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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stylish, erotic horror film of the 1970s, May 16, 2006
Some fans of the European horror genre love this movie. Those used to the faster-paced American horror movies probably won't, since it does move rather languidly especially in the first third or so. The film is not as well known as some others largely because of being banned in its own country, France, which pretty much killed any chance it had for success there.
The original title was Les Week-ends Malefiques du Comte Zaroff (The Malefic Weekends of Count Zaroff), but this re-release with dubbed English was retitled Seven Women for Satan, a title which makes no sense whatever. There are indeed seven lovely young women, but they have virtually nothing to do with each other and nothing in the film has anything to do with Satan.
While some reviewers have called this a remake of the 1932 film The Most Dangerous Game, it actually is a sequel to that rather than a remake. The protagonist is the son (played by Michel Lemoine, who also directed) of the Count Zaroff of the earlier film. The newer Count Zaroff on horseback chasing a naked girl through the fields and woods in the first few minutes of the film is really the only thing that follows the theme of the earlier movie. That looks a bit corny to us now because more or less the same thing has been done so many times, perhaps most memorably in The Naked Prey. But after that the movie goes its own original way.
It is an exploitation film, yes, in that there's a good deal of full nudity and sexual content. But it's really more than just an exploitation film and shouldn't be dismissed as just that. I would strongly recommend that anyone who gets the DVD watches the movie first, then looks into the extras on the disc which include an interview with Lemoine and a lot of other material that helps one understand the film better. Then perhaps watch the film a second time. I did, and found it more coherent and not so slow-moving the second time.
There is no insert of any kind included with the disc, but the extras on it more than make up for that. The transfer looked very good to me, except for some brief speckling in one scene about a third of the way through. If there were any other visual problems I just didn't notice them. It's enhanced for wide screen and has closed captioning in English if you need it, which does not always match the dubbed English but is close enough.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting at least, March 11, 2005
This review is from: SEVEN WOMEN FOR SATAN (DVD)
Kevin Jones is spot-on in his review of this film, it is somewhat slow paced and the film transfer quality is slightly disappointing. Like many similar European films, the plot is abstract enough to be original, yet thin enough to be seen as no more than an excuse to link some exotic exploitation scenes together. The movie trades on the vision of its key scenes, most memorable including the woman chased through the field, the erotic use of champagne, the two way mirror and the couple who meet their fate in the torture chamber. The movie is well edited and acted and Howard Vernon pops up again as the mysterious butler. Overall the movie has a very voyeuristic feel about it, interesting to look at, but too slow paced to really draw anyone in to it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Obscure French Sex/Horror Flik Resurrected, November 16, 2011
The Mondo Macabro DVD authoring gang have unearthed another 1970's sexploitation rarity with the French film "Seven Women for Satan" AKA "Le Week-ends Malefiques du Count Zaroff". The disk includes some interesting behind the scenes info in its' 'extras' section that does much to explain the film's background and obscurity. Directed by, and starring, Euro genre film star Michel Lemoine in 1974 - the film apparently ran afoul of the French censorship board and received a 'Restricted' rating that spelled doom for it at the box office and it virtually disappeared from public view - until now re-released on DVD. If one reads the 'notes' accompanying the film there is a lot of discussion about the multi-level symbolism inherent in the plot - relating it to evolving socio-economic trends in Europe at the time of its' production. However, just to watch the movie 'cold', one would certainly not be aware of any such underlying 'political relevancy' as it plays pretty much as a straight up sexy-horror romp. The story line is a little confusing on first viewing as there are aspects of dream fantasy intermixed with actuality in the main character's life, and sort of a sub-plot of the principal character being manipulated by his 'faithful' servant to re-live the evil deeds of his predecessor, the 'origiinal' Count Zaroff - who apparently had a rep for raping and torturing women. What makes the rather confusing 'horror' elements worth sitting through is the cavalcade of gorgeous French damsels that cross the Count's path and manage to lose their clothes in the process. The flik starts right off during the opening credits with a scene of the Count, mounted on a galloping horse, running down a naked girl until she is forced to leap to her death. This turns out to be a fantasy/dream sequence, but in the next scene the Count is driving back to his country chalet and picks up a cute hitch-hiker.. She ends up spending the night and participating in another of his fantasies (?) being tied up in front of a fireplace while he pours champagne over her naked body & makes love to her. The following day he is driving to his newly purchased castle with the hitch hiker still in tow when he seems to lose his grip on fantasy VS reality and ends up assaulting the girl then 'accidentally' running her over with his car and killing her. From there things get ever more out of hand as he arrives at his castle and his 'man servant' reveals that he is trying to fulfill some promise made to the young Count's debauched father to indoctrinate his son into a similar life of evil. Circumstances deliver several comely young women into the wicked sphere of the Count's realm and, typically after some nudity & sex, all are dispatched in one grusome way or another. The Count is also fixated on the spirit of a beautiful long dead woman (played by the exquisite Joelle Coeur) and it was apparently one of the scenes of his idolizng her corpse that got the film 'censored' - for implied necrophelia (among other things). As previously noted, the film was directed by Michel Lemoine - who also plays the troubled young Count Zaroff with a studied intensity. He was apparently a 'friend' of, and influenced by, fellow French erotic horror director Jean Rollin and 'Seven Women For Satan' has certain elements that are decidedly reminiscent of Rollin's work - especially the inclusion of lots of naked girls to keep things moving along. In the final analysis I'd have to say that it pretty much IS the naked girls that make this film worth watching - and you certainly get your money's worth on that front. The film is in widescreen color with an English language dub, and has a goodly helping of informative 'extras' to lend more depth to the effort than it probably actually deserves. With, or without, its' pretensions of redeeming relevance, it is a spirited and enjoyable watch.
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