Plot: What’s it about?
Paula (Amber Newman) is en route to a lush, tropical island where countless pleasures await, as well as potential riches and what not. She is a gorgeous young woman, but her worthless boyfriend is a real loser, though he is still packed along on this trek. When she arrives, the place is like paradise and even better than she expected, but the real fun is still ahead, to be sure. She soon finds herself involved in all sorts of sexual hijinks, from the normal stuff to the kinky stuff, she seems to be doing it all here. Her hosts are some very wealthy European folks, including a Baroness (Monique Parent), who loves to seduce lovely young ladies, such as Paula. After a plethora of sexual experiences, Paula soon discovers the other reason she has been transported here and this one isn’t as pleasant. She has two hours to survive the onslaught of her hosts, or else she is doomed to die in the jungles. She knew her hosts were eccentric, but she had no idea this would be involved, to say the least…
This is an unusual Seduction Cinema release, as it takes a more serious tone, but with exploitation master Jess Franco at the helm, it all works out just fine. This is an erotic take on The Most Dangerous Game and that provides for a fresh take, to say the least. It’s fun to watch anyone hunt humans in the movies, but it’s even more fun when beautiful women are involved, to be sure. I was quite impressed with Tender Flesh, as it has a decent script and of course, tons of naked ladies and even some action thrown in. The focus is on the sex for sure, with some fantastic scenes, including a wonderful striptease sequence some fun girl on girl encounters, always a plus. Franco has made a ton of these kind of movies and his experience shows, as he overcomes the budget and delivers a top notch sexploitation romp, very fun indeed. I don’t think this is my favorite of Franco’s films, but it is a good one and one that will remain within my collection, to be sure. The girls look good also, with such performers as Monique Parent, Amber Newman, and Linda Romay on deck. If you’re a fan of sexploitation or just love movies where hot chicks get hunted, then be sure to check out Tender Flesh, it’s most worthwhile indeed.
Video: How does it look?
Tender Flesh is presented in a 1.66:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. The image here shows more grain than I’d like, but given the film’s low budget, I assume this is to be expected. I was let down by the softness also, which I’m sure is intentional in some scenes, though not all of them. These problems don’t make this an unwatchable transfer by any means, but they do force me to lower the score more than a little. The colors and contrast are lessened in quality by the flaws, but still look more than decent enough. Given the film’s nature, I can’t be too tough on this transfer, but I do feel it should look better than this.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital stereo option is up to the task, but keep in mind, the format does have some limitations. I never felt let down by this track however, as it is well mixed and this material isn’t too dynamic, which also helps. The various sound effects are well presented, while the music comes through with no problems, no real complaints on these fronts. The dialogue is a little low at times, but not enough to be worried about and in the end, all the vocals can be heard with no serious problems.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc isn’t loaded with extras, but it does have a few nice inclusions. You’ll find a substantial behind the scenes featurette, some footage taken from Amber Newman’s photo shoot for the flick, a selection of still photos, and the film’s trailer, as well as some bonus trailers.
