Les week-ends maléfiques du Comte Zaroff (1976)

Les week-ends maléfiques du Comte Zaroff: Directed by Michel Lemoine. With Michel Lemoine, Nathalie Zeiger, Howard Vernon, Joëlle Coeur. A businessman, who’s a descendant of a brutal Russian count, can’t discern hallucinations from reality when he sees visions of extreme violence against young women staying at his castle.

“u0026quot;Les weekends malefiques du comte Zaroffu0026quot; (Seven women for Satan) was billed as as sexy and trashy remake of u0026quot;The most dangerous gameu0026quot;. As the film was banned in France (as far I as I know, a liberal country when it comes to cinema), my curiosity was raised still more. But I was disappointed, the film didnu0026#39;t meet my expectations.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhy was this film banned in France? Mystery! I would have understood if it had been banned from the UK. The British censorship is very strict and known throughout the world for its medieval standards.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The most dangerous gameu0026quot; was a distant source of inspiration for u0026quot;Seven women for Satanu0026quot; (the English title is very misleading, but I will use it for briefnessu0026#39; sake. Where is Satan? 7 women?), but I think that Lemoine suffered a greater influence from Rollin and Benazeraf, and we should not forget to mention u0026quot;Beyond Eroticau0026quot; (No es nada mama, solo un juego).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story runs like this: The count Zaroff (Michel Lemoine) during the week days is apparently a normal man, sometimes a little distracted from his work, because heu0026#39;s constantly dreaming about chasing and torturing women. Women for him are beautiful dolls, he feels like biting them, crushing their bones… he likes them so much! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the week-end comes he goes to his castle. In the castle his butler Karl (Howard Vernon) and a big black dog called Ingmar wait for him. Karl wants to assist Count Zaroff in his evil ways like his ancestors did to Count Zaroffu0026#39;s ancestors. Thereu0026#39;s also a Fata Morgana apparition (Joelle Coeur) haunting Count Zaroff. She was one of his ancestorsu0026#39; victims. Sheu0026#39;s a beautiful long haired woman in a white gown that appears and disappears in the most unexpected places. Count Zaroff seems to be obsessed by her. And we should not forget the friendly black dog Ingmar that gets its share of beautiful women as well. One canu0026#39;t complain about cruelty to animals!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf youu0026#39;ve read me till now, you may think that the film tells a story. But no, this film is almost plot less – it looks like a collage, a bric-a-brac of Lemoineu0026#39;s varied cinematic influences and sexual dreams. The violence, for the most part, is not shown explicitly. In this department, the film is rather tame when compared to others of the genre.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you see the film in the right mood, it can be an amusing experience: The castle, count Zaroff and his sinister butler Karl, without forgetting, of course, the trendy big black dog, Ingmar. u0026quot;Ingmar, elle est a toi!u0026quot; Growl…. Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!….. Naked girls being chased, semi-naked girls dancing to tribal drums or pop music, ghostly girls materializing out of nothing, the u0026quot;philosophicalu0026quot; pearls delivered mainly by Count Zaroff and his faithful butler Karl… u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is difficult to judge, some scenes, particularly the dreamy sensual ones are very stylish, but the story seems to wander aimlessly and the pace sometimes is very slow. If you see this film with a receptive mind (and in a slightly altered state), you might enjoy it better.”