Severin Films

In July 2006 Severin Films announced itself to the world with the DVD release of legendary skin director Just Jaeckin's long sought-after high-kink adventure classic Gwendoline, a.k.a. The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak (1984) (Picture: 1).

From that Tawny Kitaen (Picture: 1) masterpiece (of ass) onward, Severin rapidly established itself as the premiere go-to company for vintage Euro-exploitation cult favorites, especially those helmed by larger-than-lust filmmakers such as Jesus Franco, Walerian Borowczyk, Lucio Fulci, and Joe D'Amato.

Among the company's most smashing successes have been two editions of Black Emanuelle's Box, each of which compiles several choice offerings of Laura Gemser (Picture: 1 - 2) getting naked and getting it on with the whole world in the title role.

Next up on Severin's remarkable release schedule are the psychotic little-person sex-criminal epic The Sinful Dwarf (1973) (Picture: 1) and a three-disc edition of the rip-roaring World War II blowout Inglorious Bastards (1978).

Severin honcho John Cregan took some time to talk to Mr. Skin about what's up with his remarkable operation and raw, raunchy cinema.

Tell us all about The Sinful Dwarf.

The Sinful Dwarf is a really tawdry, somewhat disquieting exploitation film from the early '70s. It stars Danish dwarf superstar Torben Bille as a disturbed young man who lures young teenage girls into his home with windup toys, then imprisons them, introduces them to his mother, hooks them on heroin, and uses them as slaves. It's sort a family film, if your family happens to be a polygamist sect.

How did Severin Films come to be?

David and Carl Severin are childhood friends from Nottingham, England, who eventually started a production company, Blue Underground UK. David then immigrated to the U.S. and began working at what became Blue Underground, Inc. I began editing for Blue Underground while at USC and eventually broke off to join David and Carl in the formation of Severin. If that seems confusing, it's because it is confusing.

What is the significance of the name "Severin"?

Severin is the protagonist of Venus in Furs, one of the great erotic novels of the 19th century. Lou Reed also based one of the Velvet Underground's more famous songs on the book, so it's sort of a double-edged reference.

What are the defining qualities of a Severin Films release?

1. Is it a great "guy" movie -i.e., "would this be the kind of film I'd like to share with my friends?"

2. Does it push the envelope in a cool way?

3. Whether or not there is any nudity within the first ten minutes. If not, then someone needs to get killed in the first fifteen. That's why we're allowed to put out our first war film in July -the original Inglorious Bastards, which Quentin Tarantino is slated to remake later this year.

4. Lineage is important -if it's starring someone like Sirpa Lane (Picture: 1) or directed by a Lucio Fulci, chances are it's going to be a good Severin film.

5. If Laura Gemser is in it.

Please name the three coolest things that have happened for you as a direct result of Severin Films.

For me, it was moderating a commentary track for Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! with the three Pussycats (Lori Williams, Tura Satana, and Haji) (Picture: 1).

For Carl, it was putting together our interview with Quentin Tarantino and Enzo Castellari for our upcoming release of Inglorious Bastards.

For David, it was probably interviewing [Roman] Polanski on Knife in the Water, Repulsion, and Cul-de-sac (Picture: 1) in Paris a couple of years back.

What were your early film-going and film-fan experiences like?

David and Carl grew up in England during the height of the "Video Nasties" controversy -where a watchdog agency, the BBFC, was editing films and banning others outright to "protect the public."

As a result, the Severins were naturally drawn to many of these censored/banned films, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre being the most infamous. They both grew up huge, huge horror fans.

The defining movie moment of my teenage years would have been seeing Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! for the first time. Around that time, a friend and I called [Russ] Meyer at his office -he called back and talked to us for ten minutes and was everything you'd have expected him to be.

Basically David and Carl historically approach things more from the horror side, while I've got more of a yen for the skin side. It's a good mix, since those are the two basic subgenres of exploitation cinema.

What is the single sexiest movie you've ever seen?

Before Severin was even a gleam in our collective eye, I've always believed that Felicity (Picture: 1 - 2) was the hottest movie ever made, and nothing on Tom Jones's green earth will change my opinion. I just think it's the ideal mix of innocence and sexuality.

The key to a good softcore film is that it never feels threatening, and Felicity perfected the mold. I'm still in semi-awe that a movie that dirty could feel so clean.

What is the sickest, most disturbing movie you've ever seen? Would you release it?

Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo (Picture: 1). There's a large section of the film devoted to human feces and its usefulness in fascistic society. Whenever I want to clear my house at the end of a party, I put it on, and Salo works its repulsive magic.

And no, I wouldn't release it, because it sucks. I believe some other label with a less calibrated moral compass put it out a few years back.

What was the first movie nude scene you remember seeing? Is there a funny story attached to that?

I enjoyed a brief halcyon period in third grade where my parents would take me to R-rated movies, thinking I was "too young" to get it. Sadly Revenge of the Nerds (Picture: 1) ended this eight-year-old's lucky streak, but the hidden-camera scene was a truly seminal moment in my early development. My parents never recovered from the sight of me repeating the words "hair pie" for six days straight, and they divorced soon afterward.

Who are the three sexiest actresses working today?

Naomi Watts (Picture: 1) -it's not because of Mulholland Dr. I like her because she's willing to take some pretty big chances as an actress. No, on second thought, it's really because of Mulholland Dr.

Penélope Cruz (Picture: 1) -because I think it's really important to speak a second language.

Helen Mirren (Picture: 1) -because I have this notion that after sex with her, she leans over and lets you pick something out from the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog.

Carl Severin adds -"Winona Ryder (Picture: 1) for pure natural beauty; Linda Fiorentino (Picture: 1) -damn sexy but could probably kick your ass too; and Irène Jacob (Picture: 1) for the happy memories of the first time I saw Red."

Who are the three sexiest actresses of a previous era?

Emmanuelle Béart -why? La Belle Noiseuse (Picture: 1), that's why. The shortest three hours I've ever spent.

Phoebe Cates (Picture: 1) -because she's one of the few ultra-sexy actresses that seems even semi-approachable. A lot of the most beautiful women do nothing for me because they seem more like museum exhibits than actual people.

Helen Mirren -because I have this notion that after sex with her, she lets you watch her have sex with someone else.

And I've always liked late-1950s Shirley MacLaine (Picture: 1), Gene Tierney, and Sign of the Cross-era Claudette Colbert (Picture: 1).

Carl likes Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn.

What "holy grail" movies are still out there that you would love to release?

Screwballs (Picture: 1). And then Screwballs again.

Personally, I'd love to give the Severin treatment to the Russ Meyer oeuvre but can't see that becoming a reality.

Carl votes for Great White, an Enzo Castellari classic.

When I say "Laura Gemser", what do you say?

I think of a Venti Mocha Frappuccino -dark, sinful, delicious, and the Current Mrs. Severin forbids me to have it.

THE SKINTASTIC SEVERIN FILMS LIBRARY

Peruse the following reviews for a round of what's available at Severin-Films.com, then head on over to their site and complete your collection by shopping Severin's complete collection.

THE BEAST IN SPACE (1980)
NUDES: Sirpa Lane, Maria D'Alessandro, Marina Hedman (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: Billed as the "unofficial sequel" to Walerian Borowczyk's masterpiece of bizarre erotica The Beast (1975) and starring the same gorgeous Italian starlet (Sirpa Lane), the X-rated space opera The Beast in Space sets the action, as the title suggests, in outer space. Sirpa plays Sondra Richardson, an officer in the Star Fleet plagued by a recurring dream of being chased around a forest by a hairy and sexually ravenous man-beast. Later she accompanies a crew on a mission to a distant planet to recover a valuable space mineral. After she arrives, Sondra discovers it is the same world from her nightmare and that the man-beast is waiting for her there. There's tons of sex and nudity here from babes like Marina Hedman, Maria D'Alessandro, and Sirpa Lane, as well as some footage of what are presumably space horses screwing each other. So get that rocket out of your pocket and start to knock it!

DEVIL HUNTER (1980)
NUDES: Ursula Buchfellner (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: Schlock cinema provocateur Jesus Franco brings his patented gore, sex, and insanity formula to the cannibal adventure Devil Hunter. Teutonic beauty Ursula Buchfellner plays a blonde movie star who is first dragged to the jungle by white kidnappers and then seized by dark-skinned natives. Ultimately she's threatened by the locals' bug-eyed, flesh-eating demon god, until Vietnam vet Al Cliver (Peter Weston) stomps ass to the rescue. Ursula looks mighty tasty when she's naked, so you kind of understand where the hungry, hungry bad guys are coming from.

EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD (1977)
NUDES: Laura Gemser, Brigitte Petronio (Picture: 1), Karin Schubert
THE SKINNY: "Emanuelle's back to take you places you've never been before!" So proclaims the tagline of the globe-trotting, bed-hopping, nude-in-every-language installment in the "Black Emanuelle" film series Emanuelle Around the World. This time, fearless-under-the-covers journalist Emanuelle -gorgeous Laura Gemser, as always -teams up with fellow reporter Cora Norman (sumptuous Karin Schubert) to blow the lid (among other parts) off corrupt officials who abuse women all over the planet. This crusade leads our luscious muckrakers from busting sicko swamis in India to African slave traders to the halls of the United States Congress, where sadistic senators sexually mishandle call girls and aspiring young female politicians alike. Leave it to Emanuelle and Cora to extract justice in brilliantly orgasmic fashion.

EMANUELLE IN BANGKOK (1976)
NUDES: Laura Gemser, Debra Berger (Picture: 1), Ely Galleani, Koike Mahoco
THE SKINNY: In Emanuelle in Bangkok, luscious Laura Gemser reprises her intrepid-gal-reporter role from previous entries in her Black Emanuelle series. This time the Lois Lane of Lust lands in exotic Asia -specifically, in the city whose name is most suited to Emanuelle's main preoccupations -where she plans to profile a reclusive Thai king. Her first stop, naturally, is a massage parlor for a raunchily relaxing lesbian rub down. Soon enough, however, she's angered the authorities with her snooping, and, to evade a posse of government-paid rapists (after they practice their trade on her, of course), our heroine must seduce her way out of the country and back home. Will Emanuelle make it? Or, more accurately, who won't she make it with? See Emanuelle in Bangkok for a non-stop riot of Laura Gemser out of her clothes.

THE EROTICIST (1972)
NUDES: Laura Antonelli, Eva Czemerys (Picture: 1), Anita Strindberg
THE SKINNY: The Eroticist exposes a little-known discipline of the Catholic Church. That demonic possession is cured through exorcism is common knowledge, but this film blows the lid off of the Church's battles with the sexual evil spirit that takes possession of a man's flesh crucifix. In this case it's the member of Senator Pupis, who has an uncontrollable urge to pinch women's bottoms. It can be quite the embarrassment when those women are visiting dignitaries from another state. In desperation, the touchy-feelie Senator seeks out spiritual guidance from the clergy. Along the way Anita Strindberg doesn't make things easy. As the French ambassador's wife, she is seen in the Senator's fantasy in a dollar-bill G-string with gold-coin pasties. Talk about hard currency! But Laura Antonelli, as the Sister who pleases this mister, is no tease and causes a filibuster in the Senator's pants when she loses her top and eventually everything else. The Eroticist is a devil of a good time.

FELICITY (1979)
NUDES: Glory Annen, Joni Flynn, Jody Hanson, Sarah Lee, Angela Menzies-Wills, Marilyn Rodgers
THE SKINNY: Glory Annen grows up -and out! -in the Australian softcore classic Felicity, and the unrated Director's Cut is every bit as first-rate as the movie itself. Glory is perfect as a curious teenager who tests out exhibitionism, a lesbian tryst, skinny-dipping, heavy petting, and all the other pubescent sex practices we've come to know and lust after in movies like this. Only few movies do it all as well as this one.

GWENDOLINE (1984)
NUDES: Tawny Kitaen, Zabou, uncredited actresses
THE SKINNY: Having helmed Emmanuelle (1974) and The Story of O (1975), legendary director Just Jaeckin ended his erotic career with Gwendoline, a.k.a. The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak, an adaptation of a classic kinky comic. Tawny Kitaen stars as the titular adventuress who frequently ends up being bound and/or topless. The lovely Zabou stars as Tawny's vaguely butch sidekick, although any sense of androgyny disappears whenever the French fille doffs her top. You'll likely pop your own top over the film's bizarre plot, as Gwen's search for her lost father leads to plenty of discomfort -and a trip to Yik Yak, populated by amazing Amazons and topless women with shaved heads.

IMMORAL WOMEN (1979)
NUDES: Pascale Christophe (Picture: 1), Gaëlle Legrand, Marina Pierro
THE SKINNY: Polish erotic genius Walerian Borowczyk follows up his Immoral Tales (1974) with Immoral Women. It's another arousing omnibus of sexual hijinks that features the high jugs of Pascale Christophe, Gaëlle Legrand, and Marina Pierro. Each dirty story is like a dark comedy where the women get the better of their domineering men. Viewers will just get better.

THE INCONFESSABLE ORGIES OF EMMANUELLE (1982)
NUDES: Asunción Calero, Carmen Carrión, Muriel Montossé (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: Is there even such a word as "inconfessable"? Our dictionary says no, which is why the term makes for an even better fit with the stunning-beyond-expression Euro-kink-a-palooza The Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle. Directed by Spanish sex-and-violence maestro Jesus Franco (of course), Orgies casts Muriel Montossé in the title role, which, it should be noted, may or may not have some relation to the libertine heroines played by Sylvia Kristel in the Emmanuelle movies or by Laura Gemser in her signature Black Emanuelle film series. Muriel's Emmanuelle wants to remain monogamous with her husband. An encounter with a lesbian stripper challenges that, as does some rough-and-tumble interplay with a couple of thugs, plus the fact that everyone around Emmanuelle picks up on her horny vibe and gets to getting it on themselves. All this, of course, leads to Inconfessable Orgies and a grand glandular time for all who witness what goes on -and comes off -therein.

LAURE (1976)
NUDES: Annie Belle, Emmanuelle Arsan (Picture: 1), Michele Starck, Lita Vasquez
THE SKINNY: In this installment of Emmanuelle Arsan's franchise, Laure, played by Annie Belle, flies off to a remote tropical island to investigate a primitive tribe whose annual celebration results in a type of rebirth. Filled with beautiful scenery and lushly photographed, Laure is one erotic temptation you should not miss. Platinum-haired Annie Belle is spectacular in and out of her clothing, though it's usually the latter. Boobs, butt, and bush all conspire to bring out the boner.

MACUMBA SEXUAL (1983)
NUDES: Lina Romay (Picture: 1), Ajita Wilson
THE SKINNY: Jesus Franco's horror-sleaze oddity Macumba sexual tells the story of a demonic being named Princess Obongo (Ajita Wilson) who seduces an unsuspecting couple (Lina Romay and Antonia Mayans) into evil and depravity. We can always count on Jesus Franco to inundate his cheaply made shockers with perverse sex and rampant nudity, and this macumba doesn't disappoint. Check out Franco's muse Lina Romay submitting to the pleasures of group sex under the guidance of some guy, Ajita, and one of her lesbyterian disciples.

MALABIMBA: THE MALICIOUS WHORE (1979)
NUDES: Mariangela Giordano, Katell Laennec (Picture: 1), Patrizia Webley
THE SKINNY: Meet Bimba, a 16-year-old who's about to become very, very bad. So bad, in fact, that "Bimba" doesn't quite cut it anymore. This chick's so malicious, vicious, and vile that she can only be Malabimba: The Malicious Whore -and she can only be played by Katell Laennec, who acted in only this film and then nevermore. Eurosleaze hero Andrea Bianchi's flick begins with a family castle, a s?ce, and a spook who answers the call of the living, as any good B-movie ghoul ought to do. There's some havoc at the invisible hand of the family's visitor, and then poor Katell starts acting just a wee bit evil. She's talking dirty, doffing duds, kissing daddums, blowing his bro, and throwing herself at aunt Mariangela Giordano, the requisite nun in this dysfunctional Italian clan. What has possessed young Katell to act this way? Can her family save her? Who cares! She's naked! Out with The Exorcist (1973), in with the exor-snizz!

MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
NUDES: Lina Romay, Eva León (Picture: 1), Mabel Escaño
THE SKINNY: Four vacationing hotties stumble onto a deserted resort hotel while searching for seaside kicks. Of course, in a movie with a title like Mansion of the Living Dead, they (and we) find out that the hotel is not quite as deserted as it first appeared to be. Seems a cult of Satan-worshipping monks has run of the joint and -wouldn't you know it -they're always in the market for naked nubiles to sacrifice in honor of their dark lord. Mansion of the Living Dead is a prime example of hyper-prolific Spanish auteur Jesus Franco whipping up a heady concoction of flesh and frights. Female guests check in . . . and their clothes check out.

PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS (1978)
NUDES: Sirpa Lane, Melissa Chimenti
THE SKINNY: Skin-tillating Euro-sex goddess Sirpa Lane stars as a geologist whose jungle expedition bites off more than it can chew in notorious exploitation maven Joe D'Amato's Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals. Mouth-watering Melissa Chimenti embodies the title role mo(i)st juicily. Blood flows and guts get munched, but the main course of Papaya is a climactic lesbian chow-down between Sirpa and Melissa. What a couple of tasty dishes!

PERVERSION STORY (1969)
NUDES: Elsa Martinelli, Marisa Mell (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: In Perversion Story, a philandering physician's wife (Marisa Mell) bored with her life amuses herself by taking a night job as a stripper. When the doc finds out his honey is rocking the cocks of diseased degenerates, he writes a fatal prescription of vengeance. With ample-appled eyefuls like Marisa and Elsa Martinelli disrobing in this skintriguing Italian tale, the physical therapy is just what the doctor ordered.

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS (1979)
NUDES: Laura Gemser, Marpessa Djian, Catherine Gandois, Hedwige Thabuis (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: Pierre Braumberger, the producer of Private Collections, gathered some of the best erotic entertainers -mEmmanuelle (1974) director Just Jaeckin, Fruits of Passion (1981) director Shuji Terayama, and The Beast (1975) director Walerian Borowczyk -and gave them each a third of the movie to create a sexy short story. Being professionals, they cast Marpessa Djian, Catherine Gandois, Laura Gemser, and Hedwige Thabuis. The rest is history. Three times the fun for the price of one, and your one will be handily rewarded.

SATAN'S BABY DOLL (1982)
NUDES: Jacqueline Dupré (Picture: 1), Mariangela Giordano, Marina Hedman
THE SKINNY: Antonio Aguilar, the smack-shooting scion of a line of castle-dwelling creeps, lords over his manor in a most disturbing manner. He beats broads, goes nutty for nuns, shoots up his catatonic brother's pain medicine, and keeps a stash of corpses in the cellar. His wife, Marina Hedman, has just kicked the bucket, and her ghost has come back to wreak havoc as Satan's Baby Doll. Possessing her daughter, Jacqueline Dupré, ma sets out to snuff out any and all who had sex with her -and that's a lot of people, seeing as mommy rode the pony of every man around. Oh, and she also did some munching on the resident nun! It's sacrilicious fun! Eurosleaze fans will recognize a number of plot elements from Malabimba (1979), which also features a castle, a catatonic uncle, and a heavenly, horny Mariangela Giordano as the naughty nun. That film shares a writer and producer with Satan's Baby Doll.

THE SEXUAL STORY OF O (1984)
NUDES: Carmen Carrión, Mari Carmen Nieto (Picture: 1), Alicia Príncipe
THE SKINNY: Oh, O, you nymphet, you! You let yourself become a sex slave! Now what are you going to do? In The Sexual Story of O, the answer is "screw." And oh, the screwy screwing you shall do! O is Alicia Príncipe, a beautiful, innocent American tourist who gets her sweet ass seduced by a couple of hotel ne'er-do-wells. What kicks off as a threesome begins to multiply and kinkify, and her partners peddle her off to a broad by the name of Princess Bombaqui. Soon Alicia is T&A deep in S&M-azing sex, but the climax might be dangerous! Oh no!

SISTER EMANUELLE (1978)
NUDES: Laura Gemser, Dirce Funari, Vinja Locatelli, Mónica Zanchi (Picture: 1)
THE SKINNY: Erotic adventuress Black Emanuelle, a.k.a. luminous Laura Gemser, has been a bad girl. At least that's how she feels at the beginning of Sister Emanuelle, just before she takes a vow of chastity and checks herself into a local convent. So what might happen when bodaciously bisexual Black Emanuelle is cloistered up with a gaggle of godly virgins? Indeed, all manner of glorious girl-girl hell breaks loose, especially when a young nymphomaniac from a nearby school is placed in the nuns' care. Our heroine "straightens" her out most angelically! If you dig Catholic cooze-on-cooze action, then Sister Emanuelle is for you, mister.

THE SISTER OF URSULA (1978)
NUDES: Stefania D'Amario (Picture: 1), Yvonne Harlow, Barbara Magnolfi, Antiniska Nemour, Anna Zinnemann
THE SKINNY: In the deliciously sordid sexploitation film The Sister of Ursula, a pair of beautiful sisters settles in for a lovely vacation by the seaside but finds their holiday interrupted by a psychopathic killer. Barbara Magnolfi and Stefania D'Amario play vacationing beauties who grow alarmed when a number of their fellow guests turn up dead. Director Enzo Milioni gets right at the sexual subtext by changing the murder weapon from a knife into a giant dildo. Magnolfi and D'Amario do their best to avoid laceration, but they give the killer plenty to aim for in copious scenes in which they shed their threads for some irresistible pillow talk.

VANESSA (1977)
NUDES: Olivia Pascal (Picture: 1), Eva Garden, Uschi Zech
THE SKINNY: When a young lady is brought up in a too-strict school environment, there are dangers that she will overcompensate upon graduation. Vanessa tells the X-rated tale of an angelic orphaned sprite, Olivia Pascal, who is raised by the well-meaning, sheltering nuns of a convent following the death of her parents. But the foxy nubile cannot remain secluded from the real world forever. Upon venturing from the cloistered walls to claim the inheritance left her by Mom and Dad, Vanessa travels to Hong Kong and is perplexed to learn that the family income derives from a string of Asian whorehouses. The nature versus nurture debate in regard to Vanessa's erotic character is thence argued to greatly arousing effect.