Sounds like a natural -- a 70s female vampire opus from 60s erotica master Joseph Sarno. His best suburban exposés of the Eisenhower/Kennedy era featured smatterings of the occult, and one would think that the loosening of standards would set his art free. Don't get your hopes up too high, though. First of all, Sarno's favoured technique is to build up tension between characters using short dialogue scenes -- but here, the thick German accents and stiff acting render the script unfathomable. And Sarno doesn't really have the intense visual style (at least not with this cinematographer) requisite of the genre, despite the authentic Bavarian castle background. Nonetheless, Sarno fans will be amused by the recycling of his favourite tropes (candles, bongo drums, ceremonial chants and dances, carnal compulsion and betrayal), and vampiric completists may be amused by his idiosyncratic and more realistic take on bloodlust conventions. Just don't expect a lost masterpiece, and be prepared to put some effort into the viewing.
Review of The Devil's Plaything
