Sacred Flesh (2000)

Lack of good storyline.

Excellent, a Must See

Dreadfully Boring

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

British imprint Redemption Films have been releasing obscure Eurotrash films since the early 90s. Their early VHS releases of films such as Tombs of the Blind Dead, The Living Dead Girl and Virgin Among the Living Dead were instrumental in triggering my love of cult cinema when I discovered them at my local video store. In 1989 Redemption founder Nigel Wingrove made a short film, Visions of Ecstasy, which was banned outright by the BBFC on grounds of blasphemy. Wingrove fought the BBFC in court - losing his home and many of his possessions in the process due to the hefty lawyer costs - but lost the case. To date, Visions of Ecstasy remains the only film banned in the UK for blasphemous libel. Now it seems Wingrove has decided to stage a "comeback" with another "blasphemous" film, again of the Nunsploitation variety.The basic plot of Sacred Flesh centres around Mother Superior Elizabeth who is possessed by devils. The convent's Abbess is rightfully concerned about her and writes a letter to a local Abbot requesting him to come and check her out and maybe exorcise some demons. That's about all there is plotwise, the rest of the film's brief runtime is taken up with the Mother Superior's nightmarish visions, long monologues on sexual repression within the Catholic church, and the typical lesbo-nun action, flagellation, bondage-crucifixion, etc.Mother Superior Elizabeth is torn by Catholic guilt, between the repression of lust she is taught, and the sexual abandon she craves, her hallucinogenic revelations involve: on the one hand Mary Magdalene condoning sexual freedom and condemning the Catholic church, and on the other the "Death Nun" extolling the virtues of chastity and threatening hellfire & damnation. I imagine in Nigel Wingrove's mind he is probably quite proud of himself for producing yet another artistic, highly controversial piece of blasphemous filth but in reality this chunk of shot-on-video junk is basically low budget soft porn masquerading as highbrow art. Mary's rambling, awkwardly worded anti-Catholic tirades come off as pseudo-intellectual bullshit, that's purely there as an attempt to add some class to this low budget tits 'n' ass show.For a medieval piece set in the early 1900s I find it strange that the nuns sport copious amounts of whorish make-up and silicone, some even flaunt bellybutton & tongue piercings and freshly shaved pussies. I wasn't surprised then to discover that half of the cast are actually British porn stars moonlighting as "actresses".Now, usually I'd really dig this (or any) kinda sleaze especially when there's the added bonus of skanky nuns, but I think what initially put me off here was the fact that Wingrove is trying so hard to emulate the spirit of 70s European exploitation and completely fails (although the horrendous acting and shitty script didn't help much either). Trying to hide your lack of budget behind some flashy editing and lighting then throwing in some didactic bullshit does not a good film make.

This film is something of an enigma. While it is easy to dismiss it as merely a thinly veiled porn film, when you actually look at the themes and meanings behind the film, it becomes more interesting. While the sex scenes are possibly overstated slightly, and could have been fewer or shorter, they are padded with some pretty heave dialogue between the mother superior and Mary Magdalene debating the logic behind unchecked celibacy. The film's basic message is that sexual repression will only lead to an eventual release, which could be more violent and harmful than ever. The quality of the acting varies, the nuns are a possibly a bit too well groomed, but the art direction is sumptuous. The film is a joy to watch, as the sets, costumes and effects are beautiful. I recommend you watch this film. It is amazing. My only complaint is that the fabulous Eileen Daly wasn't given more of a role.

Now there are some people who watch porn movies who say they like to see a bit of a story and there are some who like to see just action and no story (i fall in the second catagory). In Sacred Flesh we see have a film that fits into neither catagory. This joke of a film does try to show a story but it is so full of religious clap trap that you can't help but reach for the fast forward button to search for the fleshy good bits. Thats were we have the other problem, apart from a couple of flashes of soft porn we see nothing that would get anybody exited .If your thinking of seeing this for the sex ,watch something else because this wont do it for you.The costumes look like they had been made at the local primary school and the acting was so laughable , especially from the men , that it provides the only entertainment. Dont touch this with a barge pole. 1 out of 10.

I saw this in London. There were five people in the audience. I think the intent was to make an arty euro porn film, but it looks like it was shot on beta and suffered from dropout and poor colouring. The story goes nowhere, just a tempted mother superior and various nun couplings. I really made the effort to see this one after enjoying the far superior RAZERBLADE SMILE, but Eileen Daly is truly wasted in this mess. Pity.