Laura Gemser stars in this story-driven melodrama, as a woman who gets revenge on her abusive husband, by hiring a hit-man to kill him. This is an unofficial entry of the "Emanuelle" series, but definitely one of the better ones, and a good film in it's own right. Gemser is still Emanuelle in this, but she is no longer the photo Journalist, but rather a much abused wife of a very wealthy industrialist. The title suggests that Emanuelle is cruel or evil, but in fact the husband did deserve to die, as he was brutally raping and torturing his wife, and most likely would eventually have killed her. She is left to care for her 14 year-old daughter, who has inherited her fathers fortune. Too young to care for her estate, Emanuelle is assigned her guardian. Of course things go wrong when Mario the hit-man turns up to blackmail Emanuelle, who really seems to care for her daughter Livia. Meanwhile Livia meets Mike, a boy a couple years her senior, and the two begin a very sweet and innocent affair. Mike, played by the beautiful Vagelis Varten, seems also to love the young girl, but neither he nor Emanuelle can protect her from the corruption that surrounds her. Livia eventually loses her innocence to Mario, when the man brutally rapes her. To be sure this is entertaining drama, and a tale filled with lurid suspense, but one problem is that the film is too ambitious for it's own good, and introduces too many characters to be able to develop any one to any great length. And this is one case where the sex scenes were actually too frequent, and slowed down the story as it unfolded. But this is an "Emanuelle" film, and this is to be expected. i had hoped for a little more time to be spent on Livia's and Mike's blossoming love, as it was the sweetest part of the film, and Vagelis Varten should have been given more screen time. But it is always a pleasure to see Laura Gemser in romantic scenes with her real-life husband Gabriele Tinti. She is noticeably more comfortable doing erotic scenes when they are with him. 'Emanuelle-Queen of Sados' must surely be controversial, as the girl who plays Livia couldn't be a minute over 14 years old, and yet she appears totally nude throughout the film, and is featured in the disturbing rape at the climax. I could imagine this film being banned in certain parts of the world! The music score is nice enough, fitting the beautiful Cypress locale, but Nico fidenco's score is missed here. I have a Greek DVD, which seems to be uncut, although there is one short scene of a woman masturbating by the pool, that is optically blurred. This is a must for fans of Laura Gemser, as she is given a lot of room to act here, and is the main player. A fun, trashy film, recommended!
Review of Emanuelle, Queen of Sados
