Having friends over to my house is always an experience, especially when they start leafing through my 'eclectic' DVD collection. I must be completely desensitized because I just don't see the oddness in having titles on the shelf like Cannibal Apocalypse, Porno Holocaust or Images in a Convent. It's the last of the bunch that caused an intoxicating frenzy just the other day when I had some guests over. "Nunsploitation? What's this?" - of course my initial response was to break out my Hard Cover Fab Press encyclopedia on Nunsploitation, AntiCristo. While the book certainly wasn't read from cover to cover that evening, it was given a good once over by the uninitiated. I couldn't help but think to myself, "Sure the book may be interesting to them, but how many of these actual films would these guys want to sit through?" One or two before they became uninterested or were just bored senseless maybe? This is part of the problem in general with exploitation films like these; Cannibal, Zombie, Nunsploitation, or in the case of today's review, Nazisploitation. There are just so many choices and/or copycats (believe it or not). Compounded with the fact that many of these films have rarely been seen and 'appeal' to such a small niche audience to begin with, it's difficult to start nitpicking a film like this, picking the true winners.

Completists will want these films regardless. So if you're into the films of Bruno Mattei or Nazisploitation in general, I can surely say that you'll want to continue your Nazisploitation collection with this here release of Bruno Mattei's SS Girls from Exploitation Digital. No hesitation, just get it. However, if you're on the fence, only want to pick up a select few titles to add to your small but ever so proud Nazisploitation collection, I'll do my darndest to break down the good and bad for you here. Just know that you should be ashamed of yourself either way. God knows I am.

Oh, and one more thing. Also go in knowing that most, if not all of these films are rip-offs. Rip-offs of either more successful exploitation films, or more mainstream films of a similar nature. In this case, the Tinto Brass film, Salon Kitty (review here). The other thing to keep in mind is the fact that the setting and characters are wholly dispensable. It's not so much the Nazi's or the Swastika's that are important here as it is the nudity, bondage and sex. This film could be set in Nazi Germany, or a barnyard in Mississippi and it wouldn't matter much to the production or effectiveness of what's happening. Sure the 'Nazi-ness' of the whole thing makes it a bit more dirty, controversial and/or offensive (in this case, unintentionally funny as well), but when you actually see how inaccurate and ultimately 'silly' a lot of these films are, you'll often find the setting winds up being tuned out.

In SS Girls (AKA Private House of The SS which is the title this print is under), we're led to believe that there is trouble in the higher rankings of the Third Reich and good ole' boy Hans Schellenberg (Gabriele Carrara) devises a plan. Put together a team of lustful ladies, teach them to cater to a man's every need in any situation, and unleash them on the suspected (yet, unsuspecting) officials. With the help of a mad doctor and poorly latex scarred female companion named Frau Inge (gorgeous Marina Daunia) these girls are put through every kind of sex test imaginable, while their superiors look on. Beastly looking guys tumble on top of them; one woman is set up with a deformed man in a scene that defies description, while another young lady caters to a German shepherd (no, it's not graphic, it's pretty obvious that the dog is just sitting on her lap as she caresses it). It's sick, sure, but not nearly as sick as it could have been. Once the women have passed the 'tests, they are unleashed, ready to seduce and destroy. Although many of the confessions come in the simplest form such as, "I don't like the Fuhrer" etc. Seen as traitors, these men must still be destroyed, which still leaves plenty of room for lavish meals, orgies, swinging parties and discomfort.

Not nearly as disgusting (for many reasons) as its Exploitation counterparts, SS Girls is almost light and breezy in comparison. Sure there's plenty of nudity and 'implied' sexual situations, but it doesn't come across quite as nasty as some of the other films of this type. Take for example the Ilsa films in which these women are sexually abused, tortured and killed. In SS Girls, these women are 'willing participants' and actually seem to enjoy what they are doing. It's the men (for the most part) who seem to get their comeuppance. Neat. Which isn't to say that the film isn't disturbing and disgusting, because it is. But at the same time it's hilarious. Unintentionally hilarious, but still hilarious nonetheless. Some of these situations with the soldiers is utterly ridiculous and quite often the dubbing is laughable.

Performances are generally non-existent in a film of this type, but it is worth mentioning baby-faced Carrara as Hans Schellenberg. This is a bit of casting that really shouldn't have worked, but oh man does it work for me. His performance is so over the top it's more gratuitous than all of the sex and nudity, which surrounds it. While he certainly doesn't look the part it's still more than fitting to have him in this spot. What if someone were put in a position like this and didn't seem to fit the part visually? This person would probably have to compensate and overdo every action just to get their point across in hopes of being feared. If there's a reason this film stands out, it's definitely because of Carrara's performance.

There's a disclaimer about print quality before the film starts, and I think that companies are starting to do this as a precaution at this point, but it's not always necessary, particularly in this case. The anamorphic image looks just fine. There is some minor print damage and image quality does fluctuate in a few scenes but overall, the image is quite sharp and more than adequate. The mono audio (once again, of a ridiculous dub to say the least) fares equally as well. Extras include a 9-minute video interview (subtitled) with Mattei and a few other Exploitation Digital trailers, including one for SS Girls.