  However, Cheryl finds herself caught peeping. It places her in an awkward situation, which she avoids by leaving after she has stolen her friend’s money.  Here Private Parts pays homage to Psycho (1960) with similarities such as having a girl with stolen money seeking room and board at a hotel.  Additional parallels to Psycho emerge as the film unfolds; for example, there is an intriguing bathroom scene.

The hotel is far past its glory days, as the wallpaper shows signs of decades of stains while the heavily use of the doors has left them discolored and rickety.  It is a perfect environment for the corrupt and sleazy activities that take place behind the paper-thin walls.  Nonetheless, the owner, Cheryl’s aunt Martha (Lucille Benson), is very particular about who she desires as tenants, which consists of a peculiar bunch of characters.  There is the priest with a taste for muscular youthful men and then there is the young photographer that silently stalks the streets and parks for a juicy shot.  On top of this, Martha exhibits bizarre traits including preoccupations with funerals and her pet rat.  The location for the story plays a significant part to the story, as all characters in the story are somehow connected to the hotel.

Meanwhile, to maintain the audience in suspense, the first kill enters the story shortly after Cheryl’s arrival to the hotel, as her old friend’s boyfriend discovers the thick blade of a machete across his neck.  The murder leaves little doubt that someone is willing to go through extreme measures to keep something a secret while Cheryl curiously learns about the hotel’s secrets.  Many of these private interactions take place behind the many doors of the hotel, and often imply an obvious sexual undertone.  At the same time, the film generates a feeling that Cheryl is never alone and someone is watching her.  The impression of the presence of a stalker does not leave until the grand finale, which truly will have many viewers feel an unpleasant tension.

The youthful curiousness of Cheryl combined with her mature behavior delivers a precociously seductiveness that reminds the audience of Lolita (1962), yet it does not reach the heights of Kubrick.  Cheryl helps establish a strong psychosexual atmosphere from the beginning of the film, which remains until the very end through many unusual occurrences.  The arrangement with the psychosexual theme and the slasher concept ultimately delivers a genuinely out of the ordinary horror film that unsettles the viewer in an extremely profound psychological manner.

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COUNTRY

USA

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