Le lunghe notti della Gestapo

Unlike the typical example from the short-lived but oddly prolific Nazisploitation subgenre, THE RED NIGHTS OF THE GESTAPO does not deal with the dehumanizing activities in Nazi concentration camps but rather with all the salacious perversions that a group of renegade anti-Nazi Germans get down to when they are holed up in a castle one night under the supposed pretext of plotting Hitler's downfall. What is even more surprising is that the plot is not only based on a book by one of the supporting characters but is ostensibly driven by actual historical events like Rudolph Hess' defection to Britain in early 1941 seeking to sign a Peace Treaty, the proliferation of anti-Hitler sentiments among key figures in the German bourgeoisie which came to a head in the unsuccessful "Night of the Long Knives" assassination attempt on Hitler's life, Hitler's march on Russia in mid-1941, etc.

The Gestapo blackmail Hess' right-hand man (after bugging his apartment and threatening him with the kidnapping of his son) into organizing a party which would gather together the leading figures of the uprising. But, for most of the film's running time, the Gestapo's intentions seem not to find out how the latter plan to overthrow the Nazi regime but rather to prove that even these would-be saviours of the Fatherland have their sordid weaknesses: aided by a handful of truly loose women, the meeting degenerates into one sleaze marathon which ends with the unceremonious gunning down of all concerned by SS troops. As can be expected, there is a sheer barrage of nudity on display exacerbated with the pre-requisite traits of lesbianism, paedophilia, sado-masochism, etc. Unfortunately, there are none of the familiar Euro-Cult faces or even a rousing score which would make all this palatable; what we have instead are an abysmal SS anthem, "Lullaby for Monsters"(!!), whose lyrics have to be understood to be disbelieved, stiff acting (pardon the pun) including a female Hitler impersonation and a hilariously defiant farting gesture from one silver-haired stud of an aristocrat!