Hot Spur

When we talk about notorious exploitation films like Hot Spur, we must recognize that all good taste is thrown out the window in titles like these. They’re exactly the type of films that riffed on material in wider, more popular releases in the hopes of making a quick buck. But where Hot Spur sidesteps the other sexploitation titles of the same era is that it poured its resources into providing something vibrant in color and setting. This wasn’t like the roughies of the era that only took place in small, cramped apartments and in black and white. This was a roughie that showed what exploitation figureheads were capable of when competing with their studio counterparts.

Hot Spur tells the sordid story of Carlo (James Arena), a meek stablehand who’s spurred into action when two ranch-hand brothers walk into a cantina and attempt to rape a dancing woman. This makes Carlo recall when he had to experience his sister being raped as a child and forces him to intervene, although he gets beaten miserably by the ranch hand brothers. Carlo survives when rancher Jason O’Hara (Joseph Mascolo) retrieves his ranch hands, but that doesn’t stop Carlo from following them all back to the ranch with the intent of kidnapping Jason’s wife, Susan (Virginia Gordon), to dole out the same level of abuse and suffering that his family experienced.

Based upon that brief plot summary, you can probably imagine the kind of nastiness within Hot Spur. It even reminded more of the Japanese pinku films in terms of sexual violence done in such vibrant detail with the camera locked in and making the audience witness every ounce of nihilism. Carlo doesn’t find relation to the victims of rape, he finds relation to the aggressors and goes off on a path of vengeance. But when Carlo sinks lower than those who abused his sister and family, what’s the point? Susan understands this and knows how much of a pawn she is in Carlo’s game; thus, she leans into lust to persuade and becomes numb to everything. There’s so much going on with the interiority of characters and the roles they play in the violence that sets the film apart from its peers.

Full-frontal nudity pervades through Hot Spur as well, surprisingly, especially given the film was released in 1968 when those things were very much still taboo. Nudity wasn’t taboo, but full-frontal nudity mixed with unsparing violence certainly was. Relying on exteriors and location shooting only emphasizes just how vibrant and nihilistic Hot Spur is. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-rays
Hot Spur strikes gold on Blu-ray with a single-disc BD50 release from Severin Films that comes housed in a standard black amaray case. The reverse side of the sleeve offers a reproduction of the press campaign used for the film, including direct quotes from The National Review proclaiming Hot Spur as one of the ten best films of 1969. The disc boots up to a standard menu screen with options to play the film, browse bonus features and set up audio/video.

Shot in glorious Eastmancolor, Hot Spur arrives in HD courtesy of Severin Films with a truly gorgeous 1080p presentation sourced from a 4K scan of the recently discovered camera negative. The presentation is a huge jump from the old Alpha Blue DVD bootleg and Something Weird DVD-R releases, showcasing the negative in its unfettered glory. The transfer looks almost ageless with little-to-no damage to note throughout. Flesh tones are warm and sweaty, contrast is dialed in wonderfully and even where the production lacks traditional set lighting, everything is resolved wonderfully thanks to the sturdy encode. For a film that hasn’t seen much love on disc, this easily shows off the film in the best condition possible. Huge kudos to Severin for this presentation.

Hot Spur is presented with a DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track that’s also in terrific condition just like the OCN. This is a very clean track that pulls the most out of the source. Some narration drowns out everything else, but this has some fun foley work that’s all resolved well with the dialogue. 

As for supplements, Severin Films whipped up a heaping helping of features to give context to this underseen sexploitation classic. The attached commentary with Andrew Furtado, Vinegar Syndrome’s Joe Rubin former Something Weird general manager Tim Lewis is exactly the kind of fact-filled commentary that will deepen your appreciation of the film and help you understand where it differs from its peers. On top of that, you have an earlier Frost/Cresse feature (Hollywood’s World of Flesh) in SD, a rare short starring Bob Cresse directed by David F. Friedman (The Casting Director) and a terrific recently discovered audio discussion with David F. Freidman and Something Weird founder Mike Vraney.

• Audio commentary with Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado, and Bob Cresse Friend/Former Something Weird general manager Tim Lewis
• Recently discovered audio discussion on Frost/Cresse by David F. Friedman and Something Weird founder Mike Vraney
• Hollywood’s World of Flesh – Early Frost/Cresse feature (SD 64:16)
• The Casting Director – Rare short starring Bob Cresse, directed by David F. Friedman (SD 6:17)
• Theatrical trailer (HD 6:15)
• Teaser (HD 0:47)

Severin Films takes off for the Old West and finds nihilistic sex and violence with Lee Frost’s Hot Spur, a sexploitation roughie mixed with a western to provide vibrant nastiness. This single-disc Blu-ray release comes with a stunning new 4K restoration of the film from the recently discovered negative and a nice selection of supplements to give context to this underseen sexplo title. This release comes Recommended!

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