Female SS officer and twisted doctor, SS Kratsch (what a great name for an evil character) has developed a genetically engineered half-man, half-maniac (think a cross between Ralphus from Bloodsucking Freaks and the real-life serial killer Fred West) who is fed a diet of ‘mega-aphrodisiacs’ which meets that his libido is through the roof and he’s ready to both kill and…well, you can guess the rest (*waves to the Community Standards team*)

The Beast In Heat has a plot that made Mary Whitehouse and her cronies froth at the mouth. Yes, when you hear about what happens in the film, it does sound like an orgy of celluloid debrachery (another thing in common that the film has with Bloodsucking Freaks). But, in actuality, it’s more high camp than concentration camp. This is akin to the first punks wearing swastikas to shock and provoke rather than a serious desecration of the atrocities of World War 2.

Of course, there’s a debate to be had regarding the subject matter but this is the realm of exploitation (or should that be Naziploitation) in which films are made to shock, envelopes are pushed and the delicate of bloom can find the Disney movies on a lower shelf in the video store. I think that outlines where I stand on this debate. As the tagline for Last House on the Left stated, ‘It’s only a movie, only a movie…’

The Beast in Heat is a massive amount of fun. Camp, with the blackest strand of gallows humour imaginable and is surprisingly beautiful to watch. The outdoor locales are stunning, the framing of the indoor scenes minimal and very clean.

Apparently, everyone who worked on the film used a pseudonym as they knew the controversy the film would generate and didn’t want to be associated with it. The battle scenes are recycled from war movies previously made by the film’s director Luigi Batzella.

This is just as entertaining as the excellent Ilsa movies and needs to be available more widely. The subject matter seems to be one of the final taboos to be smashed in the UK with the film not being released here since all of the original controversy that ensured it’s place on the Video Nasties list. The film has been restored by Severin Films in the US though. Let’s hope a UK label will follow suit (Arrow and 88 Films, it’s over to you).

4 out of 5 stars