Sadomania - Hölle der Lust

First things first, I quite enjoyed "Sadomania". Despite its low budget, the film is visually impressive with some atmospheric cinematography by Juan Soler.

In terms of plot, it comes as no surprise to learn that the script was adapted from an unused "Ilsa" screenplay. There are many similarities between the "Ilsa" films and "Sadomania". Here, transsexual Ajita Wilson plays Magda Urtado, the wicked warden of "a prison from hell". Well, a prison that contains nubile young women who all look like escapees from Hefner's Playboy Mansion. This is a cue for all sorts of softcore goings-on.

The film's tiny budget is obvious - some of the guards' weapons look like they've been sourced from the bargain bin of "Toys R Us" and the crocodile special effects are somewhat rubbery. On top of this, the prison governor's car is somewhat shabby for a man in his position. However, the film overcomes these trivial obstacles and proves entertaining, even if some of the humour is unintentional.

"Sadomania" even has an appearance by Franco himself as a homosexual brothel owner. As Franco was not keen on contact with a fellow man, Ajita Wilson was asked to play his lover, without wig and disguised by a moustache.

7 out of 10. Not half as seedy as you'd imagine it to be. It could do better in the exploitation department but the cinematography really is rather good.

I can't help thinking that this is Franco's 'hamage' to the Marquis de Sade's "One Thousand Days of Sodom". People (in this case women) abducted to serve as slaves to a privileged elite? Check. Kinky sex? Check. Torture including whipping? Check. Victims chosen at random to be killed? Check.

Thank goodness Franco didn't go the whole hog and introduce cinema audiences to the delights of coprology (and indeed coprophagy), another perversion that crops up repeatedly in de Sade's tediously long and disgusting saga.

I rather hoped that this film would fall into the 'so bad it's good' category. But even the acres of naked flesh and numerous sexual encounters didn't make up for the dismal dialogue, dreadful acting, elusive plot and - just to put the tin hat on it - dubbing AND English sub-titles (a belt and braces approach missing from the women's costumes). The Alsation gave a very professional performance though.

Of course I could be wrong about the de Sade angle. After all, I failed to realise that the actor playing the head warden at the 'prison' was a trans-sexual. I must pay more attention to the size of people's hands in future.

According to another reviewer, the film was banned in the UK. Well it clearly isn't any more, though I fancy that the nipple-needling scene was cut to satisfy the censors. On the DVD I watched, it was only clearly visible on the Spanish trailer (which, in case you're wondering, I watched to compare it with the English one).

The DVD also features an interview with Jess Franco, though you'll need better Spanish than mine to understand it. Unless I'm much mistaken it's neither dubbed nor sub-titled. And it points out that the person sodomising the character played by Franco is Ajita Wilson disguised using a moustache. Kind of ironic, given that (s)he had had the requisite appendage surgically removed.

Even though it's not a real word, the title pretty much sums this one up completely. Sadomania is yet another exploitation 'women in prison' film from the insatiable Jess Franco. I certainly don't have a problem with this sort of film in theory; I mean, who wouldn't want to see a bunch of naked lesbians having sex with each other inside a sleazy prison? But the fact is that these films are often really boring, and once you've seen one - you've seen them all. This one actually has a base plot, and it focuses on a couple of newly weds who get pulled over. She gets thrown into a lesbian jail, and he gets set free! (Sounds a bit unfair to me, who's going to cook his dinner?). After that, it's business as usual as the clothes budget was so miniscule that Franco couldn't afford to have his performers wear much; so everyone appears naked, while a few set pieces that involve a woman being 'hunted' and various other sleazy goings on populate the rest of the movie. I actually managed to get myself a copy of the 'uncut' version, which runs at a massive 102 minutes. As usual, a lot of this movie is filler that could have been cut but, I suppose, for what it is; Sadomania isn't a terrible film.

Filmed on an exploitation level this sleazy flick is a typical Jess Franco-film and everyone should know what that means: a nearly not existing plot, lots of nudity and some misogynist violence. This film is banned in the United Kingdom, but it´s really questionable in how far "Sadomania" is still an exciter compared to today´s standard: there is a girl having hinted sex with a dog, trade with female human slaves, lesbian sex and some S/M-role playing, but it´s full of unconscious humor and bad acting. The most memorable part comes from Ajita Wilson, a transexual, who became a porn star in the 1970s and plays the role of the sadistic prison leader. Nevertheless "Sadomania" is worth to be seen - assumed that you like this kind of film: it´s entertaining from beginning till the end and definitely the right stuff for your next trash movie video party! Jess Franco´s masterpiece "Vampyros Lesbos" however is still unequaled!!!

This is the story of a young woman, kidnapped on her honeymoon, and send to a womens prison, somewhere in the latin world. Her husband spends the rest of the movie trying to save her. That, however is only an excuse for a story, as the real focus of the film are the scenes of degradation committed to the female inmates. This being a Jess Franco movie, you know you're in for a treat, if you're a badfilm fan. It is reprehensible, but most of all, this movie is just silly fun although in a seriously un-PC way. The film is astonishingly misogynistic, and that is unforgivable, but it is fun to see how cheaply this movie was made. A prisoner is eaten by a plastic crocodile, guards are armed with toyguns, the governors car is a beaten up Simca 2000 and the costumes are a riot. Jess Franco himself, however, has the most memorable scene in the movie as he is sodomised by a black youth in his role as a slavetrader. The role as the prisonwarden is played by the late american transsexual actress Ajita Wilson.