APACHE WOMAN is a gritty Italian exploitation western that comes across as an obvious copy of the dark and downbeat US western SOLDIER BLUE. The film sees regular go-to guy Al Cliver as an old-fashioned soldier with a good heart who finds himself in possession of the titular character, an Apache as played by Clara Hopf who after a couple of film roles in the 1970s became a make-up artist. Short-term director Giorgio Mariuzzo is best known as the guy who later wrote Fulci's famous horror films including THE BEYOND.
The two characters then work their way through an embittered and hostile landscape in which every supporting character is a sleazebag or criminal of some sort. Violence and degradation are the name of the game here and I found this a surprisingly suspenseful little movie in places, with the bursts of intermittent violence proving a shock to the system. Cliver is a good choice for lead and Hopf is sufficiently sympathetic. Although the version I watched managed to excise most of the nudity, APACHE WOMAN is still an exploitation film through and through, but one which overcomes clichés to offer engrossing, if gruelling, entertainment.
The two characters then work their way through an embittered and hostile landscape in which every supporting character is a sleazebag or criminal of some sort. Violence and degradation are the name of the game here and I found this a surprisingly suspenseful little movie in places, with the bursts of intermittent violence proving a shock to the system. Cliver is a good choice for lead and Hopf is sufficiently sympathetic. Although the version I watched managed to excise most of the nudity, APACHE WOMAN is still an exploitation film through and through, but one which overcomes clichés to offer engrossing, if gruelling, entertainment.