Indecent Desires

The premise to Doris Wishman's Indecent Desires is like softcore Twilight Zone: a man finds a ring and a voodoo Barbie doll of sorts which allow him to manipulate the body of a woman he's infatuated with. Through the stalker's caresses of the doll, she receives sudden physical pleasure; through his cruelty to it, she receives pain. Her sexually free friend doesn't understand and her square boyfriend can't protect her. I don't think it's a masterpiece by any means, but the story is told over a taut 75 minutes and is so strangely unique that I found myself interested and wondering where it was going to go.

There is a lot of casual nudity on display throughout the film, and it was interesting to think about all of the ogling of these two beautiful women (Sharon Kent and Jackie Richards) being put alongside the story of a creepy and dangerous pervert. It was like it was exploitational itself, and yet showing dangers women face from strangers in symbolic form. Was it self-aware of this? I have no idea. It also felt like it could be seen as celebrating the body and female sexuality in empowering ways, or as objectification. The dialogue is dubbed and weak, the acting is awful, and the editing is haphazard, all of which make it feel like very amateurish. And yet somehow it seems to emerge as the purest form of camp, in ways that I can't quite put my finger on. One thing I do know is that it has a strong ending, one worth sticking around for.