Ilsa, the Wicked Warden

I've never understood the Ilsa films. They are set across different parts of the world, different time periods and the ending of certain films suggest that a sequel simply should not have been possible.

This one goes by about three or four different names which confuses matters even more. Whats even more confusing is just how little entertainment value there is. I know this is an exploitation flick but the previous two had their moments, this is just bafflingly poor.

This is the worst third part of a franchise since Terminator, I mean seriously who thought it'd be a good idea to make that R rated franchise so tame and do cut away deaths? That person needs to be punished with having to watch this Ilsa movie on a loop for 6 continual weeks. That right there is cruel and unusual punishment, but so is this film

I have seen all of the Ilsa movies several times and this one is by far the best. First, a warning: if you are easily shocked, offended, or disturbed, you won't make it through this (or any other Ilsa)movie. It takes a lot to disturb me, but this movie did the trick. If you love campy women's prison movies, this is also a must-see, though it is darker than most of them.Yes, this is an exploitation flick and does not try to hide this fact, but it has a plot, and characters you care about. A woman's sister is being held in a women's prison, so she goes 'undercover' to try to rescue her. The b*tch in charge of the prison is the most twisted, sick, evil, sadistic warden you will ever find in any women's prison movie--Ilsa, (or Wanda, depending on which version you see) the Wicked Warden. Her idea of a nice relaxing evening is using one of the female inmates for a pincushion, and I am describing the scene tactfully. Others she lobotomizes when they get out of line. The woman's plan to infiltrate the prison and her sister goes horribly awry when she realizes things in there are much, much worse than she could have dreamed of and there is no escape. The movie's ending is a total show-stopper, when Ilsa comes to one of the most fitting, vividly grisly, ugly endings that you will ever see. Not the most pleasant movie to watch--the first time I saw it, I felt sick for not turning it off and continuing to watch the horrible acts being committed. However, I've seen a lot of really bad horror/shock/exploitation films, and this one really stands out amongst the rest, with realistic characters, the courage to have a very downbeat ending, and no glamourization of the violence. The images in this movie will stay with you for a long, long time. For some people, that's a warning, for others, a strong recommendation. You think you've seen it all? You haven't, till you've seen this.

Strange, depraved vision of Jess Franco's concerning Ilsa, that wicked, blouse-popping sadist of the famous/infamous series starring statuesque/bosomy Dyanne Thorne. This time around a young girl gets into a hospital run for women who suffer from sex-related diseases such as lesbianism and nymphomania. It seems she had a sister admitted a year ago and wants to find out what has happened to her even though she knows no patient has ever left. The film takes place somewhere in South America where a government is fighting rebels. Well, you get what you might expect from a series like this: lots of nude girls, lots of perversion, lots of sadism, lots of sleaze, and generally a sick/guilty feeling having seen it. There are many scenes which are downright disgusting such as one dealing with the use of a plastic bag, another with pins and a human pin cushion, shock therapy, a night with the boys from the local prison, and the grand finale where Greta(Thorne) is out to lunch with the girls. Franco is a decent director in terms of piecing a film together(despite what the subject matter might be). He can draw scenes out for suspense. He can also shock which he does well too. The acting was decent overall. Thorne is way over-the-top, but hey who cares once they see her? She is the personification of voluptuousness wearing her strained military blouse and high boots with red hair this time round. Ilsa, the Wicked Warden is a unique look at what film can do...and perhaps should not do.

Retitled Ilsa the Wicked Warden and released as the third in the infamous Ilsa exploitation series featuring busty Dyanne Thorne, this movie from prolific director Jess Franco bores despite the excessive sleaze and gratuitous nudity on offer.

In an unspecified South American country, political prisoners are being committed to a maximum security asylum where they are tortured for information by the sadistic warden (guess who?). Whilst being subjected to torture (and, in one scene, rape by violent murderers), the prisoners are filmed by one of the guards who has a profitable sideline selling his specialist movies.

Enter Abbie Phillips, a beautiful young woman (and owner of the wildest 'bush' on the planet) who has had herself committed on purpose in order to search for her sister, an inmate who has mysteriously disappeared. Abbie must endure suffering and degradation at the hands of the inmates and staff before she can eventually discover the truth.

Less violent than previous Ilsa movies, but easily just as sleazy, this film is heavy on the sadism, perversion and nudity—all Franco specialities— and yet somehow it still manages to drag. Franco's awful direction and the overall low standard of acting certainly doesn't help matters; however, if you can endure the dreary parts, there are some priceless moments that make the effort worthwhile.

Lina Romay's performance as Juana, Ilsa's masochistic lesbian bitch, is particularly unforgettable. I guarantee that your jaw will hit the floor during the 'lick my culo' scene (you'll have to watch the film to see what I mean). Also worthy of mention is the scene in which Ilsa kills Abbie's sister with the old 'plastic bag over the head' routine. Nasty.

The shocking finale sees the warden set upon by the inmates, led by Juana who can no longer put up with Ilsa's wicked ways. The long suffering inmates literally tear her to pieces, biting and ripping her with hands and teeth—all the while being filmed by the movie-making guard who gets to deliver his potentially most profitable work so far: a snuff film!

There are tens of thousands of DVDs out there for the customer to purchase or rent, but viewers will have to look long and hard before finding a sleazier one than Jess Franco's contribution to the Ilsa saga, "Ilsa the Wicked Warden" (1977). Here, Dyanne Thorne, who thrice before portrayed everyone's favorite buxom blond sadist, plays a buxom redheaded (her natural color...who knew?) sadist who's in charge of a women's mental hospital in some unnamed tropical country. (Though filmed in Portugal, the picture seems to be set somewhere in Central or South America.) Franco, an incredibly prolific, oftentimes slapdash director in many film genres, with over 140 (!) titles to his credit, throws quite a bit into this Ilsa story to guarantee a good time (well, better make that "memorable experience"). Thus, we get to see electroshockings, a human pin cushion, cannibalism, feces eating, shower fights, vaginal cauterization (yikes!), transgendered lesbianism, gang rape, bloody whippings and so on. While the tortures on display are not as hard to take as the ones in Ilsa's first foray, "She Wolf of the SS" (1973), this picture somehow feels...well, "sleazier" is the only word that keeps coming to mind. Ilsa herself, monster that she is, looks absolutely outstanding here, and her just deserts at film's end will long linger sickeningly in the viewer's memory. The DVD that I just watched looks terrific--a first-rate transfer job from the fine folks at Anchor Bay--although the execrable dubbing throughout the film is a significant drawback. I suppose this picture is best recommended for Jess Franco or Ilsa completists only; needless to say, it is NOT the movie to watch with Aunt Petunia! It is as sick and, well, sleazy as can be, but for lots of folks out there...hey, that's entertainment!