The Coming of Sin

I last wrote about this Jose Larraz film on here some six years ago and was so rude about it I have had to replace the piece. This has become necessary thanks to the revelatory Blu ray print made available by Arrow on their box set. Even this I didn't purchase upon initial release because of poor reviews for his first film Whirlpool (which turns out to be fine) and memories of this particular film that has gone by so many different titles over the years. This is no great film but it is not terrible and indeed a very pleasant watch with glorious visuals, a marvellous gypsy ingredient which includes our lovely co lead, background music and a fine flamenco episode plus a most authentic looking gypsy lunch and table dance. The sex scenes are far more forthright and vigorous than I remember and nothing like as consensual in appearance. On the disc extras Marc Morris fully explains the various versions with examples and indication of quality, or more particularly lack of and it is quite apparent I had previously only seen some very poor approximation of this title. There is even talk of a popular video version missing the opening reel and it seems it may well have ben a copy of this I had previously seen and then written so contemptuously. So, for the first time I have felt the need to delete my original piece and urge anyone who has the slightest liking for the films of mr Larraz to give this one another chance.

With my PS3 having played up on playing Blu-Rays for ages, (yet games still work!) I decided this week to finally buy a Blu-Ray player. Trying to decide which Blu to play first on it,I remembered a Cinema of Spain viewing challenge taking place on ICM, leading to me taking the Larraz box set off the shelf. View on the film: The closing title in their set, Arrow present a excellent transfer, which retains the film grain,whilst the audio and colours of the print are kept clean,all backed by fascinating extras on the title. Returning to Spain after General Franco's death for a movie the producer hoped would jump on the Emmanuelle (1974) bandwagon thanks to censorship relaxing in Spain, co-writer/(with Monique Pastrynn) directing auteur Jose Ramon Larraz comes back to a home built on his major themes and recurring motifs, shimmering in the warm,rustic colours lining Lorna's remote chateau , deep in the rural countryside that Larraz had visited in Whirlpool (1970-also reviewed.) Working on Comic-Books and training as a fine painter before he entered cinema,Larraz & cinematographer Fernando Arribas paint the surreal sensuality of Larraz works with a mesmerising artistry that pays tribute to sensualist Symbolist painter Julio Romero de Torres, (whose art is a central part of Lorna and Triana's relationship, who attend a galley displaying his works,and read books featuring Torres's art.) Larraz frames Torres's sensuality in the stylised longing two-shots between Triana and Lorna, the miraged figure of Chico riding through blades of grass on a pale horse, and a strikingly chiaroscuro colour coding shaded to the stages of Lorna and Triana's relationship. Riding in his distinctive surreal eroticism with startling dream set-pieces colouring Lorna's passions for Triana, Larraz weaves the eyeful of skin and a wonderful splash of red across the gloomy ending, with a thoughtful quality in capturing the friction between the trio, (trios being a major recurrence in Larraz's work) bonding Lorna and Triana with a switching of gender roles flamenco dance the couple watch on a date,as Lorna casually touches Triana's hand, whose dressed in a mature, masculine suit, which becomes increasingly agitated the more Chico comes closer into focus. Later stating about the cast in his autobiography that they "Looked great on camera, but didn't know how to act", (a bit harsh!) the trio give very good turns, with Rafael Machado (who lied he could ride horses to get the part,and fell off the first day,but got lucky from the only injury being a bruised ego) charging in with a rugged brute edge, which Patricia Granada has Lorna react to by falling into a maddening jealously of love, (a regular theme of Larraz) Lidia Zuazo has Triana grate on a hard-edge dominance,as Triana looks into the whirlpool at the coming of sin.

Unless you like dreamy softcore erotica and get a kick out of watching naked guys ride bareback on horses, THE COMING OF SIN has very little to recommend it to fans of Euro Horror like myself. I sought this out based on director Jose Ramon Larraz' reputation from other films of his like DEVIATION, THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED, VAMPYRES and the wildly over-rated BLACK CANDLES. I'll even admit to guiltily enjoying some of his later shockers like BITS & PIECES and the teen oriented SAVAGE LUST. While they are an inconsistent lot, the films do have two elements in common, specifically an air of artful creativity and some sort of a payoff. THE COMING OF SIN is by contrast a long trip for an extremely short day at the beach. A fetching young gypsy girl with a penchant for sleeping in the * comes to live with a ravishing aristocratic blond painter who very quickly helps her dark guest come to grips with her bisexuality, which is par for the course for these sort of things. Tension is added in the form of Chico, a Duran Duran lookalike who spends the majority of the film riding around completely naked on a horse. Like the girl he is also a gypsy and lives in a hut he made down by the river where he spends his time lying around waiting for women to wander by. Seems like kind of boring living to me but whatever, that's Spain for you. Chico eventually joins the ladies at the house after some nonsense involving trampled flowers, lost necklaces, breech loading shotguns, 19th century figure painting, and the film's iconic dream image of the gypsy girl crouching inside a life-sized horse model. You sort of have to see it to understand what I mean but the running theme in the film is that none of the sumptuous imagery and erotic tension ever really pays off aside for some softcore fumblings. The movie's alternate English title VIOLATION OF THE BITCH has to do with the scene where Chico proves his love to the lady of the house by apparently buggering her while the family is over for a dinner party. Gee whiz! All of it leads up to a climax of violence that happens for no particular reason at all, other than perhaps Larraz' wish to try and pull the rug out from underneath the trenchcoaters who would be flocking to the grindhouse to see the movie. The problem is that the movie -- while as sleazy as they come -- isn't really sick or demented enough to warrant some of it's reputation, and reading over some of the other comments here I wonder if perhaps the version I saw on a PAL format DVD may have been missing some scenes. If anything this is sort of a Euro Sleaze couples movie, chock full of both female and male nudity, all of it very tastefully and artfully photographed. And hence the problem with it on a thematic level for those used to Larraz' more well-known work: It's a bit too tasteful and aside from the bizarre dream sequence involving the horse never really grabs the imagination. Which may have been the point -- to make a watchable little softcore that doesn't really push the envelope too much. The film was made at the end of the Franco era in Spain when overt sexuality was a no-no on the generalissimo's cinema screen and might have simply been an attempt to make a cheap little sex thriller with a cast of about eight people, and on that level it isn't bad. The bottom line is that if you want to watch Euro Trash softcore without much in the way of plot you should give this one a try, as the film is endowed with the steamy soft focus look of a Penthouse spread. But if you are drawn to Larraz' horror work you'll be scratching your head and watching the runtime clock tick off waiting for something to happen. Unfortunately, not much does. 4/10

Moviecut—The Coming of Sin

I've picked up the DVD because I liked the weird cover. It wasn't quite worth it but it wasn't that bad either. The best thing about this "Spanish Emmanuelle" (that's what the producers expected from director Larraz) is the dream sequence in which a woman is placed inside some model of a horse. Well, you have to see it. It leaves everything to the imagination of the viewer and depending on how sleazy your mind actually is, the scene comes across as very naughty. Otherwise, it's harmless softcore stuff with a rather weak ending. My rating: 4/10

I honestly don't know what I've just watched. Recommended for José Ramón Larraz completists only - anyone expecting the slow-burning exploitation/eroticism of his 1974 film 'Vampyres' will doubtless be disappointed with this. A mildly sexual relationship develops between two young women, Triana and Lorna - and Triana is 'plagued' by dreams of a naked man on horseback. When he appears in actuality ... not a lot happens, all in a washed-out series of images (artistic choice or a sign of its age? Not sure). Shame, because it's an intriguing premise. Possibly this film is notorious mostly for the image of a naked woman inside a wooden horse, which is being approached by another horse. It's enough to make the eyes water - but not much else remains in the memory. If you're persevering in the hope of a good ending ... I wouldn't bother. My score is 3 out of 10.

This review is based on the 73-minute version of this film sold through Luminous Film and Video Wurks. It's a minimalist tale of three people--a gypsy girl, a rich woman, and a mysterious man who likes to be in the buff whilst riding his horse--engaged in a three way relationship. The sex scenes are blunt, perfunctory, and frankly quite dull, the characters are one-dimensional and lacking in motivation, and the film's conclusion is almost as ridiculous as its contrived opening sequence. I'm not sure what the other reviewers liked about La Visita del Vicio (titled Sodomia on the Luminous tape), as it bored me to tears. Perhaps not quite as bad as the worst Jesus Franco film, but close.

Larraz is one of those directors who succeed in making a picture with virtually no money (e.g. Jesus Franco). By using some unorthodox images like a naked man on a horse, and by doing some smart editing, he manages to give this film a creepy feeling that shows you don't need millions to make a decent picture. This does not mean this is a good movie, although it had some strong scenes, including the infamous horse-with-woman-inside scene, it has a weak ending, a couple of standard middle-of-the-road sexscenes and the acting is (as always in eurotrash cinema) rather amateuristic. I'd recommend this to anyone who has seen every Franco 70s movie available and wants to see something similar. However, Larraz made a much better picture with Vampyres which stands much higher on my all-time top eurotrash list.

Good luck tracking this one down at BlockBuster (that's a laugh!) or any other local video store. Joseph Larraz's long lost slice of Euro-trash is a must see for lovers of decadent cinema, but your only hope is to hook up with a collector who'll no doubt supply you with a poorly dubbed, multi-generation copy. Still, this sick puppy is about as sleazy as it gets (the composite version I saw even contained some hardcore sex scenes), yet manages to tell a rather engaging story about a gypsy orphan girl who comes to stay at a lonely widow's villa and keeps her "company" in more ways than she bargained for. Throw in a naked dude on horseback, a few surreal dream sequences and an assortment of sex, sex and more sex (with a little violence thrown in for good measure), and it all adds up to a highly unforgettable viewing experience. Alas, the only way you'll ever get to see it is by posting a trade request on alt.video.tape-trading.

Fantastic, sublime piocture, concerninmg two mysterious folk of Gypsy origin. The soundtrack which is not credited, is one of the all time best. At first was not sure of the soft focus but as you watch, it kind of seduces you into the powerful, erotic events that unfold. I have only seen the cut version (alas) but please ignore the terrible reviews to this one. Even if you don't like this type of material, the music alone is a haunting masterpiece. The cover poster (pictured), is original/incredible. An uncut, remastered version would be very most welcomed.