"Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks" isn't as great as the original, but it's still entertaining.
**SPOILERS**
Working in the Middle-East, Ilsa, (Dyanne Thorne) works as the keeper for El Sharif, (Jerry Delony) a powerful oil sheik that controls a vast harem. When new members Inga Lindstrom, (Uschi Digard) Nora Edward, (Colleen Brennan) and Alina Cordova, (Haji) arrive to be indoctrinated into the lifestyle and she sets out to do it for them. When US Navy Commander Adam Scott, (Max Thayer) arrives at the camp to help negotiate a treaty for the oil, she takes an immediate personal interest in him and tries to do her best to keep him while also attending to her duties inside his harem. Finally growing restless with his stubbornness and refusal to allow her to keep him around, she decides to stage a coup with the girls and him to take over the palace and exact their revenge.
The News: This wasn't that bad, but it's certainly good enough at times. The main issue with this one is that this one is just as good as the original in the sleaze department when it tries to. There's a generous helping of nudity in here, delivered with plenty of opportunities to show some really nice moments. There's the usual inspection of all the slaves sequence here, where they spend the time going over every inch of their body and giving clear looks at everything on display to their training sequences for the harem, which include sexual favors, performances and more, all done with emphasis on the sleaze and nudity presented in the situation. Usually reserved for the dirtier side, yet there's a matter of doing the scenes for their best at giving off a great, dirty feel while also doing it's best to feel romantic and sensuous as well. These work from the film's several sex scenes or massages that occur throughout. There's even some from the various tortures inflicted in here, which are suitably disgusting without being too graphic. The biggest one, the ants over the legs while gnawing away on the flesh is a really gruesome sight and really does a lot of good for the brutality stakes with tons of closeups of the creatures crawling all over the skin and the wounds that occur from the bites. It's all wonderfully exploitative and works wonders for the film. There's also the wonderfully cruel forms of torture dished out along the way, including the rebel who gets set on fire in a spectacular scene that's the best moment in the film by a large majority, a thief has their hand amputated in full view of everyone at a party and an incredibly squirm-inducing one with rats-in-a-cage. There's a couple other great parts to this, mainly the really fun action scenes at the end. This one gets a little more thrilling and exciting than the previous one, which is a great feat in that it gets one over on the original, and the huge body count is a lot of fun. There's a few problems with it, though, mainly in the fact that it doesn't really feel as dirty as the first one. It's a lot more toned down in the sleaze, with the violence being quite removed from where it was, there's a lot less amount of nudity than before despite it feeling like there's a lot, and the sleaze amounts are much lower, leaving very little in the way of the original. The only other problem to be had with this one is the more relaxed pace, with a lot more scenes that appear thrown in for the sole purpose of expanding the film out. The conversations about what to do with the harem girls didn't need to be done so often, as often-times it was just for a couple quick lines with no progression made in the time, and it sort of makes the middle drag a little bit. These, though, are minor problems and don't distract enough to ruin this one completely.
The Final Verdict: Not as good or as sleazy as the original, but it's still enough to make it a watchable entry in the exploitation cannon. Give it a shot if you liked the first one, are interested in the genre or have a deep appreciation for these kinds of films, but if you weren't a fan of the first heed caution.
Rated R: Full Nudity, Graphic Violence, some mild sex scenes and some Language
**SPOILERS**
Working in the Middle-East, Ilsa, (Dyanne Thorne) works as the keeper for El Sharif, (Jerry Delony) a powerful oil sheik that controls a vast harem. When new members Inga Lindstrom, (Uschi Digard) Nora Edward, (Colleen Brennan) and Alina Cordova, (Haji) arrive to be indoctrinated into the lifestyle and she sets out to do it for them. When US Navy Commander Adam Scott, (Max Thayer) arrives at the camp to help negotiate a treaty for the oil, she takes an immediate personal interest in him and tries to do her best to keep him while also attending to her duties inside his harem. Finally growing restless with his stubbornness and refusal to allow her to keep him around, she decides to stage a coup with the girls and him to take over the palace and exact their revenge.
The News: This wasn't that bad, but it's certainly good enough at times. The main issue with this one is that this one is just as good as the original in the sleaze department when it tries to. There's a generous helping of nudity in here, delivered with plenty of opportunities to show some really nice moments. There's the usual inspection of all the slaves sequence here, where they spend the time going over every inch of their body and giving clear looks at everything on display to their training sequences for the harem, which include sexual favors, performances and more, all done with emphasis on the sleaze and nudity presented in the situation. Usually reserved for the dirtier side, yet there's a matter of doing the scenes for their best at giving off a great, dirty feel while also doing it's best to feel romantic and sensuous as well. These work from the film's several sex scenes or massages that occur throughout. There's even some from the various tortures inflicted in here, which are suitably disgusting without being too graphic. The biggest one, the ants over the legs while gnawing away on the flesh is a really gruesome sight and really does a lot of good for the brutality stakes with tons of closeups of the creatures crawling all over the skin and the wounds that occur from the bites. It's all wonderfully exploitative and works wonders for the film. There's also the wonderfully cruel forms of torture dished out along the way, including the rebel who gets set on fire in a spectacular scene that's the best moment in the film by a large majority, a thief has their hand amputated in full view of everyone at a party and an incredibly squirm-inducing one with rats-in-a-cage. There's a couple other great parts to this, mainly the really fun action scenes at the end. This one gets a little more thrilling and exciting than the previous one, which is a great feat in that it gets one over on the original, and the huge body count is a lot of fun. There's a few problems with it, though, mainly in the fact that it doesn't really feel as dirty as the first one. It's a lot more toned down in the sleaze, with the violence being quite removed from where it was, there's a lot less amount of nudity than before despite it feeling like there's a lot, and the sleaze amounts are much lower, leaving very little in the way of the original. The only other problem to be had with this one is the more relaxed pace, with a lot more scenes that appear thrown in for the sole purpose of expanding the film out. The conversations about what to do with the harem girls didn't need to be done so often, as often-times it was just for a couple quick lines with no progression made in the time, and it sort of makes the middle drag a little bit. These, though, are minor problems and don't distract enough to ruin this one completely.
The Final Verdict: Not as good or as sleazy as the original, but it's still enough to make it a watchable entry in the exploitation cannon. Give it a shot if you liked the first one, are interested in the genre or have a deep appreciation for these kinds of films, but if you weren't a fan of the first heed caution.
Rated R: Full Nudity, Graphic Violence, some mild sex scenes and some Language