jdbmjf's reviews

The film is quite well shot, it has some good stars-Kinski, Collins, and Steiner in.

I enjoyed the mixing of scenes shot in the Philippines and Venezula, even though a little confusing.

The special FX and explosion scenes are very well executed.

The budget is equal to that of an 80s Hollywood blockbuster and it shows.

A good film, the helicopter attack scene is another highlight.

The director Anthony M Dawson was a good action director, not the best, but still very good.

Kinski fans should enjoy it, as well as general cinema fans.

The film lasts for 78 minuets on the Dutch DVD, due to its status in cult fandom, this film is regarded as one of the worst ever, here's why: -Has been 1960s stars wide up here, Gordon Mitchell and Mike Monti. -Luigi Batzella is the director, writer, and editor, and no doubt a one man crew, most of his films were garbage, three to four westerns shot on one wooden town built by Gordon Mitchel, three cheap war films and two erotic horror films, shot in crappy locations. -Despite its 78 minuet running time, there are around 15 minuets of stock footage, of things blowing up, and large amounts of soldiers fighting, inter-cut with around a dozen stupid extra's running around. -Poor lighting, most likely done with broken equipment, shot in Spain using locals as Arabs! (no offence intended) -The camp scenes are shot on the same sets as SS Experiment camp. -No ending, just a soldier throwing down a shovel. -Around twenty actors were used for the entire film.

...But despite all that, today's film students, can learn from it, and hopefully make their own.

God bless you Batzella!

I'm actually a big fan of these cult films, I know their shortcomings, but I'd still pick this over any Hollywood blockbuster coming out today, with overflated money grabbing stars and more CGI than actual film!

SS Extirmination camp is a grim and depressing film. Not like the usual Nazi films ie SS Hell Camp, SS Girls. Its cast of characters symbolise the holocaust, and the music is very sad and plays well with the grim scenes.

Bits of the movie are exploitative, but they (medical tests) are all based on Nazi records, so they are realistic.

The cast is actually very well acted, and the script is brilliant, other parts of the movie, belong in schindlers list, as they are so real in their depitction of the holocaust, such as gassing, shot with poison bullets and and the kind doctors getting hung while inmates sing Israel much to the annoyance of the Commandant.

The sets are all very good, the concentration camp looks like an old industrial factory and the guards all wear proper uniforms, as well as the inmates, and the special effects are not bad either.

For the Exploiation fans, there are rapes, whippings, hangings, uterus transplants, vivisection, and shootings, and gang rapes etc.

For the historical fans out there, there are very depressing moments which show the holocaust for what is was, horrible.

The film is no doubt Bruno Mattei's best film, as it contains a good cast, no stock footage and none of the plot is borrowed from any other film.

I seriously suggest you check it out-

Jess Franco to me, is one of the most evil men in cinema. His films in the 60s were Hitchokian thrillers and a few good erotic ones, however by the 80s he had plummeted into making porn films, fairly crappy at best, compared to Joe D'Amatos Caribbean series. These films consisted of Lina Romay masturbating to sex acts, purely vulgar, Laura Gemser fair enough, but her, no way.

Anyhow in the late 60s Franco worked with Harry Allan Towers, and made about 8 damn good films, such as The Bloody Judge, 99 women (less good) and Venus in Furs.

However Justine to me, his nemesis, is a good film. It boasts an all star cast, such as Jack Palace, who gives a good performance as a decadant monk, and Klaus Kinski, as De Sade, just prancing around his cell, being taunted by nude phantoms, actually shot using good green lighting and shadow imagery.

The film is not do depraved, several nude scenes, some mild sex scenes and some cat fighting, but nothing too bad. Also the buildings, soldiers and extras were fairly epic and in good standard with any epic historical film.

The sets were brilliant, hence they were all historical, the film is well shot, cue some blurs etc, well lighted, well cast and well made.

Franco is a decent director here, when he worked with Towers, however in the 70s he declined sadly. When he worked with good budgets and actors he was a Ruggero Deodato, but alas, he failed cinema, which he claimed to love...

A good film, give it a try!, you will not be disappointed.