It’s not hard to see why this was such a hit, as it does work as pure exploitation. The torture scenes are as violent and unpleasant as reputed, and Dyanne Thorne as Ilsa really is a singular presence. I had misremembered her performance as being bigger than it actually is. There is definitely the expected teeth gnashing, but she also finds quieter, if not necessarily more introspective, notes to hit. It’s a more varied performance than it probably gets credit for.

That being said, this absolutely did not improve with a rewatch, especially after having seen the more enjoyable sequels. When people think of this as campy fun, I suspect they’re thinking of one of those. Don Edmonds is a crap director and presents this all with as little energy as possible. It’s an extremely dingy looking movie, underlit and brown and shot on cheap looking sets, something which the HD transfer on Prime presumably based on a restoration did little to alleviate.

ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS (1975), ILSA, HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS (1976), ILSA THE TIGRESS OF SIBERIA (1977), GRETA - HAUS OHNE MÄNNER aka ILSA -THE WICKED WARDEN (1977)

Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975) dir. Don Edmonds