Written by: Michael Den Boer on May 20th, 2009
Theatrical Release Date: UK, 2000
Director: Nigel Wingrove
Writer: Nigel Wingrove
Cast: Sally Tremaine, Moyna Cope, Simon Hill, Kristina Bill, Rachel Taggart
DVD released: May 19th, 2009
Approximate running time: 72 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Salvation Films/Redemption
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $19.95
Synopsis: Mother Superior Elizabeth appears to be possessed as she claims to be having vision in which she is visited by Mary Magdalene who forces her to re-evaluate her concepts of sexuality and evil. Elizabeth’s faith is pushed to the limits with each new visit from Mary Magdalene who shows her that there are many others nuns burning with desire just like her with in the convent. Will Elizabeth’s faith be enough to get her through this madness that has overcome her or will she succumb to her repressed sexual desires?
What is there not to love about the Nunsplotation genre? You have nuns ready to disrobe at any moment and commit acts of lesbianism. Nunsplotation is one of the more obscure genres in the history of cinema that peaked in popularity by the mid 1970’s. Since the decline of this genre many have tried to capture the essence this genre and very few have succeeded. Nigel Wingrove direction is inspired at times and it is amazing just what he is able to get up on the screen considering that he shot this film in a mere eight days. The films opening credits set the tone immediately as religious icons float though what looks like blood and water.
The story is pretty standard and the acting is adequate at best. These things could normally hurt most films, but then you don’t watch a Nunsplotation for its acting or tightly woven plot. Sacred Flesh is a perfect title for this film as there is much screen time devoted to nuns with curvy figures and ample sized breasts who like to please each other and take off their clothes. The films photography is simply exquisite as every frame is carefully composed and all the women in the film look stunning. The films ambient score he drive the action.
There are also several soft-core lesbian scenes that push the limits of soft-core as the participants come very close to crossing the line into hardcore. The films finale climatic orgy is epic in length and it will leave you exhausted and feeling dirty. The films pacing does drag mostly in scenes that include Father Henry and his servant Richard. The scenes involving the nuns as they get down and nasty are the ones that move by the quickest. Overall Sacred Flesh has all the cliches we have come to expect when watching a Nunsplotation film.
The DVD:
Redemption Films presents Sacred Flesh in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio. Colors look nicely saturated and flesh tones (of which plenty is on display) look healthy throughout. Details look generally crisp and black levels fare well. This transfer has not been flagged for progressive playback and there are some mild instances of blurring / ghosting.
This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. The audio is clear and free of any audio defects.
Extras for this release include a teaser (36 seconds) and a trailer for the film (1 minute 29 seconds), storyboard artwork and three stills galleries titled “Two Nuns”, “Main Stills Gallery” and “Behind the Scenes”. Other extras include a twenty three minute featurette on Nunsplotation which includes comments from director / founder of Salvation films Nigel Wingrove who discusses the genre and his films Sacred Flesh and Visions of Ecstasy. The main extra included with this release is audio commentary with Nigel Wingrove who gives a thorough overview about the making of this film. Also included with this release are trailers for other Redemption titles that are also available on DVD. Rounding out the extras is a promo trailer for an upcoming film from Salvation Films titles Sisters of Armageddon. In 2005 Heretic Films released Sacred Flesh on DVD and the audio / video presentation for this DVD release from Redemption Films is comparable to Heretic Films DVD release. Overall Sacred Flesh gets a well rounded DVD release from Redemption Films.