Here’s a curiosity – the obscure 1978 film LA SETTIMA DONNA (‘The Seventh Woman’), released in the States as ‘Terror’ and later as ‘The Last House on the Beach’. The latter clumsy retitle should serve to give a good indication of what to expect from this film, yet another Italian variation on Wes Craven’s influential 1974 film LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. I have to say that I prefer the well known trio of Italian LAST HOUSE rip-offs to Craven’s film – I’m talking about Aldo Lado’s LATE NIGHT TRAINS (1975), Campanile’s HITCH-HIKE (1977) and Deodato’s HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK (1981), so I was very interested to see if this little-known fourth film would measure up to that trio of debauched classics.

Three violent bank robbers flee into the countryside, where their car breaks down. Nearby is a large house which looks out onto the beach. It is owned by the church and a nun, Cristina, is in residence along with five pupils and a maid. They are rehearsing for a performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ when the robbers break in. They waste no time in dispatching of the maid with an iron to the head (Ferrara’s MS.45 (1981) would later provide an alternate version of this scene, with the roles reversed) and one of the robbers, Nino, attempts to rape one of the girls, who stabs him in the leg. The nun is later raped, as is one of the girls. When one of the other girls is violated with the butt of a rifle, the nun finally snaps and the ending will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with any of the films mentioned above…

The most interesting thing about this film is the question of why it isn’t better known? I’d never heard of it, and it doesn’t seem to be in any of my reference books, this despite a very interesting cast. The nun is played by Florinda Bolkan, well known to fans of euro-cult cinema everywhere, thanks to iconic roles in Fulci’s DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING (1971) and FLAVIA THE HERETIC (1974). One of the robbers is played (against type) by Ray Lovelock, best known for Jorg Grau’s LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE / LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE (1974), but also prominent in many other genre films, from Lenzi’s ALMOST HUMAN (1975) to AUTOPSY (1975) to Di Leo’s BEING TWENTY (1978) to the trash extravaganza PLAY MOTEL (1979). In addition, two of the girls are played by Sherry Buchanan (ZOMBIE HOLOCUAST / DR BUTCHER MD (1980)) and a somewhat less buxom Laura Trotter (CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD (1980)).

The other interesting thing is the question of director. The film was directed by Franco Prosperi, a name instantly familiar as one of the instigators of Mondo cinema. However, the book Spaghetti Nightmares says that “the director, formerly Mario Bava’s assistant, should not be confused with the author [director] of WILD BEASTS”. The IMDb lists only one Franco Prosperi, with the credits for work on Bava’s films, mondo films, the film under review and WILD BEASTS (1984) all going to this individual. WILD BEASTS was certainly the work of the Prosperi responsible for MONDO CANE (1962) et al, so I’m not sure what the truth behind this is.

The film is surprisingly coy when it comes to nudity, certainly in comparison to the other LAST HOUSE inspired films mentioned above. Bolkan has a brief topless scene, as do two of the girls, but the only full frontal nudity in the film occurs when the gang are watching a dodgy 70’s music thing on TV with a nude stripper dancing. Bolkan’s rape scene occurs off-camera, though the rape of the girl is filmed in a very dubious manner, in slow motion to a pounding score. There is a fairly graphic scene involving someone being shot in the head, but apart from that it’s also a quite bloodless affair.

I have to say that I was fairly disappointed by the film overall; certainly it isn’t fit to be included in that illustrious company of great LAST HOUSE inspired films I keep making reference to. It completely lacks the tautness and grimness of LATE NIGHT TRAINS or the inspired, demented performance of David Hess in HITCH-HIKE (and HOTEOTP) or the sheer over-the-top nudity and violence of HOTEOTP. The acting is somewhat wooden, the plot a little convoluted and plain silly, the score a little too strident, and the photography routine, if occasionally flashy.

LA SETTIMA DONNA is only available on DVD in Japan as far as I’m aware. The film is in widescreen, with an English audio track. Colours look a little washed out, and there is some minor print damage, but overall it’s not in bad condition for such a rare film. I presume this isn’t cut at all, but I can’t be sure.