Ilsa Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks.

The queen of exploitation films Dyanne Thorne returns as Ilsa in Don Edmonds sequel to Ilsa She Wolf of the SS (1975), Ilsa Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976) another potent brew of sex and sadism. This time we are somewhere in the Middle East. A helicopter delivers three large crates to a pre-arranged point in the desert. The heavy crates are loaded on to a lorry accompanied by armed guards and driven to a grand palace. Waiting on the steps of the palace is the keeper of the El Sharif’s (Spalding Grey) elite harem guard and her two oiled dark skinned topless lesbian assistants, Satin (Tanya Boyd) and Velvet (Marilyn Joi). While she is waiting Ilsa beats a beggar with her whip to pass the time. The crates finally arrive and we discover that they contain three beautiful young women all of whom are gagged, drugged and wearing nothing else but locked chastity belts! The first is an heiress to an American supermarket chain, the second is Scandinavian actress and the third an Asian equestrian champion. All kidnapped victims are to be added to the harem of the mad oil baron for the furtherance of his and his guest’s sexual pleasures. Other girls in the harem are force-fed and have silicone injections to fatten them up for sale at the local white slavery auction. We witness the normal amount of torture and violence including Ilsa two assistants ripping off a mans testicles, head cages with rats and hairy big spiders, flesh eating ants and a breast vice. 

This man looses more than his pride!

As well as being the queen of torture....

The story that Langston Stafford uses to cover all this mayhem is twofold. Firstly the visit of two Americans to negotiate a deal for El Sharif oil, one of whom is a young good looking stud that Ilsa can’t resist explaining even she has normal womanly desires and passions, secondly there’s a subplot which involves a young boy locked away in a cage who is the true heir to the throne of this oil rich desert kingdom.

 

....Ilsa also has womanly desires....

....and likes to look her best.

Smarmy sleaze and gore are again the main ingredients of this second film in the franchise with Thorne brilliantly transposing her role from Nazi Germany to the Middle East. She has been quoted as saying that the role of Ilsa was a double-edged sword. It brought her a certain amount of fame but which came with a price. Being famous, as Ilsa didn’t lead her to a career in Hollywood!    Lighter in tone than the first film but surprisingly well made for a movie with such a limited budget. Grindhouse movies are not to every one’s taste but if you enjoy this genre then I’m sure you will appreciate this movie.