Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS

I completely see why some people really like this movie (director Quentin Tarantino among those that do).

The movie may have been slightly cringe-worthy when I saw it (mostly the way the director relishes in the dirty art he has created), but in retrospect is fluff compared to a lot of the movies I've seen since then. Even though this movie is pure, unadulterated carnage and heinous acts throughout the entire course of the film, it had a redeeming quality.It's hard to pinpoint what made this movie so appealing to me. It was a perfect emblem of the pure sleaziness and overall decadent atmosphere of the 70's smut prevalent at this time. Like all grindhouse films, it appeals to the baser senses - filled with excess violence (grizzly and well-done) and sex. And it's shot amazingly well for such a poor film. I expected it to be grainy and imperceptible.

There's an element of immorality felt when watching films like this, but it's a healthy outlet to sublimate impure thoughts. It's sensationalist, yes. Probably no artistic merit either. But it's an appetizer of the 70's Perversia. I do think it's mostly meant to be titillating and gross for the sake of being gross. It's so blatantly in-your-face tasteless and bad that I love it. Stay away from it if you don't have a knack for the depraved.

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS certainly deserves its reputation as a nasty film. Although it is thoroughly cheesy, poorly acted, routinely directed, and extremely camp at times, the film still packs a punch due to its ability to offend and disgust at every turn; the depiction of Nazi atrocities in the name of entertainment is hard to defend (so I'm not even going to try) and this movie pulls no punches with its well executed graphic violence and horrific torture scenes.

Ilsa, played with gusto by chesty blonde Dianne Thorne, is the Kommandant at a concentration camp where she oversees medical research performed on the female prisoners. Meanwhile, she uses the males to try and satisfy her sexual needs (and when they fail, she has them castrated!). It is up to German/American stud Wolfe to lead the prisoners in a revolt against the guards whilst simultaneously gaining Ilsa's trust by rogering her senseless at every opportunity.

This notorious sleaze classic packs so much depravity into its 96 minutes running time (uncut), that lovers of exploitation will have a field day. From the opening scene in which Ilsa's sex slave is dragged back to the camp to be emasculated, to the ending in which the prisoners exact bloody retribution, sex and violence pervades every frame. The effective make-up FX by Joe Blasco are repugnant enough for hardened gore-hounds and fans of the female form will be delighted by the copious amounts of nudity (nearly every woman gets naked at some point in the film!). And lets not forget the scene in which Ilsa pees on the Nazi general...

Thirty years after it was made, Ilsa still has the ability to shock—the mark of a true exploitation classic!

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS is a surprisingly well-made film, given its garish title and unabashed exploitative intent. For all the gore, nudity, and laughter inducing dialogue, the film features good camera work, quality special effects, and a quick moving plot. It follows the travails of an American soldier sent to a Nazi medical camp run by Ilsa, who is obsessed with proving women's superior capacity to handle pain so that she can go to the front lines.

Ilsa represents Nazispoitation at its finest. Throwing the history book out the window, the film gives us a Nazi concentration camp populated by topless female guards and open lesbians. Just for fun, it adds gory experiments which all seem to require attractive nude women. Is it tasteless? Lords yes! But it's also fun.

What takes this a notch above other exploitation films is that genuine talent was involved. Ilsa has quality cinematography and surprisingly good special effects. (This may be because, as director Don Edmonds points out, many of the people involved were mainstream filmmakers working under pseudonyms for a quick buck.) Although no one would mistake it for Oscar material, Ilsa is a worthwhile film for all exploitation fans.

When this movie first came out in the 70's it was a 42nd street style grindhouse pleaser that would have shocked mainstream audiences; however with the advent of video few will be so shocked today. Ilsa is impossible to take seriously. Sure medical torture was carried out by the Nazis but this movie is not like Men behind the sun, and you will be left questioning the authenticity of Ilsas source. Ilsa can be enjoyed as an exercise in bad taste that John Waters would enjoy; torture, Nasty nazis and a range of bad accents, though Joe DeBlascos SFX makeup is pretty good.The camerawork is good giving it a gritty feel, and the sets (used by Hogans heros!) are impressive. Ilsa will neither exceed nor dissapoint as an exploitation flick, and thats my recommendation.

As an SS officer during World War II, "Ilsa" (Dyanne Thorne) serves as both a doctor and as the kommandant of a special prison camp in Nazi Germany. In particular the prison camp is allocated a certain number of young women for which Ilsa conducts inhuman medical experiments upon. Along with this the female prisoners are routinely beaten, tortured and raped. There are also a few male prisoners there who are used for manual labor with one specific man named "Wolfe" (Gregory Knoph) who has managed to arouse Ilsa to heights of sexuality she has never known before. But there are dangers associated with this action which are probably best left unmentioned in order to avoid spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it. I will say however that this film is not for a general audience as it is quite brutal and sadistic. Even so Dyanne Thorne put on a very good performance and she essentially carries this movie all by herself. Again, I should warn viewers that this film is not for the squeamish but it pretty much kept my attention and I rate it as slightly above average.