The Whip and the Body
Beyond Home Entertainment
R4 DVD
The
Whip And The Body (1963) (La Frusta E Il Corpo) is a superb sexually charged
gothic ghost tale matching the directorial brilliance of Mario Bava with an unmatched
performance by Christopher Lee.
Kurt
(Christopher Lee) has been banished for innumerous cruelties, one which
resulted in the suicide of his last lover. He is the eldest son of the Menliff
Dynasty which owns a sizeable estate. He decides to return late one night
claiming that his contrite return to the family bosom is to ask forgiveness for
his ways and to congratulate his brother Christian on his upcoming marriage.
Christian is engaged to the beautiful Nevenka who was, at some time in the
past, engaged to Kurt and is still very obsessed with him.
Kurt
is not welcomed. He is a sadist with a penchant for the whip and is loathed by
family and staff alike. The film actually opens with a servant pining for
revenge against Kurt for the death of her daughter in front of a bloody blade
which is kept in a glass case to remind the family of Kurt’s violence.
While
Kurt asks his father for forgiveness he has obviously not changed much. He
quickly takes up again with Nevenka and when she refuses him gives him a hell
of a whipping on the beach, leaving her hysterical, if not a bit frenzied. When
she is found, she is confused and mentally unstable. As she is recovering Kurt
is murdered. The film seems, for a while, to move into whodunit territory as we
everyone has a motive.
As
part II opens, the Patriarch of the family is also murdered and Nevenka is
seeing the ghost of Kurt everywhere. She claims he came to her one night and
stripped him ready for another whipping. Is Kurt still alive ? Is there a ghost
? or is Nevenka obsessed with sex and pain as Kurt has claimed.
This
is an unusual and controversial Bava film, released in 1961 under the director’s
non-de-plume John M. Old. It was severely cut over the years and released under
such titles as The Whip and the Body; What!; Night is the Phantom; The Way and
the Body; Son of Satan; The Whip and the Flesh and The Body and the Whip. This
release is nicely restored with both English and Italian language tracks and
clear English and Spanish sub titles. The film is in good conditions for its
age with only a very small amount of occasional discolouration. The
cinematography is beautiful with amazing natural shots and a superbly gothic
castle. Kurt’s funeral with its dark imagery, red robed men and atmospheric
lighting is quite amazing.
The
film is constantly filled with intrigue and suspense and matched with a atmospheric
ghostly plot. The family is a cesspool of dysfunction and sexual/emotional jealousies,
while Kurt and Nevenka’s sexual/flagellation obsession adds an erotic and fetishistic
tinge to the film. Christopher Lee as Kurt is masterful, but all the actors
perform extremely well. It is a film which has achieved cult status and rightly
so.
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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.6 (2009) of the digital and
print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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