In wartime conditions The name of the Italian director and screenwriter Bruno Mattei is known mainly only to avid fans of thrash exploitative cinema, in the field of production of which Signor Mattei pretty well succeeded, without creating, however, almost any picture, at least at all representing artistic and commercial value. During his long career, Mattei managed to converge the most diverse subgenres of exploitative cinema and one of his first films, which became the object of my attention, was “Private SS Possession” – a very perverse thriller of the nazisploitation category, telling about the SS-created private brothel, in which customers are not only pleased in the wildest erotic form, but at the same time find out useful secrets for the Reich case. In principle, the plot is standard and banal for paintings of this kind and it does not claim much, alternately echoing Pasolini’s Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom, Liliana Cavani’s Night Porter and partly the great Satiricon Fellini. However, there is no great artistic depth in this creation of 1977 and the film is an impressive picture from scenes of sadism, cruel sex and a variety of perversions, on which the operator Emilio Giannini makes the main emphasis, which makes watching the film not so unpleasant (although it depends on the viewer himself), but also a special aesthetic in these scenes there is no, although the tragic ending really gives the film a touch of realism.
From the cast of the tape, I can especially highlight only the characters convincingly performed by Gabriel Carrara, Masha Magall and Ivano Stazzioli.
Composer Gianni Marchetti wrote a gloomy and very depressing soundtrack for the film, perfectly fitting into its rigid tone.
So, “Private possessions of the SS” is a typical operational film on the subject of Nazism, which can be recommended for viewing only ardent fans of Italian thrash. All other viewers, as well as viewers faint of heart and under 18 years old, this picture is better to beware.
6 out of 10