''Evil Senses'' ( it, Sensi) is a 1986 Italian erotic thriller film written and directed by

Gabriele Lavia Gabriele Lavia (born 10 October 1942) is an Italian actor, film director and theatre director. Biography Lavia was born in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1970 he has had roles in nearly thirty films and television programs. He is known for his appear ...

and starring

Monica Guerritore Monica Guerritore (5 January 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian actress of cinema, theatre and television. Biography Born in Rome to a Neapolitan father and a Calabrian mother, after her debut at just sixteen years of age under the direction of G ...

, the same Lavia, and

Mimsy Farmer Merle "Mimsy" Farmer (born February 28, 1945) is an American actress, artist and sculptor. She began her career appearing in several Hollywood studio films, such as ''Spencer's Mountain'' (1963) and ''Bus Riley's Back in Town'' (1965), followed b ...

Plot

Professional hitman Manuel come into possession of a compromising list of names that he should not know, which leads him to become hunted down by his bosses to be killed. Manuel takes refuge in Rome to a brothel run by his old mistress Micòl. He meets Vittoria, a mysterious and fascinating sex worker who leven though she claims to be already married. The two begin a sexual relationship, while Vittoria is actually under the payroll of Manuel's bosses, among them is her fake husband who has planned on having her seduce him to obtain the names on the list. Manuel confesses that he has thrown away her list of names, but that he keeps them in her memory. Vittoria is then ordered to kill Manuel, but then aims the gun at Manuel, but does not shoot him and only pretends to have carried out her bosses orders. Her bosses arrive in the room that was supposed to be the scene of the crime and are shot dead. Manuel then also kills Vittoria, realizing he is unable to reconcile that relationship with his own life as a fugitive.

Cast

as Vittoria *

as Manuel *

as Nicol * Lewis E. Ciannelli as Vittoria's companion * Dario Mazzoli * Gioia Scola * Jean Rene Masrevery

Production

Film historian and critic Roberto Curti stated that ''Evil Senses'' was part of a small cycle of Italian erotic films that leaned towards being thrillers after the success of the

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the er ...

film '' The Key'' (1983). ''Evil Senses'' was entirely shot in Rome and shot in English. The film continued the pairing of director Gabriele Lavia who also stars in the film and his wife

from ''

Scandalous Gilda ''Scandalous Gilda'' ( it, Scandalosa Gilda) is a 1985 Italian erotic drama film written and directed by Gabriele Lavia and starring Monica Guerritore and the same Lavia. Plot Cast *Monica Guerritore as The Woman *Gabriele Lavia as The Man ...

''.

Release and reception

''Evil Senses'' was released in 1986. In Germany, it was released on home video as ''Stripped to Die''. In his book on Italian thrillers, Adrian Luther-Smith declared the film "an empty experience with few redeeming points" noting it being "painfully slow" and that "the sexual encounters are dull and even potentially perverse details, such as Victoria provocatively discarding her panties for her transfixed lover, are rendered unexciting due to the static presentation."

References

Sources

* *

External links

* 1980s erotic thriller films Films directed by Gabriele Lavia Italian erotic thriller films English-language Italian films 1980s Italian films Films scored by Fabio Frizzi {{erotic-thriller-film-stub