Black Cobra

Black Cobra is directed by filth king Joe D'amato, edited by fellow trashmeister Bruno Mattei, stars gorgeous Asian sexpot Laura Gemser, and even features future Oscar winner Jack Palance in a key role, and yet despite this massive potential (particularly for deviancy), the film blows it by being thoroughly bland for most of its running time. With a story revolving around poisonous snakes, erotic dancing, and revenge, this could and should have been so much more sleazy.

Naturally, the frequent full frontal nudity from Gemser prevented me from switching off in disgust (or rather, lack of disgust), but the soft-core action soon became rather tedious, with Gemser delivering loads of the self gratification and girl on girl action that we can always rely on, but nothing out of the ordinary (I find it hard to believe I'm saying this, but the copious bare flesh actually got boring).

Admittedly, there are a couple of scenes that manage to register slightly on the sleazeometer—a rather amusing strip scene in a lesbian bar that gets the clientele frisky, and a live snake being chopped up and fried for lunch—but most of the action falls way short of what I have come to expect from my Italian trash. The biggest cop-out is the finale—Gemser's revenge on the man who killed her lover—that involves the insertion of a cobra up the jacksy, but which is satisfied to simply suggest the nastiness.

Strangely, the film is also known as Emanuelle Goes Japanese, despite no character of that name going anywhere near Japan (Gemser's character is called Eva and the film is set entirely in Hong Kong).

Eva Nera (1976), directed by Joe D'Amato, attempts to weave an exotic tapestry of erotic adventure and intrigue but ultimately falls short of its ambitions. The film's premise, centering on the illicit and seductive allure of Southeast Asia, offers ample potential for a thrilling narrative. Unfortunately, despite the lush, picturesque settings and the tantalizing promise of forbidden romance, the story stumbles in its execution. The plot, which follows Eva (played by Laura Gemser) and her journey through a world of smuggling and seduction, often feels disjointed and underdeveloped, leaving viewers with more questions than answers.

The performances in Eva Nera are a mixed bag. Laura Gemser, known for her work in the Emanuelle series, brings a certain enigmatic charm to her role. However, the supporting cast fails to rise to her level, delivering lackluster and sometimes wooden performances that detract from the film's overall impact. The chemistry between the characters, which is crucial in a film of this nature, often feels forced and unconvincing, further distancing the audience from the unfolding drama.

One of the film's notable aspects is its cinematography. The exotic locales are captured with a vividness that highlights the natural beauty of the settings, providing a visually stimulating backdrop for the narrative. However, even this strength is undermined by inconsistent editing and pacing issues. At times, scenes drag on unnecessarily, while crucial plot points are glossed over, disrupting the flow and leaving the viewer feeling disengaged. The music score, while attempting to heighten the sense of eroticism and adventure, occasionally feels out of sync with the on-screen action, adding to the overall sense of disarray.

In conclusion, Eva Nera is a film that promises much but delivers little. Despite its alluring premise and visually appealing settings, it is hampered by a weak script, uneven performances, and poor pacing. For fans of Laura Gemser or those intrigued by 1970s erotic adventure films, it might hold some nostalgic value.

Black Cobra (1976)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Joe D'Amato directed film about a shy, lonely man (Jack Palance) living in Hong Kong where his only friends are his pet snakes. One night his brother takes him to a strip joint where he sees a beautiful woman (Laura Gemser) putting on a dance with a snake. He moves the woman in but soon someone starts killing off her lesbian friends. The killer doesn't know the woman is a Goddess to snakes. Like many other D'Amato/Gemser films, this one here basically leaves the plot behind in favor of the beautiful actress walking around in the nude and carrying out various lesbian scenes. Gemser is also fun to watch (when she's naked) but the story here is pretty dull and lifeless. Palance must have really been down on his luck at the time.

As part of watching a handful of Laura Gemser movies, I happened to stumble upon the 1976 drama "Eva Nera" (aka "Black Cobra"), and I must admit that I was rather surprised to see that the movie had the likes of Jack Palance in a leading role. I never figured that he would be in a movie such as this.

But nonetheless, I opted to sit down and watch what writer and director Joe D'Amato had to offer with this 1976 movie. Sure, I had never heard about it, as the type of movie that this actually is just simply usually falls outside of my field of interest. But I do believe in watching a movie once and giving it a fair chance.

Writer and director Joe D'Amato didn't exactly deliver a movie that fell into my liking here with "Eva Nera". The narrative of the movie was just simply too bland and slow paced. Nothing of any interest or worth actually happened as the movie paced on in snail pace.

The acting performances in "Eva Nera" were as expected, though I must admit that I was surprised to see Jack Palance in a movie such as this. I will say, though, that he actually was nicely cast though, as his charisma and presence added something to the movie. And Laura Gemser is, well, she is Laura Gemser, let's not dance around the bush here - pardon the pun.

I am sure that there is an audience out there for a slow burn such as "Eva Nera", but I just didn't happen to be a part of that particular target audience. And as such, then "Eva Nera" wasn't a movie that entertained me.

My rating of the 1976 drama from writer and director Joe D'Amato lands on a three out of ten stars.

Eva Nera (AKA Black Cobra) is my favorite entry in Joe D'Amato's infamous "Black Emanuelle" series. Also known as "Emanuelle Goes Japanese", this film features no characters named Emanuelle, and doesn't take place in (or in any way allude to) the country of Japan. Other than these minor details, Eva Nera exhibits every other trait of a Black Emanuelle movie, including of course Laura Gemser as the main character, and the ever-present douche-bag Gabriele Tinti lurking somewhere in the cast. And though this movie lacks some of the overt acts of depravity that other Emanuelle flicks are known for, it offers three times that in the form of a more subtle weirdness.

The movie begins with Eva's arrival in Hong Kong. Played by the beautifully boring Laura Gemser, Eva's character is essentially the same as Black Emanuelle: a frigid, vapid, nonchalantly nymphomaniacal bisexual nudist mannequin-like temptress. Unlike Emanuelle, who is a reporter, Eva is a snake dancer. Here we use the term "dancer" loosely to mean standing around naked and arrhythmically flailing your arms while holding a live snake.

As you would expect from Joe D'Amato, the story that follows is totally nondescript and irrational, and mostly serves as a vehicle for him to express his most banal ideas of what constitutes eroticism. The remarkable thing is that, unlike other of his creations, like say Emanuelle and The Last Cannibals, here D'Amato tries to exercise restraint, which results in a bizarre, watered-down version of the typical D'Amato fetishes. Included are the mandatory nudism, lesbianism, morbidness, and the gawking fascination with all things foreign and Exotic that characterizes D'Amato's work, minus the ultra-violent sadism that he's also famous for. Along the way, D'Amato's camera still manages to objectify and diminish every single living and non-living thing it gazes upon, whether it be the bland characters, the city of Hong Kong, those oh-so-dangerous snakes, or deeper aspects of human experience such as love and death.

None of this would stand out much were it not for two key elements that make Eva Nera exceptional: the haunting euro-soundtrack and the mind-blowingly strange performance by Jack Palance, whose character is so freakin' weird it defies description. Highly recommended.