Divine Emanuelle (1981)

You won't be disappointed!

Memorable, crazy movie

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Love Camp, AKA Divine Emanuelle, sees dusky sexploitation star Laura Gemser as The Divine One, the manipulative leader of a hippie, free-love sex-cult called The Children of Light. With the help of her blond second-in-command Dorian (played by the film's director Christian Anders), and tough 'hench-people' Veronica (the obligatory lesbian) and Tanga (musclebound Sascha Borysenko), she uses her hold over her followers to increase her wealth: rich converts are convinced to part with their cash, whilst more nubile members of the cult are instructed to sell themselves for sex. Anyone who breaks the rules, or who no longer wishes to participate in the cult's free-love ideal, are allowed to leave—whereupon they are killed by Tanga and thrown down a deep chasm.The Divine One is keen to secure the wealth of Dorian's latest convert, senator's daughter Patricia (Simone Brahmann), but with her blond cohort gradually falling in love with the girl, the senator most displeased with his daughter's choice of friends, and an undercover cop in the midst of the commune investigating the mysterious disappearances of several members, it looks as though her days as a cult leader are numbered. Time to break out the high explosives and stage a Jim Jones style massacre...Any Laura Gemser movie with Emanuelle in its name (or one of its 'Also Known As' titles) pretty much guarantees copious amounts of nudity; most of them, however, also deliver fairly dismal story lines, dreadful direction and ultimately, a rather dull time for the viewer. Technically, Divine Emanuelle is not much better than the majority of Gemser's softcore sex flicks, but it does have the advantage of being absolutely hilarious. Crazy musical numbers accompanied by gyrating hippies; lame scenes of torture and humiliation; Tanga the Barbarian publicly deflowering a virgin; a naked woman doing the splits; a black guy playing the air guitar; Anders giving his best Bruce Lee impersonation; a groovy, tripped-out seventies vibe, despite being made in 1981; and tons of near-the-knuckle naughtiness: this one packs so much lunacy into its running time that it's almost impossible not to enjoy.So enjoy!

What a funny ride! Written, directed, produced by and starring Christian Anders, then one of Germanys foremost "Schlager" singers ("Schlager" being a low-brow chanson-like musical style popular with the elderly and nowadays fondly paid tribute to by "remember the 70s" disco-night revivals), it's main attraction undoubtedly is Laura Gemser in the role of a love cults' divine goddess destined to bring love to the people – or else, if that won't work. Anders, who is of course also responsible for the half-cheesy, half-stolen soundtrack, later, under the influence of eastern religious philosophy, wrote a book on "The Sense of Life", claiming that 30ft high apes once made love to other monkeys, and out came – mankind. His aims looked different back in 1981 (good picture quality on the DVD, by the way; I'm referring to the full uncut release), for "The Death Goddess of the Love Camp" (literal translation) resembles everything you would expect from a cheap, exploitative soft-sex movie out there to do nothing else than make money. The story looks a bit as if the Jim Jones tragedy meets early 70s porn, complete with some musical numbers (badly dubbed) and lots of nudity, and there are even a few torture-like scenes. Direction is terrible, but the film has it's entertaining moments, has Laura Gemser, and is weird enough to be watched at least once.

This is one of those hippie/"free love"-type films that were big in the early 1970's (complete with some truly insipid musical numbers) except that it was made in 1980 and was also obviously influenced by the very unpleasant series of Nazi prison camp movies that were big in the mid to late 70's. The resulting hybrid is truly bizarre. Members who violate the "free love" ethos of the cult (i.e. by trying to have monogamous relations or refusing to prostitute themselves to perverted outsiders for money)are whipped and tortured. Laura "Black Emanuelle" Gemser is the main attraction here, playing the supreme leader of the cult. I'm sure no one has ever complained about her numerous nude and sex scenes, but she does seem a little miscast as an Ilsa, the Wicked Warden type (she's a svelte, submissive Asian, not a tall, dominant Teutonic type). The plot (in so much as there is one) involves a naive senator's daughter who is seduced into the cult by Gemser's ridiculously blonde, male second-in-command. The movie plays out like a softcore version of "Hair" with an occasional beating and torture sequence and maybe a nod here and there to the Manson Family and the then recent Guyana tragedy. Not really recommended, but if you enjoy this sort of thing.. .

Those of you familiar with the the various "Emanuelle" films featuring Laura Gemser will be somewhat disappointed with "Divine Emanuelle". Its comic-book approach is somewhat unique: Ms. Gemser floats in as the figurehead of a "love cult", and she comes complete with a pumped-up bodyguard (borrowed from an old Hercules B-movie!) and not enough young, vivacious followers. The storyline is dull and predictable, but who cares... in these films, it's the nudity that counts! Unfortunately, this one comes up short (as compared to, say, Emanuelle in America). Sure, Gemser looks great, and there is one requisite lesbo scene that's not bad; otherwise, it's a bit of a snoozer. I would say that if you can find a rental copy without too much trouble, then sure, it's worth a look.