Psychopathia Sexualis (2006)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Bret Wood

Writer:

Bret Wood (writer)

Release Date:

8 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Tales of Deviance and Forbidden Desire from the Case Studies of Krafft-Ebing

Plot:

Multi-narrative adaptation of Richard v. Krafft-Ebing's notorious medico-forensic study of sexual perversity. |

Plot Keywords:

Dominatrix

Cast

Kristi Casey	...	Blood Woman
David Weber	...	Blood Man
Zoë Cooper	...	Shepherdess
Patrick Parker	...	Emil Fourquet (as Patrick L. Parker)
David Sanders	...	Forquet's Assistant
Roger Foster	...	Farm Laborer
Jason Hodges	...	Guard
Steven Westdahl	...	Joseph Vacher
Victor Lambert	...	Guard
Adam K. Thompson	...	Journalist
J. Marcelo Banderas	...	Corpse / Loiterer (as Marcelo Banderas)
Ted Manson	...	Professor Krafft-Ebing
Daniel May	...	J.H.
Jane Bass	...	Mother
Anne Towns	...	Maid 1

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including aberrant and deviant behavior, graphic nudity, some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Illustrated Films LLC

Trivia:

When submitted to the MPAA, the film was unofficially given an NC-17 rating. In order to obtain an R rating, the filmmakers had to remove a shot of urination in someone's mouth. Rather than re-cut the scene, the filmmakers removed the entire (two-minute) sequence, which also includes male frontal nudity.

Movie Connections:

Version of Sesso perverso, mondo violento (1980)

"There is no moral, it's only a story"

Psychopathia Sexualis is a strange excursion into deviant sexual practices in Victorian times, things that one doesn't consider prim & proper Victorian types to be capable of, like vampirism & homosexuality. It's presented in a sort of "case study" style, with various characters acting out their stories, and there are certain characters (a doctor, for instance) who is sort of a mainstay in most of those stories.

Considering the subject matter, this film is not without some humor, however black it may be. For instance, in the case of one young man who was treated for vampirism, we see the recently-dismissed maid waving bye-bye to the young man, with each of her fingertips bearing bandages.

Some of the stories do get a bit kinky, but everything is presented in a manner that doesn't render it TOO extreme. This is a fairly slow-moving film but it's quite interesting, really, and it's just so damned ODD, that I couldn't help but be drawn into it. In some ways this is a little like Guy Maddin's type of films, although it's presented in gorgeous color & isn't made to look like "distressed" film. And it doesn't quite have Maddin's bizarre sense of humor to it.

I rather liked this, although I can't think of many people I'd run out & recommend it to, considering the subject matter...it's worth seeing if you enjoy bizarre films, though. 7 out of 10.