Ondata di piacere

Using the potentially claustrophobic atmosphere aboard a yacht to develop a thriller has almost become a movie cliche by now. Most people would probably regard the Australian film Dead Calm as the originator of this idea, but there are a few films that did the same idea before. Ondata di piacere in one of them (an even earlier one is Top Sensation by Ottavio Alessi), and - just as Dead Calm - it also featured a homicidal maniac (John Steiner).

However, there are differences: the title already suggests sexual content and the film delivers, but 'piacere' is not really the right word to describe what's going on. The sex is not exactly playful, especially towards the later stages of the film when Steiner's behaviour becomes increasingly nasty. So, this is less of a horror film than Dead Calm and more of a sex&crime thriller.

Many people will find this shocking and frightening (if not downright offensive), but if we look beyond that we find a film that has been very well put together.

If it wasn't for the very frequent nudity from its two lovely actresses, Ruggero Deodato's Waves of Lust would be a very boring film indeed. Even with the regular nakedness, it's still moderately dull.

The main problem is the notable lack of a decent plot: a young couple, Irem and Barbara (Al Cliver and Silvia Dionisio) befriend a sadistic businessman Georgio (John Steiner) and his submissive wife Silvia (Elizabeth Turner) and are invited to spend the weekend with them on their motor yacht. In between visiting deserted islands and scuba-diving, the foursome indulge in partner swapping, but Georgio's heavy drinking and sadistic streak ultimately results in violence and death. The bulk of the film involves the various characters hooking up with each other for scenes of softcore titillation, which is fine for a while, but eventually leads to tedium, and one yearns for a clever plot twist to make things more interesting.

Unfortunately, the writers of this mess seem unable to come up with anything of interest outside of the nipple-sucking, thigh stroking and breast fondling. The final act, which doesn't come soon enough, sees Irem and Barbara sailing away on Georgio's boat, Silvia having fallen overboard and presumably drowned, with a drunken Georgio ditched in the ocean wearing scuba gear and a load of weights around his neck. What the film doesn't show is the young couple being arrested for double murder the moment they try to moor the stolen boat in a harbour.

4.5/10 for the bums, boobs and bush, rounded up to 5 for the very sexy Dionisio, who reminded me a bit of my favourite Hammer actress, Linda Hayden.

N.B. Animal lovers beware: Deodato gets some practice in for his infamous Cannibal Holocaust with the killing of a moray eel, the poor creature harpooned and then stabbed in the head with a large knife.

Director Ruggero Deodato will forever and ever remain famous, infamous and worshiped (at least amongst a selected number of avid cult fanatics) because he was the creator of the ultimate exploitation classic "Cannibal Holocaust". But several years prior to delivering that classic – as well as several other horror/trash/cult highlights – he was also responsible for an entirely different type of "flesh feast". The peculiar "Waves of Lust" is a drama/thriller primarily thriving on sexual atmosphere and the unpredictability of the characters' personas. The film doesn't contain much graphic violence or on-screen perversion, but it's continuously ominous and bizarre, which is a remarkable accomplishment on itself. Barbara and Irem, a young and extremely liberated couple, are hanging around the touristy Sicilian coast when they meet up with the unhappily married couple Giorgio and Silvia. Giorgio is a power-mad and obnoxious industrialist who pretty much downgraded his wife Silvia to a slave whom he can mistreat and humiliate whenever he wants and as much as he wants. The two couples head out for a trip aboard Giorgio's yacht, and naturally the sexual intrigues blow through the roof. Giorgio wants to sleep with Barbara, and assumes that he can, but at the same time he doesn't like that Irem takes an interest in his own wife. Barbara particularly enjoys teasing Giorgio and she also doesn't mind evoking a bit of lesbian passion with Silvia. The situation quickly escalates into a gritty web of deceit, alcohol abuse (a lot of alcohol abuse) and attempted murder. Deodato makes terrific use of the isolated yacht setting and the versatility of his four-headed cast, while the screenplay (co-written by Lamberto Bava) contains several great dialogs and clever twists. Unfortunately, however, "Waves of Lust" is overall very slow-moving, often boring and too heavily focusing on the full-frontal nudity of the two lead actresses instead of on some of the potentially interesting sub plots (like, for example, the collapsing of Giorgio's business empire). The film is so boring sometimes that I deeply desired to join Giorgio in drinking copious amounts of J&B Whisky. Believe me, his J&B consumption in this story is enough to cause spontaneous cirrhosis of the liver, as literally his entire yacht is stuffed with whiskey bottles. The soundtrack is downright fabulous, as the case with most Italian movies from the seventies, and the acting performances are the prime reason why "Waves of Lust" remains compelling until the climax. Lead vixen Silvia Dionisio was married to director Ruggero Deodato at the time, but he clearly didn't object sharing his spouse's most intimate body parts with the rest of the world. And what a lucky bastard he was!

An early lurid exploitation gem from the future director of Cannibal Holocaust. The parallel to Polanski's Knife in the Water is undeniable but Deodato (predictably) ups the sex quotient and also injects political tension via the interplay of Steiner's ruthless capitalist playboy persona and the socialist leanings of the mysterious beachcomber couple. In fact, the whole plot almost plays like a symbolic allegory of class struggle except for the recurrent need to inject nudity and sexual situations for ensuring box office. Out of the cast, Steiner really stands out and seems to revel in the out and out sleaziness of his character. His counterpart, Cliver, on the other hand seems mostly somnambulistic throughout. The female leads, Dionisio and Turner aren't shy and jump into their roles, including some lesbian scenes, with enthusiasm. The film's low budget and locations work together to create a unique charm. The soundtrack and wardrobes also contribute to the film's retro allure.

Ruggero Deodato does a good job directing his actors. The camera absolutely loves Silvia Dionisio (and it should... she was married to Ruggero Deodato at the time of filming. But the real star of the film is John Steiner as the millionaire yacht owner. Incredible performance!

There's a good deal of nudity here. However, there's very little blood/violence. It's kind of a slow burn with tensions slowly mounting between characters. There are also some extensive underwater scuba diving scenes. Some of these are well shot. However, others are not well shot, and it's difficult to tell what's happening in some of the underwater scenes.

My biggest problems with the film are the cheesy soundtrack and some poor editing mistakes.

Overall, it's worth a look if you're a fan of these things.