Sex & Astrology

Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: February 23rd, 2016.
Director: Matt Cimber
Cast: N/A
Year: 1971
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The Movie:

Directed by Matt Cimber (credited as Rinehart Segway), the same man who brought us sex pictures like The Sensually Liberated Female and He And She before he went on to horror and drive-in pictures like The Witch Who Came From The Sea and Hundra, 1971's Sex & Astrology is just plain weird. Like his other sex pictures, this one is a faux-documentary, the focus of which is, as the title clearly states, the co-relation between intimate human relationships and the alignment of the stars!

Narrated off camera by someone with an obvious penchant for delivering bad puns and corny jokes, the film takes us back to ancient Rome where we bear witness to those fine Roman citizens celebrating their goddess Venus. She, along with her boyfriend, a stud referred to as Rockbottom, are in on the celebration as are a Cupid and Psyche (played by two 'little people' with wings strapped to their backs) and a guy who may or may not be a falcon trainer. Why? Why not!

This setup leads to the audience's discovering of various quirks and kinks as they tie into the different personalities associated with the signs of the Zodiac: Aries thinks of himself as too good for most women, Taurus' are into hedonistic girl on girl action, Gemini's are into bisexual group sex, Cancer gets off on figure modelling and bad dye jobs, Leos have a thing for oil rub downs, Virgos are weirdos that are into acting like kids for whatever reason, Libras are hermaphrodites, Scorpios like face makeup, public sex/exhibitionism and sports, Sagittarius are potentially bi-polar and don't seem to know what they want, Aquarius likes to be tied up and is into snake dancing while, last but certainly not least, Pisces is into… water play.

All of this is acted out in front of the camera with acid-tinged recklessness by a cast who are clearly taking none of this particularly seriously and who seem to be having a pretty good time. Although this looks to have been shot for peanuts, the dime store costumes (which attempt to make the performers at least partially resemble their Zodiacal counterpart) are surprisingly effective and at time seven impressive and there's plenty of creativity evident in the makeup applied to the different characters that populate the picture (a glam rock influence is fairly obvious here - and while this dates the picture somewhat it's pretty cool to see it).

The camerawork is really basic here, rarely rising above point and shoot, but everything is in focus and the art direction that winds up captured on film is strange enough to hold our attention. All of this plays out on a soundstage but there's plenty of psychedelic lighting and weird colored gels used to build atmosphere. There isn't a whole lot to the story, it's more a selection of barely connected set pieces but hey, it at least attempts something different. This would make a good double feature with Bible! (also available from Vinegar Syndrome) as it works on a similar level in how it blends artsy elements of the past with graphic (though not quite explicit) sex.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The film is presented in a new 2k scan from 16mm archival materials and while it's as grainy as you'd probably expect it to be, it looks quite good. The film's trippy colors are reproduced quite nicely and while print damage is apparent throughout it's fairly minor. This obscure, low budget picture is presented here authentically and it's hard to imagine it looking a whole lot better than it does here.

The Dolby Digital Mono audio, in English (the only option), shows the limitations of the source but is, for the most part, just fine. There's a bit of hiss here and there but the tracks are well balanced and easy enough to follow. There are no subtitles provided.

Aside from static menus and chapter selection, the disc includes a trailer.

The Final Word:

Sex & Astrology is just plain strange. It's not particularly good as a 'sex film' but it's humorous, surreal and… strange. Worth seeing for those with an interest in the stranger side of sexploitation pictures, Vinegar Syndrome haven't supplied much in the way of extras but have presented the film on home video for the first time in very nice shape.