Hunting in
Africa, David (Michael Latimer) heads away from his party to track a
wounded leopard and is captured by the Tribe of the White Rhino. As
they prepare to kill him, he finds himself sent back in time thousands
of years to the original Tribe of the White Rhino where the evil
Queen Kari (Martine Beswick) rules over her slaves and makes sacrifices
to the 'devils' of the forest. Can he free the captives and fulfill his
destiny...?
Written and directed by Michael Carreras, the often wayward son of Hammer's co-owner James Carreras, Slave Girls
was envisaged as nothing more than a quick B-picture to take advantage
of the pre-historic sets and (rather minimal) costumes created for
Hammer's real epic One Million Years B.C.
(1966). Unfortunately, the quick nature also seems to stretch to the
writing of the script which is lazy and completely uninteresting. With
insipid dialogue (all, conveniently in perfect English) and plenty of
plot holes, even the action packed finalé seems dull -
predictable from the film's opening frames.
Michael Carreras also takes on the directing role and although he makes the best of the sets and budget, the film cannot escape a highly staged look and feel. Michael
Latimer is hardly 'dashing' as the hero, and Martine Beswick is
restrained by the dire scripting. The rest of the cast have little to
say or do, and look suitably unconvincing doing either.
In all, Slave Girls
is a completely wasted opportunity. The restriction to stage sets could
have been ignored were the film interestingly scripted, alternatively
some exploitation elements (blood and/or boobs) might at least have
added some interest - the storyline and sets would have proven a
goldmine for Jess Franco and his fellow euro-exploitation directors
were it shot a decade later. Ultimately, Slave Girls
seems to serve no purpose whatsoever and is neither interesting or
exciting. Certainly one of Hammer's worst films and surely of interest
only to die hard Hammer fans.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
No actors of note.
Directed by anyone interesting?
Michael Carreras, son of Hammer owner Sir James, and director of a few of the studio's lesser works, including The Lost Continent (1968) and Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964).
Is it scary?
No.
Any violence?
No.
Any sex?
No.
Who is it for?
Only really of interest to the most die-hard Hammer completists.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1. Anamorphically Enhanced. Colour The
print has some grain and print damage, but good colours and is generally good.
OOP Anchor
Bay US release with some extra trailers (non-anamorphic print). German
DVD (title: Der Sklave Der Amazonen) has anamorphic print and a couple
of extra features (photo gallery and TV spot).
Cuts?
Believed
to be fully uncut (print is the full 90 minute US print, for UK
release it was cut to 75 minutes). Print used is English language.
Summary
A dull and unnecessary film with no particular merits. Not recommended.
A good looking and sounding print, although without any bonus features.
