“It’s about a woman who f**ks an octopus” was Andrzej Zulawski initial pitch to Paramount who, unsurprisingly, passed. Although partly true his reductive synopsis really doesn’t do the film justice, but then how to describe such a work? Various marketing departments tried the horror angle but that didn’t sell, either. Britain did its bit by adding the title to the list of ‘video nasties’ and banned the film outright. It disappeared for decades save from some dreadful VHS versions but now, it’s back.
The first thirty minutes of the film are raw and disturbing, like nothing I’ve ever seen. More a battle of the senses than sexes. It induces a kind of total recoil, even though the subject matter - a marriage in its death throes - is commonplace enough. The couple, already flirting with mad... |
Rating of
4/4 |
