Starring - Karin Schubert (The Panther Squad, Black Venus), Georges Geret (Little Roma, Stranger in the House), and Amidou (Victory, Ronin)
Release Date - 1973
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
I just spent the entire month binging as many horror movies as I could while sneaking in several of the action flicks from the Bloody Legend boxset sent over from Severin/Intervision. I love horror and have built a career out of reviewing horror titles for over 15 years but sometimes I do need a break. That's why I love these boutique labels that not only release horror but other cult and often overlooked films. A few weeks back I received a couple of the new releases from Mondo Macabro which featured a Bollywood horror classic and a few sexploitation films. After my month long horror binge I decided to check out the French erotic thriller The Punishment from director Peirre-Alain Jolivet. I want to thank Mondo Macabro for sending this one over for review.
The film follows a young woman who finds herself bound in a prostitution ring. She is then taken to a homemade dungeon in the basement of a mansion to be disciplined for not doing what was told to her by one of her Johns. She is then subjected to various punishments and sex acts in order to discipline her for not performing.
I kind of knew what I was getting myself into by the name and artwork that was present on the Mondo Macabro release. The film's original title. La Punition, and artwork paints a very straight forward picture which lets you know that the film does focus on the S&M side of sexploitation and have inspired the more popular The Story of O. The acting in this one is surprisingly well done. The characters and their writing is not consistent but it doesn't take away from the film. Some of the characters are rather flat and cliched while others are more developed. This gives the cast a little more to work with and it shows. I liked the acting for the most part but some of the more "graphic" scenes are a bit overacted. The story for this one is pretty straight forward but it is still a fun journey. Honestly, this is one of those films where you know where it is headed but the ride there is still enjoyable. Honestly, it's a nudie flick for those into spankings with some blood. Finally, the film has some blood and minimal effects. This isn't something that really stands out or is memorable. In fact, it does move the story along but it's not something that would need to be in the film. Overall, The Punishment is a surprisingly entertaining early 70s French sexploitation flick. It does try to be a roughie for the most part but fans of these types of films would have seen worse especially from this time. I highly recommend checking out this one on blu from Mondo Macabro.
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