Six years before he made the incredible one-two punch of I Drink Your Blood and Stigma, writer/director David E. Durston helmed this ho-hum mash-up of the skin flick and drug trip genres. There isn’t much here that suggests the greatness to come however, as it’s pretty much your average, run-of-the-mill sexploitation flick. It also doesn’t help that the sex scenes are all rather tame. (We get a little bit of side boob, but that’s about it.) I guess this would’ve been okay if the drug trip scenes were worth a damn, but even they are a big bust as the main special effect is the use of a fly eye lens and/or a blurry kaleidoscope filter on the camera.
Tyler (Peter Ratray) is a struggling artist who is stuck in a rut. He feels stifled by his overbearing exotic dancer girlfriend, Lisa (Beti Seay) who treats him like garbage. His friend Stan (Harvey J. Goldenberg) introduces him to a sexy Japanese club dancer named Mashiko (Hisako Tsukuba) who turns him onto LSD. During his first trip, he imagines that a statute of a woman (Gigi Darlene from Bad Girls Go to Hell) comes to life and seduces him. Once Tyler awakens from a three-day drug-induced stupor, he is shocked to learn Lisa has been murdered. Did he kill her when he was trapped in an altered state? Or is someone trying to frame him?
The beatnik characters are all pretty loathsome and irritating. Not even their silly slang-heavy dialogue can make it worthwhile. The final confrontation is downright laughable too.
Tsukuba is a real presence though, and her charisma makes The Love Statue at the very least, watchable. She gave up acting shortly after starring in the movie and turned her sights to producing. In fact, she went on to produce every single Piranha movie! Seay is kinda hot too as the surly girlfriend, and Darlene is sexy as always, even if her talents are never fully utilized.
AKA: The Love Drug. AKA: The Love Statue: LSD Experience. AKA: The Stature.
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