Les week-ends maléfiques du Comte Zaroff (1976)

Director:

Michel Lemoine

Writer:

Michel Lemoine (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Michael plays a descendant of the original count Zaroff who leaves his Paris flat every weekend to hunt humans on his isolated estate.

Plot Keywords:

Butler | Most Dangerous Game | Female Nudity | Daydream | Flashback Sequence

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Michel Lemoine	...	Count Boris Zaroff
Nathalie Zeiger	...	Muriel
Howard Vernon	...	Karl, Zaroff's servant
Joëlle Coeur	...	Anne
Martine Azencot	...	Joëlle
Stéphane Lorry
Robert de Laroche	...	Francis (as Robert Icart)
Sophie Grynholc	...	Secretary
Patricia Mionnet	...	Jeanne
Manu Pluton	...	Animated Statue (as Emmanuel Pluton)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Mancini	...	Stephanie

Also Known As:

Seven Women for Satan (Australia) (video box title) (USA)
Sept femmes pour un sadique (France) (alternative title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

The Most Belated & Shamelessly Sleazy Unofficial Sequel

You just got to love opening sequences like the one in "Seven Women for Satan" … During the intro there's a naked girl running through the woods, chased by a hunting dog and a malignant looking dude on a horse, until she falls off a cliff and splits her head open on a rock. Then the camera zooms out on the face of the guy and we notice how he's simply sitting behind a desk whilst his secretary waiting for him to sign some papers. "Oh I'm sorry, I was lost in my thoughts…" he then says! Sweet, I have stumbled upon yet another completely bonkers movie. Even if you only understand a minimum of French and have a look at the original title, you immediately know that "Seven Women for Satan" hasn't got anything to do with Satan or ritual sacrifices, but simply revolves on the flamboyant escapades of a perverted and mentally unstable count during his weekend in the countryside. This is, in fact, another sleazy variation on the classic milestone "The Most Dangerous Game" about a lunatic's disturbing hobby of hunting people – preferably hot naked chicks - in the forest for sports. Well actually, this is more than just a variation on the 1932 classic, as writer/director/actor Michel Lemoine had the pretension to directly link his protagonist to Leslie Banks' legendary villain in "The Most Dangerous Game". Count Zaroff supposedly is the original Count Zaroff's son but he exchanged his private island for the remote French countryside. He also can't afford to be unemployed anymore, so he's an office clerk from Monday to Friday and a maniacal killer during the weekend. Zaroff is a genuine weirdo who hallucinates about dancing with deceased woman but actually runs his car over the live ones. His butler once pledged to prevent the Zaroffs from killing, but he's obviously doing a lousy job. There isn't any depth in the screenplay and the build-up certainly doesn't pay attention to suspense or sinister atmosphere. Really, the only useful thing to do during this film is count the girls that are lured for Zaroff's deceptive trap and hope they'll reach seven rapidly. Half of the film is pointless and tedious padding footage, like the overlong erotic dance act in which a statue inexplicably transforms into a muscular black guy (???), and the other half exists of psychedelic sleaze that eventually grows tiresome as well even though all the girls look ravishing. I have the impression that it was Michel Lemoine's intention to imitate his pal Jean Rollin and make a deliriously kinky sex-thriller. "Seven Women for Satan" is a French production, so inevitably it also stars Jess Franco regular Howard Vernon ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", "Zombie Lake"). Lemoine himself surely has the looks of a crazy killer, but not the talent to depict one.