There are lots of movies whose title is either obvious, or very relevant, to the film it is attached to. Titles like The Evil Dead or Saving Private Ryan are appropriate, fit the film well and allude to what it is about. Other movies have lame titles which may be appropriate but are not very good, such as Convoy Busters. No one would buy a ticket to that movie based on title alone. But Virgins From Hell is the only film (aside from Troll 2, which has no trolls in it) that outright, bold-faced LIES to it’s prospective audience.

The women in Virgins From Hell are neither virgins, nor are they from Hell (although they're from Indonesia, so that could be argued).

Instead of the awesome exploitative horror film that could have been made under the premise of demon women that have never had sex, we have here a basically run of the mill revenge film, although a fairly entertaining one.

The main asshole here is a man named Tiger. Tiger is just enough of a dick that he is willing to murder a couple for their home and real estate. Once they do this, they take over the house and turn it into a huge meth lab where he keeps a medical student kidnapped to create the world's most powerfulaphrodisiac. While all this is going on, a biker gang of women, all dressed like leftovers from Betty Rubble’s wardrobe (or mid-'80s Bronx hookers; choose your own simile) and led by Shelia, the daughter of the murdered couple, knock off Tiger’s casinos in an attempt to get her property back and vengeance on Tiger himself.

Things don’t go as planned, and the entire group of girls gets kidnapped by Mr. Tiger and thrown into the dungeon (complete with running stream) that is under his base of operations. They are subjected to various tortures before joining up with the med student to plan an escape. I’d say “stop me if you’ve heard this one before” but I already know you have, so lets move on.

Indonesian films aren’t exactly known for their originality. Virgins From Hell is no exception to this rule. It is a shameless mish-mosh of genres. The biker film, Sukeban (see The Pinky Violence Collection), girl gangs, women-in-prison, and of course the revenge picture. There isn’t really an original bone in its body. But there is a certain charm to it. It’s refreshing seeing a film where women wear midriffs and kick ass in go-go boots when it comes from a country not particularly known for forward thinking women’s rights. There is also no nudity at all in the film. (Editor's Note: Then why am I watching it?) There are just a lot of leotards and hot pants, which only add to the silly factor. I was thinking about what a very unexciting follow up to Faster, Pussycat Kill! Kill! this would have been had it been directed by Russ Meyer, but taking into account where and when it was made, it probably seemed quite exploitative to its native audience.

The one thing that I enjoyed fully about Virgins From Hell was the set design. The sets are the most obviously low-budget that I have seen. Ed Wood could have taught these people a thing or two. The outside staircase leading into the manor is covered with plastic. The floor in a room early in the film which is supposed to be a hotel room is covered with something that resembles wallpaper. It isn’t even tacked down; during a fight scene you can see it separate under the actors’ feet. I think that the reasoning must be that they didn’t want to ruin the sets in case they could reuse them for another film. The back door to the secret lair is a cut out into the mountain face that looks like a rock perfectly cut to be a door, and is that carpet I see… on the walls?

Brilliant.

Even more brilliant than that? There is a scene where a woman is tortured by being placed in a burlap sack with a weasel.

A weasel.

A real live weasel.

No, I’m not joking…

Fear the weasel!

DVD Presentation
Considering the budget that Virgins From Hell was no doubt shot with, I am more surprised that it was shot in scope than I am that the image quality is solid. Since their first release, Mondo Macabro has always coaxed the best possible video quality from their source material. It’s hard to believe Virgins From Hell ever looked this good even during its original theatrical run. The English dub sounds good as well, although it is very disappointing that they didn’t include subtitles, or the original language audio as well. Truly a half-baked disc.

And the Extras Are?
Theatrical Trailer–(2:50) - A very silly trailer for a very silly film. Watch this before the movie because it is sure to get you excited and pumped for the film. “Trapped in a world of evil men, these beautiful girls have no one to turn to!” – Genius. One ticket please!

Women In Chains – An Overview of the W.I.P. Movie – - This text based feature is a fantastic read. It’s a perfect primer for someone looking at the history of the W.I.P genre citing where all the different clichés and trends started with specific examples. New to W.I.P.? Read this, then read my own best-of.

More from Mondo Macabro – Trailer Gallery– (4:16) - Mondo Macabro is my kind of distributor. They take all kinds of bizarre shit from all over the world and put it into my grubby little hands. Basically, this trailer reel gives a good rundown of the stuff that they have. If titles like Lady Terminator, The Deathless Devil or The Diabolical Dr. Z bring a smile to your face, then check out this reel and update your shopping list.

 Destination: Jakarta– (1:09:30) - The second disc is almost entirely made up of trailers for other Indonesian films released by Rapi Films, the same studio that released Virgins From Hell. Not all of these films are on DVD, and I wouldn’t expect them anytime soon. Still, it is awesome to see what else is out there. They range from completely awful looking to “Damn I hope this gets released!” If you like the feature film, this would be worth checking out. My favorite? Mystics In Bali looks truly bizarre. Get on this one Mondo!

Documentary on Indonesian exploitation cinema – (24:54) - A surprisingly in-depth look at not only the Indonesian genre pictures, but the political aspect of filmmaking in Indonesia throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. Interviews are done with stars of Rapi films as well as current employees about the history of the film industry, and how Western filmmakers inspired them. If you have interest in this scene, this feature is required viewing.

The Bottom Line
If you are going to check out this film, you’d better be prepared for more than a few giggles and “what-the-fuck?” moments. It is an odd movie, not really conforming to any one genre, and at times it becomes somewhat of a chore getting through it. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your view) it is extremely soft for an exploitation film. But because of that, I don’t have any difficulty recommending it to people new to the genre as well as hardened veterans looking for a change of pace. If you think you have a warped enough mind to enjoy a film where virgin women are kidnapped and tortured physically and sexually, and ride motorcycles, then Virgins From Hell will give you all of that plus solid extras and presentation. Give it a try, it’s worth a look.

By far the best film that isn’t about virgins from Hell but tried to convince me otherwise that I have seen in a long time.