Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975)

The commonly made observation that a particular old film today looks tame by modern standards always depresses me, representing as it does a reflection on how debased modern tastes have become: and becoming more debased by the minute. For that reason it comes as something of a relief that 'Ilsa' still looks pretty revolting today, even if it doesn't begin to compare with the sheer relentless nastiness of nihilistic shockers like Kōji Wakamatsu's 'Violated Angels' (1967) and Pier Paolo Pasolini's 'Salo' (1975), and is partially rescued by the childish sense of glee that makes the films of the late Herschell Gordon Lewis bearable.

Two distinguished Polish feature films have depicted the experience of women held in Nazi concentration camps, Wanda Jakubowska's 'The Last Stage' (1948) and 'Andrzej Munk's 'Passenger' (1963). Over the years there has been occasional trash with pretensions set against the backdrop of The Holocaust, such as Roger Vadim's soporific 'Le Vice et la Vertu' (1963) and Liliana Cavani's sleazy 'The Night Porter' (1974). And then there is simple trash like 'Ilsa She Wolf of the SS'.

Less cheesy looking than I had anticipated, with professional-looking photography, generally good acting and unpleasantly convincing special effects by Joe Blaso, the film is shot on the sets left over from the production of the TV series 'Hogan's Heroes'. 'Camp Nine' only seems to be holding about a dozen prisoners, and George 'Buck' Flower as Dr.Binz could easily have wandered in from an episode of the original series.

The character of Ilsa herself is loosely based upon the genuine antics of Ilse Koch (1906-1967), the wife of the commandant of Buchenwald best remembered for her taste in lampshades. She makes love to male inmates like a praying mantis until the unprecedented staying power of - guess what! - an American, sends her to hitherto undreamt of heights of ecstasy and exposes her Achilles heel. Ilsa has a theory that women are capable of enduring more pain than men; a theory that if proved will result in better use of the so far underused resource of German womanhood on behalf of the war effort. Nobody who has read the relevant section in William Shirer's 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' will, alas, be surprised at anything they come across in this film (such as the decompression chamber, immersion in water and deliberate infection of prisoners in order to test medical treatments). The sequence when Ilsa is alone with The General (as she refers to him throughout) also indicates that someone involved in the film was aware of the gossip concerning the Führer's own personal sexual predilections.

Set in the very last days the Third Reich in 1945, it goes without saying that no serious attempt has been made to get the period right, but even so Ilse's rather ugly seventies hairstyle is distractingly anachronistic, especially worn loose as it is when she's in uniform (all her other female staff have their hair more plausibly tied back in buns) and if she'd just let it down occasionally during her more - er - unrestrained moments the contrast could have had more visual impact. The late Anne Ridler looked more authentic to the period - and was far hotter - in her brief role as an SS torturer in '633 Squadron' (1964).

Many will find simply discussing such a disreputable trivialisation of Nazi atrocities so nonchalantly grossly offe

Fmovies: "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS" is a superior exploitation film from director Don Edmonds. Despite being over 30 years old, the movie still has the ability to shock with its unblinking scenes of torture.

Dyanne Thorne is excellent in the title role as the mature SS officer, Ilsa. Thorne is chillingly ruthless and believable in the movie. In the ageist Hollywood scheme of things, it's refreshing to see an older lady cast in a lead role, particularly one involving some candid scenes.

"Ilsa", despite scenes of gratuitous violence and torture, is a fun and entertaining movie. The score is effective and the production, despite its limited budget, has a polished feel to it.

Gorehounds should find the scenes of bloodshed satisfactory but the violence may appear tame in the age of "August Underground" and "Guinea Pig" excesses. In terms of wartime experimentation, those desiring an insight into history would be best checking out Tun Fei Mou's excellent "Men Behind the Sun".

Leaner and meaner than "Salon Kitty", this is a fast-moving exploitation film that genre fans should enjoy. 9 out of 10.

Here it is:the nastiest and the most notorious "Ilsa" installment.Dyanne Thorne shines as a Nazi bitch Ilsa.It's a real pleasure to see her naked in several soft core sex scenes.There are also some nasty torture scenes-the film is so beyond any taste that it's impossible not to like it.The most disturbing sequence is definitely the infamous dinner scene.There is a party which includes killing a female prisoner by tying a noose around her neck and placing her on a block of ice.Of course some people may consider this film sickening,but fans of extreme stuff will certainly enjoy this exploitation classic.10 out to 10.Hail Ilsa!

Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS fmovies. An exploitation classic that is a surprisingly enjoyable film. Ilsa, the Arian commandant of a secret medical facility, sets out to prove to her doubting superiors that women are able to endure greater pain and suffering than men. She does this by torturing the female inmates in increasingly diabolical ways, while trying to break the American 'sexual freak of nature', Wolfe. Cue lots of gratuitous nudity, castration, strangulation, boiling alive, magnificent pre-implant breasts, softcore sex and gang rape, golden showers, and general bloody mayhem. The German accents are hilarious, and the acting barely one step up from Hershael Gordon Lewis and early John Waters. It even has the ubiquitous 'moral message' at the beginning. But unlike so many of these movies, 'Ilsa' manages to avoid descending into tedious repetition half way through, and builds to a brilliantly ludicrous climax in which an entire camp is gunned down by machine gun fire, without a drop of blood being spilt. Brilliant.

Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS certainly deserves its reputation as a nasty film. Although it is thoroughly cheesy, poorly acted, routinely directed, and extremely camp at times, the film still packs a punch due to its ability to offend and disgust at every turn; the depiction of Nazi atrocities in the name of entertainment is hard to defend (so I'm not even going to try) and this movie pulls no punches with its well executed graphic violence and horrific torture scenes.

Ilsa, played with gusto by chesty blonde Dianne Thorne, is the Kommandant at a concentration camp where she oversees medical research performed on the female prisoners. Meanwhile, she uses the males to try and satisfy her sexual needs (and when they fail, she has them castrated!). It is up to German/American stud Wolfe to lead the prisoners in a revolt against the guards whilst simultaneously gaining Ilsa's trust by rogering her senseless at every opportunity.

This notorious sleaze classic packs so much depravity into its 96 minutes running time (uncut), that lovers of exploitation will have a field day. From the opening scene in which Ilsa's sex slave is dragged back to the camp to be emasculated, to the ending in which the prisoners exact bloody retribution, sex and violence pervades every frame. The effective make-up FX by Joe Blasco are repugnant enough for hardened gore-hounds and fans of the female form will be delighted by the copious amounts of nudity (nearly every woman gets naked at some point in the film!). And lets not forget the scene in which Ilsa pees on the Nazi general...

Thirty years after it was made, Ilsa still has the ability to shock—the mark of a true exploitation classic!

I completely see why some people really like this movie (director Quentin Tarantino among those that do).

The movie may have been slightly cringe-worthy when I saw it (mostly the way the director relishes in the dirty art he has created), but in retrospect is fluff compared to a lot of the movies I've seen since then. Even though this movie is pure, unadulterated carnage and heinous acts throughout the entire course of the film, it had a redeeming quality.It's hard to pinpoint what made this movie so appealing to me. It was a perfect emblem of the pure sleaziness and overall decadent atmosphere of the 70's smut prevalent at this time. Like all grindhouse films, it appeals to the baser senses - filled with excess violence (grizzly and well-done) and sex. And it's shot amazingly well for such a poor film. I expected it to be grainy and imperceptible.

There's an element of immorality felt when watching films like this, but it's a healthy outlet to sublimate impure thoughts. It's sensationalist, yes. Probably no artistic merit either. But it's an appetizer of the 70's Perversia. I do think it's mostly meant to be titillating and gross for the sake of being gross. It's so blatantly in-your-face tasteless and bad that I love it. Stay away from it if you don't have a knack for the depraved.