Vibrations

This middle-period Sarno opus concentrates more than usual on the erotic scenes and heaving breasts, and for once probably satisfied the raincoat crowd as much as puzzling them. For fans of the auteur, there's plenty of psychological intensity and moral irony, as well as a neat jazzy organ score -- like Fassbinder, Sarno was continually recombining his major themes and stylistic tropes in clever new variations. Quite uncharacteristically, a nosy Brooklyn-accented cleaning lady is used as a comic Greek chorus, punctuating the action with her inquisitions. (The SWV video box gives the date as 1969, whereas the 1967 date given by IMDB and other sources seems correct.)

Vibrations (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Joseph W. Sarno wrote and directed this better-than-average softcore flick about a struggling writer named Barbara (Marianne Prevost) who is trying to get her career going. She moves into an apartment building but when her sister sexually adventurous Julia (Maria Lease) shows she begins to feel jealous of what acts are going on in the next room.

If you're familiar with this period of sexploitation pictures then you're probably aware that many of these films were made just so the raincoat crowd could go into dark theaters and see nudity. I recently saw an interview with Sarno where he said his only inspiration was the work of Ingmar Bergman and that's easy to see because it appears he always tried to do more story than just your typical skin flick. This one here deals with the issues between these two sisters, some of which go back to their days of children. I thought Sarno did a very good job in telling this story and managing to keep it entertaining even though at times the 75-minute running time had some repeat stories going on.

What really impressed me the most here were the performances. I thought both Lease and Prevost were extremely believable in their roles of the sisters and you can honestly say that they delivered performances and didn't just stand around delivering lines and waiting to be naked. Another wonderful thing is the lighting, which is just flawless and you can see the influence from the Bergman pictures. For such a low-budget movie Sarno at least makes you feel as if you're watching a more professional picture. VIBRATIONS is certainly one of the better films from the genre.

Maria Lease plays Barbara, the aspiring writer and squeamish sister. Marianne Prevost plays the outgoing sister. This is confirmed by Maria Lease crying out "Julie!" when she finds Marianne Prevost in bed with a man. IMDb and the reviewers seem to have them interchanged.

Revised and re-released on the Something Weird Video label, Vibrations is certainly something weird. This the story of a woman who is struggling to make ends meet as a writer, living alone until her older sister turns up and turns her life upside down. And that is due to the twisted relationship she has with her sister who is actually a predator and has abused her sibling in the past, and is hoping to re-live this dynamic. In addition, the neighbours are a sex cult who welcome both sisters with open arms to engage in their games which have a definite BDSM angle. The movie itself is quite simple and a bit melodramatic, albeit with numerous erotic scenes and a terrible score which simply doesn't fit with the tone. Think fairground organ music playing at inopportune times. The piano score however seems to sit better.

I can see why this was revisited, its an obvious sex flick which will cater to men who like to see naked women tied up and teased as well as their being incest between sisters, some of which is shown. As such it has a ready made audience of perverts. But for average viewers its a 60's sex movie which will be uncomfortable viewing for obvious reasons.

Far from being top notch Sarno, this remains worth watching because it is just so idiosyncratic. I suppose sex noir might be an appropriate term for the director's best work with the keen use of black and white photography and usually a very strange central character and a tendency as here to have our sense of morality challenged by just who or what is good and bad. Just a little too much groping in bed here for me, especially with the censorship of the time restricting just what the camera could show, that and men with hairy backs! Two sisters, one more pushy and keen to repeat the sexual games of their childhood, the other an aspiring poet. Next door is a box room of earthly delights where a busty blonde holds court and with an adventurous couple and an antique looking vibrator, tempt first the elder and eventually the younger into their den. Interspersed with exterior shots of the elder walking around in New York. These shots were clearly all shot on the same day because the streets look a dismal grey and the roads wet in every shot, still they add to the air of discontent running through this strange little film and almost make us keen to get back to he of the hairy back.