DVD Review: Transgression (1988)

TRANSGRESSION (1988)

Label: One 7 Movies
Region Code: ALL REGIONS NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 mins
Video: 1.66.1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with English Subtitles
Director: Fabrizio Rampelli
Cast: Milly D'Abbraccio, Pierfrancesco Campanella, Giorgio Ardisson
Tagline: She Wasn't Just Another Dream

Angelo (Pierfrancesco Campanella) is an angst-ridden college student who fears that he will fail his impending test, so he does what anyone would do in the same situation - he decides to shoot some milky-white intravenous drugs into his arm in an attempt to chill the fuck out, not likely. Instead of mellowing out he begins to hallucinate like at an LSD fiend. While out of his drug-fueled mind he takes to the road where he gets picked-up by pervy businessman Mr. Roberto (Giorgio Ardisson). The older man gives him a lift and invites him back to his estate where Angelo meets his satisfyingly lusty daughter Valeria (Milly D'Abbraccio). That night Angelo makes himself at home as anyone would, spying on Mr. Roberto banging the maid through a keyhole and getting his voyeuristic rocks off while watching Valeria masturbate in her room - now that's what I call a sleepover!

The next day the none too subtle and completely naked Mr. Roberto makes a strong come-on slash attempted rape maneuver on Angelo on top of a billiards table when Valeria walks in on the shenanigans and cracks her father upside the skull with a pool cue. Ciao. Valeria and Angelo seem to bond over what should be traumatic event for both on several levels but before you know it they're on a demented kill spree that lasts for days, each killing bringing with it more sadistic delight and as the body count soars so to do their perversions.

TRANSGRESSION aka LA TRASGRESSIONE was written by it's star Pierfrancesco Campanella and his writing much like his acting leaves quite a bit to be desired. His performance is pretty bland and stiff, you just can't get behind this guy - even though Mr. Roberto certainly tries. Starring opposite him is Italian porn superstar Milly D'Abbraccio who's not Sophia Loren herself but at least is game enough to flaunt copious amounts of skin throughout this Italian drug-induced sex thriller. This is Fabrizio Rampelli only directing credit and I guess it's not surprising, the films competently shot but is quite rudimentary in it's form and lacks much style associated with many Italian filmmakers. Something about the film felt very 70's to me and if I didn't know this was a late 80's production I would assume it was mid 70's, it doesn't hurt it and I kind of liked it, weird.

Despite these shortcomings I found a lot to like about this film. Rampelli's drug-fueled murder spree takes us to some weird places, good sleazy exploitation that recalled to me the demented exploits of ISLAND OF DEATH and the dark depths to which that film sank in it's depravity. Angelo tortures an infant, repeatedly stabbing the child with a needle which elicits a pained wailing, they burn a couple alive that they meet at the beach and they seduce unwitting victims and then delightfully murder them afterwards. There's even a scene wherein Angelo has an odd encounter with a farm animal much like what we saw with Island of Death, a film of which it shares many similarities though without the artful eye and direction of Nico Mastorakis.


DVD: One 7 Movies continue bringing us obscure Italian cinema to DVD and while the transfers aren't anything to boast about at least they're on DVD, and anamorphic, right? TRANSGRESSION is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen, what I would presume was it's original aspect ratio with Italian language Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. The print is not exactly pristine, there's print damage , heavy grain and the image is soft throughout plus the colors are muted but it's watchable enough. The Italian language mono is decent and handles the dialogue and score pretty well, there are also optional English subtitles. Special features include two deleted scenes and two trailers for the film.

Special Features:
- Deleted Scenes (4:47) 4:3 Letterboxed
- Original Trailers (5:48) 4:3 Letterboxed

Verdict: Not a perfect film but definitely a depraved slice of Italian exploitation that delights in it's own trashy perversion. If you've seen ISLAND OF DEATH and enjoyed it's pervy exploitation this will prove a fun watch and if you haven't seen it I recommend snagging that film first and then giving this a watch if you crave something similar afterwards. Coming in October from One 7 Movies we can look forward to more obscure Italian exploitation with Joe D'Amatos EXOTIC MALICE, Salvatore Bugnatelli's SEX DEMONS AND DEATH and Nello Rossati's EROTIC ESCAPE which are available for pre-order from Amazon. 2.5 outta 5