Cinema Crazed

1977

Rated: R for graphic violence, gore, torture, and strong sexual content.

Genre: Exploitation Thriller Suspense

Directed By: Jean LaFleur

Running Time: 1:31

Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.

Review Date: 4/15/07

Special Features:
OOP

ILSA, TIGRESS OF SIBERIA aka TIGRESS

Ilsa and the great Dyanne Thorne are at it once again, this time in the sub-zero wastelands of Siberia. Ilsa is once again untouched and hardly a day old from her time as a World War II concentration camp owner, and grooming harem girls. Now, with LaFleur’s often sloppy direction, she helps run a labor camp in the forests of Siberia teamed with a group of violent soldiers, a cannibal tiger, and plenty of snow. Ilsa is once again the devil in sheep’s clothing, the egomaniacal merciless monster that dispenses of men in her own ways. She bashes their heads in, lets them be eaten alive by her pet tiger, and uses them as toys leaving them in the snow to freeze to death. Unlike “Haremkeeper for the Oil Shieks,” this sequel is a much better entry.

Not only are the violence and sexual content much more in keeping of “She-Wolf of the SS,” but the film simply doesn’t shy away from the graphic content that made the first and last film so memorable. This time, Ilsa experiences the same difficult prisoners she did in the former. There is a rebellious young man that refuses to be broken under her torture, and her prison is slowly falling under her grasp. As usual, Ilsa’s fall is her ego and Dyanne Thorne has a blast as the monstrous owner of the labor camp.

LaFleur takes an odd turn in the second half moving from a frigid prison to Canada where Ilsa has now suddenly hidden out among a bordello, and she’s confronted with someone from her past that happens upon her. What begins as a typical Ilsa movie then segues into a more action oriented crime drama in which Ilsa is intent on sealing all ties to her past, with her group of man servants at her sides. LaFleur not only provides us with an exploitation film, but he also trails into an all out surreal mystery with 3D illusions, and brainwashing. As usual, much of Ilsa’s world revolves around objectifying men, as well as making them suffer as much as she can. She drowns a few, leaves many to the tooth and claw of her tiger, and uses electricity to her advantage. Thorne is always fun to watch in this role, and really will burn herself into the collective memories of many male audience members.

A much better sequel in the "Ilsa" series than "Haremkeeper of the Oil Shieks" that reclaims its original roots. Gore, torture, and passionate sex scenes are all present and accounted for and Thorne has a blast in the skin of ilsa. "Tigress" is a worthier more ambitious sequel than the others.

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