Review of The Gestapo's Last Orgy

having just watched this nasty Nazi film i wanted to get my feelings out before they left me. i am actually a fan of these Nazi exploitation films for whatever reason. i have only seen around seven titles in the genre and while the films are undoubtedly poorly made there is a certain charm and fun to be had with them. having first read about The Gestapos Last Orgy close to three years ago in a book titled Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal And Zombie Films,i had always wanted to see it but could never find a legit DVD. i recently found this film as part of shriek shows SS hell pack 2 which contains this film with the beast in heat and red nights of the gestapo. i opened the package and popped the DVD into my player, ready to see some nasty, sadistic Nazi violence. the review in the book had made this film sound like a truly outrageous exercise in bad taste. after the end credits rolled i must say that while the film does have a number of sick, grisly and offensive scenes, the overall picture is quite boring and uneven. the story is told in flash back and flash forwards as a female survivor of a concentration camp revisits the now abandoned camp with her former Nazi captor and lover. it is revealed that in an attempt to break her will through physical and mental torture, the Nazi and prisoner developed a bizarre relationship. this opens the door for the films scenes of sexual depravity and violence, the highlights being a massive rape/orgy, a woman fed to vicious attack dogs for having her period, and of course, the films most infamous and talked about scene, the dinner scene. this fifteen minute sequence contains incredibly offensive dialog (although it is a bit over the top) about how the Jews could be made into an alternative food source, a woman being lit on fire, and the Nazi higher-ups chowing down on the roasted corpse of a Jewish baby. this incredible scene must be seen to be believed and is with out a doubt one of the most vile scenes ever put on film. there are a few other bits of violence and sadism including women being dissolved in quick lime and tormented by hungry rats and of course a huge amount of graphic sex and nudity including one of the most ridiculous sex scenes i've ever seen between a female prisoner and Nazi doctor that really comes out of nowhere and goes on for what feels like ten minutes. after watching the film i can see why this film is so infamous but the parts are better than the whole. as stated earlier i found the film quite uneven, both in content and production value. this entry in the Nazi exploitation genre occasionally shows a bit of class and moves into art-house territory with some truly fantastic editing and camera work. the films use of montage and inter-cutting images in some scenes is very, very effective and it nearly makes you forget you're watching an exploitation film. some of the camera work and photography is also astounding. the opening shot of the dinner scene features a beautiful crane shot that swings down and pans across the dinner table, smoothly moving into a mid shot of one of the Nazis. there are other well executed shots that really had me impressed. the problem is that these moments of class don't come often and feel out of place when the scene that follows is poorly shot/edited, creating a dizzying sense of confusion and aggravation. films like The Beast In Heat are total pieces of crap in terms of direction and editing so there are no moments of class, but the whole film flows better because of this. this film just looks strange as a whole. the mix of high and low production values just don't come off well. the acting is better than what you're used to seeing from the genre. the head Nazi gives a good performance and the cannibalistic doctor delivers a wonderfully hammy performance that just works. the other actors aren't to great but i cant complain. you don't watch Nazi exploitation films for good acting or production values, you watch them to see sick, sadistic, depraved, perverted, and bizarre acts of human cruelty and outrageous sleaze. The Gestapos Last Orgy delivers the goods in terms of exploitation with the exception of a few dull spots and the moments of "art" film making are still nice despite feeling uneven. in closing, any fan of Nazi exploitation and Italian exploitation as a whole will want to seek this film out. its not an awful film and if you've got the stomach for the touchy subject matter then you may get a kick out of it. personally, i'd take the more colorful Ilsa or hilariously inept Beast In Heat over this, but its worth a watch. i recommend buying the SS hell pack 2 as you get three movies for the price of one.