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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ilsa's back!, September 24, 2001
Dyanne Thorn returns in the storming sequel to "She Wolf", and it seems to have been given a budget boost, as the setting moves to an Arabian oils sheik's kingdom in the middle of the desert, where Ilsa presides over his palace as right hand security guard and keeper of his harem of kidnapped beauties. The film doen't quite match the excesses of the first film in bad taste, and the camp comedy elements have all been increased, but there are still many gruesome scenes as the harem women are abused and tortured for various reasons, including a pretty revolting sub-plot to assasinate the sheik by deploying a bomb placed inside a womans body that will detonate during sex! Uniform fans will be pleased to see Ilsa replendent in her khaki shorts and boots, but she does not have the same prescence as in the previous film because she is herself punished at one point by despotic sheik, and its a shame to see that the film recycles her weakness of falling in love with a hunky American, which once again leads to her downfall. However, this film is still pretty extreme, but with a slant more towards sexual perversions than violence, and without the Nazi theme of it's predecessor its a lot less sleazy and offensive. Still way outside of the mainstream, though (and a hell of a lot better than the third film "Ilsa Tigress of Siberia", which has a cracking first 30 minutes, but disappoints immediately afterwards). A recommended buy for fans of the first movie, as well as one for any cult enthusiast.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the others, June 11, 2000
Number 2 in the Ilsa series (with everyone's favorite 42" busted torturer inexplicably transposed in the desert lands of Arabia) is a slight disappointment, especialy when compared to She-Wolf or Tigress of Siberia. It does not retain as many campy elements to make the film as amusing (if not disturbing) as the two other installments (I exclude Jess Franco's entry in the series since it was NOT originaly a ILSA film and was in fact called "Greta, the Mad Butcher"!). Some over-the-top scenes are still included (that out-of-control dildo is just too much) and there is slightly more sex then in "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS", but the slow pacing and boring plot make it hard to sit through. Most will be tempted to "fast-forward" until the next shocking scene. Dyanne Thorne is still amazing in this film, doing what she does best: over-acting (I just love those facial expressions) and showing off her cleavage. Regardless of the down sides, this film is still definately worth the purchase, especialy if you're planning on buying the whole "trilogy". One question remains however: Where is the third installement of the film; "Ilsa, Tigress of Siberia" which is much more bizarre, absurd and hilarious then this one?
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
That kooky Ilsa!, December 2, 2004
The first film in the Ilsa series, "Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS," stands as one of the most horrific exploitation films ever made. Seriously. Even I blanched over the atrocities depicted in the movie. Moreover, it's a rare bird as far as films go because it never loses its power to shock. In fact, I think the first Ilsa movie becomes even more disgusting with each subsequent viewing. Apparently, audiences flipped their cookies after seeing the movie at the drive-in. Word of mouth led to bigger ticket sales, which in turn led to thoughts about a possible sequel. If you've seen "She-Wolf," you know the idea of a sequel is laughable since Ilsa took a header at the end of the movie. But the wacky world of cinema knows no bounds when the scent of money is in the air, and even the demise of a primary character won't prevent Hollywood hacks from revisiting old ground. Remember the Bobby Ewing dream sequence imbroglio? If they can get away with something that outrageous, resurrecting the deceased Ilsa presents no problem at all. Thus a sequel to the first "Ilsa" film arrived on the scene in 1976 amidst great fanfare. Two other films would follow before the series ground to an ignominious end. Thanks to DVD, Ilsa has returned from the grave to haunt us once again.
"Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks" takes place somewhere in the Middle East quite a few years after World War II. This time around, star Dyanne Thorne isn't strutting around in a German uniform. Instead, she wears khaki garb in the service of the wealthy but morally depraved Sheik El Sharif (Victor Alexander). The oil wealth in this little kingdom gives the monarch plenty of time to indulge in decidedly unsavory activities, and it is Ilsa who serves as his main honcho. She procures the girls, develops the torture implements, and helps run a tight ship around the palace with the help of Velvet (Marilyn Joi) and Satin (Tanya Boyd), two scantily clad thugettes with some mean karate skills. The latest scheme cooked up by Ilsa and the sheik involves kidnapping several wealthy white women (one played by Uschi Digard) in order to make some money in a slavery racket. They figure they can sell these women to some of the powerful local sheiks and thus keep El Sharif's enemies pacified. But just as Ilsa's powerful appetites for men undid her in the first film, the same thing happens here when a spy named Commander Adam (Mark Thayer) of the U.S. Navy pops in to say hello.
Adam's ulterior goal is to infiltrate the sheik's palace and overthrow him so the western powers can gain control of the kingdom's plentiful oil supply. That the sheik has oil to spare is made abundantly clear when we see some of his goons douse a poor chap in the black stuff and light him up (I didn't think you could light oil this easily, but what do I know?). Anyway, Adam shows up with the Henry Kissinger-like diplomat Kaiser (Wolfgang Roehm) and sets about seducing the beautiful Ilsa. His assignment is a difficult one considering that Ilsa puts in a lot of time in the torture chamber coming up with delightfully horrific methods of execution. We see Ilsa preside over a hand liberated from a wrist, ants used to grim effect, eye gougings, and several other atrocities best left unmentioned here. She also spends a few minutes with the sheik laughing at the unfortunate wretch--a young kid who just happens to be the rightful heir to the throne--locked away in a greasy dungeon. The whole thing wraps up in a rather ham handed way as a violent coup involving lots of cheesy gunplay and explosions topples El Sharif. A dreadful twist awaits Ilsa at the end of the film, a fate she definitely deserves considering her penchant for absolute brutality and her inability to cast aside Adam even after his motivations become painfully clear.
If you saw "She-Wolf" and swore you would never watch another Ilsa film again, consider changing your mind. "Harem Keeper" is nowhere near as depraved as the first entry in the series. I know that's not saying much, but this movie is definitely tame in comparison. Most of the horrific activities occur off camera, and the ones we do see look rather cheesy thanks to mediocre special effects work. Thorne once again works wonders as the incredibly gorgeous Ilsa. For an actress who rarely rose above strictly B budget filmmaking, she sure knows how to give a character dimension. Ilsa can be seductive one minute and deadly dangerous the next; Thorne pulls it off believably and looks like she's having fun at the same time. Sadly, the rest of the cast turns in largely pedestrian performances. Mark Thayer couldn't deliver a convincing line if his life depended on it, and Henry Kissinger might want to consider suing Wolfgang Roehm for character defamation. Only Victor Alexander as El Sharif comes close to matching Thorne's onscreen antics. Serious film fanatics will probably enjoy Velvet and Satin the most, though. Didn't I see two characters eerily similar to them in a James Bond film?
Just like the "She-Wolf" DVD, "Harem Keeper" contains several intriguing supplements, the most important of which is a commentary with Thorne, director Don Edmonds, and minor co-star Howard Maurer. In my experience, it's rare to hear such a lively commentary track as this one. Most audio comments included on DVDs take the film very seriously, but here the participants seem to have a lot of fun snickering at the picture's obvious flaws. Fans of low budget cinematic crud simply must add the Ilsa films to their collections. Thanks, Anchor Bay!
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