Released by: One 7 Movies
Released on: August 23, 2011.
Director: Nello Rossati
Cast: Rodrigo Obregon, Eleonora Vallone
Year: 1985
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The Movie:
Directed by Nello Rossati in 1985, this film (originally known in Italy as Fuga Scabrosamente Pericolosa and receiving its worldwide DVD debut and first ever release with English subtitles) begins when a prisoner named Manuel (Rodrigo Obregon) escapes from the work camp in which he's been interred and makes a break for it, along with a few other inmates. Manuel is the only one to survive, and he's smart enough to know that the authorities are going to do everything in their power to catch him. As such, he does what so many other criminals before and after him have done, and that's take a hostage. It's on the fancy grounds of a mansion owned by a powerful local man that he abducts Amparo (Eleonora Vallone), the man's daughter, but he doesn't stay there long and before you know he captor and captive alike are making a run for the border of whatever nameless country it is that they're in.
As they make their way through the mountains and jungles that lay between them and Manuel's escape, Amparo's father and a bevy of armed cops do their best to track them down before he can cross over into freedom. Manuel, however, is an asshole. He likes to slap Amparo around and is prone to outbursts of violence and evidently enjoys a good rape. Is Amparo just going to lay there and take it or will she fight back?
Well, spoilers… she more or less just lies there and takes it. He spits all manner of venomous insults at her, slaps her, degrades her, drags her around and she doesn't do much of anything except lie there and take it. As such, this isn't really any sort of rape revenge movie nor is this the type of movie where you know captor and captive are going to wind up madly in love with one another by the time that the end credits role. Rather, it's basically a movie about a man who is mean to a pretty lady in the jungle - there's honestly not a whole lot more to this picture than that, despite an attempt at the end with an interesting twist.
The box copy proudly claims 'she went all the way to be free' over top of a picture of a beautiful naked woman on the beach. This is misleading not only because we don't get beautiful naked ladies on a beach in this movie but also because Amparo doesn't 'go' all the way to be free - she's pushed there. She doesn't give herself to Manuel, he takes her by force. The cover art implies there's some sort of willingness on the female character's part, but nope, she's raped, pure and simple.
So, yeah, we get a couple of seedy rape scenes and some depravity and degradation but this comes at the expense of things like character development and decent storytelling, of which we get very little. To their credit, Rodrigo Obregon is entirely convincing in his role as a scumbag and Eleonora Vallone (who appeared in the May 1982 issue of Playboy, for those keeping track) is plenty easy on the eyes and fairly believable as the damsel in distress, but there's just not a whole lot here to hold our interest once the shock value of the film's seedier aspects wears off.
Video/Audio/Extras:
One 7 Movies offers up Erotic Escape in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen in a transfer sourced from a print that has definitely seen better days. The image is consistent in its softness and lack of fine detail while color reproduction fluctuates quite a bit, sometimes looking quite natural but usually looking rather dire. Minor compression artifacts are present in a few of the darker scenes like those that take place in a cave and print damage is a constant. It's watchable enough, but nothing more than that. At least it appears to be in its proper aspect ratio, judging by the compositions.
The only audio option on this disc is an Italian language Dolby Digital Mono track that does include optional subtitles albeit in English only. As seems to be common with One 7 releases, there are a few typos in the subs here and there and a tendency to omit spaces between words for some reason but you won't have any trouble following along with what's being said. All in all, this is a fairly clear and decent sounding mix.
Aside from a static menu and chapter selection there no extras at all on this DVD.
The Final Word:
Erotic Escape isn't really entertaining so much as it is mean spirited and grisly. The story isn't all that interesting and while the camera work and performances are decent, the film isn't really very engrossing, though it earns some points just for being as brazenly trashy as it is. One 7 Movies' is barebones and doesn't look or sound all that great - this one is for Euro-cult completists only.