If you’ve been following us at Repulsive Reviews over the years, you know we have covered everything from animated films about super heroes to the grotesque and offensive. One film that leans more towards the latter category and has earned its rightful place on this site is Vidal Raski’s 1973 Danesploitation film, The Sinful Dwarf.
A washed up entertainer, Lila Lash (Clara Keller), runs a nightclub turned inn with her son, Olaf (Torben Bille). The inn, however, also doubles as a drug den filled with kidnapped women who are force-fed heroin and even more forcefully pushed into have sex with strange men. A young couple from out-of-town are looking to start anew, but after staying at the motel for a few days, unfortunately become the latest victims of the dastardly mother and son combo.
Presented in two forms, the edited American version entitled Abducted Bride, and the sleazier XXX rated Danish version, simply known as The Dwarf, this film is a tough one to get through; Partially because of the depravity seen throughout and partially because it just doesn’t have much going for itself, in terms of being a good film. Even with the triple X rated scenes stripped from the film, it is still rather explicit with copious amounts of sex scenes and nudity, which perfectly personify the definition of ‘gratuitous.’
The performances presented in The Sinful Dwarf are exactly what horror and genre fans have come to expect when uncovering low-budget sleazefests from the 70’s and 80’s. While the performances were all very lowbrow, things still managed to fit perfectly with what Raski’s film set out to do. I mean, imagine an exploitation film with tons of drugs and sex and great acting performances… It’s unheard of! I will note that actor Torben Bille was extremely unnerving as the titular antagonist. The closeups of his maniacal face will certainly leave you uncomfortable; Knowing that he was once a very popular child entertainer in Denmark will perhaps leave you scarred.
The Sinful Dwarf is by no means a good film, but there is no denying the love and care that the fine folks at Severin have put into this HD restoration and presentation. The studio has gone to great lengths to dig up as much about the film’s past as possible, going as far as writing letters to actors and crew members who worked on films related to Dwarf‘s creators. Sadly, there is not much information floating around in the wild and even the few people who did return contact with Severin Films, did not offer much insight. Even still, this is the best release this film will ever receive with a great HD restoration taken from multiple elements and enough bonus features to leave your dirty side satisfied for hours.
If you are a fan of exploitation films of yesteryear and love the standard Severin fare, I recommend The Sinful Dwarf, simply for the fact that I cannot deny its spot in exploitation history. It is sordid and depraved and will leave you feeling unclean for a long while after its viewing.
Be sure to purchase a copy of the film on Blu-ray in the form of a Limited Collector’s Edition from Severin Films today.
I give the film itself 1.5 Jujubamba song and dance numbers out of 5, but this specific release gets a 5 out of 5, for sure.