Seduction: The Cruel Woman (1985) from Tuna
Verführung: Die grausame Frau, from German lesbian director Monika Treut, takes on the subject of S&M.

I was not able to discover a real plot, but rather a series of characters and events that went nowhere. In the end, a jilted slave shoots the main character through the hand, and everyone, including her, thinks it is funny.

Trust me, that doesn't give away any plot secrets.

Mechthild Grossmann is opening a salon for S & M aficionados. Her roommate, Carola Regnier, runs a fake shoe store in the salon. Sheila McLaughlin is a submissive that Grossmann has brought from America to turn into a dom. Peter Weibel is a journalist who interviews Grossmann for an article on her salon, then decides he wants to become her human toilet. Udo Kier plays the jilted slave who does the shooting at the end.

NUDITY REPORT

Mechtild Grossmann, Sheila McLaughlin, Carola Regnier and an unknown show breasts.

I could find nothing to like about this film. 

  • It is impossible to distinguish real events from fantasies or from salon shows put on for the public.
  • The film is riddled with strange camera work (the camera is nearly always tilted).
  • It is theoretically in color, but with a green tint, and very grainy.
  • It is dominated by pretentious dialogue and speeches which are translated in horrible hit-and-miss subtitles.

The Critics Vote

  • no major reviews online

The People Vote ...

  • IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 5.9/10 (only 24 votes)

 
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.

My 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. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. 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. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. 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-.

Based on this description, this is a C-. I suppose this film has an audience, but I am certainly not among that group.

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