SBS OnDemand do offer some classic cult fare and old gems to stream, not a world away from the great tradition of Saturday Night Cult Movies (though you do have to deal with a few ads that usually pop up during the middle of scenes annoyingly, making me nostalgic for how network TV cut ads into movies they screened; at least they waited for a scene to end!). Browsing around late one Saturday night, I watched She Killed In Ecstasy (1971), reentering the sleazy world of Jess/Jesús Franco. I’d only seen his film Vampyros Lesbos for the first time awhile back and what do you know, this was shot around the same time using the same actors and locations. Soledad Miranda stars as the ‘She’ of the title whose happy existence living with her doctor hunk husband on an island goes to ruin. The doctor was experimenting with animal embryos to help human resistance against diseases etc but is disbarred from the medical community by a board whose members taunt him to the point of suicide. Before you can say “Obvious influence on Kill Bill”, Soledad vows revenge on all the board members, basically seducing them and killing them in the bedroom one by one. That’s basically it; the main tension comes from which wig and outfit she’ll wear for her victim. It’s low-budget exploitation but there’s a definite enjoyable style on offer from the groovy soundtrack, 1970s fashions, cheesy cliches and slow zoom in shots; the moment where Soledad stares at the camera naked in a darkly lit room going insane is something else, quite striking! Not for everyone, but if you like 1970s era erotic euro thrillers, it’s recommended.
VHS Tracking 