Not as lurid as She Wolf or Harem Keepers, this one had almost an air of normalcy about it. Thanks to the IMDB, I could place the face with the actor... so that's what Jess Franco looks like! As I was watching the film I liked the actor who played the doctor, and it turned out to be the infamous director himself.
The "uncut" version I saw, distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, cut out the end credits entirely... what a crime. I wanted to see who the actress playing "Rosa Phillips" (the sister of the heroine) was... I thought she was very appealing, not necessarily because she was the greatest actress... but she looked great running through the jungle vulnerably, in a semi-naked state. (Okay, okay!) The bully of the girls (and Ilsa's pincushion), Lina Romay, had a wonderful presence... check out her credits within the IMDB; what a surprisingly prolific film career she has had, both in front of and behind the camera.
Credit has to be given to camp favorite Dyanne Thorne, with her gravity-defying constructed mammaries and her, as always, irritating German accent. Like Lucille Ball, she got her claim to "everlasting" fame during her forties, never an easy task for any actress, when most glamour girls' careers come to an end; and, unlike Lucy, she did so with full nudity, so bravo to Ms. Thorne for beating the odds.
The ending was reminiscent of BLOODSUCKING FREAKS, and I enjoyed the succession of close-ups of the inmates' faces, before they attack their tormentor (and as Ilsa's doom-meeting horror becomes scarily apparent). The smiling face of the "transsexual" inmate character was particularly creepy. (What's her name? Who knows? No end credits...) Another plus is the untraditional fate of the heroine that might have made Janet Leigh green with envy, in PSYCHO. (Okay, not really; still, an unhappy ending for the leading lady is a rarity, and deserves credit.)
Finally, one of the dumbest scenes in the film - or perhaps in the entire history of cinema - takes place after the doctor appeals to the authorities at the beginning of the movie, to investigate the suspicious clinic. We see the heroine, played by Tania Busselier, intently listening as the committee reaches the conclusion that a "plant" is necessary to get the goods on the asylum-prison. It seems hopeless... who would be crazy enough to volunteer being admitted into this hellhole? Why, ANYTHING could happen. However, the heroine decides she is just that brave woman, since she's anxious to find out what happened to her beloved sister (played by that very attractive actress running with her alluringly bare butt through the jungle. Sigh...) How does the heroine offer her hard-to-find and desperately needed services? By hiding in the back of the good doctor's car and pointing a gun at his temple! Well, that just didn't make ANY sense.
The "uncut" version I saw, distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, cut out the end credits entirely... what a crime. I wanted to see who the actress playing "Rosa Phillips" (the sister of the heroine) was... I thought she was very appealing, not necessarily because she was the greatest actress... but she looked great running through the jungle vulnerably, in a semi-naked state. (Okay, okay!) The bully of the girls (and Ilsa's pincushion), Lina Romay, had a wonderful presence... check out her credits within the IMDB; what a surprisingly prolific film career she has had, both in front of and behind the camera.
Credit has to be given to camp favorite Dyanne Thorne, with her gravity-defying constructed mammaries and her, as always, irritating German accent. Like Lucille Ball, she got her claim to "everlasting" fame during her forties, never an easy task for any actress, when most glamour girls' careers come to an end; and, unlike Lucy, she did so with full nudity, so bravo to Ms. Thorne for beating the odds.
The ending was reminiscent of BLOODSUCKING FREAKS, and I enjoyed the succession of close-ups of the inmates' faces, before they attack their tormentor (and as Ilsa's doom-meeting horror becomes scarily apparent). The smiling face of the "transsexual" inmate character was particularly creepy. (What's her name? Who knows? No end credits...) Another plus is the untraditional fate of the heroine that might have made Janet Leigh green with envy, in PSYCHO. (Okay, not really; still, an unhappy ending for the leading lady is a rarity, and deserves credit.)
Finally, one of the dumbest scenes in the film - or perhaps in the entire history of cinema - takes place after the doctor appeals to the authorities at the beginning of the movie, to investigate the suspicious clinic. We see the heroine, played by Tania Busselier, intently listening as the committee reaches the conclusion that a "plant" is necessary to get the goods on the asylum-prison. It seems hopeless... who would be crazy enough to volunteer being admitted into this hellhole? Why, ANYTHING could happen. However, the heroine decides she is just that brave woman, since she's anxious to find out what happened to her beloved sister (played by that very attractive actress running with her alluringly bare butt through the jungle. Sigh...) How does the heroine offer her hard-to-find and desperately needed services? By hiding in the back of the good doctor's car and pointing a gun at his temple! Well, that just didn't make ANY sense.