Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS

As an SS officer during World War II, "Ilsa" (Dyanne Thorne) serves as both a doctor and as the kommandant of a special prison camp in Nazi Germany. In particular the prison camp is allocated a certain number of young women for which Ilsa conducts inhuman medical experiments upon. Along with this the female prisoners are routinely beaten, tortured and raped. There are also a few male prisoners there who are used for manual labor with one specific man named "Wolfe" (Gregory Knoph) who has managed to arouse Ilsa to heights of sexuality she has never known before. But there are dangers associated with this action which are probably best left unmentioned in order to avoid spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it. I will say however that this film is not for a general audience as it is quite brutal and sadistic. Even so Dyanne Thorne put on a very good performance and she essentially carries this movie all by herself. Again, I should warn viewers that this film is not for the squeamish but it pretty much kept my attention and I rate it as slightly above average.

Most here are aware of how this one plays out. Experiments are conducted on war camp prisoners, which are all overseen by our lovely Fraulein Doktor (of title fame). This gal has a nasty habit of collecting male "forget me nots". Some collect stamps. Others, genitals. Call her an eccentric.

Anyhow, politics between the camp and Berlin come into play along with an American she can't figure out (and the requisite escape plans brewing), but those are mere plot details. No sense boring everyone with gratuitous information on the storyline when there's some juicy bits to discuss.

Torture of many respects abound in this one. Castration, gang rape, bacterial/viral injections, human lobster pots, slow hanging (mit eis schmelzen), nipple 'trodes, the list goes on and on. The production values are pretty fair in this one (the sets being left over from "Hogan's Heroes") and the makeup's not half bad. The acting's a bit over the top in "Ilsa", especially with the doktor's blonde henchwomen, but who can really fault topless floggers? Not I.

Thumbs up for me here. It's only single "X", but still some nasty fun.

Charlie.

An exploitation classic that is a surprisingly enjoyable film. Ilsa, the Arian commandant of a secret medical facility, sets out to prove to her doubting superiors that women are able to endure greater pain and suffering than men. She does this by torturing the female inmates in increasingly diabolical ways, while trying to break the American 'sexual freak of nature', Wolfe. Cue lots of gratuitous nudity, castration, strangulation, boiling alive, magnificent pre-implant breasts, softcore sex and gang rape, golden showers, and general bloody mayhem. The German accents are hilarious, and the acting barely one step up from Hershael Gordon Lewis and early John Waters. It even has the ubiquitous 'moral message' at the beginning. But unlike so many of these movies, 'Ilsa' manages to avoid descending into tedious repetition half way through, and builds to a brilliantly ludicrous climax in which an entire camp is gunned down by machine gun fire, without a drop of blood being spilt. Brilliant.

ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Ilsa, the sadistic female commandant of a Nazi concentration camp, conducts hideous medical experiments on her female inmates and is 'serviced' nightly by a studly male prisoner who is secretly plotting rebellion against her monstrous regime.

Produced in the wake of successful women-in-prison thrillers such as THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1971) and the notorious LOVE CAMP 7 (1968), Don Edmonds' ILSA SHE WOLF OF THE SS preceded a wave of Nazi exploitation titles which flooded the grindhouse circuit during the 1970's, particularly in Europe (cf. Horrifying EXPERIMENTS OF THE SS LAST DAYS, THE GESTAPO'S LAST ORGY, SS EXPERIMENT CAMP, etc.). Aiming to outdo his competitors in terms of sex and horror, "Ilsa" was conceived by legendary producer David Friedman (SEVEN INTO SNOWY, THE RAMRODDERS, etc.) as a combination of softcore sleaze and hardcore violence, photographed on standing sets from the recently-cancelled TV series "Hogan's Heroes" (unfortunately, Friedman fell out with the film's Canadian backers during post-production and is billed on-screen as 'Herman Traeger'). Ilsa herself is played with unrestrained gusto by the wonderful (and wonderfully endowed!) Dyanne Thorne, a statuesque beauty who uses her voluptuous charms to seduce and destroy her helpless victims, in a manner both Sadean and erotic.

But the movie's sexual candor is offset by a series of tortures and medical experiments - courtesy of Joe Blasco's revolting makeup effects - rooted in appalling historical fact: For instance, the wound in a young girls' leg is deliberately infected with gangrene, and another unfortunate victim is forced to stand naked on a quick-melting block of ice with a noose tightening around her throat while SS officers dine in front of her. Reckless bravado or depraved opportunism? YOU be the judge...

Edmonds was clearly unable to get all the coverage he needed to tighten long-winded dialogue sequences (some scenes drag as a consequence), but while production values are sparse, the film is designed and photographed with consummate skill, and the climactic showdown between Ilsa and her former inmates closes proceedings on a note of genuine horror. You have been warned! Thorne featured in two legitimate sequels, ILSA: HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS (1975) and ILSA: TIGRESS OF SIBERIA (1978), along with Jesùs Franco's tawdry cash-in GRETA THE WICKED WARDEN (1977).

When this movie first came out in the 70's it was a 42nd street style grindhouse pleaser that would have shocked mainstream audiences; however with the advent of video few will be so shocked today. Ilsa is impossible to take seriously. Sure medical torture was carried out by the Nazis but this movie is not like Men behind the sun, and you will be left questioning the authenticity of Ilsas source. Ilsa can be enjoyed as an exercise in bad taste that John Waters would enjoy; torture, Nasty nazis and a range of bad accents, though Joe DeBlascos SFX makeup is pretty good.The camerawork is good giving it a gritty feel, and the sets (used by Hogans heros!) are impressive. Ilsa will neither exceed nor dissapoint as an exploitation flick, and thats my recommendation.