Review by Peter Syslo
SACRED FLESH (2000 UK) is a recent DVD release from the erotica specialists at Redemption/Salvation (www.salvation-films.com). This film is what you would call “nunsploitation”, meaning that it focuses on putting nuns in sexual situations (and yes, that is actually a legitimate sub-genre of exploitation films). Before I proceed, I just want to mention that the DVD quality is excellent - as always with this company - and there is a really good interview with Wingrove, that is included in the Special Features section. Regarding the film itself, this is one of Nigel Wingrove's early works and I do think that it is quite good. To be honest, the main focus of the film is the sex; but I also feel that Wingrove has woven a coherent story around those scenes and he has scripted some very provocative dialogue which reflects many ideas about celibacy, self-denial, and religion in general. Definitely food for thought and a feast for the eyes.
SACRED FLESH is written and directed by Nigel Wingrove. The film stars Eileen Daly, Emily Booth, Simon Hill, Moyna Cope, Sally Tremaine, Kristina Bill, Rachel Taggert, Daisy Weston, Moses Rockman, Willow, and Laura Plair.
The picture is about a medieval convent where the Mother Superior has gone mad. She sees visions of Mary Magadalene, Repression (Daly), and other embodiments of religious doctrine. In her insanity, the visions lead her to read a diary where the nuns of the convent have confessed various sexual sins. This is way too much for the Mother Superior to take because it arouses conflicting feelings of chastity vows and sexual desires, within her. While she wallows in her conflicting misery, another Sister has called upon an Abbot (Hill) to come to the convent to discuss the issues regarding the Mother Superior and convents in general. They discuss the ways that sexual repression rears its ugly head and the various insane practices that some nuns take in order to deal with it. When all is finally revealed to the crazy Mother Superior, in four erotic scenes, the choice is hers as whether to give into sexual desire or to punish herself for her wicked impulses.
I really liked this film because I felt that it truly delivered “the goods”. To provide some clarification, I mean two things by “the goods”: 1. it is a racy and daring film and 2. you get to see complete female nudity. Addressing the first subject, I feel that Wingrove has created a shocking and daring picture. Yes, the sexual component of the nuns is the driving force behind it, but there is a lot of thought-provoking dialogue which occurs in scenes that are interspersed with the erotica. For instance, there is one scene where the Abbot is conversing with his assistant. In a way, it is kind of like “guy talk” (with the locker-room subject matter) but, it is actually an interesting discussion which is often on the minds of people who weigh in about celibacy in religion. The Abbot speaks of nuns, their virginity, and the torment of not being able to express their desires. I know that this is a brief scene which seems like a couple of perverts getting hot about nuns, but the raw honesty (especially of the Abbot) really made sense and strangely enough, he seemed accepting of sexuality. To make a long story short, the larger topic of the film seems to be on that hot-button topic of celibacy and the fact that people in the religious life may benefit from expression of their sexual desires.
Along with the core subject matter and the intelligent dialogue, the hallucinatory scenes of the Mother Superior were surreal, hypnotic, and definitely in the spirit of the topic of the film. The Mother Superior is a prime example of the torturous nature of repressed sexual desire, which the Abbot discusses in various scenes. I like the fact that Wingrove went as far as to suggest that when the nuns punish themselves for sexual urges, it actually leads to greater sexual desire (in a fetish sort of way). The way that the Mother Superior tortures herself though the constraints of doctrine really leads one to ask the question, “Wouldn't a loving god want a person to embrace the gift of humanity and all of the sensual pleasures that go along with it?” I don't mean to be reading too much into the film, but I think that a lot of interesting points are explored and it compliments the sexual content well.
Without further delay, I will now get to the “meat and potatoes” of the film: nuns engaging in sex. It's funny, because real nuns – you know, the ones who taught us in school – are nowhere near the nuns that are in this film. These nuns are as hot as hell and I'm not exaggerating one bit. I don't know where Wingrove finds the girls for his films, but man, he knows how to pick 'em. As I hinted at above, you do see complete female nudity and it is such a beautiful sight. The sex scenes are not hardcore pornography, but you definitely see enough that it qualifies as going beyond softcore. You do get to see glimpses between the legs of these women and you see a lot of real and implied sexual acts. To give the viewer an idea, I will run through the first two sex scenes (there are four in all).
The first sex scene focuses on a single nun who, according to the Mother Superior's description, surrendered to the devil's temptation and engaged in self-satisfaction. This was my favorite erotic scene in the entire film; it is unbelievably hot. What you see is a very beautiful nun lying on her stomach, who reaches down and starts masturbating. Before long, she lies on her back, completely exposes her self, and continues to touch her vagina... in full-view. You get to continue with her until she achieves her goal (which I think is acting, rather than being real) and the whole scene is completed with a haunting, atmospheric musical score. The second sex scene, turns it up a notch and this time it focuses on two nuns who engage in a little S&M and then turn to pleasuring each other with their tongues and their hands. Once again, you get to clearly see the center of femininity of one of the girls. As I stated with the beauty of these women, I am not exaggerating about the content of these scenes. It was very refreshing to see Wingrove “go there” and it made for an exploitative experience.
Gnawing through the flesh: SACRED FLESH was very fulfilling. I thought that the story and the dialogue were in the spirit of various films in the exploitation genre and you get exactly what you want in this film – hot nuns getting naked having sex. But, you also get some intriguing subject matter which also hints at ages-old literature, such as something you would read in “The Decameron” or “The Cantebury Tales”. I liked the cinematography and Wiongrove, with his artistic background, really employs impressive sets and knows how to make a scene of beautiful women even more beautiful. The hallucinatory scenes are equally impressive, although I didn't completely like the concept of Magdalene and the other embodiments (I would have liked to have seen them a little less comedic). Overall, the acting is appropriate for the material and the dialogue is delivered convincingly, but truthfully, the real stars are the nuns who are in the sex scenes. So, if you want a great example of a “nunsploitation” picture, SACRED FLESH is definitely a good choice. This is something I will watch again, it's hot, and I give it an 8/10.