"Ilsa, Tigress of Siberia" review

Ilsa, Tigress of Siberia (1977)
AKA Tigress

Directed by Jean LaFleur
Writing credits Marven McGara

Dyanne Thorne .... Ilsa
Michel-René Labelle
Gilbert Beaumont

Ilsa. Sweet, voluptuous Ilsa. Large breasted, woman of my dreams Ilsa. She's been a Nazi, a Harem Keeper, and a Wicked Warden. Now she is a Tigress of Siberia...and Montreal? Welcome to the weakest of the Ilsa movies. It's a sad, sad day. I still love her though.

Ilsa runs a gulag in the middle of Siberia. This time she tries to break male prisoners for Mother Russia. My favorite scene was having the two prisoners arm wrestle with two chainsaws on either side of them. Whoever is weakest will lose a hand. That was deliciously gruesome. At the movie's midway point, it shifts gears and moves to Montreal. Now Ilsa is Madam Ilsa, running a prostitution ring. Her past catches up to her in a big battle at the end.

This movie has two big, obvious problems. One, the Ilsa movies are based around Ilsa dishing out torture to FEMALE prisoners. Obviously that allows for more delirious exploitation. The prisoners can be naked most of the time and Ilsa can rip off her clothes as well for the cherry on top. Here, she's running a MALE prison camp and no one wants to see these guys naked. Except maybe Ilsa. This is the movie's fatal mistake right from the get go. The other problem is sticking a prison movie in freezing winter weather. Ilsa is wearing a fur coat through most of the first half and no one wants that. I think the movie realized both of these errors too late. The movie shifts locations to Montreal in the second half so Ilsa can get some naked prostitutes working in the movie immediately. The fact that the second half of the movie isn't even a prison movie anymore is another letdown.

So is there anything good? Yes. Her name is ILSA. She gets naked about three or four times. She also has three short sex scenes. Nothing to get too worked up over but they're still nice. There are a few interesting exploitation scenes along the way too. Worth a look if you love Ilsa movies. If they're not your bag, don't bother.

ILSA is great. The movie is a disappointment.

SCORE: 2 out of 4 because ILSA is too cold - Brrrrrr