Customer Reviews

Ilsa - Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks

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

 

 

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.

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?

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!

Doesn't pack quite the same punch as the first film, but worth a look. Realizing the camp value of the first film, Edmonds decided to just go with it in this film(he even says this on the commentary). Harem Keeper has a tad bit more plot(just a tad) than She-Wolf and a tad bit more of a budget(just a tad, mind you), but that doesn't necessarily make a better movie. This sequel, like the Leprechaun series, pretends that the previous film didn't exist and just plops Ilsa(who died in the previous film with NO way of surviving that gunshot) into another time and place. I hardly think you can criticize trivial things like continuity in an Ilsa film however. Dyanne Thorne is looking even sexier in this film with a new hairdo and uniform. I tell ya she can be my harem keeper any day. This movie goes more for the sex angle than violence, but there's still bits of violence thrown in for good measure. In fact, I don't think there's one scene in this film without a topless woman(minus the scenes with the two guys in the airplane of course). This one's a nice little time capsule of forgotten 70s drive-in cinema and worth checking out for a laugh or two.

Ms. Thorne is back as "Ilsa Hareem Keeper of the Oil Shieks",
this is another campy and enjoyable, ride with the Queen of
S and M domination. This was a real opener for myself who thought hed seen it all in horror, but no, as goes with the 1970's there were so many exploitation flicks out there, some
good and bad, that many classics like this get overlooked.

Thorne who died the first time playing "Ilsa" in "Shewolf
of the SS" is written back with her familiar lesbian naked
bodyguards overseeing the mansion of a maniacal oil shiek whose
form of "justice" means murder and torture for his own pleasure.

An American is sent to infiltrate the Ilsa camp and finds
himself in a world of sex, murder and mayhem.

Too explicit the famous torture scenes but they will make
you squirm and the budget and effects arent bad.

The Special Edition DVD has the rarely seen trailer, commentary
and a talent bios on the movie and director.

The bios section is pretty good too. Thorne describes has
its been a blessing and curse to play ILSA so check it out.

Once again Dyanne Thorne, the busty "She Wolf of the SS" is up to her old tricks (torture, S&M sex, bad acting). This time she's the harem keeper for a psycho oil sheik in some unkown Arab country. Let's get real, the "Ilsa" series main attraction is for Ms. Thorne to display her amazing body in tight fitting outfits and/or totally nude (although she is upstaged in that department by two athletic body guards who wrestle naked). On the plus side (if you're a guy), you get to feast your eyes on numerous naked women with truly standout figures. On the negative side, most of them get tortured in some idiotic plot involving spys, oil rights and a missing heir. The torture scenes were (I guess) an attempt at kink, but come off as just sick. The acting goes from campy to wooden, and the sex scenes (which must have been hot stuff back in the early 70's)are lame. All in all, be ready to use the 'fast forward' button.

Definitely a step-down from "She-Wolf" in terms of thrills and sleaze, "Harem Keeper" is still a worthy sequel that delivers some gruesome moments and some campiness. The two topless black chicks are definitely a highlight of the film. This DVD is the first time the movie has ever been officially available uncut (the Videatrics VHS was missing some of the sex scenes in favor of gore and the American Video VHS was vice-versa missing gore in favor of the sex) and it looks great in this widescreen presentation. Once again, Anchor Bay serves up the original trailer plus another halfway interesting commentary track featuring Thorne and Edmonds. If you're an Ilsa fan, this is a must purchase...others may get somewhat bored between the sleazy scenes.

While I am glad to have this installment in my collection, it lacks the punch in the gut that Ilsa She Wolf Of The SS has! In this one Ilsa is oh so weak and the violence is minimal!Ilsa's two sidekicks steal the show and while it is worth owning, it does NOT live up to the controversial first installment! I myself would pay no heed to anyone else's review, but all I can say is unless you are collector like me you're gonna be dissappointed!

Bereft of the SALOesque resonances of SHE WOLF OF THE SS, HAREM KEEPER is far more reminiscent of pre-porn nudies like director Don Edmonds was generating for the Pussycat chain at the end of the sixties - some features he shot in a single day. Not written by Jonah Royston this time, it's a Langston Stafford script - likely a nudie associate of Edmonds. It has that porno idiocy with a less edgy violence that winds up just being dreary. Softcore that makes you forget you're seeing an overground picture and leaves you waiting for the money shot. And there just isn't one. How weirdly appropriate that Edmonds' later legacy involves producer credits for Tarantino's TRUE ROMANCE script and his PULP FICTION writing partner's project, Roger Avery's KILLING ZOE.

You will feel really foolish if you waste $30 on this waste of plastic.
If you are curious, you can rent this, you'll probably still regret wasting your time on it though.

This is cheesy beyond cheese. It's not gore, its not s&m, its not even cheap comedy.

Not worth the time it takes to watch...even if you fast forward through it!