Personally, I'd like to thank the country of Sweden from the bottom of my perverted heart for giving the world that amazingly beautiful creature sexploitation film fans know as Christina Lindberg (Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Exponerad, Maid in Sweden). Oh and yeah, Ingmar Bergman, isn't too shabby a contribution either. I'm a big fan of Swedish cult cinema but unfortunately it’s come very late in my life. Discovering new films from one of Europe's finest countries has been a challenge.That is until I set my eyes on Daniel Ekeroth's newest book, Swedish Sensationfilms: A Clandestine History Of Sex, Thrillers and Kicker Cinema. The exploitation Gods must be smiling down on me.Buy Swedish Sensationsfilms: A Clandestine History of Sex, Thrillers, and Kicker Cinema
on Amazon.comEkeroth's book contains over 200 reviews of "Sensationsfilms" - including a very welcome introduction by the goddess herself, Christina Lindberg. What are Sensationsfilms you might ask? In my estimation its pretty simple - exploitation, cult, arthouse cinema and even some mainstream films that tend to push barriers just to be “sensational”. "Swedish Sesationsfilms" is comprised of numerous film obscurities that are bound to challenge even the most studied cult film-phile. The array of films featured even goes so far as into the early 90's where the “Sensationsfilms" seemed to taper off.
Fans of Mac Alhberg( I, a Woman, Around The World with Fanny Hill) and Joe Sarno(Swedish Hellcats) will be happy to see plenty of these gentleman's classic Sensationsfilms offerings covered in some detailed (and thankfully funny) reviews. How about some love for legendary a Swedish character actor, Heinz Hopf? There's plenty of Hopf to go around for everybody here. I'm a huge Hopf fan and didn't realize the amount of work that this guy has done over the years aside from his most memorable role in Thriller: A Cruel Picture.
Now, the new film discoveries are a big reason you may be coming back to this book after you're finally done reading it. Here are a few that stood out that I simply have to see: Animal Protectors , Joe Sarno’s The Hitchhikeress, The Decoy (featuring an “Oily Heinz Hopf") Russian Terminator, Anders Nilsson’s Silverhawk (just because it sounds like a train-wreck) and quite possibly my favorite title in the entire book, Men Cannot Be Raped. That almost sounds like a Nikkatsu film. SOLD!
"Swedish Sensationsfilms" isn't a bland "text-only" review book, it's got a wealth of amazing photos, movie stills, ad mats of the many the sex, action and exploitation films the book offers. If you have ADD like myself this makes your read very smooth. The exploitation film preservationists, Klubb Super 8, provide a wide variety of promotional materials that you'll see throughout the book often side by side of the reviews.There's no shortage of skin in this book (some even in color!).
Another area where this book is very pleasing is in the translation from Swedish to English.This can never be easy but Magnus Henriksson does an excellent job making this book look perfect for English readers. The humor is a big part of the book and it comes across just fine as I chuckled plenty during my reading. As someone who barely has a grasp of his own native tongue I have to give credit to that area. Additionally, I was quite impressed with the cover art. Wes Benscoter’s art really pops beautifully. True, I’m a sucker for the stunning Christina Lindberg on anything but even without her very prominent presence - it’s a sharp looking cover that’s bound to grab anyone’s attention as they pass by your coffee table.
"Swedish Sensationsfilms" is an indespensible guide to many fascinating films that I most certainly will be seeking out. Highly Reccomended!
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