Red Roses of Passion

Director - Joseph W. Sarno (The Pink Clam, Porked!)
Starring - Judson Todd (Anything for Money, Deep Inside), Jean James, and Carl Holleck (Naked Frog, The Swap and How They Make It)
Release Date - 1966
Genre - Drama
Tagline - "A picture...that dares delve and dissect a very unusual facet of love and life"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Vinegar Syndrome rarely lets me down. Hell, you know you can put all your faith in a company that released Demon Wind in blu.  Their releases of long forgotten horror and exploitation flick is unrivaled in the movie industry.  While most of the other movie companies fight for rights to classic horror films to release them on yet another format, Vin Syn searched the globe for films people don't remember watching at the drive-in because they were stoned or was trying to get laid.  These films are classic in their own rights and have not seen a physical release in decades if they ever were released.  Recently I reviewed the fantastic Psychos in Love from Vin Syn and decided to keep it going with another one of their releases.  This time I went with the 1966 sexploitation cult flick Red Roses of Passion.  Thanks Vin Syn for sending this one my way.

     The film follows Carla who lives with her aunt and cousin after her parents pass away.  She is a modern woman who likes to live in the moment.  Her aunt can't stand the fact she brings guys over and is often shaming her in front of her guests.  She becomes frustrated with her life and her friends invites her over to check out a group she is a part of.  She has to wear lace panties and she witnesses women become sexually enthralled after rubbing a rose.  She decides to use the rose to her advantage and have one delivered to her aunt and cousin every night to weaken them but what she doesn't know is that there is something far more sinister going on.

     The artwork for this one really intrigued me.  The title put me in mind that I was going to watch a standard sexploitation flick like the many currently available from Vin Syn.  However, the bloody girl on the bottom and the synopsis on the back made me think this was more than that.  The film was definitely more than your standard sexploitation flick but there was several aspects that was severely underutilized.  The acting in this one is not the best I've seen.  The cast works very well together but they have a difficult time creating personalities for their characters.  Everyone on screen is bland for the most part.  Very flat and one dimensional.  The story for this one is great.  I really enjoyed the sex cult with the hidden agenda.  Sadly, this is not used as much as I would have liked.  That was a very powerful angle in the film that was not touched upon as much as one would expect.  The revenge on the aunt and cousin is funny to an extent but does weigh the film down somewhat.  Personally, I would have loved more cult and less revenge subplot.  Finally, this isn't the bloody flick you are looking for.  In fact, there is not really any blood in the film.  If you want something bloody check out Psychos in Love.  Overall, Red Roses of Passion is a surprisingly fun piece of sleazy cinema.  The story could have been so much more but the film entertains just the way it is.  Check it out.