I thought I was just going to watch a low-budget French horror film, though the opening scene sure changed my opinion! You see a naked woman being tracked across a vast estate by some nut-job riding on horseback! She is ultimately killed and then the story begins. This is surely NOT a 1970s version of Universal horror film! In the next scene, you see one of the sexiest scenes I have ever seen and it involved light bondage and lots of champagne. No one was being hurt and the film looked like a porno film--not exactly the sort of movie I'd watch, but harmless. However, moments later in another scene, this same man now is brutalizing this woman--both sexually and physically. Then, ultimately, he kills her. At this point, I thought I'd have enough, as any film that combines hot sex with violence against women disturbs me. After all, the idea of guys getting off watching women hurt and killed sexually is like watching the actions of a sex offender in order to get some sort of voyeuristic thrill. I tried watching just a bit more, but ultimately gave up--and worry about those who like films like this. While I never like the idea of banning films or controlling their content (I am a huge believer in the First Amendment),I certainly didn't want to see more. Thank goodness I rented this one and didn't buy it!

Wealthy businessman Count Boris Zaroff (a creepy portrayal by writer/director Michel Lemoine) gets his sick kicks from seducing beautiful young women prior to hunting them down like animals and killing them.

While Lemoine does use the compellingly twisted premise as an opportunity to offer a hallucinatory cinematic meditation on the duality of human nature by presenting the main character as a highly troubled person with a fragile grip on both reality and his own sanity (the guy keeps seeing his deceased wife all over the place),he nonetheless still delivers the basic satisfying sleazy goods thanks to some perverse sexuality and a pleasing plethora of hot naked women. Moreover, Lemoine also makes nice use of the opulent castle location and maintains a blithely seedy'n'surreal tone throughout. Howard Vernon acquits himself well in a juicy supporting part as Zaroff's evil and manipulative servant Kurt. Guy Bonnett's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot. Philippe Theaudiere's bright cinematography provides a stylish sparkling look. Recommended viewing for fans of oddball exploitation fare.

Wealthy Count Boris Zaroff (Michel Lemoine) has no problems picking up hot women... it's what he does afterwards that is all wrong. Whereas most men who have chatted up a sexy hitch-hiker and then been given the come-on would eagerly proceed to the next base, Zaroff's next step is to choke the woman, apologise, push her face in the ground, kick her in the side, and then run her down with his car. That's not going to get him laid! The count's bizarre behaviour might be down to his wicked manservant Karl (Howard Vernon),who promised Zaroff's father (the villainous hunter from The Most Dangerous Game) that he would dedicate himself to liberating Boris's sadistic nature.

Any film that opens with a stark naked babe running through the woods pursued by a man on horseback and a large dog is immediately off on the right foot in my opinion. Michel Lemoine's film (he directs, writes and stars) might not be the strongest in terms of narrative (to say the least),but it's gloriously trashy scenes like this that make Seven Women For Satan such demented fun. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the film is chock full of nudity from some seriously hot women, but the whole thing is so strange that fans of bizarre '70s Euro-horror should enjoy themselves whether they appreciate gratuitous female nudity or not.

The count's next victim is his new, hot, blonde secretary Joëlle (Martine Azencot),who he invites to his estate to take inventory. Zaroff plies her with champagne after which she imagines that she is gyrating sexily to jungle beats in front of a statue that comes to life. The drink is either drugged or it's just great champagne. She then retires to her room where she gets completely naked and writhes on her bed with a feather boa while Zaroff watches through a two-way mirror. Zaroff decides to pay her a visit and she seems happy to see him. It looks like Zaroff's luck is in, but once again he blows his chances of a good time by setting his dog on her (although that's probably HIS idea of a good time). What follows is a hilarious animal attack scene in which the slobbering hound looks about as savage as Scooby Doo, after which the woman stumbles out of a window. Zoinks!

Things get even funnier when a young couple, Muriel (Nathalie Zeiger) and Francis (Robert de Laroche),take refuge at the count's castle for the night. After being shown to their room, Muriel immediately strips off for some groovy topless dancing, but is shocked to see Joëlle's dead body in the grounds. Of course, when she calls Francis over to see, the body has gone. As if nothing has happened, Muriel continues to boogie, but stops again when she sees Karl outside, carrying the corpse. By the time she convinces Francis to take another look, Karl and the body are nowhere to be seen. At this point, most people would be packing their bags to leave, but Muriel forgets all about dead bodies and goes to dinner, where she happily questions Zaroff about his torture chamber.

It's this very torture chamber that provides the film with its most ridiculous moment: after Muriel sneaks down to the dungeons at night and sees Joëlle's body once again, Zaroff escorts his guests to the chamber to prove that she is imagining things. Predictably, the body isn't there when they arrive. Then, even though she has been scared witless during her short stay, Muriel jumps at the chance to be strapped into a torture device with her fiancé. Francis lies down and is shackled, and Muriel lies on top of him before also being bound. It's comes as no surprise when a large spiked block lowers from the ceiling, impaling the couple. Note to self: if seeking refuge at a creepy castle in the middle of nowhere, do not volunteer to be strapped into a torture device for s**ts and giggles.

There's also some very weird and unintentionally amusing nonsense involving the appearance of a ghostly woman in white, Anne (Joëlle Coeur),who Boris once loved. In one bizarre scene, the count meets Anne in a barn where she gets naked. Then she is dressed. Then she is naked again. Then she is dressed again. Then she's not Anne, but Jane, who works at the castle. Boris screams at her and she falls out of the hayloft onto some metal spikes. Then Anne calls to him and she walks into a lake. I'm not sure what the hell is going on here, but it's good for a laugh.

The equally perplexing ending sees Boris visit Anne's crypt in the local cemetary, where she is laying amidst ivy sprayed with silver paint (I'm pretty sure we used to do that for Christmas decorations when I was little); Boris cosies up to Anne, but she turns into a skeleton. The door to the crypt closes, trapping Boris, who has a screaming fit. Karl hears his master calling for help, but he walks away, returning to the castle to close the gates and hang up a 'For Sale' sign. As Karl drives off in his car, he's attacked by Anne, who is sitting in the back seat. Huh?

Like Jess Franco and Jean Rollin, Michel Lemoine ultimately turned his hand to hardcore porn, but I for one would have been more than happy if he'd stuck to making more films like this silly, surreal, and delightfully trashy treat.