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Huntress: Spirit of the Night More at IMDbPro »

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Intriguing story with dubious ending, 26 January 2008

Author: mligorio from United States

The story is essentially a mystery of both the occult and human nature. A serious minded young woman, Tara, returns to the exotic world of her early childhood and makes new acquaintances. Sexual encounters awaken her inner passions, and she soon exhibits a newly discovered physical prowess.

Jenna Bodnar, as Tara, is fairly attractive. The few erotic scenes and moderate violence add needed excitement, but they are not done to excess. Suspense and intrigue are the main appeals of the film. The setting is dark and foreboding, and the main plot develops slowly.

Tara inherits a wealthy estate from her distant estranged father. Inexplicably, just before his death he insisted that she stay away from the place. Tara's life is in danger and someone is trying to take advantage of her. Local folks repeatedly warn Tara, but they hesitate to tell her what they know. Even her new found mysterious lover, who seems to understand her true nature, offers little help. So, Tara is left practically all alone to ponder her mysterious circumstances. Naive, she is easily exploited, and she suffers a sinister fate.

The movie's main disappointment is the fact that it ends with the story unfinished. Tara slowly transforms into something frightening, but we never get to see what she becomes. I don't know if there is any sequel, in which case I am not sure the movie is worth the effort.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Huntress:Spirit of the Night, 18 September 2008

Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Tara(Jenna Bodnar)returns to Breckin, Northern Wales where she was born to attend her father's funeral. She was sent to America, because of her father's fear that a savage beast plaguing the surroundings of the area would harm her. Actually, thanks to a diary containing her father's recorded thoughts and newspaper clippings with photographs, given to her by butler Geoffrey(Constantin Cotimanis), Tara discovers that a panther was behind a mass of slayings, shot by a Breckin citizen, with it's owner, a witch, cursing the female populace to carry the spirit of her beloved animal. Tara finds a young naked female being hunted by a village mob looking for a beast prowling the area killing citizens again, on her father's estate, and watches as the spirit leaves her body looking for a new host to rest..in Tara does it find such rest. While actually being sexually repressed, Tara finds this primal spirit providing an extra motivation to embrace her carnal desires. Meanwhile, childhood friend, Michelle(Blair Valk)and crush, Alek(David Starzyk)wish to purchase Tara's father's estate. Michelle has a specific reason why she wishes to get her hands on the estate, having seduced Alek into finding investors interested in forking over the appropriate funds to do so. But, as Tara becomes accustomed to her surroundings, the atmosphere of it all enveloping her, she may wish to stay, even against the urgings of Geoffrey, worried about her well-being, and local antique-dealer, Ty Bodi(Charles Cooper), a friend of her father's, who believes in the legend of the panther spirit, warning her of it's evil. Through Ty does Tara realize that the beast killed her mother. Also, Tara meets a photographer, Jacob(Michael Wiseman)who she falls for. He's in the area capturing wild life for a magazine, a cavern his temporary refuge and studio. She willingly accepts an offer to pose for him and does so provocatively, letting go of her inhibitions, the animal inside unleashing her from the cage holding her true self at bay. If Tara doesn't sell the estate, Michelle will try more lethal methods..

As a few others have already mentioned in the user comments section, I felt this is a loose variation on "Cat People". The ravishing Jenna Bodnar has enough acting skill to tackle the role of an *outsider* transitioning to the new environs where folklore and superstition still remain in the hearts of many. I think, however, this works best as a piece of erotica because Bodnar has such a magnificent body, her figure so well-defined, and director Mark S Manos has the knack for arranging several set-pieces to showcase her "talents." My favorite, besides the terrific cavernous photo session where lightning, rain, and a campfire enhance her naked flesh being bathed with water as it falls, is the first true night where Tara is caught up in a wave of lustful abandon, the animal inside emerging as she takes to a group of steps(..nice prop provided by the director so that Bodnar could work over it, her body barely confined within the silk robe, only a strap containing it)set up in a room overlooking the wilderness, a lantern swaying to and fro. The director's camera covers every inch of Bodnar's body, up and down every curve. Carefully edited are the sex scenes. I think the director wishes for you to salivate over Bodnar, the story is of little consequence next to her "sexual awakening" as the spirit takes hold, ever so pushing her to embrace the dark side, chambered for so long. As a horror film, it isn't successful. I think the film uses the sexuality of "Cat People", while neglecting the violence that derives from being consumed with the aggressive tendencies of the panther to hunt for food. It is mentioned in the film, through newspaper articles of recent attacks and the ever so glum Ty Bodi condemning Tara to leave at once. I cared little about the angle with Michelle and Alek..although, Valk is incredibly sexy and has a very memorable disrobing before crawling on all fours on top of a piano. Unfortunately, though, her threesome with Tara and Alek is uninspired which is a shame since all are attractive. See it for Bodnar, she doesn't disappoint. She even turned me on moving her tongue down a butcher knife in a fantasy sequence. Executively produced by Charles Band(..my DVD carries his Full Moon label)and filmed on stunning, richly lush Romanian locations..there's an enchanting nature this location gives off that seems just right for an erotic fantasy.

4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Rather boring piece of soft-core sex., 15 May 2001

Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

This is another so-called horror flick,which is more soft-core sex than actually horror.Apart from some nicely filmed sex scenes and atmospheric sets there's nothing worth any recommendation here:no suspense,no gore&violence.The lead actress Jenna Bodnar is pretty hot(especially during the masturbation scene)and the sex scenes are suitably titillating.Watch it,if you have got nothing better to do.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Enjoyable erotic thriller, 24 May 1999
Author: heckles from St. Albans, VT

This film borrows heavily from "Cat People"; although here the lower production values actually add something to a guilty post-midnight-viewing pleasure.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Soft core stuff almost succeeds in spite of itself., 25 April 1999
Author: Clint Walker from Illinois, USA

A young woman returns to her childhood home in Europe (somewhere in England, I think) to inherit her deceased father's mansion. She discovers a strange family curse that that leads her to the usual "sexual awakening" stuff.

First of all, Jenna Bodnar (who looks vaguely similar to Tawny Kitean) looks great in the film, with lovely curly red hair and high cheekbones. She gets some great sex scenes, most notably a half-a**ed threesome on a wooden bench, and a nice scene where she slithers and undulates in a dark cave for her prospective photographer boyfriend.

Sex aside though, this almost works as an actual film. Bodnar is a good enough actress to make me care (slightly) about her situation. The sets are nice, and the supporting cast helps. Only drawback: an ending so abrupt and inconclusive, I thought the director ran out of film. Maybe director Mark Manos meant for it to be metaphysical or something.

A middling, mildly watchable erotic horror, minus much horror., 15 August 2009

Author: t-birkhead from United Kingdom

I wanted to like this more, I dig the whole arty erotica thing and I love redheads, so a film in which a bodacious redhead is possessed by some supernatural gubbins that unleashes her sexuality, leading to nookie, nudity and a whole lot of clever lighting was likely to be right up my street. Problem is, the film is very thinly written and lacks any gore or suspense and in fact lacks almost any horror elements. Decent acting is present and the film sustains itself nicely enough until about twenty minutes or so before the end when the whole things just lapses into a state of mild tedium and a weak climax. The biggest plus here is star Jenna Bodnar, who is one heck of an attractive lady and performs with s seductive coolness that draws one in with icy appeal. She ties the film together and provides a watchable thread right to the end. More beauty is also brought by the fine Blair Valk, as cool and nearly as attractive. Everyone else does reasonably enough but are generally upstaged by the neat direction from Mark Manos. The film is more coy than one might expect, sure we get full frontal nudity but the film is less steamy than one might expect, love scenes are mostly teasing and sensual rather than truly hot, with the highlights being the heroine getting it on with a photographer and a lengthy, wonderfully lit scene of her pleasuring herself. Sadly, the whole affair is never truly compelling and interest dries up before the final block, sure the last few scenes have their moments, but the film fails to ever really catch fire. It severely needed more complex writing and plotting, better thought out characters, heck, more action. It would have benefited from going down the straight up softcore route as well, I'm not even much of a skin flick fan but I would have liked seeing more of the ladies in this one. Still, its a reasonable enough film, it never irritated me and it was never unpleasantly dull, but it doesn't have much to offer. Possibly worth a one time watch, definitely has some quality scenes, but its not all that good in the end.

1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Primal Wonder..., 15 July 2008

Author: barnthebarn from Oxford, England

Quite similar to some of the more horror based Full Moon pictures, this is quite atmospheric and focuses on Tara vising North Wales for her father's funeral and being overwhelmed by a strange sexual awakening (even stuffed animal heads seem to get her excited). Big City Releasing (Independent distribution comapny) are main producers here but Full Moon's scent is rife (the story was originally planned for a 1980's Empire release). Beautifully filmed, humorously acted. Soft core actress Jenna Bodner makes her debut as Tara and is watchable but relatively plain looking. Great music from Fuzzbee Morse (Full Moon composer of Dolls and Dark Angel amongst others). Director Manos did a few jobs at Full Moon (including editing on Dark Angel and directing Josh Kirby 4) and did a few years at Playboy editing their 'documentaries'. This film is slow paced - the sex scenes are okay but merely add to the length of the film. Odd mixture of fascinating old fashioned horror and sex flick, this is always entertaining but never as good as it could be. The ending is ridiculously abrupt, think short tapes were got as a 'job lot'. Fine.

2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Boring, bland movie. Poppycock!, 30 September 2003

Author: Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

Huntress: Spirit of the Night (1991) is a movie that's full of poppycock. What is this woman any way? Is she supposed to be a werewolf, a succubus, Cat-person or some sort of freak with black eyes? I dunno but she hot and takes of her clothes a lot.

If this movie had a theme to it or if they showed more of her "transformations" then it could have been something. But why did the filmmakers cut this movie down to an R-rating? Were they actually trying to market this sleaze to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video? Maybe some questions are better left unanswered, I guess. Not a bad movie to own if you can find it for under $5 bucks and if you like red-heads, if you know what I mean (wink-wink).

I have to give it a C+. It's not bad or horrible, it's just bland, They should have went all the way with this movie. I hope they re-release it with the missing footage some day....

Some day...

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