Whirlpool [Original Film Soundtrack] (1970) Composed by Stelvio Cipriani (1937-2018) Tracklisting: 1. [00:00] Seq. 1 (Titoli) 2. [02:20] Seq. 2 3. [04:04] Seq. 3 4. [06:21] Seq. 4 5. [08:29] Seq. 5 6. [10:20] Seq. 6 7. [11:45] Seq. 7 8. [14:00] Seq. 8 9. [17:27] Seq. 9 10. [18:32] Seq. 10 11. [20:39] Seq. 11 12. [21:50] Seq. 12 13. [23:19] Seq. 13 14. [30:53] Seq. 14 15. [32:03] Seq. 15 (Finale) Written and directed by José Ramón Larraz (1929-2013) under the name J.R. Larrath, Whirlpool (aka) Perversion Flash (aka) She Died with Her Boots On is an erotic thriller which was the directorial debut from one of the most underrated and oft-neglected genre filmmakers of his generation. The film itself is rather an amateurish affair given that his latter works are far better, but contains the same themes: sexual perversity played out against a background of haunting, natural beauty and moody isolation. A British / Danish co-production based on an idea by Sam Lomberg, the film starred Karl Lanchbury, Vivian Neves (1947-2002), Pia Andersson, Johanna Hegger, Andrew Grant, Barry Craine, and Ernest C. Jennings (1902-1994). Shot on a shoestring budget, this long lost gem disappeared for several decades until Arrow Video restored and re-released it in 2019. Beautiful young fashion model Tulia (Vivian Neves) thinks she is getting a major opportunity when magazine editor Sarah (Pia Andersson) invites her to her country cottage for the weekend so that her brilliant photographer nephew Theo (Karl Lanchbury) can take some shots of her to fill out her portfolio. Not entirely naïve, Tulia realizes that both Sarah and Theo have a sexual interest in her (and in each other), but the atmosphere of the cottage, the surrounding woods, and the lake starts to get to her. Tulia also intuits that Theo and Sarah previously had a similar relationship with Rhonda (Johanna Hegger) who recently parted their company; indeed, she feels increasingly that she is being slotted into the girl's place. When Rhonda's older married lover (Edwin Brown) comes snooping around after being informed by the police that the girl is missing, Tulia starts to wonder if Rhonda really left and if Theo's sadistic and voyeuristic games - including springing a faux-rapist (Arthur Grant) to photograph her fearful reaction - end with the click of his camera. Written off as a cheap and nasty sex film, there is actually more to this than the sleaze aspect. The cinematography by Julio Pérez de Rozas is quite impressive. There is an air of suppressed madness, and it is never quite clear what the real relationships and motivations are between the characters. The soundtrack also adds its own layer of mystery to the film. Unfortunately, Larraz’s directorial style was not yet fully developed, though it is an interesting yet disturbing and highly suspenseful thriller that is certainly not free of faults by a long shot but is a perfectly entertaining film that will keep the viewer invested from start to finish. Shot without live sound, the film's post-production took place in Italy with editing by Carlo Reali and a score by Stelvio Cipriani which included cues that would later become part of the CAM library and be utilized heavily by Paul Naschy for films like The Mummy's Revenge and The Craving. The sordid goings-on within the film are given an unexpected lift by a typically grandiose and classy score from Cipriani, whose tasteful musical scoring delivers a series of sumptuous arrangements that are sultry, romantic, moody and threatening. This video is for promotional use only. I do not own the rights to the music. All rights belong to the artist / band.

• published: 14 Jun 2020
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