Customer Reviews

The Curious Dr. Humpp

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without a doubt Frank Henenlotter deserves praise for finding this film in some NYC basement. Ususally one who steers well clear of fan adulation bordering on the insane, I must admit to being knocked for six by this incredulous mishmash of trashy delights. I'm stumped trying to remember any film that contains so many cross-genre elements and moments that border on surreal lunacy. HUMPP races and tramples other exploitation wonders in its way into my top ten exploitation films. It now resides alongside such stalwart performers as PINK FLAMIGOS, as a totally original peice of work. Recommended for those jaded with films that are over-hyped in the exploitation/ trash arena. This gem delivers the goods in all its unique glory - stamping its signature as the most whacked out mad scientist-raving bubblin' brain-goateed swingers-lesbian fondling-monster-a-go-go EVER COMMITTED TO CELLULOID.

Hard not to laugh at this one. Take 1950's atomic age sci-fi and combine it with 70s porn then shoot it all in glorious black and white and you basically have the formula and content for Dr Humpp. This is an out and out exploitation film, but it's no plan 9 from outer space, it is reasonably coherent, well edited and acted with a straight face. Those of you who will enjoy this curiosity know who you are and others need not apply. You could give it five stars for audacity or one star for a bogus plot, but either way it looks to be harmless fun.

Well, you get what you pay for when you purchase a title like "The Curious Dr. Humpp". That said, it's not a terrible movie as it does achieve the number one goal that every film should aspire to and that is to entertain.

The problem with "Dr. Humpp" as I see it is not with the movie itself, as it is with the American distributer, Jerald Intrater. When the production sought American distribution Intrater picked it up but wasn't confident that it could stand on its own as an exploitation flick so he filmed a whopping SEVENTEEN minutes of additional nude footage so it could be shown on the "adult" circuit. The liner notes credit Intrater with bridging these new scenes nicely with the original product but they are far from flawless. It also doesn't help that nearly thirteen of those seventeen minutes come right at the beginning of the film. You get about two minutes of setup before being launched into thirteen minutes of sex scenes with no dialog!

This aside, the main body of the film is still intact and is, as I mentioned, rather entertaining. Aldo Barbero does a fantastic job as the sexually domineering Dr. Humpp, and Ricardo Bauleo is shockingly blase as the investigative reporter on the case.

Something Weird Video makes "The Curious Dr. Humpp" a worthwhile DVD acquisition for those who enjoyed it on video. It's packed with extra features. More than I've seen on most recent movies even. It is evident that they've gone out of their way to bring the viewer the most comprehensive representation of this film so far.

It has been a while since I have checked out an offering from the friendly folks at Something Weird Video, and given that it is one of the few films in their collection to appear on a DVD without a second feature film I was inclined to believe that "The Curious Dr. Humpp" is one of the crowned jewels in their collection. "La venganza del sexo" ("The Revenge of Sex") is a 1971 Argentinean film from writer-director Emilio Vieyra ("Sangre de vírgenes"), known in the U.K. as "The Curious Case of Dr. Humpp," and as you might suspect, this film is really something weird.

It begins with a shadowy figure, first seen only as shoes and claws, goes around abducting a couple of lesbians, a drunken sailor outside of a bar, a young woman whose wall is covered with beefcake photos, a quartet of pot smoking hippies, and a stripper (Gloria Prat). The police are baffled by the string of kidnappings, which means it will be up to reporter George Foran (Richard Bauleo), who thinks the crimes are similar to something that happened in Italy thirty years earlier, which were done by some mad scientist studying sexual aberration. To the police this sounds like a wild leap in logic, but of course it is just a way of working in exposition. Indeed, Dr. Humpp (Aldo Barbero) has taken all of these people prisoner. I doubt I can improve on the description that Netflix provides on the sleeve for this DVD, so I will simply quote it: "With help from aphrodisiacs and clever inculation by a talking, pulsating, disembodied brain in a jar, Humpp turns his 'guests' into sex machines, using an elixir derived from their orgasms to stoke his genius and stay eternally young." So you have your science fiction, you have your horror, and you have your sex machines, thereby making "The Curious Dr. Humpp" a true triple-threat exploitation film.

When his film was brought to the U.S., Vieyra added an additional 15 minutes of sex footage, which is enough to make it seem like this is a soft core porn film with the science fiction bit thrown in to provide a veneer of legitimacy as opposed to a science fiction-horror film that has found a way to make sex a necessary part of the science. After all, Dr. Humpp is not just a voyeur, even though at one point her literally says: "Put the lesbians in one room. I want to observe them." He does indeed observe them, but in addition to making him hot and bothered the sight opens up some lesions on his hand. His nurse (Susan Beltran) brings him the aforementioned elixir, but the stuff is not working as well as it used to, which means he needs more aphrodisiacs to keep his "guest" going to produce more orgasms and a more potent, so to speak, elixir.

For me the problem is not so much the sex, because compared to what we have on late night cable these days what Vieyra is shooting works fine, unencumbered by either hysterical moaning or cheesy music. Ultimately, it is the talking brain in the jar that strikes me as being unnecessary. The weird looking automaton is bad enough, but it never speaks and therefore fits the tone of the rest of the film. But the ranting brain is just over the top and I think the story, such as it is, works just fine without the brain of the Italian scientist from thirty years earlier floating in a jar. Otherwise this weird mix of soft core and sci-fi horror is rather compelling, especially when compared to the usual SWV offerings. It might be a while before my next SWV rental simply because I strongly suspect that after this one everything I have left to check out in their catalog is going to be strictly bottle of the barrel movies.

The "Supplements" on this DVD start out with the original title sequences for "The Curious Dr. Humpp," along with the American theatrical trailer. Then there is the trailer and a TV spot for "The Deadly Organ," which is the U.S. version of Vieyra's 1967 film "Placer sangriento." Next we have a trio of film shorts: "Rasputin and the Princess" is the basic stripper and the gorilla routine that we have seen on several SWV offerings, but this time the guy is wearing a black leotard and a mask. "The Girl and the Skeleton" is a naked woman and one of those cardboard skeletons you hang up for Halloween and I would say use your imagination on this one because once you see it you will not have to. Then there is "My Teenage Fallout Queen," which is a parody of a folk song and I have no clue why it is included with the other two because the only thing they have in common is that there is a man (I assume it was a male skeleton) and a woman in each. Go figure. There is also another stellar edition of the Gallery of Exploitation Art Featuring Horrorama Radio Spot Rarities! (forget going to the drive in for a movie; go to see a man buried alive!).

I won't go into the movie, it's a minor exploitation classic and thats the reason why I ordered it.

Why then this review? Because Something Weird Video has switched its production politics. When I ordered the title recently, I was under the impression to get a regular, factory-produced DVD. What I got is a burnt DVD-R. Obviously SWV has switched to the cheaper production-on-demand assembly-line. This should have been communicated to its customers. Also, the DVD-case is the cheapest piece of plastic trash I have ever seen - and I hve seen some. Imho this is an inexcusable deterioration of product quality, I therefore recommend to look elsewhere to get this movie before shelling out hard-earned cash for a DVD-R in a cheapo plastic case.

Oh ho ho wow, where do I begin? We've got a talking, pulsating brain in a jar; a creepy bug-eyed alien with a can of ether; a crazy doctor using sex to obtain immortality. Hmmm...do you think you can you handle The Curious Dr. Humpp?!?

Something Weird Video brings you...well, something way beyond weird. The crazy Dr. Humpp has his alien servant capture some human specimens for his sexual experimentations. His test subjects are comprised of the following: a prostitute, a drunk, a stripper, some lesbians, and some hippies.

I wouldn't necessarily call their confinement a prime example of torture. They are all given certain drugs, aphrodisiacs, plus some sexual stimulants and observed while they have sexual interaction. Sheesh! Being "forced" to fornicate with other gorgeous members of the opposite sex, how cruel! And for the lesbians, they are provided their own special room to get down with their business.

Ahh yes, nymphomaniacs in heat. This has lots of nudity, with the females shown in full form. It nearly gets to the point of excessive smut, but all is forgiven since it's built around such a cool story. The doctor proceeds to drain the couples sex energy? Stealing their mojo, the libido, the life force, the essence. What the French call a certain....I don't know what. Dr. Humpp feeds off their climatic frenzy to stay eternally young. Good times....

The Curious Dr. Humpp is B-grade horror at its absolute finest. A must see for lovers of the wacky demented sexy insane!


"Sex dominates the world...and now I dominate sex!"

There is a funny looking android thing in this film that is so ineptly wrought that it is just fascinating to look at. Is it papeir mache or something else. Is that a cardboard box that the robots head is made of? Who could tell. Wonderfully cheap!