Nearly two decades since her last film, and at 80+ years of age, exploitation maven Doris Wishman is back in full force with her latest piece of trash. “Satan Was A Lady” is the title and, for all intents and purposes, is one of the worst films you will have the pleasure of scanning through on home video. It is poorly shot, illogically edited and (barring the outstanding work of lead Honey Lauren), has performances that Roger Corman would reshoot.
At the film’s crux is stunningly sexy (and scantily clad) Cleo (Lauren) who is angry and, quite simply, wants money … lots of money. When she is not taking advantage of drunken men she spends her time yelling (naked) at her annoying, self-centered, wanna-be-rock-star boyfriend (whose too-long solos must have been spared from the cutting room floor in lue of payment). In her free time she also blackmails clients who are apparently too dumb to do anything but begrudgingly pay up, at her request.
For those who are familiar with Wishman’s previous work, “Satan” picks up where earlier titles like “Deadly Weapons” (1971) and “Blaze Starr Goes Nudist” (1965) ended. This new incarnation of the same type of movie is just as bad as most, if not all, of her previous films … and for the exact same “quirky” reasons.
The only piece of this lurid puzzle that does fit into the grand scheme of “all things good” is the standout character of Cleo, who is brought to life by the vivacious talents of Honey Lauren. Lauren is to be commended for her brave and clever portrayal of a character who was CLEARLY not so vivacious in the script. In fact, if not for Lauren’s amazing “talents” this film would just be another bad piece of soft-core porn.
With her trademark of bad edits, no storyline and underachieving actors, Wishman is at her typical “best” after her long absence. The question is … does Wishman’s cult style of filmmaking appeal to your taste? As with most cult movies, reviews and analysis mean nothing since one can never really explain why any piece of filmmaking earns the term “cult” anyway. So, if you are looking for some good nudity from modeleque actresses you have come to the right place. If not, go to Disneyland.
