Le regine (1970)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Tonino Cervi

Writers:

Benedetto Benedetti (story)
Tonino Cervi (story)

Release Date:

11 December 1970 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Sex | Female Nudity

Cast

Guido Alberti
Ida Galli	...	Bibiana (as Evelyn Stewart)
Ray Lovelock	...	David
Silvia Monti	...	Samantha
Haydée Politoff	...	Liv
Gianni Santuccio

Also Known As:

Il delitto del diavolo (Italy)
Les sorcières du bord du lac (France)
Queens of Evil

Runtime:

85 min (cut version)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Carlton Film Export

Weird and trashy Euro flick

Queens of Evil is a completely obscure Eurotrash flick, and that's not surprising at all as this film has zero mass market appeal and will appeal only to fans to obscure cult cinema - and even then, not all fans. Queens of Evil is a simply bizarre movie and I really don't know what the point of it is. It can't really be pigeon holed into any of the main genres of Italian cinema - it would probably fall somewhere between a sex flick, an exploitation film and a cult themed Giallo (a la All the Colours of the Dark) - but even that definition doesn't really fit it. Our main character is David - a hippy travelling aimlessly on his motorcycle. After a strange encounter with a man who needs his tire changing, David rides on and soon comes across an apparently deserted house. He decides to spend the night in the shed and is surprised the next morning to be awoken by a beautiful young woman named Liv. Liv seems keen to get rid of David, but after her sisters catch sight of him; they ask him to stay and David soon discovers that he has bitten off more than he can chew...

The atmosphere is the key thing about this film. Director Tonino Cervi handles the film well and ensures that it's always mysterious. The locations used make the film feel isolated and claustrophobic and this adds well to the atmosphere. The film boasts a good cast, with the handsome Ray Lovelock fitting into the lead role well and convincing as a hippy. You'd expect some nice female talent too considering the plot here, and the film doesn't disappoint. All three of the leading ladies (Evelyn Stewart, Silvia Monti and Haydée Politoff) provide nice eye candy and also manage to create a foreboding chemistry between themselves and Ray Lovelock. The film is very slow to start and not a lot happens for the first hour or so; but to be honest, I preferred this part of the film to the build up to the climax. Considering how slow the first two thirds are, you would think that the film would kind of explode at the end, and while we do get something of a twist; the ending actually isn't all that interesting and doesn't make a lot of sense. Overall, this is an interesting mood piece and I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure why and I wouldn't recommend it.