Lady Stay Dead

1981 "The trick is to stay alive."
5.2| 1h32m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 10 September 1981 Released
Producted By: Ryntare Productions
Country: Australia
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Millionairess actress-singer Marie Coleby (Deborah Coulls) lives in a luxurious villa on a deserted beach. One afternoon following a TV commercial shoot at the villa she incites gardener Gordon Mason (Chard Hayward) to mayhem and murder. The unexpected arrival of Marie's sister Jenny Nolan (Louise Howitt) hinders Mason's attempts to dispose of the body. He then decides to kill Jenny. But she is equally determined to stay alive ... so begins a battle of wits. Jenny's salvation seems at hand when two security men arrive at the villa, but only one, Officer Collings (Roger Ward) survives the initial siege. Then Jenny is alone to face Mason for the final time ...

Genre

Horror

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Cast

Roger Ward

Director

Terry Bourke

Production Companies

Ryntare Productions

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Lady Stay Dead Audience Reviews

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated
Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
punishmentpark Someone noted (elsewhere) that the theme song is a bit of a stinker within the realm o'guilty pleasure-genre'. I agree, but especially the fact that it keeps coming back over and over and again, does not help in any way, shape or form.Back to LSD (Lady Stay Dead, that is): the 'protagonizing' psycho is not half bad: nice, cooperative, clean, and of course a total whack job when the (fragile female) situation calls for it. The 'story' spirals down rather quickly (and, in a way, surprisingly), and the tension is built up pretty nicely from time to time, as well, even if tempo is lacking just as much. And, unfortunately, really good exploitation scenes are sparse, but what the hey - decent exploitation scenes are good enough.Other than that, some decent acting (nothing to write home about), but the nice settings and the fine camera-work make up a lot. O, and some tasteful tasteless nudity is in here, as well.At least a good 6 out of 10 from yours truly.
Coventry I was warned from beforehand that the first half hour of "Lady Stay Dead" would be quite dull and derivative, but I can't say I fully agree with that. True, the concept of misogynistic violence was quite popular around that time, but this film definitely does bath in a strangely uncomfortable and sinister ambiance right from the beginning. There's a creepy guy, with beard and glasses, fondling a life-size mannequin doll to the tunes of a song by his favorite singer/actress Sheena. That's slightly disturbing, to say the least, especially if you know that this same freak is employed by Sheena (who's real name is Marie Coleby) as her gardener and handyman around the house. He – Gordon the pervert, as I'll refer to him as from now – secretly peeps at Marie when she's working out on the beach. He actually digs little holes in the sand to … you know … masturbate! Yeah, Gordon the pervert is quite the sicko! But then Marie yells at him quite mean and Gordon the pervert snaps. He viciously rapes her and barbarically drowns the poor girl by holding her upside down in the fish tank. All this stuff occurs during the first half hour, so how can you even think for one second that "Lady Stay Dead" is a boring film? After his little moment of temporary insanity, Gordon the pervert has to get rid of Marie's body – as well as those of the noisy neighbor and his dog – on the exact same day that her sister Jenny planned to pay an unannounced visit. Only around this time slot, there's a slight dip of boredom in "Lady Stay Dead", as it takes a little too long before Jenny realizes something isn't right around the house, but the pacing automatically repairs itself for a virulent and exciting finale. Jenny eventually locks herself inside the house with Gordon the psycho pervert trying to get in by using all of his gardening tools. "Lady Stay Dead" is a raw and mean-spirited early 80's Aussie shocker with a similar set-up like the American exploitation hits "Maniac" and "Don't Answer the Phone". Basically, these are all very sick thrillers with misogynist killers that are introduced straight from the beginning and containing explicit footage of violence against women. The body count in this film is relatively low, but Gordon the pervert insists on exhibiting the bodies of his victims in various macabre positions. That's quite disturbed enough already, I'd say.Interesting trivia detail for horror buffs: "Lady Stay Dead" comes from writer/director Terry Bourke, almost ten years after he made what is generally considered to be the very first Australian horror movie "Night of Fear".
PeteStud They just don't make em like this anymore- Like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, HOUSE BY THE LAKE, MANIAC, THE FAN (81) etc this film delves right into a psychopaths fantasies and allows the actor to fully rip roar and indulge in the character without restraint. The plot pretty much revolves around a rich mean spirited high class diva who talks to everyone like scum, including her mentally deficit gardener who just happens to also be a obsessed psychopath who , when not being berated by her, spends his time jerking off in the sand thinking of tortured women and making love to a mannequin dressed like her as her music plays in the background. Eventually he acts upon his sick delusions and when her boyfriend is forced to leave their villa for a weekend the gardener enters her house then rapes and kills her. The rape scene and dialogue are pretty disturbing.(ie " never mind those limp yuppie guys- if you ever want it rough and hard, ask me and I'll give it to you whenever you want..") Then her concerned sister comes to the house to see how she is, unaware of the rape-happy madman still hiding there, What follows is a intriguing cat and mouse. The violence in this film is great and I did not find it boring at all. This is easily one of the best of the Australian horror/exploitation that came out that era. Unfairly ignored and loathed it stands up today as a gross horrifying and sometimes unintentionally funny home invasion film thats as good as anything else. track this down. If you like bleak films and twisted psychos you'll get a great fix from this.
aussiekerrie It's a bit slow at first, but it gets going. What a camp film. I noticed Roger Ward wearing what could only be a hair piece which looked like a doormat missing the welcome sign. When they put the woman in the fish tank to drown her, she didn't fight very hard and was rather unrealistic, but I guess that adds to its camp disposition! It's not the best film I have ever seen Roger Ward in - his performance in Mad Max will always be my favored. I would suggest you try and get a copy of LSD. It's one of those films you will have a soft spot for... in a peculiar kind of way. Typical of how 1970's films were shot in Australia