Emanuelle In America (1976)

Laura Gemser is back as that Emmanuelle chick, this time she's a fashion photographer who infiltrates a prostitution/snuff ring ran by a bunch of rich people with some extremely kinky interests. Though I have nothing against director Joe D'Amato, I will admit I was somewhat disappointed by this one. This is a flick with a definite reputation for being one of the sleaziest and just plain morally wrong films of all time, and this reputation is not based on myth. Someone is naked every 30 seconds or so, resulting in both soft and hardcore sex scenes depending on which version of the film you have. This is all fine and dandy, but the problem I have is that even though D'Amato has directed tons of porn, none of the sex stuff in this flick is in the least bit stimulating or much of a turn on. It's all just sort of, well, bland. Besides the sex scenes and frequent naked asses, that's only the tip of the proverbial sleaze iceberg folks. If you have a copy of the rare Venezuelan print (thanks Video Junkie), which is the hard-core version, you'll get to see the infamous bestiality scene where a chick jerks off a horse and, well, did I say this one was sleazy? The hard-core version also contains scenes of some ultra-realistic snuff footage, which is indeed pretty rough stuff to watch. There are those out there that swear it's real, and of course D'Amato says its fake...it's sort of one of those urban legends of exploitation cinema. Fake or not, it's pretty disturbing stuff to watch. Various women are gang raped, have their breasts sliced off, are branded with hot pokers, and even the old meat hook in the crotch gag is used. Like I said, it's rough stuff. As for the film itself, the story and dialogue are of course ridiculous and completely laughable. There is some fun to be had with much of the dialogue, as it is "way out there" stuff. You know, typically I enjoy these flicks as much as any other jaded bastard, but I just couldn't get into this one for whatever reason. I actually fell asleep in several spots, and that's a rarity for me. It is a curiosity item and I guess a must for sleazophiles, but I found it to be a rather boring and boneheaded affair. Make that a rather sleazy boneheaded and boring affair.