Cathardincu
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
TeenzTen
An action-packed slog
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
morrison-dylan-fan
Taking a look at a Shout Factory boxset that a family friend had picked up,I was happy to spot a title with Claudia Jennings,which led to me getting set to put on his skates and catch a glimpse of Jennings for the first time.The plot:Leaving her job behind, Karen Walker goes to join a roller-derby team.Displaying a dazzling charisma from her debut match,the manager decides to make Walker the star player.Due to roller-derby being a pre-determined sport,Walker is told that she must talk to her fellow teammates and the rival players about all the moves that she has planned.Enjoying the attention that she is getting from the fans,Walker begins improvising moves and attacks on the track,which leads to the team starting to roll away from Walker.View on the film:Rolling across the screen,the gorgeous Claudia Jennings gives a very good performance as Walker,who Jennings crosses a mix of sexy frolics (which gives her the chance to appear naked)with a joyfully rebellious streak,as a wide smile is cast across Jennings face every time she ignores her teammates wishes.Offering Martin Scorsese an early credit as a supervising editor,co-writer/(along with Howard R. Cohen) director Vernon Zimmerman & cinematographer Michael Shea push the viewer into the middle of the matches,as first person tracking shots allow the viewer to feel every roll and shove on the track,as Walker reveals herself to be an unholy roller.
Nick Zbu
..as in 'bad fashions,' 'bad hairdos,' and just plain old tackiness.The movie isn't really interesting. A woman who is being harassed by her employer (even through she's annoying as hell) and goes into the rollerderby. Despite the fact that all her teammates hate her, she somehow succeeds by her viciousness alone and spends the latter half of the movie beating down her opposition and getting beaten in return. At the end, she just goes around beating the hell out of people, shows her tattoo for some reason, and all this nonsense ends.It was basically the last half of a drive-in triple feature and it shows. Nudity is sparse, violence is all around, and the movie tries to be gritty but only succeeds in being extremely goofy and annoying. There is no real plot and nobody will care at the end. I have a feeling this was designed to GET people out of the theater or to give teens in the '70s extra time to makeout or get their clothes on before the drive-in closed.Be warned. It's a long ride to nowhere.
Jimbo-96
It's a shame that Claudia Jennings, Playboy playmate of the year, died at age 29 from a traffic accident, and made a series of low budget, forgettable films. Many of these films still appear on TV from time to time, but not Unholy Rollers, her best film. Another shame. Unholy Rollers is about Claudia joining a roller derby troupe and because of her personality and strikingly good looks, never being accepted into the group. The film is low budget all the way. Probably did well at drive-ins and rural markets, but got swamped by Kansas City Bomber released the same year. I never cared for the roller derby, it's quite stupid, but this "inside story" is quite decent. Just don't expect to find it.
VerhoHo
This is actually a good film. I recommend it for any fans of b-movies/exploitation, or for those who (like myself) remember watching the female roller fights on TV in the 70's and 80's. The plot of this film is very similar to SHOWGIRLS, with an antagonistic, unlikable main character. Believe it or not, the film was edited by the future director of RAGING BULL...
