More DVD Reviews

To make up for lost time, since I haven't done recently any DVD reviews of the recent video releases,here are my reviews of three recent films on DVD that came out this week:
TORSO(1974)*** out of **** Written and Directed by Sergio Martino.Starring Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont,John Richardson,Luc Merenda,95 minutes Rated R Released by Blue Underground in DVD & BluRay

Bill Lustig's Blue Underground DVD label has once again released on DVD & BluRay one of the giallo suspense classics of the 1970's,Sergio Martino's TORSO also known under the title THE BODIES SHOW SIGNS OF CARNAL VIOLENCE.Martino was a specialist in the Italian giallo genre with films like ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK(1971),THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARD(1972) and THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TALE(1972) most of them starring Edwige Fenech and George Hilton.This time TORSO stars Suzy Kendall who previously appeared in such giallo classics as Dario Argento's THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE(1970) & Umberto Lenzi's SPASMO(1973) and here she plays a British exchange college student majoring in Art in an Italian university and who discovers that a serial killer is loose in the city and is targeting young college students like herself. When Kendall goes with a few of her fellow female students to a mountain retreat during college break,the killer follows them and initiates a dealy game of cat and mouse with Kendall and her friends.The direction by Martino is taut and suspenseful with equal doses of gore and nudity for a movie of this type but well performed by Kendall and her co-stars Tina Aumont(MODESTY BLAISE),John Richardson(Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY)and Luc Merenda (HOSTEL II) The film is complete and uncut in anamorphic widescreen with extras such as trailers,poster gallery,interview with the film's co-writer but unfortunately no interviews with Suzy Kendall & Sergio Martino.

JULIE DARLING(1982)**1/2 out of ****Written and Directed by Paul Nicholas.Starring Isabelle Mejias, Anthony Franciosa and Sybil Danning 98minutes Rated R Released by Code Red Home Video

Code Red Home Video that specializes in releasing obscure cult exploitation films of the 1970's and 1980's now releases this somewhat sleazy low budgeted thriller JULIE DARLING(1982) also known under the title of DAUGHTER OF DEATH about a disturbed teenage girl played by Isabelle Mejias(MEATBALLS 3, SCANNERS II) who has a rather unhealthy fixation on her father played by Anthony Franciosa (FATHOM, TENEBRAE) that borders on incest.When the girl's mother dies in a supposed "accident",Mejias believes that she will spend the rest of her life taking care of her loving father, but then Franciosa soon shows up with a new stepmother played by the sultry and sexy Sybil Danning(CHAINED HEAT, HOWLING II).Then Mejias decides to do an intricate murderous plan to get rid of her rival to have her father all to herself. The three leads in the film especially Mejias as the evil teenager are excellent but the film is quite predictable storywise and Nicholas' direction is quite lacking contrary to his work on CHAINED HEAT.The DVD has interviews with both Danning and Mejias about their film careers and the making of the film itself and both stars appear in the audio commentary on the DVD, although Danning appears to be more proud about making this film than Mejias herself who constantly complains about the film's script, direction , acting, cinematography and even it's music score. Ms. Mejias even takes some rather unkind potshots against her former co-stars in the film, Franciosa and Danning unlike Ms. Danning who doesn't have a bad word to say about her co-stars even Ms. Mejias and about the director & the film itself.

WIDE OPEN(1975)** out of **** Written and Directed by Gustav Wilklund Starring Christina Lindberg,Solveig Anderson,Gunilla Larson,Kent-Arne Dahlgren,Unrated 102 minutes Released by Impulse Pictures Home Video

Impulse Films Home Video which is a subsidiary of Synapse Films has been releasing all the softcore sex film classics of the early 1970's starring Scandanavian cult sex symbol Christina Lindberg star of THEY CALL HER ONE EYE(1974) also known as THRILLER:A CRUEL PICTURE as well as EXPOSED(1971), ANITA(1972) and MAID IN SWEDEN(1971) on DVD. Their latest release on DVD Home Video is WIDE OPEN(1975) which is supposed to be Ms. Lindberg's last starring film. In reality,Lindberg is really a supporting actress in this film in which various Swedish couples going to various sex parties and orgies,run astray of "Mr. X" who organizes various violent sex games and orgies and it's up to the girls including Lindberg to lure Mr. X in a perverse stage party to set him up to be arrested by the police.Although Ms.Lindberg is as always sexy and enticing in her various nude and sex scenes,the film is quite tedious and too long for a softcore sex film and none of the film's characters are interesting and none of the film's so-called plot is involving.The DVD's special extras are interviews in Swedish with English subtitles with Ms. Lindberg and director Wilklund as well as a nude photo gallery of Ms. Lindberg and trailers.Surprisingly Lindberg's film is dubbed in English instead of being released in it's original Swedish language version with English subtitles like all the other Impulse Home Video Christina Lindberg DVD releases. Bit at least the film is in anamorphic widescreen and is well restored on home video for a film that was made almost 40 years ago.