Convent of Sinners (1986) from Tuna

Eva Grimaldi is raped by her father. Because of this lack of decorum on her part, she is forced to become a nun. After her novitiate, she is sent to a convent which is, surprise surprise surprise, filled with lesbians. Mother superior takes a liking to her, much to the chagrin of the second in command and former lover of mother superior. Eva discovers that the father confessor is also a reluctant cleric, and hopes to get free of her vows with his help.

The second in command, fearful of losing her power and position, tries to convince everyone that Grimaldi is possessed. Mother superior is sick in bed and can't help. The bishop hears that Grimaldi wants out, and realizes that she has a strong case, but decides that the church would not be served by the hearing, nor by her stories of rampant lesbianism and cruelty in the convent.  I don't want to give too much away, but the entire Catholic Church is a formidable foe for a young nun.

This is actually a Joe D'Amato nunsploitation film, but that label doesn't do justice to this effort.  D'Amato was too busy telling his story and attacking the Catholic Church to do much exploiting. People were forced into a religious life that they didn't want and were not good at. Politics kept the church from doing the right thing with a poor young girl. The convent was rife with rampant lesbianism and torture. These factors and more made this a highly shocking and political film. I

 

DVD INFO

  • DVD: This is one of the best dubbing jobs I have ever seen, and the widescreen anamorphic transfer is wonderful.
  • "Sex, Truth & Videotape" featurette
  • Joe D'Amato trailer reel

 

NUDITY REPORT

Eva Grimaldi is naked throughout much of the film

Various unknowns are naked in the nunsploitation equivalent of a prison shower scene.

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews on file

 

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, as nunsploitation, this is a C-, with barely enough sex and nudity to satisfy genre requirements. However, it is also of interest as a legitimate indictment of the Catholic Church, and earns a C as a muckraking drama.

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