DEATH SQUAD (1985, dir. Max Pecas) - French title Brigade des Moeurs
This is a definitely a Junesploitation film.
The French title is better translated as Vice Squad, but that name was obviously used for a different film. The sleaze of Death Squad begins off the bat when three trans p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e-s are gunned down by men riding motorcycles. That sets off a series of events that serve to connect the characters more than create a coherent plot. There are the motorcycle killers, a rogue cop, a host of p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e-s, and a criminal gang running s-e-x clubs and p-O-r-n distribution. A lot people get killed as well. In short, it is a film that rivals Italian exploitation in sleaziness, nor is it at all P.C. There is also a strong '80s vibe. Death Squad was also released as Brigade of Death.
'ONE [FRANCO] IN THE HAND[JOB?], TWO [JEAN ROLLINS'] IN THE ['HARRY']BUSH' WHOLESOME THR#&-S0ME! :-P
Jess Franco's EUGENIE DE SADE (1973, FAWESOME) Jean Rollin's THE R@PE OF THE VAMPIRE (1968) & THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970... both INDICATOR 4K UHD)
A Casual Listener and zillagord mentioned on Jess Franco Day! comments that "Eugenie de Sade" is one of their favorites. And since this turned out to be Soledad Miranda's final movie role for Franco (released the same year I was born! :'( ) I gave it a shot. Told as a feature-length deathbed confessional flashback, we learn the s#xual/murderous antics that sexually repressed Eugénie (Miranda, looking good and being sympathetic despite doing awful things) engaged in with her wordsmith stepfather Albert (Paul Muller) across several European countries (Belgium, Germany, France, etc.) after both realize they share the same deviant tendencies. It was fun early on when "EdS" seemed to tiptoe gently around Eugénie pushing herself onto her old [step]man, only for Albert to blow past his kid's sexual advances and go straight for human t@rture/homicidal partnership. By the final act all bets are off regarding which taboo "EdS" will trample over next. A fascinatingly monotone English dub, Bruno Nicolai's musical cues working hard and tried-and-true nude/er0t!c scenes with the (often to%less) female victims of the Radecks' killing spree combine to make this a slightly above-average Franco spectacle. YMMV on the daughter/stepdad s@x scenes' appeal. :-O
Franco himself bookends/appears in the narrative as a writer interested in the Eugénie/Albert partnership, hinting heavily he's onto their Marquis de Sade-inspired arrangement. Only Jess Franco would seek to have his name attached to de Sade's to IMPROVE the former's pedigree. :-D "EdS'" sad final two minutes seem like a poetic/symbolic farewell to the Franco/Miranda partnership, the director's final freeze-frame expression capturing the palpable sadness of the moment. 4.15 RED CAPES/HATS WITH MATCHING GLASSES (out of five).
The directorial feature debut of Jean Rollin, "The R@pe of the Vampire" is a boring, incoherent mess that at least drops hints of visual/thematic elements that would return stronger and more polished in his future work. As a completist of Rollin's work I want to hold on to this set of extras and commentaries, but outside of Junesploitation! and Scary Movie Month I don't see myself revisiting this one often... if at all. Divided into two uneven halves (30 min. for the first and roughly an hour for the second), "TROTV" start with a psychoanalyst (Bernard Letrou's Thomas) and his friends/associates traveling to a rural mansion to study four sisters that the local folks believe are ageless vampires. Early on Rollin keeps the ball up on the air about whether the sisters really are vampiric or victims of collective brainwashing. That goes out the window during the 2nd half when a cult of worshippers and their 'queen' try to stage a vampire wedding, complete with sex coffin and other weird eccentricities. A few of the sisters and humans from early on re-appear, rendering an already confusing narrative even more incomprehensible. B&W cinematography looks OK but camera work/acting/production values are the pits. Everybody's got to start somewhere, and for Rollin "TROTV" turned out to be the bottom. 2.5 BEACH-STRANDED BOATS (out of five).
You can't tell me Stanley Kubrick didn't have "The Nude Vampire" in the brain while making "Eyes Wide Shut." Parts/motifs of this Rollin joint (masked sexual servants/stalkers, secret corridors of power where the wealthy gather to gamble and be degenerates, etc.) are visually stunning, particularly shadows cast over tall buildings making people seem gigantic. There is a young man (Oliver Rollin's Pierre) smitten by a pretty girl who turns out to be a vampire coveted by both human and vampire factions. Somewhat incoherent, which it compensates for with cute nude chicks and thick, relentless atmosphere. For Rollin completists mostly. 3.45 TWIN BALCONIES (out of five).
The red outfit with the sunglasses that Soledad Miranda wears for the first murder is memorably eye-catching.
Watching Eugenie de Sade during Junesploitation 2020 is still such a clear memory for me, and it remains among my favorite Junesploitation discoveries. It is undoubtedly the most touching Franco film I have seen, J.M. By the time Eugenie de Sade was released, Soledad Miranda was gone three years. The Bruno Nicolai score captures the melancholy. I have only ever watched the film in French because I know the language and the dub is so much more poetic than the English one. The Blue Underground DVD gives me both options.
Speaking of dubbing Jess Franco films, there is an interview with a man named Gerard Kikoine on the Sins of the Flesh blu-ray. He was in charge of creating the sounds and dubbing on several of Franco's early 1970s films.
"EdS" is now my favorite Jess Franco of the ones l've seen... but it's only good-enough for a 4.15 in my scale. There is a low-ceiling for my enjoyment of Franco, and "...Portuguese Nun," "...Ecstacy" and this are bumping up against it. 🤨🫤
SINS OF THE FLESH (1974, dir. Claude Mulot) - French title Les Charnelles
Benoit, the ne’er-do-well son of a wealthy family, faces the possibility of having his father cut off any financial assistance to him. Work is definitely not for him, though. After making the random acquaintance of a young man and a young woman, Benoit forms a partnership with them to pursue criminal schemes to generate some needed income. They also help him pursue his pleasures, which become increasing voyeuristic and violent.
Sins of the Flesh merges a crime story with extended soft-core scenes. It sometimes feels like two separate films. The crime element does become dominant by the conclusion, however. The fashions of the day, concerning both clothing and cinematic style, are fully on display. Even making exploitation, French directors could not get away from slow pacing. I admit that it is not the most compelling film, but there is some importance to it as a warm-up to Claude Mulot launching French s-e-x cinema beyond the soft-core realm.
Is the image from Wife In The City, Lover In Town?
ReplyDeleteSorry, it thinks it's Wife On Vacation, Lover In The City.
DeleteI believe so! I don't even think it's an exploitation film but I wanted Edwige and Barbara Bouchet in the same shot.
DeleteLet's see if this one sticks here...
ReplyDeleteDEATH SQUAD (1985, dir. Max Pecas) - French title Brigade des Moeurs
This is a definitely a Junesploitation film.
The French title is better translated as Vice Squad, but that name was obviously used for a different film. The sleaze of Death Squad begins off the bat when three trans p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e-s are gunned down by men riding motorcycles. That sets off a series of events that serve to connect the characters more than create a coherent plot. There are the motorcycle killers, a rogue cop, a host of p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e-s, and a criminal gang running s-e-x clubs and p-O-r-n distribution. A lot people get killed as well. In short, it is a film that rivals Italian exploitation in sleaziness, nor is it at all P.C. There is also a strong '80s vibe. Death Squad was also released as Brigade of Death.
'ONE [FRANCO] IN THE HAND[JOB?], TWO [JEAN ROLLINS'] IN THE ['HARRY']BUSH' WHOLESOME THR#&-S0ME! :-P
ReplyDeleteJess Franco's EUGENIE DE SADE (1973, FAWESOME)
Jean Rollin's THE R@PE OF THE VAMPIRE (1968) &
THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970... both INDICATOR 4K UHD)
A Casual Listener and zillagord mentioned on Jess Franco Day! comments that "Eugenie de Sade" is one of their favorites. And since this turned out to be Soledad Miranda's final movie role for Franco (released the same year I was born! :'( ) I gave it a shot. Told as a feature-length deathbed confessional flashback, we learn the s#xual/murderous antics that sexually repressed Eugénie (Miranda, looking good and being sympathetic despite doing awful things) engaged in with her wordsmith stepfather Albert (Paul Muller) across several European countries (Belgium, Germany, France, etc.) after both realize they share the same deviant tendencies. It was fun early on when "EdS" seemed to tiptoe gently around Eugénie pushing herself onto her old [step]man, only for Albert to blow past his kid's sexual advances and go straight for human t@rture/homicidal partnership. By the final act all bets are off regarding which taboo "EdS" will trample over next. A fascinatingly monotone English dub, Bruno Nicolai's musical cues working hard and tried-and-true nude/er0t!c scenes with the (often to%less) female victims of the Radecks' killing spree combine to make this a slightly above-average Franco spectacle. YMMV on the daughter/stepdad s@x scenes' appeal. :-O
Franco himself bookends/appears in the narrative as a writer interested in the Eugénie/Albert partnership, hinting heavily he's onto their Marquis de Sade-inspired arrangement. Only Jess Franco would seek to have his name attached to de Sade's to IMPROVE the former's pedigree. :-D "EdS'" sad final two minutes seem like a poetic/symbolic farewell to the Franco/Miranda partnership, the director's final freeze-frame expression capturing the palpable sadness of the moment. 4.15 RED CAPES/HATS WITH MATCHING GLASSES (out of five).
The directorial feature debut of Jean Rollin, "The R@pe of the Vampire" is a boring, incoherent mess that at least drops hints of visual/thematic elements that would return stronger and more polished in his future work. As a completist of Rollin's work I want to hold on to this set of extras and commentaries, but outside of Junesploitation! and Scary Movie Month I don't see myself revisiting this one often... if at all. Divided into two uneven halves (30 min. for the first and roughly an hour for the second), "TROTV" start with a psychoanalyst (Bernard Letrou's Thomas) and his friends/associates traveling to a rural mansion to study four sisters that the local folks believe are ageless vampires. Early on Rollin keeps the ball up on the air about whether the sisters really are vampiric or victims of collective brainwashing. That goes out the window during the 2nd half when a cult of worshippers and their 'queen' try to stage a vampire wedding, complete with sex coffin and other weird eccentricities. A few of the sisters and humans from early on re-appear, rendering an already confusing narrative even more incomprehensible. B&W cinematography looks OK but camera work/acting/production values are the pits. Everybody's got to start somewhere, and for Rollin "TROTV" turned out to be the bottom. 2.5 BEACH-STRANDED BOATS (out of five).
You can't tell me Stanley Kubrick didn't have "The Nude Vampire" in the brain while making "Eyes Wide Shut." Parts/motifs of this Rollin joint (masked sexual servants/stalkers, secret corridors of power where the wealthy gather to gamble and be degenerates, etc.) are visually stunning, particularly shadows cast over tall buildings making people seem gigantic. There is a young man (Oliver Rollin's Pierre) smitten by a pretty girl who turns out to be a vampire coveted by both human and vampire factions. Somewhat incoherent, which it compensates for with cute nude chicks and thick, relentless atmosphere. For Rollin completists mostly. 3.45 TWIN BALCONIES (out of five).
The red outfit with the sunglasses that Soledad Miranda wears for the first murder is memorably eye-catching.
DeleteWatching Eugenie de Sade during Junesploitation 2020 is still such a clear memory for me, and it remains among my favorite Junesploitation discoveries. It is undoubtedly the most touching Franco film I have seen, J.M. By the time Eugenie de Sade was released, Soledad Miranda was gone three years. The Bruno Nicolai score captures the melancholy. I have only ever watched the film in French because I know the language and the dub is so much more poetic than the English one. The Blue Underground DVD gives me both options.
Speaking of dubbing Jess Franco films, there is an interview with a man named Gerard Kikoine on the Sins of the Flesh blu-ray. He was in charge of creating the sounds and dubbing on several of Franco's early 1970s films.
"EdS" is now my favorite Jess Franco of the ones l've seen... but it's only good-enough for a 4.15 in my scale. There is a low-ceiling for my enjoyment of Franco, and "...Portuguese Nun," "...Ecstacy" and this are bumping up against it. 🤨🫤
DeleteJ.M.: Happy you checked it out and found it worthwhile. I so appreciate the wealth of your contributions to Junesploitation!
Delete✌️😃🙉
DeleteSINS OF THE FLESH (1974, dir. Claude Mulot) - French title Les Charnelles
ReplyDeleteBenoit, the ne’er-do-well son of a wealthy family, faces the possibility of having his father cut off any financial assistance to him. Work is definitely not for him, though. After making the random acquaintance of a young man and a young woman, Benoit forms a partnership with them to pursue criminal schemes to generate some needed income. They also help him pursue his pleasures, which become increasing voyeuristic and violent.
Sins of the Flesh merges a crime story with extended soft-core scenes. It sometimes feels like two separate films. The crime element does become dominant by the conclusion, however. The fashions of the day, concerning both clothing and cinematic style, are fully on display. Even making exploitation, French directors could not get away from slow pacing. I admit that it is not the most compelling film, but there is some importance to it as a warm-up to Claude Mulot launching French s-e-x cinema beyond the soft-core realm.