The Defiance of Good (1974) Armand Weston

Under the influence of her “bad” friend, Cathy is caught experimenting with drugs by her religious mother. The parents feel the best thing for their wayward daughter is a little psychiatric observation. Little do they realize they are sending poor, innocent Cathy to a hell-hole of an institution, where she is repeatedly raped, abused, and is in danger of losing her mind. The only doctor who shows her understanding persuades her to be released under his supervision. Cathy soon finds herself traveling from the frying pan into the fire…

This is a truly powerful piece of cinema that also happens to be X-rated. Armond Weston is an accomplished director and made the subtly effective horror film, “The Nesting”, quite a few years after this. “The Defiance of Good” aka “The Defiance” is a pictorially and psychologically claustrophobic work that was a freak amongst its adult brethren, even back in 1975, because it looked like a real film and was anchored by a strong central performance (Jean Jennings).

Echoing “The Story of O”, the film is exceptionally well shot, scored and performed. Lincoln, who played a murderous miscreant in Wes Craven’s “Last House on the Left” and forged his own career as a porn director after this watershed work, is frighteningly convincing as the “good” Dr. Gabriel. Anthony Spinelli, who wrote the fascinating script with Weston, became a successful porn director also. A classic.

The Defiance of Good (1974)