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Released by: Mondo Macabro
Released on: 11/11/2003
Director: Michel Lemoine
Cast: Michel Lemoine, Howard Vernon, Joelle Coeur, Nathalie Zeiger, Martine Azencot, Stephane Lorry, Robert Icart
Year: 1974
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The Movie:
Michel Lemoine plays the enigmatic Boris Zoroff, the descendent of the sinister Count Zoroff who, years ago abducted and tortured many of the nubile young ladies in the surrounding area of the castle in which he now resides. During the day, Boris is a mild mannered businessman, but little do the unsuspecting women around him realize, he also has a dark side and tends to chase down and torture with the aid of his sinister butler, Karl (played with no small amount of sleazy pizzazz by Howard Vernon, probably best known as the titular character in The Awful Dr. Orloff).
Along the way, Boris hallucinates, sees ghosts, murders a couple of foxy ladies who themselves appear to be sporadic go-go dancers, and finally, kills off a young couple with the aid of Karl and the ancient medieval torture that lays beneath the old castle in the basement.
Despite the ramshackle plot and pacing of the film, the visuals and camerawork are top notch and keep the viewer interested in finding out what happens next. While we're not treading and real new ground in this movie, there are plenty of exploitative elements and a thick atmosphere of weirdness that make it a pretty entertaining romp.
It also has a lot of pretty naked ladies, at least one of whom seems to have no problem writhing around on the bed with nothing but a furry boa pressed between their legs or doing a high energy bump and grind with a statue that one point turns into a living human and makes out with her. This type of thing does indeed make for good entertainment, at least in my eyes.
Sure, the film has its flaws. It's actually got quite a few of them. Good portions of the film don't really make a whole lot of sense and the whole thing feels a bit contrived in more than a few scenes but the dream-like atmosphere, engagingly bizarre soundtrack, and colorful cast make it all very watchable and quite entertaining to boot.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Well despite the fact that the film was shot with a soft focus look throughout and the fact that the first reel looks to have been in pretty rough shape, this DVD presents a reasonably solid anamorphic 1.66.1 transfer with nice colors and moderately nice detail levels. Minor print damage does appear throughout and there are a couple of darker scenes that could have looked a little sharper but overall this isn't a bad transfer at all.
Viewers have a choice of English or French Dolby Digital Stereo tracks on the DVD. Removable English subtitles are included as well. For the most part both tracks are pretty clear affairs. There are some instances where the levels are a bit lower than maybe they could have been compared to the rest of the movie but I'm nitpicking. It's an average quality track that gets the job done just fine.
As has become the norm with Mondo Macabro's releases, there are once again some interesting extra features to be found lurking within the confines of this discs menu screens. The main extra supplement is an interview with the writer/director/star of the film, Michel Lemoine. Lemoine is an extremely enthusiastic man when it comes to discussing his work and his love for the material really shines through in this piece. He speaks about the varied aspects of his career including his work as an actor, the films he collaborated on with Jesus Franco, his take on French 'fantastique' movies, and his work as a director.
An interesting text essay on the films unusual history is also included, as are bios for the cast and crewmembers, all well written and supplied by Pete Tombs. The films theatrical trailer rounds out the extra features on the disc.
The Final Word:
Seven Women For Satan is a bizarre and decadent film that, while flawed, has enough prime moments to make it worth a look for Eurocult fans.