Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The almost 40-year-old "Frauen ohne Unschuld" or "Women Without Innocence" (and there is a handful more titles for this one) is a Swiss German-language film from 1978 and the writer and director is the (in)famous Jesús Franco. It's another of his collaborations with Erwin C. Dietrich. The film is fairly short like some other works by Franco and it stars his girlfriend Lina Romay playing the main character. She portrays a young woman who witnessed a murder and is unable to speak since then. as a consequence, she is brought to psychiatric facility, where she is in a room with several other young woman and it does not become clear why they are there. But as this is a James Franco film, you know the answer, namely to get naked most of the time and screams and be mean towards out protagonist, which is of course tolerated by the doctors. And Romay herself offers a great deal of nudity too, even if she is not as attractive in here as usual with her very short hair. And of course female doctors strip naked too and engage in sexual activities with the patients. And another murder happens and everybody is in search of a bunch of lost diamonds. The whole film is very much over the top. I thought the initial premise with the woman watching the crime and being borough to the hospital was decent, but Franco turned it into quite a B-movie mess as he always does. With a little bit more writing talent, this could have been n interesting story and plot. But the way it turned out it's really about nothing other than the exploitation and nudity. I do not recommend the watch, even if I will admit this film has more good moments than Franco's films usually do, at least the ones I saw.

Naked and bloodied Lina Romay is found in a luxurious mansion and is promptly taken to a mental hospital.The doctors and nurses are hiding something,female patients indulge in lesbian sex and a mysterious figure dressed in black robe stabs women to death.The hunt for missing diamonds begins...I am not a big fan of Jesus Franco.His movies are usually sleazy as hell and pretty dull at the same time."Wicked Women" is no exception.There is plenty of graphic nudity and lesbian encounters.The central performance of Lina Romay as Margareta is quite good.If you liked "Women Behind Bars" or "Faceless" give this one a look.6 out of 10.An average slice of absolute sleaze.

Wicked Women (1977) ** (out of 4) The police break into an apartment where they find a dead couple who appear to have been murdered. Upstairs is another woman (Lina Romay), naked and unable to talk from shock. the woman is sent to a mental hospital for women where a doctor (Michael Maien) and his assistant (Nanda Van Bergen) try to make her speak and tell them where the diamonds the dead couple were smuggling are hidden. Oh yeah, there's also a maniac dressed in black running through the hospital killing the women. This Franco outing got off to a pretty good start but things start to go downhill around the thirty-minute mark and for the most part everything that happens afterwards is pretty slow and dull. The film only runs 76-minutes but it feels much longer. Romay turns in a pretty good performance playing the silent character, which she is very good at doing in most films. The supporting cast is pretty good with Monica Swinn also having a small role. There's some nice visuals in the film and the music score also manages to be quite good. The film takes place in a women's hospital so you can expect several lesbian scenes including the highlight of the movie when five women make love to Romay when she first comes to the hospital.

Lina Romay is found, naked and bloody in a luxurious house and is promptly taken to a mental institute. The doctors and nurses meant to take care of her aren't exactly who they seem and a mysterious figure, clad in black, circles the premise at night, offing nubile young women.Who is it and why is he/she doing it, and why is Lina Romay always close-by witnessing it when it happens? Franco raises a lot of interesting questions that keeps the viewer intrigued for the duration of the feature presentation. Franco this time incorporated some thriller/slasher elements and made the film all the better for it. Acting-wise it's pretty much business as usual - bad! But the girls are beautiful and naked... and let's face it, that's what these productions were all about. The photography is simply stunning, although a few instances can be seen where there seems to be vaseline smeared on the lens of the camera, but it really isn't distracting. An entertaining little Franco-gem. Sure, it's mainly for the fans but if you're looking for a way into the Franco universe, this is as good a place to start as any. The DVD from Dietrich's company has, as always, excellent picture quality with vibrant colors that practically sting the eyes. A+ image-wise. There's not an abundance of extras on the disc but one can't really expect it either. The film in itself is good value for money. B+ overall.