15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
sexploitation? yes. horror film? not really., March 10, 2009
This review is from: Malabimba: The Malicious Whore (DVD)
Bought this movie for $20 somewhere else but i'm not sure if this is the right place to put info for it. The version i bought is from Severin, widescreen, in italian with english subtitles, and says unrated version in front and not rated in back. The cover looks exactly the same as the others with the black background, but this one has a dark red background. The back of the box says it runs 85 minutes. Using the time display on my dvd player, it runs just under 87 minutes(most sites i've read have it running at 88 minutes excluding the hardcore inserts, which makes it break 90+ minutes i think).
Extras include:
* deleted scenes - runs at 15 minutes and are of varying video quality.
* integral version - the option to watch the film with the deleted scenes re-inserted. this version runs 96 minutes. obviously 87 + 15 is not 96 minutes. the deleted scenes include some footage already in the 87 minute version, hence the discrepancy.
* malabimba uncovered - 17 minute featurette with interviews of Mariangela Giordano(the nun in the film), and Franco Villa(the cinematographer, who says there were no hardcore scenes shot for the film).
* trailer - 4 minute trailer that has a few seconds of non-explicit footage that is NOT SEEN in either version on this disc(the death by fellatio scene).
Anyway, it's all kinda confusing to me, but i guess i got the slightly cut version. I could care less about the non-related, x-rated inserts; but the missing minute or so bothers me. I don't know what i'm missing exactly but judging on what's there, it still has a handful of sex scenes, lots of nudity, attractive women, and a few 'thats uncalled for' moments(one invloving a teddy bear).
Besides the missing footage, the most disappointing thing about the film is its lack of scares or atmosphere. If it weren't for the satanic possesion angle of the plotline, i wouldn't even consider it a horror film. As a sexploitation/grindhouse type film, i'd say it's above par. As an exploitation horror, i'd say it's below par. So, if you're not offended by the possible missing minute or so, and are into plotlines that can be summed up in a few words(pubescent, possession, perversion) and mainly just an excuse for deparavity, i can recommend this. 3 1/2 stars for film, rounded up to 4 for extras(count off whatever stars you want for missing footage).
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
sexploitation horror flick., June 26, 2009
This review is from: Malabimba: The Malicious Whore (DVD)
This isn't really a horror film rather it's a sexploitation film with horror elements and it's fun. The Dead spirit of a woman wreaks havoc when she possesses a young girl. Who then seduces people in her family. The severin version has no real porn scenes in it which were edited into some versions. This version only is soft core people pretending to have sex and that's makes it sexploitation all the way. The director is the same man who gave us the classic giallo 'strip nude for your killer". Like many Italian directors he of course had to try his hand at sexploitation and he suceeds here. The horror element is played down in regards to the
sex aspect but if you think about what's happening to the young girl it is horrible. She tries to seduce her father even. We do get nudity here and lots of it but still not the same as what you'd see in a porn movie at all. It's soft core , like a "emmanuele" movie. Which are fun; but this movie caused outrage in it's day unlike those movies. It's part of the horror family though due to it's possession aspects but it's really for fans of sexploitation, which can entertaining in it's own regards.
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