Das Frauenhaus

Martine Flety plays the title character, the owner / proprietor of an adults only club in swinging Paris. There are plenty of attractions on the main floor, but in the basement is where things really happen. Rita and her bevy of babes imprison various men, torturing them and stimulating them to the point of madness. It's all in the name of extracting money and information out of these hapless chumps. Little does Rita know that Interpol is taking a keen interest in what goes on in her club.

Jesus "Jess" Franco strikes again with another exercise in stylish sleaze. Viewers will be pleased to note that there is lots of female nudity (in fact, one of the very first shots shows some full frontal) and a little bit of sex. (There is some male nudity as well.) But what makes this stand out a little from the many trash epics that Franco made in the 1970s is the fact that he's melding exploitation with the espionage genre, with a touch of 70s era psychedelia. The visual approach is quite striking, as Franco and his crew go with some gorgeous gold and pink colour schemes. The music by Walter Baumgartner is quite groovy, to boot.

The performances are generally amusing from all concerned. Luscious brunette Sarah Strasberg was a particular favourite for this viewer, as she plays the role of a heavy named Franchesa. Dagmar Burger is appealing as an entertainer named "Sun". Eric Falk is a hoot as a "boxer" targeted by Rita and her minions. And Flety is quite watchable in the lead.

You add a funny fight scene, and a VERY funny death scene, to the proceedings, and it amounts to a pretty good time for exploitation fanatics.

Seven out of 10.