In the Folds of the Flesh

R0 NTSC DVD

Severin Films

Web: http://www.severin-films.com/

Severin—the Criterion of Smut have done it again, this time with a superb edition of the rare In the Folds of the Flesh.

In the Folds of the Flesh was made at the cusp of the Sixties and Seventies and mixes together psychedelic sensibilities with a Seventies Giallo crime thriller. It opens with a murder, indeed a decapitation, but it is difficult to work out exactly what is happening and this ambiguity is the foundation of the film. There are scenes of what looks like an attempted rape, a violent struggle and then a climatic killing. The wife buries the body in question in the yard of the palatial property. However, she is not alone, her act has been witnessed by an escaped convict just before being captured by the police and “sent down”.

We then cut to quote from Sigmund Freud "... And then a sudden violent shock that left a deep impression on the mind and damaged it permanently...what has been remains imbedded in the brain, nestled in the folds of the flesh, distorted. It conditions and subconsciously impels..." and a swirling mass of coloured paints filling the scene psychedelic style. It seems that since witnessing the brutal killing the children have been psychologically scarred.

The boy is a strange and bizarre artist who seems only sexually attracted to his sister and the girl has become some sort of praying mantis who seduces men on a regular basis only to then brutally kill them before the consummation of their lovemaking. It seems the only sexual relationship she can enjoy is with her brother and even then she needs to be intoxicated. They regular celebrate their perverse union with strange “hippy” like music and art performances.

The bodies of her dead lovers are quickly disposed of by the brother and mother in acid and buried in the garden, with some prize pieces fed to the two vultures they keep as pets.

As one guest arrives after another the murders pile up but they seem immune from prosecution, until now. After thirteen year behind bars the convict who witnessed their first murder arrives with attempted blackmail in mind. He not only wants money but spends time dominating and degrading the family. He wants a good time and wants it at the families expense.

However, good old mum has a solution. After a number of superbly politically incorrect “Nazi flashback scenes”, she uses the cyanide pills she has had on hand since the war and blackmailer is quickly gassed in the bathroom !

In the Folds of the Flesh is not especially violent, it is more the sheer bizarreness of the whole film which makes it truly memorable, there are decapitations, incest, Nazi flashbacks, a mother son killing team, dissolving of bodies in an acid bath and that’s just the half of it.

The plot is intriguing and the final climax of the tale is impressive, things are certainly not as they seem and the ambiguity of the murder at the start of the film is finally resolved in a fitting fashion.

The acting is impressive and the woman in the film stunning, this is a strange sort of exploitation film, mixing a crime thriller of Seventies Giallo heritage with the sort of Freudian sexual and psychological motifs found in late Sixties films. It is certainly a rarity and a great find on DVD.

The Severin edition of this rare film is a revelation, superbly clear and developed from original vault materials. There is only very minor damage. The sound is clear and without problem.