Cambist Films, 1975. Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2000. Written by Jonah Royston and John C.W. Saxton. Special make-up effects by Joe Blasco. Directed by Don Edmonds. Starring Dyanne Thorne, Gregory Knoph, Tony Mumolo. Maria Marx, Nicolle Riddell, Jo Jo Deville and George "Buck" Flower.

    By Stephen Pytak 

     This was the "Hostel" of its day, a Nazi exploitation sickie with dozens of 
shocking, graphic torture scenes. 
     But that's not the only reason this low-budget shocker shot in 9 days
on the set of the former "Hogan's Heroes" is an an all-time classic.
     I believe this film would have sunk into obscurity had it not been for
its star, Dyanne Thorne. A siren with an amazing body, she could light
up the screen like Ingrid Pitt in Hammer's "The Vampire Lovers (1970)." 
But as "Ilsa," she mixed her sexuality with sometimes subtle, and sometimes
not-so-subtle, menace. At the time, the cinema had never seen anything like
her.
     Take her introduction, which happens in the film's first 10 minutes. Like
the entrance of "Leatherface" in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)," 
or the monster in "Cloverfield (2008)," it's one of the greats because it's got 
some serious shock value.
     It starts off in her bedroom. She's enjoying a romp with one of the 
prisoners. She's on top. We get a full view of her. And she's got a body
to die for (the pun wasn't intended, but, you get the point). Believe it 
or not, the Greenwich, Conn. native was 42 when she made this film. 
Anyway, after the romp, she takes a shower. This is another great 
scene, very sensual, well lit, somewhat artistic (Yes. I'm serious). Then 
she dresses up in her gray uniform, high black boots and swastika 
arm band. Her personality turns razor-sharp icicle cold and things 
start to get real.
     She calls in her cronies. They take this prisoner (Yes. The one she
bonked) over to the med lab, tie him to a table and castrate him. Not a 
lot is shown, but it's very well suggested. Try not to wince.
     Thorne is reason number one to sit through this film. She created one
of the greatest villians in cinema history. She took the role as seriously 
as she could. In the audio commentary on the 2000 Anchor Bay DVD, 
she said she read something like 19 books on Nazi history to prepare for it. 
     Her performance shocked and stimulated audiences, jolting them like
the electrodes Ilsa uses in her medical experiments. I'm sure it's inspired 
so many actreses over the years, like Sybil Danning who played the 
werewolf queen in "Howling II (1985)."  But no one's done it quite like 
Dyanne.
     Otherwise, this film is a real Grand Guignol. You have tons of nudity, 
a lot of prisoner torture, horrific rape scenes, bondage, a lot of medical 
butchery and some stomach-turning special effects to show the aftermath.
     This is some great stuff for fans of the genre or a midnight movie
crowd looking for alternative thrills. But would I recommend it to just
anyone? What, are you kidding!?!? I'm a pretty serious fan of horror
movies of all types, and even though I know this film end to end, I'm
still disturbed by the level of violence.
     But the power of those blood-drenched scenes is another reason 
I'm giving this a high rating. The crew set out to make a shocking film 
and succeeded. For what it is, it works and works well.
    Sometimes it's camp, sometimes funny. Some of the acting is bad. 
Some of the action scenes suck. Despite that, this grindhouse flick is 
one of the best.
    Even though Ilsa dies in the end, she returns again and again in
a series of sequels. There's "Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Shieks (1976),"
"Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (1977)," and the one I have yet to see,
"Ilsa, the Tigress of Siberia (1977)."
    Dyanne Thorne and Don Edmonds, director of the first and second
"Ilsa" films, celebrated the series by greeting fans at a convention,
Cinema Wasteland, Strongsville, Ohio, from April 4-6, 2008.