Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica (1969) is Jesús Franco’s ultra campy send-up of the sixties’ spy thriller. This German-Spanish co-production feels like a parody of an episode of The Avengers but with a lot more irony and a little bit of a Universal Pictures’ Monster movie thrown in. In short, Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica is very stupid and really, really funny.
For eight years models have been mysteriously disappearing. It’s suspected that the famous artist, Klaus Thriller, is somehow linked to these crimes. That’s when the Red Lips are called in. The Red Lips are a duo of female super-spies named Diana (Janine Reynaud) and Regina (Rosanna Yanni). As they follow the clues they soon learn that there’s even more to this macabre case than they thought, especially when they encounter the wolf-man Morpho (Michel Limoine).
Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica has it all. There’s lots of gratuitous nudity, direct-address comedic asides, and a monster that looks like complete garbage. As was typical of Franco’s films of the time Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica has a hectic pace, feels very cheap, and is padded out with pointless sequences of strippers and party-goers doing the twist. The film feels almost like a joke on the viewer except that all of the fun that the performers seem to be having is rather inviting and sometimes contagious.
Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica truly belongs to the duo of Janine Reynaud and Rosanna Yanni. They have a great chemistry and an incomparable appetite for chewing up the scenery. These two stars rip through the material with a reckless abandon that renders the genre they are spoofing toothless; a total joke. These two leads make Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica feel like the closest thing we have to Franco’s version of Daisies (1966).
Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica is an idiotic movie, yes, but it’s also lovable. Unlike many of Franco’s films, those who do not care for his oeuvre will probably enjoy Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica. It’s funnier and more on point than any of Michael Myers’ Austin Powers pictures. If you like Modesty Blaise (1966) or The Batwoman (1968), Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica is a movie for you.
