This Jess Franco/Erwin C. Dietrich collaboration is sometimes considered a very loose continuation of the 'Ilsa' series that began two years earlier with 'Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS', also starring Dyanne Thorne in the title role. As you may expect, this is also known as a variety of titles: 'Greta, the Mad Butcher', 'Ilsa: Absolute Power', and 'Wanda, the Wicked Warden'. These changes in title, and in the name of the lead character, suggest this film might not have been initially intended as part of the series at all.
So, then - Abbie Philips (Tania Busselier) is admitted into an austere psychiatric hospital for women. Unbeknownst to all, she is here because of false pretences: with the help of Doctor Milton Arcas (Jess Franco), who has long suspected foul play at the establishment but been unable to do anything about it, Abbie, or 'No 41', is a 'plant', here to find out what happened to her sister and possibly rescue her. She comes across perverse Juan (played by the always excellent Lina Romay, as cute as a button in a bob cut), ostensibly the 'top dog' amongst the women, and secretly the lesbian lover of terrifying chief warden Isla (or Wanda, or Greta, of course).
This follows very much the pattern of other Franco 'women in prison' fantasies I have seen. The very effective - even restrained - scenes of torture are few and far between but pretty shockingly realised. For all his invasive camera techniques, Jess rarely lingers on gore, and that is the case here (although the abrupt ending is a pleasing exception), although what there is, is realistically (and painfully) conveyed. The dubbing is a lot better than on non-Dietrich collaborations, and Jess's direction is deceptively straightforward, happy to let the acting and circumstances speak for themselves without frantic zooms, etc. The locations are breath-taking and whenever a gun-shot is fired, it is a dubbed sound effect. The story moves at a fair lick too, and doesn't meander too much although there are moments of dullness. In short, these films show Franco's style in an effective, disciplined manner, but still allow him to indulge (and delight) in his non PC eccentricities.
So, then - Abbie Philips (Tania Busselier) is admitted into an austere psychiatric hospital for women. Unbeknownst to all, she is here because of false pretences: with the help of Doctor Milton Arcas (Jess Franco), who has long suspected foul play at the establishment but been unable to do anything about it, Abbie, or 'No 41', is a 'plant', here to find out what happened to her sister and possibly rescue her. She comes across perverse Juan (played by the always excellent Lina Romay, as cute as a button in a bob cut), ostensibly the 'top dog' amongst the women, and secretly the lesbian lover of terrifying chief warden Isla (or Wanda, or Greta, of course).
This follows very much the pattern of other Franco 'women in prison' fantasies I have seen. The very effective - even restrained - scenes of torture are few and far between but pretty shockingly realised. For all his invasive camera techniques, Jess rarely lingers on gore, and that is the case here (although the abrupt ending is a pleasing exception), although what there is, is realistically (and painfully) conveyed. The dubbing is a lot better than on non-Dietrich collaborations, and Jess's direction is deceptively straightforward, happy to let the acting and circumstances speak for themselves without frantic zooms, etc. The locations are breath-taking and whenever a gun-shot is fired, it is a dubbed sound effect. The story moves at a fair lick too, and doesn't meander too much although there are moments of dullness. In short, these films show Franco's style in an effective, disciplined manner, but still allow him to indulge (and delight) in his non PC eccentricities.