After not having watched it for MANY years, I recently dug out my rickety-rackety old copy of this multi-titled Spanish sexploitation horror potboiler- though I say 'horror' in the broadest possible sense of the term, a more accurate description being 'sweaty interpersonal saucy Eurodrama with added violence' Indeed, it's pretty much the aforementioned violence that substantiates its inclusion on this site, as we see David Hemmings' clearly unhinged landowner 'Juan' [and no, his surname isn't 'Kerr'] ensnare, manipulate, abduct and ultimately torture his pliant serving girl Lola [Andrea Rau] And she's far from the first.
In this respect, one might well be tempted to see BEYOND EROTICA as a more explicit, sexually driven companion piece to Ray Austin's Hammer-impersonating Sith Iffriken sleazefest HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD [also 1974] : its 'rich lord interferes with the natives' theme also makes it an indirect descendant of AIP's last-ditch post-Corman Poe cash-in THE OBLONG BOX [1969] and maybe even the wonderfully inept VOODOO WOMAN [1957] one of several films featuring Tom Conway flexing his moustache muscles amidst some unnamed sub-tropical anti-paradise. I guess such tomfoolery must have been popular back then.
Unfortunately, however, it's nowhere near as entertaining as any of them- and despite sterling efforts on the part of Alida Valli [among others] to up the dramatic ante, the finished product still emerges as a bit of a mess. Granted, it deserves at least SOME recognition for being [correct me if I'm wrong] the first ever 'torture porn' film to be made in Europe, albeit at a generous stretch: and 'The Hem' [as we used to call Hemmings back on the old BHF boards] is always entertaining to watch. But I don't think I can be arsed to watch it a third time. Apart from anything else, I have thirty squillion other titles to sift through! Wish me luck.
In this respect, one might well be tempted to see BEYOND EROTICA as a more explicit, sexually driven companion piece to Ray Austin's Hammer-impersonating Sith Iffriken sleazefest HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD [also 1974] : its 'rich lord interferes with the natives' theme also makes it an indirect descendant of AIP's last-ditch post-Corman Poe cash-in THE OBLONG BOX [1969] and maybe even the wonderfully inept VOODOO WOMAN [1957] one of several films featuring Tom Conway flexing his moustache muscles amidst some unnamed sub-tropical anti-paradise. I guess such tomfoolery must have been popular back then.
Unfortunately, however, it's nowhere near as entertaining as any of them- and despite sterling efforts on the part of Alida Valli [among others] to up the dramatic ante, the finished product still emerges as a bit of a mess. Granted, it deserves at least SOME recognition for being [correct me if I'm wrong] the first ever 'torture porn' film to be made in Europe, albeit at a generous stretch: and 'The Hem' [as we used to call Hemmings back on the old BHF boards] is always entertaining to watch. But I don't think I can be arsed to watch it a third time. Apart from anything else, I have thirty squillion other titles to sift through! Wish me luck.
statistics: Posted by Wyngarde — 5:34 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 0 — Views 167