What can I say about the awful portmanteau "nunsploitation"? Wikipedia tells me the genre originated in the 60's, but mostly existed in the 70's, and if there's one thing we've learned thus far it's that yours truly author of this blog loves the fucking 70's fool. I dig it.
Nunsploitation is done to vilify and sexualize the normally nonsexual personage of the nun. There's wacky titles aplenty that exist out there, such as this one Killer Nun, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Nuns on the Run, Behind Convent Walls, and branching all the way to modern times with Nude Nuns with Big Guns in 2010. Ah, what a ripe genre for the grindhouse fanatic.
This one has 70's sleaze and softcore star Anita Ekberg as the main nun, sister Gertrude. She has a shady past, she's a complex character, and we're given insight into her drug abuse, her sexual liberties, and her interpretation of the word of god. When people in her mental hospital or wherever it is she works start to turn up dead, she's a clear candidate for the suspect. She certainly acts insane at times, stomping on one woman's dentures, traumatizing others, and generally being a jackass. So murder does not seem out of scope.
The acting in this is good, the sexuality of it also a nice focus. They put Anita Ekberg front and center, and she's good as a shifty, untrustworthy narrator. Soon enough she starts doing drugs, which lead her on little trips, unsure of what she's doing or why. She runs out of the convent at one point, meets a random man at a bar, and fucks him in an alleyway later. No words are ever spoken. That alone was a scene to tell us exactly who this woman is.
There are a few unanswered questions and/or plotholes present, such as why they don't take any action to make sure it's not her doing the killing. Seems like someone would at least attempt to put her in a room locked up, saying it's "just to make sure". But I guess they explain it a little bit at times with faulty dialogue. Eventually they do put her away in the last 10 minutes, and we get to finally see the true answer behind the riddle of the flick, and fuck, it satisfies. What more can one really ask for from a late 70's grindhouse entry?
I liked it. Some good nudity, good acting, and good storyline that is exactly the right level of complexity. Low scope, likely small budget, it does its job just fine. 3.5 stars.
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