The Sexual Story of O (1982, DVD Review)
aka Historia sexual de O
Writer/Director: Jesus “Jess” Franco
Cast: Alicia Príncipe, Carmen Carrión, Daniel Katz, Mari Carmen Nieto, Mauro Ribera
Severin Films / Colour / 2.35:1 / 16×9 / 92 mins / Not Rated
Reg 0 (ALL) (NTSC) / DVD 5 / Spanish Dolby Digital Mono / English Subtitles / Purchase: Severin Films
Odile is a young naive American who is full of life and sexual energy. Mario and his wife live across from the lovely “O” and fulfill their voyeuristic and exhibitionist fantasies by watching her and making themselves visible to her while they are making love. They soon manipulate her into having a threesome with them and with that, they gain her trust. You see, the couple have a nefarious plans to sell O to the perverted Count and Countess Von Karlstein for their sadistic sexual pleasures.
Mario soon discovers that that he is starting to have feelings for Odile and doesn’t want to sell her but his greedy wife talks him into it. So they invite her on a vacation trip to a beautiful island and she is introduced to the Count and Countess as Mario and his wife’s friends. It isn’t long before they get O drunk until she passes out and they, along with Mario’s wife, take advantage and rape her. Mario leaves because he doesn’t want anything to do with the evil that he knows is coming. O wakes up the next morning and heads to the beach and there she runs into Mario and they declare their love for one another. They are found together bangin’ on the beach and Odile is quickly taken and drugged so that the horrible trio can act out their painful sexual desires on poor little O.
Franco shoots one of his most beautiful films that I’ve seen and tells an erotic and horrifying story in The Sexual Story of O. The first two-thirds of the movie is almost straight, poetic erotica. The sex scenes are not overly graphic but are very sexy in a dysfunctional kind of way. He uses the camera to peep in on the goings on without the viewer feeling too creepy.
The last two-thirds are a terrifying look at the sexual perversions of the sick and twisted. Franco uses weird lighting and color filters to give you a nightmarish, drug-induced look that is very unsettling. Not to mention the effects on the sounds of moaning and screaming taking place. The S&M costumes worn by the perpetrators are harrowing and add to the sense of the hungry sexual predators.
There is also a very interesting 15 minute interview with Jess Franco about how and why he made this movie. He’s very candid and upfront. I think that’s what I like about him. Even with his movies (as uneven as they might be), he makes what he wants, how he wants and with whom he wants. I would recommend this to erotica, S&M and Franco fans. Now I think I will go read Anne Desclos’ The Story of O.
I need to see this one too!!
Good review.