(1975) ****
Based on The 120 Days of Sodom, by the Marquis DeSade, Salo has got to be the sickest film I’ve ever seen, and believe me, I’ve seen some sick stuff. A group of libertines hand pick several teens between the ages of 15 and 17, bring them to a large mansion , and begin training them as sex slaves. The training involves frequent sodomizing, being treated like a dog, more sodomy, penis stroking class, some more sodomy, defecating and urinating on command, a little more sodomy, whipping, burning, branding, role play, listening to sex stories from the story lady, torture, death, eating feces and did I mention sodomy?
"I look like Gwenyth Paltrow so I refused to eat my poop."
The impressive part of this film, is how they truly captured the real heart of DeSade’s novel (yes, I actually read it, sick bitch that I am). 120 Days of Sodom is not just a bunch of sex and torture, it’s a whole bunch of political jargon as well. Salo takes DeSade’s 16th century political references and modernizes them to 20th century Nazi’s. The dialog is impressive, the camera work is stunning, the actors are convincing. Would I watch it again? Well, only if I was watching with someone who hadn’t seen it, just to see their expressions. However, my experience was enhanced, and not in a good way.
"Good Dogs"
"Here little doggies, beg for your food."
"Shitfaced!"
Which brings me to Osiris, my sweet little tuxedo cat. Abduscias and I were watching Salo, when a particularly nasty scene came up. After listening to the story lady relay her experience with a client who liked to eat her feces, one of the libertines decides to take a shit, and have a slave eat it. Well, my pal Osiris decided that this was a good time to go into the litter box and drop a duece. The smell permeated the room at the exact time the feasting began, turning our television into smell-o-vision. We were actually gagging.
"When you said tongue twister I thought you meant Peter Piper picked a peck of..."
I seriously doubt any of you will take the plunge into Salo, well, maybe JSP or Whirly would. However, on the off chance that any of you do, make sure the litter box is far from the tv room and don’t say I didn’t warn you.
11 comments:
Wow. This is such an infamous film--did we have any Horrorthon reviews of it before now?
Crazy that you call it the sickest thing you've ever seen. I remember some of your reviews!
Awesome (but horrifying) story of Osiris.
I can't believe you subjected your sweet, innocent kitty to such filth! ;) Do you think you've reached the pinnacle of horrorthon sickness, or is there something even sicker out there?
Oh, there is sicker, I'm sure of it. I just need to find it.
I have never heard of this movie and it's probably for the best! I thought some of the stuff reviewed on Horrorthon was depraved, but this seems to bring it to an entirely new level. I don't know where you find your movies, Cat, but I think there's probably a "666" buried under your hair. Well done!
Great butt cheeks... er.. I mean discovery!
I think you're goal for Horrorthon '11 should be to focus on depravity and tell us all about it.
Hmmm. This movie has actually been parked in my queue for ages, but it's pushed down to #91 after all the Star Blazers and animated Batmans I keep saying I'll watch someday. Perhaps I should take you up on your challenge.
That's a lot of times you mentioned eating poop, though. That's kind of gross.
But the smell-o-vision part his hilarious.
Wow. You do know how to pick them, Cat! I mean, I guess you do, although I think a lot of what you pick would not thrill too many others... But what do we care about those idiots!?
ecch, just the review is more than enough disgustingness for me! i don't know how you do it, catfreeek.
between your cat and Mr. AC's caterpillar, this Thon is totally the year of Wildlife Participation.
Well, I must say, this rises above the usual crap-fest of 70s Sexploitation "B-movies". While many such films existed, falling short of the definition of "pornography" (penetration), but-mmm...mmmh!-Chock Full o'Nudity. Few featured male nudity on the level of that of the females in a given film. While most of the 70s sexploitation genre would have met with the approval of the Marquis de Sade, only this one was written by him, and has as much humiliating male nudity as that of females. A lot of shamefully exposed, swinging cocks and nutsacks to be viewed in this Tour de Filth.
Based on de Sade's account of the kidnapping, degradation, fist rape and murder of adolescents as young as 12, this dramatization is forced to use the youngest actors legally available.
If you like the idea of a bunch of late-teen kidnap victims being forced to take off their clothes in front of each other and adults and have to go around with their their penises and breasts jiggling, weeping and sniffling with their heads hung in shame you need "Salo: 120 Days..." on your hard-drive.
SPOILER ALERT: There is this genius "Wedding and Honeymoon" scene, a grand and debased mockery of love and romance in which the film's reliance on nudity and shame is best depicted.
Two of the teenagers, one boy and one girl, are allowed to put on clothes in the form of a tuxedo and wedding dress and are then paraded in a farcical procession down the aisle of their captors' mansion's chapel, their humiliated courtiers in tow. The bridesmaids and groomsmen are completely naked, heads hung in shame as their 8 penises and 16 breasts (The math is deceptively easy, TRY IT!) flop and jiggle their way to the alter.
The Honeymoon Scene opens with a close-up still of the embarrassed wedding gown and tuxedo having been stripped of the bride and groom, folded on a chair.
Meanwhile the bride and groom stand naked, hands at their sides and heads hung, being instructed by the four libertines as to how to proceed, the they are then shoved together and pushed towards the far end of the room. They seem to forget they are in front of their captors as they kiss and caress each other, but before they can have normal sex, they are raped by the Libertines.
One of the more elegant banquet scenes is marked by a "Pets-Allowed" policy in which the 18 naked hostages are fitted with collars and leashes and walked up a set of stairs, having been instructed to bark likes dogs.
Well, you'll love their breasts and penises jiggling away as usual, but there's also a lovely dorsal shot of the teens' asses, with legs far enough apart to guess their genders correctly.
A great movie if you like seeing people naked more than they appear to want to be seen.
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