Roger
Watkins directed this XXX feature just after making the immortal Last House on
Dead End Street. While Her Name Was Lisa
isn’t quite as dark and depraved as that movie, it’s certainly more demented
than your typical porno. Watkins’ bleak
outlook and callous attitude towards the sex insures you won’t be titillated
during the film. However, it’s an
experience you won’t soon forget.
Lisa
(Samantha Fox) is taken away from a seedy massage parlor by a photographer
(Rick Iverson) who’s eager to make her his latest model. She’s eventually stolen away by a rich
publisher named Steven (David Pierce) who puts her up in a swanky apartment in
exchange for her participation in increasingly-kinkier sex. After Steven (or “Steffan”, depending on who’s
calling his name) turns her over to a set of rapists, she turns to the sultry
Carmen (Vanessa Del Rio), who helps her escape her life of sexual slavery.
Her
Named Was Lisa is a depressing experience to say the least. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for
anyone in this film. Even when things
begin to look up for Lisa, she is ultimately betrayed and plunges even further
into a pit of despair.
You
can feel Watkins’ fingerprints on every frame of this movie. As with Last House on Dead End Street and
Corruption, he seems to delight in rubbing the audience’s noses in the filth,
punishing them for wanting to see their baser instincts played out. Not only does he show us the harsh realities
of a character living a sinful lifestyle, he shows us the repercussions and how
it effects everyone around them. The atmospheric
lighting and creative camerawork adds to the weird energy that Watkins
creates. I mean any time a porno starts
with a funeral, you know you're in for a downer.
I
also loved the way Watkins blatantly stole pop and rock songs for the
soundtrack. Kraftwork’s “The Robots”
appears during a sex scene, as does a cover of “Gimme Some Lovin’”. The best moment though is when Led Zeppelin's
“Dazed and Confused” plays during one particularly depressing sex scene. I don't know how they got away with it, given
the fact that Zeppelin is notoriously stingy with their musical rights. I mean Dazed and Confused didn't even have “Dazed
and Confused” in it! Watkins obviously
didn’t give a fuck, which helps to make this scene even more memorable.
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