La belva dalla calda pelle

„La belva dalle calda pelle" (literally: „The Beast With Hot Skin") is a movie which is marketed to the wrong audience, I'm afraid. At least I have no better explanation for the low average rating here. Having a sex symbol like Laura Gemser at number one of the cast plus stills showing grim mercenaries with machine guns surely appeals to people looking for a „fast food" sex and violence flick, but writer and director Bruno Fontana clearly had ambitions beyond that. In the beginning, we see Sheila (Laura Gemser - not „Emanuelle" here despite the American title) leading one soldier into a trap and kill him. Then she meets 4 of his comrades and sweetly offers to guide them to the border. We don't know which country it is (seemingly African, but actually shot on Cyprus island), who the soldiers fight for or why they are lost. At this point, the movie is an excellent trip into the Heart of Darkness echoing „Apocalypse Now", and it is not far fetched to presume that was an important influence on „La belva dalle calda pelle" which was shot shortly afterwards.

Sheila awakens anger and frustration in those men who try and rape her, or jealously attack each other. She causes adoration slowly turning into fear. „You are a tigress and I am a lion", says the leader of the mercenaries. „We have a lot in common." More than he thinks at the time... Interior monologue and manic close-ups are increasing the tension. After 40 minutes, the metaphysical qualities of the movie are hampered by a long flashback, though, which neatly explains the story: how the mercenaries got there, what Sheila's motivation is, who this guy without a uniform (Gabriele Tinti) is and so on. This certainly is a lack of elegance in the movie way of story telling, maybe because the first-time director was a writer in the first place and thought in chapters rather than a flow of pictures. Composer Paolo Rustichelli (son of the famous Carlo Rustichelli who scored countless movies, too) provides one of his earliest works, a deliberately synthetic soundtrack like it was used in science fiction movies of the 1980s, certainly en vogue at the time, but it adds a sense of weirdness and uneasiness to the movie which obviously isn't SF, but occasionally existentialistic. In my personal view - despite the flaws in the middle - a movie waiting to be rediscovered.

Once again we have a case of a random Laura Gemser movie being retitled to cash in on the success of the 'unofficial' Emanuelle series, although whoever gave this film the AKA 'Emanuelle Queen of the Desert' was clearly having a bit of a laugh: the film is not set in a desert (it looks hot, but is obviously Mediterranean countryside); and Gemser's character is quite clearly named Sheila (and judging by her unladylike behaviour, she's definitely not royalty).

La belva dalle calda pelle AKA The Dirty Seven AKA Emanuelle Queen of the Desert is essentially a revenge drama, with Gemser avenging the rape and murder of a young woman by a team of soldiers who have become stranded in the *ahem* desert after their mission goes awry; as things go from bad to worse for the mercenaries, the men begin to fight among themselves, giving Sheila the opportunity to exploit their weaknesses (usually starting by flashing her goods at them).

And speaking of exploitation and weaknesses, this film has its fair share of both: there is some of nudity (of course), a smattering of sex, and plenty of violence, but also lots of poorly executed action, dreadful dialogue, tiresome drama, and laughable plot development—and with Gemser not even making an appearance until halfway though the film, I imagine that even the most ardent fans of the lovely lady will find this film a struggle to sit through.

In the 569th case of misleading marketing I've come across, the DVD version of this movie is called "Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert" even though the only thing it has in common with the Emanuelle movies is that Laura Gemser stars, and she gets naked; however she plays a totally different character. There is the germ of an interesting story here - Gemser as a mysterious, almost ghost-like avenger - but the film is too badly made to have much impact. The flashback in the middle serves a purpose - it shows you what pigs some of these characters are and why they deserve what they get - but it shouldn't have gone on for so long (35 minutes). When it's over, the movie has only 10 minutes left! Also, beware of the DVD picture and sound quality, it's pretty poor. (*)

The Emanuelle franchise was obviously very popular in Italy during the seventies and eighties; and as a result of that, just about every film that Laura Gemser has been involved in since bears the Emanuelle name, even if the films actually have nothing to do with earlier entries in the series. Emanuelle: Queen of the Desert is yet another example of an annoying Emanuelle cash-in, although to be fair; this film actually isn't all that bad. The plot is rather simple and focuses on a bunch of red blooded soldiers that rape a girl before having her thrown out of the window. They then go on the run in the desert; before running into Gemser's 'Tigress' character who takes revenge on them all. So we've basically just a rape and revenge set in the desert with Laura Gemser starring. The plot is rather well done and the characters are interesting enough to hold the audience's attention for at least a little while. Laura Gemser gets top billing but isn't really the star of the film; despite stealing it once she does arrive. She gets naked a couple of times and her revenge on the soldiers is fun enough. Naturally, the film doesn't give the audience anything to come away with; but it's a decent hour and a half of sex, violence and Laura Gemser and better than most of the other fake Emanuelle films.

La belva dalla calda pelle stands as a testament to how good intentions and literary source material can be utterly squandered through incompetent filmmaking. What emerges from this adaptation of Fontana's own novel is a confused, poorly executed mess that fails to deliver on any of its genre promises, whether as an action thriller, exploitation film, or revenge drama.

The cinematography feels amateurish throughout, with static shots that drain tension from what should be intense desert survival sequences. The camera work lacks any sense of visual storytelling, often positioning viewers at awkward distances from the action. Desert landscapes, which should provide a stark, unforgiving backdrop for the story's brutal themes, instead appear flat and uninspiring under Fontana's direction. The lighting frequently feels artificial, particularly during outdoor sequences where harsh desert sun should create natural drama through shadows and contrast.

The atmosphere never establishes the psychological tension necessary for this type of survival story. Instead of building dread as the mercenaries face their desert predicament, the film meanders through poorly paced sequences that fail to generate any meaningful suspense. The violent revenge elements feel gratuitous rather than earned, lacking the careful buildup that would make them impactful or meaningful within the narrative structure.

Laura Gemser, despite her experience in similar genre films, delivers a surprisingly wooden performance that lacks the fierce intensity her character demands. Her portrayal of the mysterious woman seeking vengeance feels detached and unconvincing, missing the emotional core that could have elevated the material. The supporting cast of mercenaries fares even worse, with performances that range from stilted to completely amateurish. Gabriele Tinti and Angelo Infanti, both capable actors in other contexts, seem lost within Fontana's unclear direction, delivering dialogue with little conviction or natural flow.

The film's technical aspects compound these performance issues. Sound design feels hollow and disconnected from the action, while editing creates jarring transitions that disrupt any sense of narrative momentum. The pacing suffers from Fontana's inability to balance character development with action sequences, resulting in a story that feels both rushed and tediously slow in different moments.