From the late 70's to the mid-80's, Shaun Costello was a force of nature in porn. He directed the inflammatory "Forced Entry", the ultra-erotic "Hot Dreams" (as Warren Evans), and the almost-mainstream X-rater "Amanda By Night". "Waterpower", which is a mean-spirited little number, is also quite funny, and, like Yasaharu Hasebe's "Assault - Jack The Ripper", ends with the bad guy getting away scot-free. Tonally, the film probably inspired, even sub-consciously, Bill Lustig's "Maniac".
Although the great Jamie Gillis, who plays The Enema Bandit with total conviction, rapes women and administers the obligatory enema, he does not kill, cut or maim his victims; he certainly leaves them tied up and traumatized, but he's not a crazy, homicidal maniac. The film is modeled on Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" right down to the voice-over and actual Bernard Herrmann music cues stolen directly from that film's soundtrack and the soundtrack of Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (also a Herrmann score). These bold copyright infringements probably explains why there has never been a totally legit DVD of this movie sold in the US; the version I have just procured from Alpha France boasts a high quality print/transfer I never thought I'd see. There is also an undeveloped subplot lifted from "Taxi Driver" referring to Gillis's affiliation with a political party.
Costello, certainly one of the most accomplished X-rated directors, uses music thoughtfully and wears his influences on his sleeve. It is also fascinating to hear musical cues that would later appear in the director's sensational "Hot Dreams", a film starring Sharon Mitchell, who appears in this pic's first sex scene as a hooker.
"Waterpower" concludes fairly abruptly and matter-of-factly and is short but sweet. The enema scenes featuring the expulsion of water are graphic and authentic; the enema sequences featured the expulsion of non-liquid body matter are clearly faked because the material being expelled is seen shooting out of the women from an area a couple of inches below the vagina, not above it.
This is certainly one of the better "roughies" and is far superior to "Sex Wish", "Hot Night in the City" and "Expensive Tastes". It is not, in my opinion, better than "Femmes De Sade", so it's like Xmas all over again to find "Femmes" sharing the same French DVD (in its original English) with "Waterpower".
The film's front and end credits are totally intact and the title is "Waterpower", not "The Enema Bandit" or variations thereof.
Although the great Jamie Gillis, who plays The Enema Bandit with total conviction, rapes women and administers the obligatory enema, he does not kill, cut or maim his victims; he certainly leaves them tied up and traumatized, but he's not a crazy, homicidal maniac. The film is modeled on Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" right down to the voice-over and actual Bernard Herrmann music cues stolen directly from that film's soundtrack and the soundtrack of Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (also a Herrmann score). These bold copyright infringements probably explains why there has never been a totally legit DVD of this movie sold in the US; the version I have just procured from Alpha France boasts a high quality print/transfer I never thought I'd see. There is also an undeveloped subplot lifted from "Taxi Driver" referring to Gillis's affiliation with a political party.
Costello, certainly one of the most accomplished X-rated directors, uses music thoughtfully and wears his influences on his sleeve. It is also fascinating to hear musical cues that would later appear in the director's sensational "Hot Dreams", a film starring Sharon Mitchell, who appears in this pic's first sex scene as a hooker.
"Waterpower" concludes fairly abruptly and matter-of-factly and is short but sweet. The enema scenes featuring the expulsion of water are graphic and authentic; the enema sequences featured the expulsion of non-liquid body matter are clearly faked because the material being expelled is seen shooting out of the women from an area a couple of inches below the vagina, not above it.
This is certainly one of the better "roughies" and is far superior to "Sex Wish", "Hot Night in the City" and "Expensive Tastes". It is not, in my opinion, better than "Femmes De Sade", so it's like Xmas all over again to find "Femmes" sharing the same French DVD (in its original English) with "Waterpower".
The film's front and end credits are totally intact and the title is "Waterpower", not "The Enema Bandit" or variations thereof.