As a resident of British Columbia, Canada (where Sexcula was filmed back in 1974) I was intrigued to check out this bit of 'long lost' horror themed porn that Impule/Synapse DVD authoring have ferreted out of a dark closet somewhere.

Today - Vancouver, BC boasts a highly sophisticated and professional film industry, with many American films and TV series being produced there, and in the immediate environs. Back in the 1970's such was not the case - yet a few ambitious film-makers struggled to realize their 'artistic visions' in 'Fog City' and a few VERY esoteric productions materialized - then, typically, faded immediately into oblivion. "Sexcula" may be listed among these primitive efforts and its' obscurity was pretty much guaranteed, as it apparently received only a single screening before its' controversial 'adult' nature hastened its' disappearance from the public realm. It is also unusual as the film was purportedly funded partially by grants from the Canadian government's film industry incentive programs - giving it the added distinction of being, perhaps, one of the only porn movies ever made with Federal funding! These may all be interesting bits of background information, but how does this piece of early Canuck sexploitation 'hold up' to modern scrutiny?!

Having given it a watch I'd have to say that the over-all experience was sorta amusing but also suffered from many aspects typical of low-budget porn product from that period. The actual film reminded me of much of the low end adult product that is offered (in bulk!) by the Sinister Cinema cult DVD authoring gang. It is essentially a grainy, dimly lit, hastily constructed excuse to display some naked flesh and hardcore sex action - wrapped up in a goofy parody of classic Universal horror movie themes. The sex IS graphic - what you can actually see of it - most of the copulation is hidden in dark shadow and hairy male butts - but oral scenes are nice and sharp and make up the bulk of the xxx quotient.

On the plus side - the girls featured in the flik are are very attractive and there's lots of full nudity to be enjoyed as the 70's vintage guys make forays into some dense Canadian 'bush'. Generally it looked like everyone was, at least, having fun during the shoot and the tongue in cheek attitude of the whole piece does much to lift it slightly above the quality of much similar product from the period.

In the final analysis I'd have to say that the 'quirk' appeal of this flik relies heavily on its' unique Canadian roots - without which it would be judged more purely for what it actually is - a low budget piece of throw-away porn. Credit and appreciation should be bestowed upon Impulse DVD for providing this lost oddity with a belated 'premiere' to a new audience. While the viewing experience may be less than stellar - at least I'm feeling like the Canadian tax-payer may finally be seeing a real return on their investment!

The packaging of this release of "I, Marquis De Sade" (1967) is a bit deceptive. The color images and modern fetish fotos on the front & back box cover make this appear to be a much slicker product than it actually is. The 'real' film is in B&W (a nice clear print!) and is a typical 1960's bit of soft core sexploitation product - alluding to 'shockingly daring' subject matter, but not really delivering on the hype.

The plot concerns a guy (his last name is 'Marquis'!) who is translating a work of the infamous Marquis De Sade from French to English and he begins to be affected by the perverse philosophies of the 'father' of sadism. Upon learning that he has terminal cancer he decides to live out his fantasies and embarks on a series of De Sade inspired 'adventures' - most of which involve the opposite sex. Some of his 'fantasies' are literally fantasies and he dreams of tying women up and whipping them, flying through the air, and such. He makes a gigolo style connection with a wealthy 'full figured' woman (who he despises) but uses for her money and seems to spend his illicit gains - 'picking up chicks' - one of whom ultimately proves to be his undoing.

This is an 'interesting' - sometimes downright bizarre - little film that has it's 'pros and cons'. On the positive side - there is decidedly some quirky appeal because itz just so darn lame, and the occasional attempt at 'artiness' provides a few inspired moments of surrealistic montage reminiscent of Bunuel. On the negative end of the scale (and I fear I felt the scale tipped deeply in this direction!) the movie is a washout in terms of 'sexiness'. Most of the women featured in the film rate about a C- on the physical attractiveness meter and the sexual situations presented were just not sexy. The singular (attractive) exception in the female cast was Babette Bardot who portrays a hooker that Mr Marquis hires. Babette would be right at home in a Russ Meyers flik - she is built like the proverbial brick 'pagoda' - and she does a nice striptease number - which, besides her allusions to the more famous 60's 'sex kitten' (Brigitte) Bardot, was HER professional 'claim to fame'. But even her pulchritudinous presence can't rescue this one from mundanity. There is very little S&M action (if that's what one might be looking for) and the titular Marquis De Sade puts in only fleeting appearances during flash-backs to his time in prison as his 'words' are superimposed over the 'action' during certain parts of the film. The majority of the soundtrak features cheap-o voice-over style dialog. Waaay too much time is spent tracking the banal movements of the lead male character - some of which are intended to be mildly comedic- when the film eventually reached its' 'shocking surprise' conclusion my gut response was: "finally!'.

The 'extras' on disk include one (really) short 'featurette' which is another 50's vintage piece of nudie silliness, and the original promo trailer for the feature. "I, Marquis De Sade" IS a bit of a 'curiosity' and has some 'camp' value but not enuf to make it enjoyable... over-all I could have 'saved my money' on this one and not missed much - I'm sure the Marquis De Sade would agree!

"Fairy In A Cage" (1977) has just been given its' world DVD premiere by the Impulse/Synapse distributors as a continuation of their series of re-releases of the infamous Japanese 'Nikkatsu Studio's' line of 'Roman Porno' films. Based on a story/screenplay by the prolific Japanese fetish author: Oniroku Dan - "Fairy In A Cage" presents a pretty intense foray into S&M territory via a plot that focuses on the abuses of power and depravity purportedly perpetrated by the Japanese military during WW II against its' own citizens. The principal players in the movie include the Military Police and a corrupt/depraved senior official who jointly take a little too much personal pleasure in the 'interrogations' that they contrive. in the name of national security. to supply their torture chamber with victims, and the victims (both male & female) who fall into their clutches.

The action in this film is pretty harsh and may not be to everyone's taste - as it packs a lot of torture and bondage, brutality, & nudity into its' modest 71 min playtime. There is very little sex actually portrayed - the sexploitational elements in this one are decidedly S&M oriented. "Fairy In A Cage" is in many ways typical of other similar shocking 70's fare (such as the "Illsa" series). This genre of movies seemed to visualize the lurid stories that populated the 'Mens Magazines' of the post WW II era - that recounted tales of war atrocities (generally involving attractive women). white slavery, outlaw biker gangs, and the like. The difference between much of the sorta 'campy' USA and Euro sleaze product and the corresponding Japanese version is the grim nihilistic seriousness with which some of the Nipponese films unwind... including this one!

There is a tradition of this stark sadistic style of exploitation cinema in Japan that gives some context to "Fairy In A Cage". The so-called "Tokugawa" torture trilogy of films from the late 1960's all feature scenarios in ancient Japan of horrible abuse perpetrated by feudal rulers upon their subjects, with no restitution in sight! Innocent people get horrifically tortured to death... and that's it. Many Japanese exploitation plots end on a decidedly 'down' note - perhaps adding to their shock value. "Fairy In A Cage" follows this general precedent, but is unusual in that it depicts a more modern period of history, and atrocious acts that no government would be proud of. Given the general reticence that the Japanese political hierarchy has traditionally displayed about admitting to human rights violations during war-times - it is particularly intriguing that Nikkatsu Studios (often beleaguered by politically motivated legal actions) would choose such an audaciously revealing indictment of the Japanese military as subject matter for one of their ero-productions.

Many Japanese Pink eroflix are awash in transgressive scenarios and fetish imagery and "Fairy In A Cage" certainly ranks high amongst them. A highlight of the film is the lovely Naomi Tani who portrays the central tormented heroine of the tale with amazing aplomb and endurance as she is subjected to rigorous bondage ties and humiliations - as only the Japanese can dream them up! Ms Tani is renowned for her numerous bondage films with Nikkatsu and in this, later career, filmic effort she again looks lovely, abundantly decorated with rope, but her 'character' does not get much of an opportunity to do much more than stoically 'suffer in silence'- making this 'not' one of her best performances. This film obeys the typical (70's vintage) Japanese censorship laws regarding (not) showing genitals or explicit sex acts, but it accomplishes this via 'creative' camera angles. While this 'technique' may be a little 'maddening' to modern western viewers who are used to being able to 'see everything' (in great detail) - at least there is no. annoying. visual 'fogging' on this disk. Despite the lack of blatant graphic depictions - the 'inferred' acts are certainly 'bent' enuf to satisfy the connoisseur of same. The image transfer quality (from an original 35mm film print) is excellent (widescreen) - the (removable) English subs are good - there are no extras on the disk... but the box has the usual informative write-up on the film's background by Japanerotic film expert: Jasper Sharp.

Personally, I'm a fan of '70's-80's period' Japanese ero-weirdness and I enjoyed this movie - but would caution that it is very BDSM oriented - while not XXX it is certainly adults only material. I backed off from a full 5 Star rating primarily because I felt that there was a bit of a lack in empathy producing character development, and it WAS just SO darn grim! However, IF you (too) like such 'shocking' fare "Fairy In A Cage" is definitely worth checking out.

After reading a few of the emerging comments from 'unhappy' customers who have recently purchased the (just released) 'North American' version of the film "Q" (aka "Desire") and found it to apparently be 'cut' of some of its' more graphic sex scenes - I can only offer my condolances and a hearty "WTF?!" I would note that the version of the film that I have reviewed is/was the "French' - Region 2 version of "Q" (also available on Amazon) BUT you need a region free DVD player to watch it. They are very easy to order on-line & a good one can be purchased for under $100.00... they open up a vast new world of DVD options! Such info aside - my review of the 'uncut' Euro-version follows:

Feel as one may about French films, it must be admitted that they bring something to the field of erotic cinema that is refreshingly 'real' , and the film 'Q' ('Desire') carries on this tradition. In an interview in the 'extras' section on the disk the director (Laurent Bouhnik ) states that he was attempting to present a more 'honest' and 'feminine' view of human sexual relationships. The mechanism that he uses to achieve this goal seems to centre on focusing on the female characters in the story as they relate to life circumstances and men. The plot revolves around a group of young 20 somethingish individuals, who appear to all be acquainted, living in a small sea-side town. Played out against the grim economic realities of present times we follow the action of the principal female character, Cecile, as she comes to grips with her father's recent death. Apparently a bit 'un-hinged' by her personal loss she appears to be casting about for some satisfaction/resolution through a series of sexual dalliances and relationships. She is having 'issues' with her 'steady' boyfriend so she 'teases' some other guys into having sex with her and also gets involved in some sapphic action with the sexually naive & frustrated Alice. To a lesser extent the plot also attempts to track the sexual flounderings of some of the secondary characters and it can get a little confusing, on first viewing, as to who is with who and why they're doing what they're doing.

Indeed, 'frustration' is a key concept in this flik as the director, again, makes his point that, in the real world, sexual relationships are not always 'smooth' and 'hot' as depicted in the porno cinema. This film IS quite explicit in showing intimate sexual situations and full female (& male) nudity abounds. There are scenes of oral, 'manual', and auto eroticism, as well as hetero and lesbian liaisons - but no penetration, and the sex is all woven into the context of the story-line so that it does not come off as 'gratuitous'. In the final analysis, the film doesn't come to any grand conclusions - it is essentially a 'slice of life' examination of human relationships - but the 'thespians' are all very attractive and get naked a lot. I would say that the director achieved his objective in providing a more 'realistic' vision of eroticism, which ironically may lower its' actual erotic potential, but it is an easy and enjoyable watch (with lotsa naked bodies) and even has a (relatively) happy ending!

Call me perverse, but I love the Ilsa films (well at least 3 of the 4 in the franchise) and "Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks" is actually my favorite of the bunch!

In my pubescent years back in the 1960's I was fascinated by the genre of 'Men's Adventure Magazines' that always had a lurid cover painting of semi-naked 'damsels in distress' being menaced by a variety of evil doers. The favorite subject matter seemed to focus on 'war horror' tales with a Nazi or Asian atrocity theme - 'ripped from the pages' of the war crimes purportedly perpetuated against humanity, and particularly attractive women! But, sometimes, the focus shifted to other realms of female 'exploitation' such as the 'white slave trade' and the mysterious eastern world of the 'Sheik & their harems' was a popular theme. The 'Ilsa" films sort of 'brought these stories to life' on the cinema screen - and often managed to be even more outrageous than their literary counterparts!

While the premiere offering of the franchise: "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS" was a 'campy' paean to the Nazi war horrors genre - "Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks" covered the 'white slavery' territory with equal sex-ploitational glee! Released from the creepy references to the actual horrific abuses of the Nazis during WW II - Ilsa (the harem keeper) is much more of a tour de force of sexual perversions and excesses, and includes within its' prurient plot just about every twisted fantasy that has been ascribed to the nebulous world of middle eastern slavery and harems. Whippings, castrations, slave auctions, flesh eating ants, breast crushing torments, explosive devices hidden where 'the sun don't shine', chastity belts, sheep eyeball eating - this one has it all - and MORE! There's even some sly 'winks' at Kissinger era Middle East oil politics.

Amazon-esque Diane Thorne once more lends her considerable presence to the affair and carries the day ( ably supported by her dual 'Nubian' hench-women 'Silk' and 'Velvet' who are oiled and topless throughout!). Together, they indoctrinate a trio of new kidnapped Euro 'slave girls' (including 'top-heavy' 60's sex icon Uschi Digard!) into the harem life, and the perverted sexual proclivities of the delightfully slimy 'sheik'. Even tho she rules the seraglio with a firm hand - her character is not quite as invulnerable as in 'She Wolf of the SS" as she, again, succumbs to the charms of an American military attache and incurs the wrath of her 'sheik' which leads to some punishments & humiliations of her, generally, inviolate personage.

These films are all literally awash in female nudity, transgressive and misogynistic imagery and are easy to criticize for those very reasons - but if viewed in the 'proper' frame of mind as 'trashy fun' they are hard to beat for sheer outrageous silliness. Highly recommended for lovers of '70's vintage' exploitational weirdness.

I just purchased (and watched) the 'un-censored' version of "A Serbian Film" - had to get it thru US based Amazon.com as the, much talked about, additional 'minute or so' of excised footage is doubtless way more brutal than Canadian sensibilities can handle - so Amazon.ca doesn't list it! Certainly didn't appreciate having to pay the stupidly exortidant $12.95 postage for the US shipping - making this a $40.00 film by the time it arrived in my mailbox - those were some pretty expensive 'minutes' of un-censored action! Was it worth it??!!

I have watched a lot of weird transgressive flix over the years - generally I like them - the 'quality' of that genre of film can certainly be 'all over the map'. "A Serbian Film" has excellent production values, acting, and gore FX and in many ways is not really any more shocking than numerous 'mainstream' gross-out horror works such as the 'Hostel' and "Saw' franchises (despite reviewer's statements like "Makes 'Hostel' seem like a Disney film" etc.) - though it DOES definitely have more overtly sexual elements included... which always seems to 'get people going'. as they say. The 'slickness' of the production decidedly helps to suck one in and as the 'atrocities' presented within the plot gain in momentum and outrageousness there are many 'uncomfortable' moments to be 'enjoyed' (or NOT!) by the viewer until the final scene of nihilistic perversity is played out. I found myself initially sorta 'aghast' in the immediate aftermath of viewing it and went back to look at what other reviewers of the film on Amazon.com had said about it. One of the most interesting 'comments' was the info that the film's director. purportedly, made the film as a 'blackly satirical statement on the condition of the people and government in post-war Serbia" - IF that is the case it certainly puts a whole different spin on the film and would warrant a different set of criteria in assessing its' subject matter. With or without such a 'redeeming' political sub-text the over-the-top sexploitational aspects of this film seeem shocking at first, but (upon deeper reflection and comparison) are not all that different or MORE shocking than much similar fare that has been produced in the past. One of the notorious 'censored' scenes involves a woman who has been tortured by having her teeth knocked out B4 she is orally raped - grim stuff!, but then I remembered an identical scenario in the '70's "Illsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Shieks" where a girl was being sold at a 'sex slave auction' and her prospective 'buyer' demanded similar oral modifications. In another 'censored' scene the infamous 'new-born porn' is 'revealed' - a concept that actually went so 'over-the-top as to become ludicrously hilarious. Other previous 'underground' horror flix such as "Deadgirl', "Aftermath", "Guinea Pig", "Audition" etc,. ad nauseum - ALL feature creepy concepts and buckets of gore that are at least as harrowing as the imagery contained in the 'Serbian' film!

Personally, I feel there is actually something about the word "Serbian" in the title that imbues this film with more import and impact than it might otherwise garner. The fact that the real-life war atrocities in the 'Serbian' conflict occurred lend a special nuance of creepy-ness to the production & viewing experience... without that 'connection' it becomes merely another sick-twisted fantasy to be 'enjoyed' by fans of the genre. One reviewer pointed to the recent film "Whistleblower" as an example of a movie that deals with some of the more 'actual' horrific events of human smuggling and sexual violence against women that are still happening in some parts of Eastern Europe (and elswhere!). I gave it a watch and can honestly say that I found it to be way more disturbing than 'A Serbian Film'. In the final analysis, I would say that "A Serbian Film" is an 'effective' and, surprisingly. well made bit of exploitation that 'appears' to push the boundries of the genre - but REALLY doesn't offer much that hasn't been done elsewhere previously - just where DOES one go from here?!

One man film studio - Jersey-boy Bill Zebub is a prolific maker of marginal modern exploitation product, and he HAS been busy! Every so often I get lured back to his low bidget domain to see what (if anything) 'new' is cooking in his fevered brain. My most recent 'experiment' in this vein netted me: 'Disgruntled Employee' and I guess it sorta taught me a lesson I'll try not to forget, next time: "just say no"!

To be fair - Zebub doesn't aim too high in his cinematic explorations of gratuitous sex and violence, and you generally know what U R going to get when you pop one of his flix into your DVD player: gratuitous sex and violence! In this lurid little tale we are introduced to 'Steve', a rather creepy unlikable guy who works as a 'handiman schlep' in an office full of 'hot gurlz'. Steve is constantly trying to put the make on his attractive co-workers but they all (except one!) find him repulsive and are constantly complaining about his 'inappropriate behavior' to the female 'boss' until she decides to fire him! This gives Steve the perfect excuse to enact 'the plan' he has apparently been fantasizing about for some time and he procedes to lock eveyone in the office and exact his revenge by, one by one, stripping, humiliating, and raping his fellow employees. Now there's a 'plot' that is likely to rankle the dander of any feminists left out there!

At a certain point I realized that, with this 'series' of 'films' Zebub was actually mimicking a lot of the old bondage loops made by the likes of House of Milan, Harmony Video, B&D Pleasures et al - and with my 'expectations' suitably 'lowered' I began to enjoy it more. In the end analysis, 'Disgruntled Employee' is primarily just a good excuse to get a bunch of girls out of their clothes and tie them up for 'our' viewing pleasure. To his credit, Zebub imbues the women with some 'attitude' and they provide varying types of 'cheeky' responses to 'Steve's' heavy-handed style of self imposed karmic justice... prior to the film's rather anti-climatic & nihilistic ending.

The four women who 'star' as the 'victims' are pretty attractive in the 'girl next door' kinda way and they all get fully naked at one point or another throughout the show. The sex/rape scenes are all only 'alluded to' - despite some bare crotch shots the content is largely 'soft core' and 'suggstive' rather than truly explicit hard-core. There are a few titllating scenes scattered throughout, but over-all the whole affair doesn't really get off the ground on virtually any level - a couple of minutes on the internet would easily deliver much more potent S&M action if that is what one is looking for. Zebub seems to have 'a thing' about 'rape' - it certainly re-surfaces in virtually all his flix, but I'm not real sure what exactly he is trying to say!?! Whatever it is - 'Disgruntled Employee" didn't shed much more light on the subject and ultimately may be viewed as another basic waste of time and money. When WILL I learn?!

I bought a copy of this flik some years back - its' original production/release date was 2001. Always on the 'look-out' for some amusing 'sexploitation' product - I'll have to admit I got sucked in by the title and purported premise of: 'kidnapped strippers being auctioned off as white slaves'. While this 'shot direct to video' effort does sorta deliver what the box art implies - the amateurish quality of pretty much every aspect of it decidedly detracts from what potential enjoyment of the product one might hope for.

The 'tone' of the piece is broadly 'satirical' - presenting a Micky Spillaine-like private eye scenario wherein 'the dick' (get it?!) is approached by a woman looking for help in finding her missing cousin - a stripper named Bambi - who has disappeared. This, of course, presents the perfect 'excuse' for the 'dick' to visit the strip club and start questioning a variety of half nekkid girls to get information. Ultimately his sleuthing leads him to a local crime king-pin named Romeo who has been kidnapping girls and selling them as sex slaves to wealthy foreign clients, at a 'car auction' . The PI infiltrates the auction and manages to whisk the girls to safety at the last minute.

This flik totally looks and feels like a bunch of guys were sitting around in a strip club in Jersey one night and thought to themselves: "Hey, I bet we could make some money if we got some of the girlz to take their tops off and hang a little 'white slavery' plot around it. - we'll make it a 'comedy' so no one will take it seriously and all our ineptitude will seem like part of the joke." It might almost have worked if it wasn't SO inept that itz painful. Pretty much the only redeeming value is in the T&A component and even that is of questionable quality. Some minor 'adult star power' is provided by the likes of Mia Copia (star of some Seduction Cinema vehicles) - she can barely keep a straight face while delivering her lines - but then, likely, it's not her 'face' that catches your attention. A fair amount of female nudity is on display throughout, but no 'sex scenes' - everything is 'played for laughs', but nothing is really very funny. There are some limp attempts at bondage scenes as the 'slave girls' are paraded about at the 'auction' where they are 'sold' and described as if they were 'cars' - "check out the headlights on this one" - Har Har.

If you could scoop this one up for $5 bucks in the used DVD bin you might think you'd gotten 'your moneys worth' for the bits of gratuitous skin it provides. There is a brief extras section that contains a couple of additional scenes of 'stripping' and 'showering'. This one makes even, fellow Jersey-ite Bill Zebub's low budget debacles look like Oscar fare. You've been warned!

I was 'intrigued' by the title of this film and the box-cover art made it look like it could be a rousing disaster flik with lotsa good Japanese style minature model work. However, the actual film took a different approach to the concept of world calamity - and I can see why some (re)viewers might feel 'let down' by it. This is actually more of a 'broad' satire on themes of climate/planet change, foreign immigration, & nationalism, and the 'not so special' effects are secondary to the human dramas that are played out. I found some of the concepts portrayed and the utilization of American and Japanese actors to be pretty entertaining and better realized than in similar attempts at blending eastern & western thespians I have viewed in other Japanese flix. The basic premise is admittedly absurd, but it is just a vehicle to stage the aforementioned themes. I've noted in watching a lot of Japanese films that their handling of 'parody' is sometimes rather 'heavy-handed' by western standards and this film may 'suffer' a bit from that syndrome. Still - if one can 'park their nationalism' at the door, there is some real cleverness at play here and, I thought, over-all a pretty enjoyable watch.

I'm 'guessing' that this film may well be a 'response' to the, diametrically opposed, movie "The Sinking of Japan" ( AKA "Japan Sinks") - which has been released in 2 incarnations... the first version by TOHO studios in the mid 1970's, and, apparently, again more recently in 2006. I have seen the TOHO version in a Japanese language only print, so I cannot remark on the subtlties of the plot & dialog, but the 'disaster' effects are very impressive (in a pre-CGI sorta way). In that film the 'sinking' situation is reversed with only Japan going under the waves and needing to re-locate its' population elsewhere around the globe. Given this context, the ridiculous reversal of the situation in "The World Sinks...Except Japan" may be viewed as blantantly satirical of the source film. Unfortunately, the 1970's 'Sinking of Japan' is a scarce commodity.

Technically, the film "The World Sinks - Except Japan" is in widescreen format with xlnt image quality. The sound-track utilizes a clever blend of Japanese with English sub-titles mixed with English w/ Japanese sub-titles - depending on 'who' is speaking. There is a generous selection of 'extras' iincluded on the disk.

While the title of this film may initially conjure of visions of 'historical' scenarios such as Racquel Welch cracking her whip above a bunch of semi-naked female galley slaves in the 1960's flik "The Magic Christian" - or perhaps a group of female prisoners being shipped to a penal colony somewhere - in fact there is very little 'nautical' action contained within this bent little bit of Japanese erotica. This is Switchblade DVDs third release (to date) of a Shintoho Studios production 'celebrating' the writings of revered (at least in Japan) S&M author Oniroku Dan... based on one of his stories of the same name.

There IS a 'slave ship' in the movie, but it is apparently more like someone's houseboat moored in the harbour where a group of 'masked' bondage devotees gather to act out their fantasies - which mostly involve (purportedly 'consensual') tying up and sexually 'humiliating' women. 'Fans' of Japanese cinematic kink are doubtless well aware that this is a favorite 'theme' of the genre, as well as, author Oniroku Dan. BUT - scenes that actually take place on the 'slave ship' are minimal within the plot of the film and most of the action takes place 'on land' in modern day Japan. The story-line of 'Slave Ship' is actually pretty intriguing as it involves some seemingly autobiographical elements with an exploration of the complexities of sado-masochistic relationships. This is not a 'white slavery' movie - rather, the lead protagonist, 'Onimata', is a 'respected' popular S&M writer (as only in Japan!) and his character acts as a bit of a moderator throughout the tale. There are two principle female characters in the story - one is a young woman who is sort of a protege of Onimata - she is curious about, but leery of getting involved in. S&M sex - the other is an older woman, 'Kikue' that Onimata previously had a D/S relationship with - they apparently first met at a function on the 'slave ship'... She is now married to a 'nice guy' BUT is having an affair with another crazed individual, 'Kitagawa', who provides the doses of 'extreme' sexual action that she has become addicted to, and this duality in her personality has caused her to have a nervous break-down. Onimata attempts to intercede on the husband's behalf to 'get to the bottom of things' but as he 'investigates' and confronts the 'players' involved he is 'shocked' at the revelations he discovers and the enigmatic plot threads play out in some surprising ways!

I gave this movie 5 stars, not because it is on a par with 'Citizen Cane', but because it 'really delivers' in the BDSM department AND frames that action with some interesting human psychological drama (for a change!). Pretty much ALL of the ero-action in this flik is bondage oriented and the 'scenes' are very intense - definitely the 'roughest' of the 3 Swithblade releases to date. While the sex scenes respect the usual parameters for Japanese Pinku erotica (no naked genitals or explicit acts graphically depicted) the SM scenes get fairly wild and portray acts such as whipping, hot wax, enforced golden showers, and a few other 'imaginative' kinks that I will leave to the potential viewer to discover for themselves! There is, happily, no digital censorship in this film but that is because those elements of the female anatomy that might usually be 'fogged out' are, instead, artfully covered in ropes - via some pretty stringent shibari style ties. What, perhaps, lifts all of this above the usual 'concerns' about misogynistic portrayals of 'abused' feminity is the exploration of the female character's complex libidos.

"Slave Ship' decidedly 'pushes the envelope' for this type of film and causes one to 'marvel' at the cultural differences between the 'East' and "West" - that a movie with such intense fetish elements could be made for the 'general public' in Japan! But, that's sorta what 'makes life interesting' and, personally, I sure appreciate that Swithcblade is bringing some of this imaginative erotica 'across the pond' for discovery by a new Western audience. IF the viewer enjoys this type of film I would highly recommend it but be fore-warned that it is 'bent'. On the 'technical' side: the film quality is exlnt widescreen format - English subs are really good - no 'extras' other than some 'trailers' for other Switchblade offerings.