...ya' know?? There's an old saying, once often waved and bantered about the '70's, that said 'different strokes for different folks'; the phrase easily suggested that...hey, everyone is different, and what 'does it' for one person, might not 'do it' for another, no matter how standard, or how unusual 'it' is. Today, the saying might read more like 'whatever floats your boat', or for those more into the indivisible pleasure & pain virtues of a certain Leviathan-ruled, hellish underworld, the mantra might be '...what's your pleasure, sir?' In the end, no matter how it reads, the 'song (always) remains the same'...as Led Zeppelin once sang, and in reiterating, what 'turns on' one person may well be different from what 'turns on' another. Strangely enough...though probably not readily admitted by most...the more unusual the 'turn on', in seeing it through another's eyes, the more irresistibly compelling it is...almost as if one of 'the norm' sees, and is drawn towards something, which one just can't have...that is, without feeling out of 'the norm'. Such tortured complexity of character and emotion...in self-discovery, self-expression and self-indulgence...is the flavor of the moment, as Vinegar Syndrome lets their freak flag fly, in their latest 'drive-in' double feature offering, by 'blue movie' auteur Kemal Horulu (...previously spotlighted, with one of V/S's previous 'drive-in' double feature pairing, "The Sexualist" and "Wendy's Palace"). Lurid & tawdry tales of tortured drama, obsessive longings...and wildly erotic fantasies fulfilled...
...with unflinching fervor, 1973's "Virgin and the Lover" focuses upon a most dysfunctional eroticism. A young, virile and handsome filmmaker, Paul (Eric Edwards), finds himself in the throes of a most frustrating dilemma; it seems that he suffers from a fearful aversion of direct physical contact with women, and yet, engages in torrid and explicit sexual fantasies, in imagining that a sensually dressed female mannequin, which he keeps in his apartment flat, takes the form of various women, whom he encounters and associates with. Part of his unconventional arousal process, has him 'doll himself up' with womens' clothing and make-up, and in fact, in the midst of editing a film...the theme of which features a lesbian encounter...Paul narratively expresses a longing desire to know and feel what a women specifically feels, when making love with another women. Describing his sexual fantasies, and ensuing frustrations to his analyst (Reggi Defoe), Paul also finds himself mentally and emotionally torn, as he throws caution to the wind, engaging in an explicit relationship with his analyst's secretary (Leah Marlon), whom he feels inexplicably drawn towards. Will she understand Paul's unique 'problem', and open-mindedly place herself in amiable tandem with his sexual peculiarities...or will she leave him to further spiral down into sexual dysfunction??.....
...as confusingly titled as "Virgin and the Lover" is (...uh, what 'virgin'??), the film itself is quite compelling, in the sense that a character's dysfunction is far more interesting than a 'normal' person's normalcy...not unlike how bad or tragic news headlines are more attention-grabbing than the 'good' news. As might be expected for this genre, "V&L" is much more episodic, than linear, as far as it's storytelling; the scenes of sex and eroticism are passionately explicit and enticing, though fleeting, in that as many sexual encounters as can be rendered in the 90-minute running time, are enacted. However, tempering the level of passion exhibited herein, is a most distracting poor dubbing of the moans and groans, exclaimed during the various sexual tristes, which genuinely takes away from the passionate 'believeability' of the proceedings. The cast itself is quite amiable and capable, during the sex scenes; unfortunately, when it comes to the ensuing drama, amidst the theadbare storytelling, the players herein tend to stiffen up listlessly, like an oak two-by-four...not surprisingly suggesting that the players here, were clearly rousted mainly for...for...well, for their ability to 'get busy', as opposed to their acting ability...
...fortunately, things heat up substantially...sexually, dramatically, as well as exploitatively...with the 1976 co-feature, "Lustful Feelings". As the result of some substantial debt to his 'connection', slick, albeit low-life street-level drug dealer Tony (Jamie Gillis) is compelled by his suppliers to up the pay-up ante, as far as his debt, and hire his wife, Joanna (Leslie Bovee) out...having her pose for nude photo shoots, in an effort to get the extra cash. At first, amiably open to the idea, in order to save her man, Joanna soon becomes compellingly drawn into an explicitly erotic and fetish-accented world, which unbeknownst to Tony, garnishes a much more substantial amount of money, than what mere nude photography might provide. By the time Tony finds out the truth, regarding his betroth's sexual activity-for-hire, she becomes invariably 'addicted' to this alternate lifestyle. And as Tony's drug suppliers pressure him more and more into honoring his debt much quicker, it becomes far too late to pull his wife from the mire he has placed her in...a 'mire', which she herself has willingly subjected and surrendered herself to...and this whole inescapable mish-mash of events, culminates in a head-on collision with tragedy, from which no one could possibly come back from...unscathed and unharmed.....
...once again, as with the preceeding feature, the sexually unusual and unconventional provide the drawing power, in "Lustful Feelings", as the wildly varied sexual acts of the Joanna character, far out-stage those of the husband character, Tony; his heated tristes with his wife, as well as a consoling neighbor, provide diversionary respite, as compared to his wife's wildly explicit and exotic sexual activity, which includes moments of explicitly erotic domination, S&M, and take-a-turn gang-banging. As campy as the acting proves to be, in these proceedings, there's clearly an underlining level of morality play, which is grittily dragged through the ensuing dramatics, in a compellingly sleazy and exploitative manner. Amusingly enough, there is a distinct measure of nostalgia, amidst the tragically spiraling events...specifically with the soundtrack moments of the film, which feature easily distinguishable muzak versions of Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay", the Moody Blues' "Knights in White Satin" and Andrea True Connection's classic '70's disco staple, "More, More, More".....
...to digitally clean up this tantilizing two-some too extensively, would be an outrage...and the fine folks over at Vinegar Syndrome have once again taken to their reputable task, giving "Virgin and the Lover" and "Lustful Feelings" (...reads as merely "Feelings", on the DVD cover, as well as the provided trailer) just enough restoration, to make them colorfully striking and watchable, though leaving in just enough pops, scratches and print hiss, to reflect that perfect visual aura of drive-in style sleaze. In short, yet another satisfyingly sleazy sex-fest...albeit, much more flavorfully exotic and forbidden, this time...Really, how can one possibly resist??
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