De Sade 70

The intoxicatingly sexy Marie Liljedahl plays the title role, an innocent young woman who is invited to spend time on an island paradise with Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm) and her creepy brother Mirvel (Jack Taylor). She discovers that the intention is to initiate her into a variety of depravities presided over by the dapper, elegant Dolmance (Sir Christopher Lee).

"Eugenie...the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion" will not be to all tastes, and indeed it has been deemed controversial over the years. Based on the novel "Philosophy in the Boudoir" by none other than The Marquis de Sade, it makes ideal material for the celebrated cult filmmaker Jess Franco. Franco had made more than his fair share of trash during his career, and viewers will likely be impressed with the way that he marries art and sleaze in this stylish production. Granted, it moves at a snails' pace, there are too many out of focus shots, and the music score is loud and Godawful enough at times to really take you out of the action. But Francos' creation of imagery is highly striking, and he does a fine job working with the cinematic aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The dialogue is provocative and literate, especially when it's spoken by Lee. Prolific producer Harry Alan Towers scripted, using his standard pseudonym of "Peter Welbeck".

Franco always had some incredibly beautiful and sexy women in his films, and this is no exception. Liljedahl is very appealing and is particularly easy to watch. The whole cast - also including Paul Muller and Anney Kablan - is good, with Lee providing a special treat with his cameo appearance(s).

While pretty explicit - there's a generous dose of nudity - the film is also violent without being very gory. It should do the trick for any lover of exploitation.

Seven out of 10.