Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976) - Edmonds returns with Thorne in dubious Arabia-set sequel

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Scantily dressed young women titillate from left and right on this poster for Don Edmonds' Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks

 
Ilsa, the 'She Wolf of the SS' now for some reason runs a gruesome prison for women in the Arabian desert. Here degradation and sexual satisfaction is the order of the day.

 

Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks is written by Langston Stafford, a person never credited with anything else, and produced and directed by Don Edmonds (Wild Honey (1972)), who also made the popular original film which this is the first sequel to, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975).

The 'plot' here is more or less an illusion as most of the film consists of episodic scenes of sex and cruelty with commentary from two seemingly unrelated men in an airplane!?! Dyanne Thorne (Up Yours (1979)) as Ilsa is still a captivating whip artist, and the film is adorned with a hot twink slave but it also delivers several atrocities such as forced feeding, breast torture and, naturally, rape. The two ninja amazons who can rip a grown man's teeth out are strong arguments in favor of the film, it would appear. But the episodic, nonsensical structure gives Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks a long character, which is also spoiled by involving a child (a boy to be precise) in its solution, which must be considered, in the context of the film at hand, incredibly tasteless and amoral.

 

Related post:

 

Don Edmonds: Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975) - Edmonds' notorious Nazisploitation sensation

 

 

Watch a clip from the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 200k $

Box office: Projected 5 mil. $

= Uncertain but projected a mega-hit (projected return of 25 times its cost)

[Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks was released in March (USA) and runs 85 minutes. Shooting took place in California. The film is listed as having been released in just 4 markets; North America, Japan, West Germany and in Denmark. In the latter, very small market, it sold an impressive 85,277 tickets, coming to approximately 640k $. It is not unlikely that the cheaply made film grossed upwards of 5 mil. $. Ilsa returned in two more films, though only the first of the two is with Thorne, and Edmonds no longer was involved. Edmonds returned with Southern Double Cross (1976). Thorne first returned in Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy (1976). 3.1k+ IMDb users have given Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks a 5.0/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks?

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975) - Edmonds' notorious Nazisploitation sensation

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Promises of sensational sex and violence feature prominently on this no-holds-barred exploitative poster for Don Edmonds' Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS

In SS commandant Ilse's small concentration camp in Nazi-era Germany, women are rotting their lives away or getting trained in pain to be prepared as prostitute slaves for the German soldiers, while the male prisoners are used - and castrated. But a rebellion smoulders ...

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is written by Jonah Royston (The Starlost (1973, TV-series)) and John C.W. Saxton (Blackout (1978)) and directed by Don Edmonds (Wild Honey (1972)).

This sensationalistic and entirely sleazy and tasteless film is elevated by good camera-work (cinematography by Glenn Roland (First Strike (1984))) and a thoroughly sadistic performance by Dyanne Thorne (Hellhole (1985)) as the title character. The story is titillating (for the right audience) and the tension builds slowly despite possible confusion as to who is supposed to be the 'hero' of the tale.

 

 

Watch a clip from the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 100k $

Box office: Unknown, projected 5 mil. $

= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of 50 times its cost)

[Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS premiered in January (Boston) and runs 96 minutes. The story is loosely inspired by the Buchenwald camp commander's wife Ilse Koch, who was imprisoned following WWII for her crimes. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California on the left-over set from Hogan's Heroes (1965-71), which the production was allowed to use on the condition that they demolish it after. The film was released to derisive reviews, bans in Australia, Germany and Norway, - and thunderous audience interest. Regrettably the gross numbers are not public information, but they were likely huge: The film sold 186,204 tickets in the small market of Denmark, one of its relatively few markets, coming to approximately 400k $. It may well have grossed more than 5 mil. $. It inspired three sequels, all with Thorne, and none that logically made sense in relation to each other, the first one being Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), which was Edmonds' return. Thorne first returned in The Swinging Barmaids (1975). Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is rotten at 36 % with a 4.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS?

Ichi the Killer/ 殺し屋１(Koroshiya Ichi) (2001) - Miike's world-shocking yakuza splatter

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Pain, mutilation and pleasure seem to converge on this raw poster for Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer

The boss of a Yakuza gang has gone missing with a lot of money. Needle enthusiast/psychopath Kakihara gets to a conclusion through the use of extensive torture: It is a brainwashed guy by the name of Ichi who has murdered the boss.

 

Ichi the Killer is written by Sakichi Sato (Doreiku: Boku to 23-nin no dorei (2014)), based on the same-titled 1998-01 manga by Hideo Yamamoto (Homunculus (2003-11)), and directed by Takashi Miike (Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô (1995)). The original Japanese title translates to 'hitman one'.

'The Japanese are nuts. Totally depraved.' - This could be one fair takeaway from watching Ichi the Killer. 

The story of the film is very strange, and it is mostly made up of torture and murder scenes, along with very long takes of things that are hard to comprehend, and a bit of dialog. Some of the setups are beautifully staged, and the sound side and special effects of the film are impressive.

Everything is aesthetic in this highly Japanese vision of horrific sadomasochism.

 

Related posts:

 

Takashi Miike: Imprint (2006, TV movie) - Venture far, far abroad with Miike's hard-to-watch Masters of Horror entry

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Audition/オーディション (Ōdishon) (1999) - Miike hamstrings your sleep 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Estimated 1.4 mil. $

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[Ichi the Killer premiered 14 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 130 minutes. Shooting took place around August 2000 in Tokyo, Japan. Details surrounding its commercial performance in Japan and the few other markets it was released in (besides a long list of festival screenings) are regrettably hard to come by. The film was banned in Norway and Malaysia and cut in other countries. Miike returned with Agitator/Araburu tamashii-tachi (2001). Tadanobu Asano (Shogun (2024, TV-series)) returned in Mizu no onna (2002); Nao Ômori (First Love/Hatsukoi (2019)) in Quartet (2001). Ichi the Killer is fresh at 65 % with a 6.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Ichi the Killer?

Imprint (2006) - Venture far, far abroad with Miike's hard-to-watch Masters of Horror entry

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This poster for Takashi Miike's Imprint clearly indicates that the film is ripe with horrific, grueling images, gore and torture

An American journalist (Billy Drago (Supernatural (2008, TV-series))) is looking for his lost love on a cursed Japanese island, where torture-loving whores with gruesome abortion backgrounds have their home.

Imprint is written by Daisuke Tengan (The Eel/Unagi (1997)), adapting the 1999 novel Bokke e, kyōtē by Shimako Iwai (Rakuen (2003)), and directed by Takashi Miike (Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô (1995)). It is the 13th and last episode of the first season of TV movie anthology series Masters of Horror.

Without reservations this is a disgusting film, in fact so much so that one almost agrees with the series' executive producer Mick Garris and the executives at Showtime who decided to shelve it and never run it on TV as part of the anthology. But in the atmospheric, stylized universe conjured up here, and in the extreme imagery that goes along with it also lie the unshakable elements of the cultural clash that is Imprint.

 

Related posts:

 

Other Masters of Horror TV movies: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Fair Haired Child (2006, TV movie) - Malone turns out another weak Masters of Horror TV movie 

Dance of the Dead (2005) - Hooper's ugly Masters of Horror nonsense
Chocolate (2005) - Flavors, visions and eroticism in Garris' TV movie thriller
Deer Woman (2005) - Landis and son's solid Masters of Horror entry 
Cigarette Burns (2005) - Carpenter burns out in weird, tiresome TV movie    

Haeckel's Tale (2006, TV movie) - Another bland Masters entry 

Pick Me Up (2006, TV movie) - Cohen's so-so Masters of Horror entry

Takashi Miike: 1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Audition/オーディション (Ōdishon) (1999) - Miike hamstrings your sleep 

 

 

Watch a clip from the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV movie

= Uncertain

[Imprint premiered 25 February (Yubari Interntational Film Festival) and runs 63 minutes. Shooting took place in Japan, including in Tokyo. Miike claims that he checked up during production and thought that he created something within the bounds of what could be screened on US TV, but the film was nevertheless denied screening when completed. Instead it was shown theatrically in Japan as well as through screenings in festivals in several other markets, along with on TV in yet other markets before getting a home video release broadly. It is the only film in the Masters of Horror series to get shelved due to its content. Miike returned with Waru: kenketsu-hen (2006, video) and theatrically with Taiyô no kizu (2006). Drago returned in Seven Mummies (2006). 7.7k+ IMDb users have given Imprint a 6.9/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Imprint?

Den Hemmelige Krig (2006, TV documentary) - Guldbrandsen sheds light on a dirty war

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More than half of this poster for Christoffer Guldbrandsen's Den Hemmelige Krig is left in the dark, and in the bottom a quote from Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in all caps; "We must fight terrorism without compromise, and that fight against evil is not one that the US should face alone"

When Denmark joined America's 'coalition of the willing' in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, obvious lies from the highest authority, Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, were repeated again and again, when it became clear that the Bush administration did not intend to uphold the Geneva convention concerning prisoners of war.

 

Den Hemmelige Krig is written by Nils Giversen (De Bortførte Børn (2002, TV documentary)) and co-writer/director Christoffer Guldbrandsen (Made in Denmark (2000, documentary series)). The title translates to, 'the secret war'.

The escape from liability and the abuses committed by allies on the prisoners of war are the film's scoop, and they make it highly relevant. It over-uses one quote from Fogh Rasmussen, and the stylistic and score choices to highlight 'mystery' elements regrettably work against the impact of the otherwise fine documentary.

 

 

The chief of the Danish Defense claims to never have heard of prisoner abuse by the Americans in this clip from the film

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV documentary

= Uncertain

[Den Hemmelige Krig was shown on Danish TV (DR) on 6 December and runs 58 minutes. The film was heavily debated and attacked by the Danish prime minister Fogh Rasmussen, defense minister Søren Gade and others. A commission was funded to analyze the film and its statements, and in 2007 the commission largely green-stamped the film as fair and relevant. Guldbrandsen returned with Dagbog fra Midten (2009, TV documentary). 52 IMDb users have given Den Hemmelige Krig a 7.2/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Den Hemmelige Krig? 

The House on the Edge of the Park/La Casa Sperduta nel Parco (1980) - Hess horrifies in another rape-and-revenge sexploitation

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The Grim Reaper is transparent and brandishes a razor knife on this poster for Ruggero Deodato's The House on the Edge of the Park

Alex and Ricky are two degenerate auto-mechanics in New York, who go with a pair of women to a party in New Jersey, where they take the guests hostage, torture and rape them.

The House on the Edge of the Park is written by Gianfranco Clerici (Miami Golem (1985)) and Vincenzo Mannino (The Antichrist (1974)) and directed by Italian master filmmaker Ruggero Deodato (Fenomenal and the Treasure Tutankamen (1968)). It is his 13th feature.

Deodato has a certain style, and the eerily contrapuntal music (by Riz Ortolani (Killer Crocodile (1989))) quickly puts the viewer in the filmmaker's shadow land (as his hostages?) The question is whether this place is horrific, arousing, and/or suspenseful?

Certain scenes of the film are truly sadistic, and yet The House on the Edge of the Park is miles away from the horrors of Deodato's preceding masterpiece, Cannibal Holocaust (1980). David Hess (The Last House on the Left (1972)) is frightening as an ultra-psychopath, and so is Giovanni Lombardo Radice (The Soul Keeper/Prendimi l'Anima (2002)) as his psycho chum. SPOILER The film's ending is grotesque: All the guests seemingly let themselves be tortured, just so they in the end can take their revenge...!

 

Related posts:

 

Ruggero Deodato: Hostel: Part II (2007) - Roth's return to Eastern Europe is a wicked horror blast (actor)

Cannibal Holocaust (1980) - The uncompromising, violent, sensationalistic cannibal debate masterpiece

 

Listen here to 26 minutes of Ortolani's original score for the film

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[The House on the Edge of the Park was released 6 November (Italy) and runs 91 minutes. Deodato has said in an interview that his initial thought about the script was that it was "too violent." The filmmakers reportedly wanted Hess so much for their central villain part that they offered him half the rights to the film. Shooting took place in September 1979 in New York and in Rome, Italy. Details as to the film's cost and box office gross are regrettably scarce online. It did enrage the harsh British censors, who rejected it and put it on their 'video nasties' list, when they discovered in 1981 that it had been released on video in the country nonetheless. It was allowed a heavily cut release there in 2001, losing 11 minutes, and finally in 2011 with only about 40 seconds missing. Since 2011 a sequel titled The House on the Edge of the Park: Part II with Deodato and Radice involved has been 'in development'. Deodato returned with Atlantis Interceptors/I Predatori di Atlantide (1983). Hess returned in Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981, miniseries) and theatrically in Swamp Thing (1982). 5.1k+ IMDb users have given The House on the Edge of the Park a 5.8/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of The House on the Edge of the Park?

Audition/オーディション (Ōdishon) (1999) - Miike hamstrings your sleep

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+ Best Feel-Bad Movie of the Year + Best Gore Movie of the Year + Best Japanese Movie of the Year

 

Piano string torture and gore galore is promised on this hype-filled, chilling poster for Takashi Miike's Audition

A lonely businessman follows the advice of a friend and makes auditions in order to find a new partner, under the guise of making a fiction film. But the woman he falls for turns out not to be the one ...

 

Audition is written by Daisuke Tengan (Warm Water Under a Bridge/Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu (2001)), adapting the same-titled 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami (The Mask Club (2001)), and directed by Takashi Miike (Fudoh: The New Generation/Gokudô sengokushi: Fudô (1996)).

The well-made romantic drama develops into a gruesome torture horror, in which the young woman's memories of needle torture appears to be a metaphor for incest. Enormously grim but not without effect or direction, Audition far outshines Miike's other Western break-out cult hit, the equally hard to watch Ichi the Killer (2001).

Audition is a fascinating, dark downwards spiral.

 

Related post:

 

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Watch a 4-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: Reportedly 250k $

Box office: Reportedly 359k $

= Big flop (returned 1.43 times its cost)

[Audition premiered 2 October (Vancouver International Film Festival) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took around 3 weeks in Tokyo, Japan. The film grossed 113k $ in North America (31.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Turkey with 64k $ (17.8 %) and France with 53k $ (14.8 %). The film reportedly had a very small reception in production country Japan and no Asian countries have listed grosses at Box Office Mojo. There is uncertainty surrounding both the cost and total box office number in this case. Miike returned with Dead or Alive/Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha (1999); he directed 4 features, a TV movie, a video and a miniseries that were all released in 1999! Ryo Ishibashi (Black Dawn/Gaiji keisatsu: Sono otoko ni damasareruna (2012)) returned in Rinjin wa hisoka ni warau (1999, TV-series) and theatrically in Brother (2000); Eihi Shiina (Hold Up Down/Hôrudo appu daun (2005)) in Eureka (2000). Audition is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Audition?

Saw II (2005) - Bousman's effective reality show-like horror sequel

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A version of the poster with two cut-off fingers that the MPAA banned, for Darren Lynn Bousman's Saw II

A temperamental police officer searches out Jigsaw, the sadistic mastermind of the horrors of Saw (2004), but he then finds that the hooded psychopath has his own disobedient teenage son locked in in a gaseous hell with a group of ex-cons...

Saw II is written by Leigh Whannell (Saw) and co-writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman (Identity Lost (2001)).
The scenario of Saw II feels like the crazy life-or-death reality show that cannot be produced in real life. The new death traps draw inventively on claustrophobia, fear of needles, the inherent reluctance against cutting in one's own eyes, the fear of burning alive and more. The film achieves a high level of suspense due in part to the committed performances of Donnie Wahlberg (Dead Silence (2007)), who is good as the officer in question, and Tobin Bell (Buried Alive (2007)) as the diabolical lunatic Jigsaw.
But the script has some weaknesses: It seems incredible that Wahlberg smuggles mass-murderer Jigsaw out from confinement past all of his colleagues to locate his trapped son's whereabouts. The film's ending is too reminiscent of the first film's; it lacks closure and is unsatisfying. The smart thing about it from a franchise point of view is that it leaves the viewer in the condition of wanting more.
The mania of editing violently is intensified from Saw and annoys to some degree. Still, Saw II is a fair sequel.

Related posts:

Darren Lynn Bousman: Saw III (2006) - Good performances in Bousman's grisly third trappings
Saw franchise: Saw (2004) - Wan and Whannell's landmark horror beast 

Tobin Bell gives an interview about the movie here

Cost: 4 mil. $
Box office: 147.7 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 36.92 times the cost)
[Saw II was released 28 October (North America and 4 other markets) and runs 93 minutes. Wishing to fast-track production after the first film's major success to have a first sequel by next Halloween, the producers bought Bousman's unrelated The Desperate horror script and developed it into Saw II. With a budget 4 times the size of the first film's, shooting took 25 days from May - June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The film opened #1 to a 31.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#3) and grossed 87 mil. $ (58.9 % of the total gross). The MPAA banned the film's 'severed fingers' poster but only after it was already released. More than 10k pints of blood were donated at the film's annual Red Cross-partnered 'Give Til It Hurts' blood drive. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.7 mil. $ (9.3 %) and Germany with 7.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). It is the highest-grossing Saw film in North America and the 2nd highest-grossing worldwide so far, after Saw III (2006). The film debuted #1 on the home video market, selling 3.9 mil. units in its first week in North America, accruing extra tens of millions of dollars. The franchise returned with Saw III (2006), also Bousman's and Bell's next gig. Saw II is rotten at 37 % with a 4.63/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Saw II?

Saw (2004) - Wan and Whannell's landmark horror beast

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+ Best Horror Movie of the Year

A terrified woman wearing a contraption that doesn't appear benign around her head, encompassed in darkness, and the curt title in screaming red color makes up this striking poster for James Wan's Saw

Two men wake up in a large, dilapidated bathroom, accompanied by a corpse. They are chained but learn through clues that the one responsible for their situation want them to fight each other. - But there is more to it than meets the eye in this sadistic puzzle...

Saw is written by writer/star Leigh Whannell (Insidious (2010)), with great Malaysian director James Wan (Furious 7 (2015)) contributing story elements.
An outstanding, brutal horror, Saw was also a game-changer for the modern horror genre. Despite the common conception, Saw actually doesn't have enough gore to qualify as a gore movie; but it did inspire a wave of other torture-filled gore movies that tried to copy its rapid-fire, flickering editing style. That style isn't my cup of tea, but Wan and editor Kevin Greutert (The Strangers (2008)) get the technique - along with many of the other ploys of Saw, - to work in their own right here in a plot that's rich on horror ideas and enthusiasm about the genre.
As the two central men in the bathroom, Cary Elwes (Indiscretion (2016)) is nearly unrecognizable, and Whannell is intense.
The lies run thick in Saw, and the film doesn't inspire feelings of great human warmth, but as horror it is excellent. The reveal in the film's end is fantastic, and the theme from Charlie Clouser's (The Collection (2012)) score is exemplary and helps elevate the entire film. Saw is a solid horror-thriller ride.

Related posts:

James Wan:  Aquaman (2018) - Wan delivers a majorly satisfying, gung ho action-adventure splash
The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years   
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  
Insidious (2010) - Wan's thrilling, scary ghost horror
Saw III (2006) - Good performances in Bousman's grisly third trappings (story contributor)

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Listen to Clouser's phenomenal theme Hello Zep from the film in this video

Cost: 1.2 mil. $
Box office: 103.9 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 86.58 times its cost)
[Saw premiered 19 January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 103 minutes. Inspired by Pi (1998) and The Blair Witch Project (1999), Wan and Whannell set out after completing film school in Australia to make a low-budget feature primarily set in a single location. Not securing finance in Australia, they traveled to Los Angeles and shot a 7-minute short for 5k $ around the 'jaw trap scene' from the script, with Whannell in the part wearing the trap, which helped hook talents and financiers to the movie. The two went ahead with a little independent company who promised creative control and 25 % of the net profits. Shooting took place in Los Angeles for 18 days from September - October 2003. Some of the film's style, incorporating still images for instance, was developed to cover for shortage of footage and other issues due to the short shoot and low budget. Lionsgate's initial plan to release the film direct-to-video was altered after great screening responses, and the film was edited from an NC-17 rating to get an R. It opened #3, behind holdover hit The Grudge and fellow new release Ray to an 18.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#4) and grossed 56 mil. $, including a 800k $ gross from a domestic 10th anniversary re-release (53.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 12.6 mil. $ (12.1 %) and Italy with 6.4 mil. $ (6.2 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches harder than this one. The film made in excess of 89.1 mil. $ on domestic home video sales and rentals. It spurred a franchise of 7 sequels (2005-2017) and an 8th, a reboot, in the making currently for a 2020 release date. - All of the films have been wildly commercially successful, with only Saw VI (2009) making less than the first film (68.2 mil. $). Wan returned with Dead Silence (2007). Elwes returned in American Crime (2004, video) and theatrically in Ella Enchanted (2004); Danny Glover (Toxin (2015)) in The Cookout (2004); and Monica Potter (Parenthood (2010-15)) in 4 TV credits before her theatrical return in Lower Learning (2008). Saw is rotten at 49 % with a 5.53/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Saw?