The Dryden will screen Sunday in the Country (aka Vengeance Is Mine) (John Trent, Canada / U.K. 1974, 93 min., 35mm) as part of the Ernest Borgnine series.

Like Last House on the Left before it, this tight, brutal slab of Canadian exploitation (or "Canuxploitation," as fans would have it) is as much a critique of homespun bloodthirst as it is a surprisingly effective example of savage '70s cinema. Ernest Borgnine stars as a pious farmer who stands his ground to horrifying effect when a trio of wanted killers (including Bonnie and Clyde's Michael J. Pollard) show up on his doorstep. Grandpa claims to be protecting his granddaughter, but the film dares to suggest that violence may be something deep in the national grain. Little surprise, then, that Canadian critics faulted the film for being "too American."

[source: George Eastman Museum calendar, 2017-Feb-13]