Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS

ILSA - SHE WOLF OF THE SS is the first in the "infamous" series of exploitation films featuring buxom ball-breaker, Dyanne Thorne. These films are a classic example of true exploitation cinema and should be checked out by any fan of "extreme" or exploitation films. Short version: Ilsa is the head bitch at a Nazi experimentation camp. She gets her kicks by torturing the male and female prisoners in all kinds of interesting ways. Overall, SHE WOLF is pretty tame in the gore department, compared to what is out there today. I'm sure if you saw this when it first came out in '75, it was probably some really racy stuff...but being from a generation raised on blood-and-guts, the Ilsa films are more laughable than "shocking". I prefer SHE WOLF and the under-rated TIGRESS OF SIBERIA installments over HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS and WICKED WARDEN (those two having more of a sleazy sex overtone, and being very light on the red stuff...) but all are worth a look just to say that you've seen them. Anchor Bay has put out a beautiful box-set that contains SHE WOLF, HAREM KEEPER, and WICKED WARDEN, and if you check the right on-line dealers, you can find it for dirt-cheap. Makes a great collection piece. To my knowledge, TIGRESS OF SIBERIA is not available on DVD at this time (at least not in the States...) which is a shame, because although many other reviewers trash it, I really liked that film. Anyway, if you are an exploit fan these films should already be in your collection. If you are interested in checking out this type of material, these films are as good a start as any. Not for the average movie-goer, but not as over-the-top as they could be nowdays. recommended - 8/10 for Dyanne Thorne's big-ass Nazi titties!!!

Ilsa is one sadistic mama who tortures men and women to prove that women have a greater threshold for pain and also just for the fun of it. This is the first of a series of exploitation films featuring Thorne, who is endowed with certain God-given gifts that are prominently displayed. In fact, her bra should have received the Oscar that year for best supporting an actress. It is intended to be trash and it makes no attempt to rise above that. There is plenty of nudity and gore. It would have been better if the violence could have been toned down a bit but the blood looks so fake that it is not very disturbing. This qualifies as a guilty pleasure.

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.

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.

Most here are aware of how this one plays out. Experiments are conducted on war camp prisoners, which are all overseen by our lovely Fraulein Doktor (of title fame). This gal has a nasty habit of collecting male "forget me nots". Some collect stamps. Others, genitals. Call her an eccentric.

Anyhow, politics between the camp and Berlin come into play along with an American she can't figure out (and the requisite escape plans brewing), but those are mere plot details. No sense boring everyone with gratuitous information on the storyline when there's some juicy bits to discuss.

Torture of many respects abound in this one. Castration, gang rape, bacterial/viral injections, human lobster pots, slow hanging (mit eis schmelzen), nipple 'trodes, the list goes on and on. The production values are pretty fair in this one (the sets being left over from "Hogan's Heroes") and the makeup's not half bad. The acting's a bit over the top in "Ilsa", especially with the doktor's blonde henchwomen, but who can really fault topless floggers? Not I.

Thumbs up for me here. It's only single "X", but still some nasty fun.

Charlie.