Emanuelle's Revenge (2022) - Thriller Film Review

Growing up pre-internet, the Emmanuelle series of French erotic films were something that teenagers often spoke about in hushed tones. I can't say they ever appealed to me, and they still don't. That is a good thing, as while on the surface Emanuelle's Revenge (also known as Do Ut Des) appears to be a modern day re-invention of that series, it is in fact a remake of Joe D.Amato's 1975 erotic thriller Emanuelle e Françoise (Le sorelline). I spoiled myself by reading the synopsis for that one, as this goes along the same lines but not as far.

The prologue shows a young woman, Francesca (Ilaria Loriga) committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. It is then up to the first act of the movie to show how she came to be in the mindset to do that. Francesca had met a rich man, Leonardo (Gianni Rosato), whose pushy ways and gift buying soon lowers her defences enough where she decides to be with him. A year later, and lesbian novelist Emanuelle (Beatrice Schiaffino) has a seemingly chance encounter with Leonardo, who soon becomes determined to find out more about this mysterious and alluring woman. Under a pretence of needing material for a new book, she enlists his aim for a special project, something the lustful man is more than happy to do. As the film's title implies however, it seems that Emanuelle may well have revenge on her mind, perhaps for that incident with Francesca a year previously.

The 1974 film went to far more dark places, which isn't to say that there aren't some dark implications here, just that the synopsis for the other one sounded more chilling. With the whole first act dedicated to Francesca's nightmare, it wasn't even vaguely hidden that Emanuelle had ulterior motives for the slimy Leonardo. The middle act played out in a fashion that reminded me of cult Japanese horror The Audition, with it leading to a similar situation. When they are alone at her house and she reveals a secret sex dungeon, I was a little disappointed initially that it wasn't actually a secret kill room. This is a thriller, but I wouldn't go quite as far as to say it is a horror, as once Emanuelle's trap is sprung, it is far more psychological than physical in fashion. Leonardo is never shown as anything other than a rotten man, maybe his only good quality being the love for his daughter, Giulia (Miriam Dossena). His ugly interactions with his friends, and the disposable way he treats women makes him someone plainly not meant to be liked. Emanuelle was far more of a blank slate, though I did find it interesting that she hasn't made her long term girlfriend aware of what she is doing, so this causes conflict in her relationship. She is also willing to go to some nasty places for her revenge, happy to bring in innocents as tools to use.

Special effects are minimal, with not much really needed on screen, there was a feeling of eventual threat, and I did wonder how the film would neatly tie things up. I can't say I quite understood where this ended, with the contents of a hand written note going over my head. As an erotic thriller there were a fair few sex scenes, thankfully not to much in depth, there are plenty of breasts, and some nudity at a distance, thankfully these sex scenes were over with swiftly, not being as essential to the story as I had feared they might.

Emanuelle's Revenge wasn't a film tailored to my particular likes, and that is perfectly ok. As such however, I knew this would have a hard time appealing to me. I liked where this revenge thriller eventually went to, and I thought Rosato and Shiaffino both did good enough jobs with their characters, but I can't say I had the most exciting time here. Emanuelle's Revenge is due to be released on DVD and VOD/Streaming on December 14th from Cinephobia Releasing.

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