Good idea lost in the noise

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This movie begins with two attractive young ladies by the names of "Beth" (Roberta Collins) and "Carla" (Marki Bey) in their bikinis on the beach and talking. The next scene introduces two more young ladies named "Heather" (Pat Woodell) and "Brea" (Laurie Rose) taking a shower prior to meeting Beth and Carla to discuss their plans for their upcoming summer vacation. Eventually, they all agree to go to Lake Arrowhead but not necessarily together. Heather has invited her cousin, "Paula" (Christina Hart) to spend some time with her at her house near the lake while Brea has accepted a job as a nurse at nearby Camp Wanachee. Beth, on the other hand, wants to spend time at the lake with her new boyfriend "Nick" (Daryl Stevens). Likewise, although Carla has accepted a summer job at the local library she also plans on spending some time at the lake as well. Anyway, as things are progressing like one might expect, the movie takes a sudden turn at around the 40-minute mark and the comedy morphs into a slasher film when a serial killer emerges and begins to kill some of the females at the beach. Although it was all rather sudden and unexpected, I suppose it was a turn in the right direction as the comedy wasn't too sharp to begin with. Even so, the director (Arthur Marks) wasn't able to keep the mystery going for too long and as a result the movie regressed even further from there. The worst part, however, was the dialogue which was about as bad as anything I have ever witnessed. This clearly affected the acting as only Pat Woodell managed to turn in anything resembling an adequate performance. That being said, about the only thing going for this film was the presence of the lovely actresses just mentioned and I have rated this movie accordingly as it simply lacked cohesion.

Carla (Marki Bey), Heather (Pat Woodell), Beth (Roberta Collins), and Brea (Laurie Rose) are four absolutely lovely young co-eds who head to the community of Lake Arrowhead for some R & R. The story mostly consists of their amorous adventures, while the activities of a psycho on the prowl form a major subplot.Written by director Arthur Marks and actor John Durren (who plays the small role of Socks the biker), this is good, straightforward exploitation entertainment that has its cake and eats it too. By that, this viewer means that Marks & Durren combine some enlightened sexual politics - the four main characters are independent women who know their own minds - with diversions of the far more lurid kind. The script has some surprising wit going for it, although there are some pretty silly lines as well. The assets of the female cast are stressed whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, our actresses are engaging and intelligent as well as being fine eye candy. Bey, in particular, shines.Many of the men in this series of episodes are not exactly portrayed in the most flattering light. Lee (Ben Pfeiffer) is especially sleazy, the kind of guy who has no more need for a woman once he's gotten what he wants from her. David Moses is very likable as Mike, the rural cop who becomes instantly smitten with Carla (you can't blame him).This is a very nicely shot movie that is simply gorgeous in more ways than one; Harry J. May performed the cinematography duties.Look for appearances by Connie Strickland as a victim of the killer, and Juanita Brown & Uschi Digard in the orgy scene.Seven out of 10.

I mostly agree with The Hoyt's review except where he says initially that "this is not a very good movie" and that Arthur Marks had "low standards." Marks was, IMO, an underrated exploitation master and "The Roommates," while perhaps not as good overall as "Bonnie's Kids" or some of his other films, is nonetheless a great, lost drive-in classic that screams the 70's.The 70s hair. The clothes. The beauty. The music. The drama. The sex. The murder. The comedy. It's all there, in ample proportions. If only my summer jobs during college were half as exciting (LOL).Entertaining and worth seeking out at any cost for fans of the genre.

Okay, right off the bat, this is not one of the better exploitation movies, even by the reliable standards of Arthur Marks as director. (See DETROIT 9000 or BONNIE'S KIDS or his numerous TV show episodes for evidence of his good work) But it's strangely endearing, despite the fact that it takes nearly half an hour for the actual plot of the movie to begin. Four very lovely, vivacious, and unrealistically loquacious college girls (five, if you count the visiting cousin) are off to their summer jobs. Despite the title, we rarely see any actual footage of any of these girls co-habitating. Then again, Bette Davis loved to point out that there were no whales in THE WHALES OF AUGUST, so what's in a title? And naturally, since this is the swingin' '70's, all those jobs put them in the vicinity of eligible men. So for the first half hour, it plays like a reasonably harmless, fluffy, "what I did last summer" romp. Then, two reels in, things take a curve, because people start getting killed. And by the rigid movie law governing murder mysteries, somebody, be it one of the babes or one of the beaus, is responsible. Of course, that little detail doesn't get in the way of the girls' continuing drive to party. In short, by our standards of irony, this movie is review-proof: you're going to be watching this for hot girls and archaic sexual mores, and you'll get 'em. I kinda wonder if Quentin Tarantino has seen this film and is a fan of it. He did acquire Marks' DETROIT 9000 for reissue, and his script for FROM DUSK TILL DAWN also starts out as one kind of movie and changes into another. I wouldn't be surprised if my hunch turned out correct.