User reviews

Synopsis: Two sexy French twentysomethings, Françoise (Mireille Saunin) and Anna (Michéle Perello), come across a dilapidated castle which houses an evil (I guess) witch, Morgane Le Fey (Dominique Delpierre); her team of hot Girl Slaves; and her random huchbacked dwarf minion, Gurth (Alfred Baillou). The witch captures Françoise and Anna and forces them to decide: become Morgane's immortal sex slaves. . . or rot (as ugly old women) in the witch's dungeon for eternity.

Review: 'Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay' is probably one of THE most frustrating erotic horrors I've ever seen in my life. Much of the 'erotic' part of the film is gorgeous French girls (mostly redheads) making out, touching, etc., but most of those scenes only last for a minute or two, or they're intercut with random shots of creepy Gurth's face. And, let me tell you, when you're in the mood for an erotic horror film about hot French witch slaves, you do not want to be seeing Gurth, who looks like Zelda from Pet Sematary. The film is very aptly done. The direction and writing are surprisingly good in comparison to some of the other 70s erotic horrors. The acting isn't too shabby, either. It does get boring at times, especially during the random interpretive dance scenes (?). It's mostly, however, a classically done erotic fantasy-horror. Unlike many films like this, it actually works well as a real story & film. . . even if you removed all of the eroticism.

Final Verdict: 6/10.

The girlfriends Françoise (Mireille Saunin) and Anna (Michèle Perello) are traveling through the countryside of France by car. They stop at a roadhouse to drink wine and buy coffee, and the owner advises them to return. However they proceed their trip but they get lost on the road.

They decide to spend the night in an abandoned barn. In the morning, Françoise does not find Anna and she seeks her out. Out of the blue, the dwarf Gurth (Alfred Baillou) asks her to follow him and he shows a castle in an island where Anna would be.

Françoise takes a boat that sails alone and brings her to the castle. Sooner she learns that she has reached the lesbian realm of the witch Morgane (Dominique Delpierre) that proposes Françoise to stay in her kingdom living in eternal youth and beauty with her favorites Yael (Régine Motte), Sylviane (Ursule Pauly) and Sarah (Nathalie Chaine). Otherwise she would be doomed to get older and older in the dungeons of the castle. Further, Françoise learns that Anna has given her soul to Morgane and will stay in the place forever. But Françoise does not want to stay and plots a plan to escape.

"Morgane et ses Nymphes" is an erotic tale about a woman that is trapped in an oneiric castle of lesbians mastered by the evil witch Morgane. The director Bruno Gantillon succeeds in the atmosphere of dream, supported by gorgeous actresses and wonderful music score. But the film is disappointing since I was expecting much more from the synopsis. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Morgana e as Ninfas" ("Morgane and the Nymphs")

It might have its problems, but at the very least, The Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay is memorable for the fact that it's so damn strange! Director Bruno Gantillon succeeds in creating a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere; which bodes very well with the fantasy styled plot. As the title suggests, the backbone of this film revolves around sex and since most of the characters are female, that should please fans of lesbian porn. The plot itself is typically strange and focuses on a castle ran by the mysterious and sinister Morgana le Fay. Two young ladies are travelling across the country when they get a surprise one morning. One of them awakes to find that the other has disappeared, and upon searching for her friend, she happens upon a boat. The boat takes her to an eerie castle where she meets Morgana le Fay and is taken in by the women in the castle. She is offered immortality in return for her soul, but as jealousies take hold she decides to make an attempt to escape, but getting away from Morgana le Fay is not so easy...

One of the main problems I had with this film is the fact that not a great deal happens, so it's easy to get bored with it; the dream-like atmosphere is actually a hindrance in this respect as when you're watching a dreamy, boring movie - it can sometimes be difficult to stay awake! To its credit, The Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay is a very beautiful movie. There's no shortage of eye candy, all the women in the film look great and the lavish sets are well designed and suit the film. I can't say that it's a particularly graphic film, though that isn't a big problem. The lesbian sequences are well filmed and fairly erotic, which of benefit to the film. The film is a lot like the lesbian vampire flicks that cult French director Jean Rollin made around the same time that this film was made; although personally I'd rank this one higher than the majority of Jean Rollin rubbish that I've seen. This is not a great film and it does have its fair share of problems, but it also has a lot of good things about it, and while I can't say it's a film that everyone should see; it should please genre fans at least.

I first saw a teaser for this movie as an extra on a Mondo Macabro DVD. At the time I don't believe it was listed among their coming releases, but it had been released by another branch of the company in the UK called Pagan.

When Mondo Macabro did release it, I bought it, as I have bought most of their DVDs.

The movie looks gorgeous. Really rich color. It's got a slow, dreamy pace that some might find boring. It's definitely got more of a fantasy flavor than one of horror.

Two attractive women have car trouble, and go to sleep in an abandoned building. One wakes and finds the other missing, and she follows a strange little man to a castle by a lake. There, attractive women live in luxury with the witch Morgana. Her three closest servants and the little man grow jealous of the newcomer. Morgana has the power to keep women young and beautiful forever, for the price of their soul. And indeed, for all the luxury, the place seems pretty soulless. This is not a very deep movie, with not a whole lot of plot. It gets a little more eventful towards the end, and does have a satisfying ending.

The DVD includes a number of extras, including a short by the director predating this film called in English "An Artistic Couple." It's not currently listed on the IMDb. In some respects it has a similar story, though it is played more for horror.

Inspired by the exploits of the famous witch found in Arthurian legends, this film has an appropriately medieval feel to it - not least because of its authentic castle setting and the evocative score by Francois de Roubaix (using the pseudonym Cisco El Rubio!). While it was sold as exploitation on the strength of its copious nudity (the mostly female cast also entailing lesbianism), the script - where characterization is given its due, which is more than can be said for most "Euro-Cult" titles! - is surprisingly literate. In this respect - not to mention having the titular character's dungeon crammed with a bevy of mostly willing slaves! - the film anticipated the "Elizabeth Bathory" segment in Walerian Borowczyk's IMMORAL TALES (1974). Speaking of Bathory, Dominique Delpierre's Morgana here actually reminded me of that character as incarnated by Delphine Seyrig in DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) - which, incidentally, was also scored by De Roubaix!

The sustained dream-like mood here results in a languorous pace, which is actually typical of low-budget fantasy films made in France during this time: its main purveyors were Jean Rollin and Jess Franco, but Gantillon's effort is ample proof that others (whose career wasn't as prolific and, consequently, faded into obscurity) were, at least, equally adept at this sort of thing; though it often descended into camp - which the title under review here, thankfully, doesn't! - Michel Lemoine's SEVEN WOMEN FOR Satan (1974), incidentally also a Mondo Macabro release, is another one of its kind I enjoyed a good deal.

Besides, the film's production values (primarily - and economically - utilizing natural resources), accentuated by Jean Monsigny's odd framing, impart the film with an effortless classiness not usually found in lowbrow "Euro-Cult" ventures. That said, the lengthy feast/lesbian orgy towards the end stops the film dead in its tracks and the unresolved ending may seem like a cop-out (though I took it as merely another bizarre touch in a movie filled with unconventional detail).

With respect to casting, this too appears to have received some uncommon consideration: the sinister-looking Alfred Baillou is memorable as Morgana's love-struck (yet jealous) dwarf henchman!; Delpierre (who is able to materialize wherever she pleases, as is demonstrated in the final moments of the film) and Regine Motte (as one of her three favored nymphs endowed with psychic powers: in fact, one of the most striking scenes in the film is when they relate to Morgana the movements of the fleeing heroine beyond the castle walls - which is shown in a form of stylized choreography) are the loveliest of the six leading ladies, but also the most able performers.

No seriously, I want to know where I can find this castle! For work as well as for holidays, I often travel through rural France and the medieval castle where the largest part of the film takes place looks like a beautiful and idyllic place to visit … And the fact that it's apparently inhabited by dozens of breath-taking, ravishing and scantily clad lesbians is an added value, of course. "Morgane Et Ses Nymphes" is a typical and almost routine product of the early 70s euro- exploitation industry. For some reason, surreal and pseudo- artistic stories about lesbian vampires in remote and isolated parts of the world were extremely popular. Next to Jesus Franco in Spain and Jean Rollin in France, who were undoubtedly the two most productive directors of this bizarre cult sub-genre, there were a handful of other directors who delivered a few films that gained cult-followings over the years, like Harry Kümel ("Daughters of Darkness"), José Ramon Larraz ("Vampyres") and Bruno Gantillon with his "Morgane Et Ses Nymphes". Strictly seen, this one is different, since the wenches aren't vampires. The titular Morgane is a sort of coven-sorceress who lures innocent young girls to her castle, along with the help of a creepy midget named Gurth, and then subsequently brings them into an erotic and surreal trance. The girls are offered the choice to remain young and beautiful forever whilst staying with Morgane in her castle, or to be dumped in the dungeons with a horde of old women. Hmm, tough choice! This overcomes also Anna and Françoise, two lively twenty-something beauties on a trip through the French countryside. They get lost and are forced to spend the night in a barn, though not before fondling each other intensely of course, but at dawn Françoise discovers that Anne is missing. She herself is lured to the castle, but Morgane immediately feels a bizarre and unique type of affection for Françoise and keeps her closer to her side than all the other "slaves". There's basically almost nothing happening in this film and, to be entirely honest, the cult reputation of this film is heavily exaggerated and undeserved. The filming locations and cinematography are fantastic and Bruno Gantillon manages to maintain a gloomy and ominous atmosphere throughout, but those are about the only positive aspects I can think of. The all-female cast (with the exception of Alfred Baillou as the whiny and pitiable Gurth) is attractive to look at, but their sexual escapades are brief and not exactly arousing.

For me personally, the one special thing about this film is the fact that it provided the inspiration for my own daughter's name. My little girl is also named Morgane, because I like the idea she's named after a mysterious and seductive lead-sorceress of a cult.

One of the things that makes the 70's a superior era over the 80's for film is the soundtrack. Morgane et Ses Nymphes is no exception to this. The music is charming, without being tacky. Melodic without being intrusive and turning the mood sappy. In the 80's you could have a good film and then when the dischordant synth chords come through, it just always seems to detract rather than enhance. I felt like the composer was very familiar and must have been a very prolific contributor to many films of this genre/era, but I noticed that only one other film has been credited to him. The 3rd Man kept coming to mind... Not that this movie is a masterpiece, but the subject matter is interesting, in the Jean Rollin vein, and it's always an immense pleasure to see women in their au naturel state, pre-silicone. It's easy to see how it could have been perceived as borderline pornographic in 1971. The extras on this DVD are highly recommended. The short film made by the same director is worth a look for sure.

Last year this flick was released full uncut (85 minutes) here in our region, as soon as it came out it already vanished again and became an OOP. Strange because this is a weird flick.

Mostly it is classified under horror but there isn't anything in it to say it is a horror. It's all about sorcery and the eternal life that can be given if you agree with the rules. It is beautifully shot and even as there isn't that much happening you still keep watching it. All girls look like fairy but that's because the clothes they are wearing. One dance scene takes a bit too long even as it has a lot of nudity. Maybe that's the reason why it is hunted down and has become a French cult flick. There's a lot of nudity in it and a bit of full frontal. Still, it isn't gratuitous and do adds towards the fairy atmosphere.

Alfred Baillou (Gurth) is ideal in his role, his face and the androgyny he has given his character is excellent. Most of the actresses in this flick have only performed in a few flicks but they all looked believable.

It's a typical French soft erotic 'horror', I would even compare it with Jean Rollins, but then with money and good editing and acting. Recommended.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 2,5/5 Effects 0,5/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

A 'neglected Eurotrash classic' apparently, this beautifully filmed French film has been compared to the works of Director Jean Rollin. To be honest, that is my main reason for watching. There are certain similarities - beautiful, scantily clad girls, luscious countryside, an elegant, crumbling castle and various softcore lesbian scenes.

However, whereas Rollin was always able to inject a certain indefinable fairy-tale quality into many of his works, 'Girl Slaves' falls into a trap Rollin never did, in my view - this film is sadly rather dull. Not a great deal happens, and when it does, it happens very slowly.

Thankfully, there is a strong cast here, bolstered by Alfred Baillou as the diminutive Gurth (Baillou appeared in a number of films for Jess Franco, his best known probably being Malou in 'Plaisir à trois', or 'How to Seduce a Virgin.').

Dreamlike it is, but there is little beneath the surface except for a fairly gentle tale involving lesbian exploitation. Nicely directed by Bruno Gantillon, but with little meat on the bone. My score is 5 out of 10.

A dull road trip across France takes an unexpected turn when two sexy ladies Anna and Francoise stop in a creepy country village.They go into an abandoned barn where they have lesbian intercourse.When Anna disappears the next day her lover is scared.With the help of little hunchback Francoise soon finds her way to a mysterious castle ruled by spiritual vampire Morgana Le Fay and filled with ageless lesbians."Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay" is an erotic fairy tale with soft-core scenes of lesbian sex and a little bit of silken bondage.The girls are sexy enough and the location sets including lovely castle near the lake provide plenty of splendid Gothic mood.8 out of 10.Another fine DVD release from Pete Tombs and Mondo Macabro.

The 70s in particular saw an explosion of horror that featured lesbian themes in one measure or another, whether strong or weak, organic or forced. 'The blood spattered bride' is a great example of a well-made film in which the lesbian overtones were endemic to the narrative, and woven in very naturally; Jess Franco's 'Vampyros lesbos,' fun but campy, is certainly an instance that's more plainly exploitative. That 'Girl slaves of Morgana Le Fay,' or 'Morgane et ses nymphes,' is harder to place on that spectrum, varying throughout its length, is a reflection of how the writing is rather all over the place. The broad strokes of the narrative are cheekily promising, though the specifics of some dialogue, scene writing, and story beats raise a skeptical eyebrow. Some inclusions are especially titillating, and others are defiantly gratuitous, while plot development - especially earlier in the length - is sometimes a tad specious. Ultimately it's much better than not and suitably entertaining, but it's also distinctly imperfect.

In fairness, details of the screenplay were clearly not a top priority. This feature is much more about the big ideas and the visuals, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. By all means, on that note it's worth observing that the filming locations are lovely, as are the production design and art direction. The hair and makeup work is immaculate, and the costume design is beautiful (though in no few instances, rather minimal, or superfluous). Filmmaker Bruno Gantillon demonstrates a keen eye at points for shot composition, and the choreography credited to Claude Ariel is entrancing. The cast assembled here, mostly young women, surely had a good time making it, and that spirit is communicated to the audience. 'Girl slaves' looks and sounds great generally - and given the sapphic focus: Yes, rest assured, there's substantial nudity and sensuality, and it's warmly tantalizing. Not to beat around the bush, but if one sits for this picture for no other reason and with no other expectations, they will be satisfied.

Despite the genre label, this more accurately comes across as a very whimsical fairy tale with substantial lesbian overtones (exploitation or not), and enticing horror undertones to taste as Anna and Francoise are sucked into a world of tempting fantasy. Even though I wrongly anticipated a slightly more "straightforward" genre flick (perhaps akin to 'Vampyros lesbos,' or underappreciated 1971 gem 'Daughters of darkness'), I quite admire the approach adopted here; the concept is handily adaptable. I just wish the writing were a bit tighter, as the whimsy seemingly extends to the lackadaisical tack taken toward connective threads between scenes and story beats. The plot becomes more discrete and concrete in the latter half of the film, to my pleasure; would that it were so all along. In any event, at its best the dialogue and scene writing almost seems to carry a minor sense of poetry about them, in keeping with the overarching fancy. And taken as a whole the story is unquestionably entertaining with its mix of horror notions and sapphic enchantment. Shortcomings and all, this is exactly what it wanted to be, and it works satisfactorily well for what it is.

I suppose it could be said that earnest criticism is more like nitpicking when it comes to films like this; one can him and haw all day long about what is done well or not, and it doesn't really matter. The filmmakers don't care, the film doesn't care, and after all, it achieves what it sets out to do. I guess I'm just of the mind that more careful, mindful craft could elevate such fare to another level. Regardless of how you look at it, 'Girl slaves of Morgana Le Fay' is a silly, sexy, delightful genre romp, and a pleasant way to spend 85 minutes, and the rest is just light differences of opinion.

Roger Ebert often used to talk about "wrong gas-station movies", ie. low-grade horror or thriller flicks which start with the protagonists stopping at a seedy gas-station/diner where the air-conditioning is broken, the food is rotten and the attendant is a repulsive individual wearing coveralls and slime.

A similar case could be made for the "wrong pub movie", a sub-genre of European horror that begins with young, female tourists stopping in the sole meeting place in a tiny, forgotten hamlet somewhere deep in the central European country side. Whereas the "wrong gas station" employees are always seedy and revolting, the "wrong pub" diners always fall completely silent, and perhaps even seem to freeze upon the young travellers' entrance into their domains, in much the same way the decor of the establishment is invariably frozen in the past.

They will often be warned by the custodian of the establishment to leave the village, or more particularly, to stay away from the castle on the hill - a warning they obviously never heed.

I've seen this set-up in some Hammer movies, at least one of the "Tombs of the Blind Dead" movies, and variations of it in some of the films of Euro-horror legend Paul Naschy, and, as you will have guessed, have also just seen it in "Girl Slaves of Morgana le Fay", a curious French sort of horror-fantasy from 1971. You see, with this not atypical beginning underway, I expected the kind of violent, exploitative grindhouse horror hijinks you get from virtually any other b-grade Eurohorror flick of the '70s. I was surprised to find, however, that "Girl Slaves of Morgana le Fay" deviates from the pack in a number of underwhelming ways:

Firstly, I don't remember any violence in the movie at all. Hardly a common statement to make regarding this particular genre, shot in this particular place, in this particular time;

Secondly, there is a surprisingly lack of nudity and sex for MOST of the movie's run-time. There is little, if any, of what I would call full-frontal nudity, and what nudity there is is usually not the camera's focal point.

The movie does have a climax - no pun intended - however, that features more nudity and lesbian sex. Overall, "Girl Slaves of Morgana le Fay" stands out for its quite unexploitative and tasteful treatment of nudity and sex.

Lastly, and this may be a plus or a minus depending on your point of view, the movie has a go at the whole "dreamlike" atmosphere sort of thing, that so many other low-budget horror/fantasy movies also attempted, and failed at, miserably. "Morgana le Fay", however, largely succeeds at this, which is surprising.

This brings me to my main problem with the movie, though. This atmosphere isn't really used to the service of any effect, other than eventual boredom. "Morgana le Fay" isn't really a horror movie; it's spooky, sure, but it never really tries to scare you. Such a typical set-up for a horror flick, and a superior atmosphere, leaves you wanting more.

Hence, "Girl Slaves of Morgana le Fay" is like an hour-and-a-half joke without the punchline.

Françoise and Anna, a couple on holiday, stop at a local tavern only to be weirded out by a dwarf. Upon leaving, they get lost as women are known to do and their car breaks down so they choose to spend the night in a barn. They makes out heavily before falling asleep, the next day Françoise awakes to find Anna missing. The dwarf is there and tells her that he knows where her friend is, leads her to the castle of one Morgana LaFey, an immortal witch who grants immortality to other young women in exchange for their souls. But it isn't long before jealously takes hold of the other girls.

This film came as bit of a revelation to me in that I only bought it because the name and cover lept out at me, plus the fact that it was on sale didn't hurt in the least. It exceeded my expectations and I found it to be a heavily erotic, gripping, ambiance thick film. A minor lost classic that one would do well to seek out.

Eye Candy: Every girl in the film shows various amounts of skin

My Grade: B-

Mondo Macabro DVD Extras: 3 Alternate & Deleted scenes; "Un Couple D'Artistes" Short film; 11 minute interview with Director Bruno Gantillon; poster & stills gallery; Theatrical trailer; and a VERY gory nudity filled compilation trailer including "French Sex Murders", "Living Doll", "Satanico Pandemonium", "Panic Beats", "Clonus", "the Killer must kill again", "the mansion of madness", "Alucarda", "the diabolical Dr. Z", "Aswang", "the Living Corpse", "Blood of the Virgins", "Seven women for Satan", "Lady Terminator", "Crazy love", "Mill of the stone women", & "Dangerous Seductress"

This was, admittedly, a film I picked up for the titillation factor, since I enjoy the sight of women from the 70's in their natural, undressed Euro glory.

However, this film was done in such a way as to find me enjoying it throughout, despite my initial misgivings.

Granted, I don't think it's the greatest movie ever, but the settings and the "fairy-tale" feel of it I found to be quite good, and the erotic elements were considerably enjoyable. The dialogue also wasn't as cheesy as I was expecting, which is always a good thing, considering many similar films of that era can't escape those faults.

The DVD is quite good, the quality of the picture is excellent, and includes a good interview with the director, Bruno Gantillon. Recommended for fans of 70's erotica and fantasy.

The French can usually be relied upon to try and ruin a decent sex film with pretentious dialogue and this Rolinesque outing is no exception. The sexiness survives though thanks to the splendour of the setting, the well established fantasy form and the beautiful girls and diaphanous costumerie. Reasonably well paced, this may seem slow to some but as everything looks so wonderful, from the rolling countryside and fabulous castle to the colourful swirling costumes and nakedness, there should be few complaints. Never quite as nasty or sexual as it often suggests it will be but nevertheless very easy on the eye and certainly most erotic on occasions.

'Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay' (1971) Exquisitely erotic, vampishly villainous, diaphanously garbed succubi, and sadistically tormented, raven-haired, lustfully hate-fuelled harlots abound disgracefully in this deliciously dubious divertissement of eerily exotic, fruit loop lurid Euro-Horror lunacy! A triumphantly titillating, sensually sick-headed nightmare about about all manner of majestically malevolent maidens that frequently go rumpy bumpy in the blackened, subterranean glooms of night! Wherein the shrill abject screams of pain very soon become the needful cries of illicit pleasure! Don't be a slave to mediocrity, disencumber yourself from the stultifying shackles of sinless sinema, and take a hungry fleshly bite out of this bodaciously buxom, bonking mad boudoir B-horror classic by audacious Gallic smut scion Bruno Gantillon! The grisly-minded, spectrally sordid, ethereally explicit, ominously outré, luridly languorous, carnally carnivorous, delectably dancing, oestrogen-soaked sirens within 'Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay' eagerly await your pleasure! Take it from this scurrilous splatter Mad Hatter, perfidiously permissive, sapphically scintillating 70s Euro-Cult sinema still matters! And with the sole exception of the wildest sensual phantasmagoria of maestro Jean Rollin, very few midnight movies enjoy the exotically eldritch range of darkly deporting degeneracy as Gantillon's 'Morgane Et Ses Nymphes'(1971) Starring a dazzlingly delicious harem of hellaciously hot horror hotties, the unusually enticing Dominique Delpierre, Mireille Saunin, Michelle Perelo!