Sadomania

An unnamed South American country: A honeymoon couple pass a sign marking the boundary of the Hacienda Blanco women's prison and unwisely ignore its "no trespassing" warning.

Within minutes they have been arrested. Michael is free to go Olga (Ursula Buchfellner – credited as Ursula Fellner) must remain.

Welcome to Jesus Franco country!

The Hacienda Blanco is ruled with an iron fist by sadistic warden Magda (Ajita Wilson – a transsexual porn performer and minor player in many a Eurosleaze entry) and corrupt, impotent governor Mendoza (Robert Foster – Antonio Mayans, Franco's right-hand man at the time).

The prisoners, wearing nothing but cut-off denim shorts and/or cowboy boots work in the quarry, overseen by equally scantily clad armed guards.

When a prisoner is caught trying to escape she is taken before Magda, given a 60 second head start and shot down. Patently fake crocodiles then emerge to devour the body…

Another prisoner, Tara, imprisoned on drugs charges, is taken to to the governor's wife, Loba, who tries to warm the girl up for her husband but he cannot get aroused. Tara, however, seems very taken with Loba's attentions…

Loba takes another prisoner to sell to the local brothel, run by a vicious dyke and the effete homosexual Lucas (Franco himself)…

A fight breaks out between one an aryan blonde type prisoners and a black guard after the former makes a racist provocation leading Magda – herself black – to place the both naked in cages and fight to the death…

Out of the frying pan into the fire, then, as the victorious prisoner is handed over to Mendoza, who sets his Alsatian dog on her and apparently thereby overcomes his impotence…

Michael attempts to rescue Olga, but is captured and forced to go down on Magda…

And we are scarcely half way through…

Sadomania presents an interesting paradox: It gives the women in prison audience all the naked flesh, lesbianism and sadism it could ever want and then some. Plot, characterisation and other conventional niceties are irrelevant as a procession of ever more delirious, cartoonish and self-parodic vignettes follow one another, seemingly mocking the viewer as much as anything else.

Indeed, the film might almost be called feminist – albeit more Monika Treut than mainstream – for the way in which the male characters are weak and ineffectual, their female superiors strong and capable. (Fans of Russ Meyer will also see parallels here.)

While cheaply made – the governor drives a hatchback and people simply fall down and kick a bit when shot – the film also has moments of genuine artistry, such as the impressionistic imagery as Mendoza silently enters the room to take over from his wife in servicing Olga or the cutaways to bizarre mechanical toys as Mendoza's dog implicitly ravishes the victorious gladiatrix. Yes, even Franco draws the line somewhere…

Shock's Region 2 DVD of Sadomania presents the film fullscreen at 1.33:1 and one suspects that a lot of information has been lost thereby. The transfer is a pretty poor one with VHS level grain, considerable damage and some noticeable artefacting at times. Yet, none of this matters. Rather it enhances the sleazy, sweaty ambience of the piece in the way a pristine remastered version just wouldn't.

The disc also includes trailers for Bloody Moon and Linda – also starring Buchfellner – and a slideshow gallery.