Sexcula (1974)

Studio: Impulse / CAV

Theatrical Release: 1974

DVD Release: April 9, 2013

Director: John Holbrook

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Review by James Klein

This Canadian made adult film, a spoof on the gothic horror films of the 50's and 60's, was considered for many years a lost film. There was a screening of the film for cast, crew and investors in 1974 and then suddenly it was gone. It was never shown theatrically and not even the director saw the final cut since the screening until recently. Found in the basement of the Library and Archives of Canada was Sexcula.

Watching Sexcula, I kept thinking to myself that everyone involved on this film must have been high on drugs or completely insane. The film is almost incoherent and so out of its mind that I couldn't help but enjoy certain aspects of the movie. The problem is that like most adult films, the sex scenes go on way too long and some don't even include the "money shot". To me, that's like telling a joke without a punch line. If you can fast forward through most of the dull sex, Sexcula is rather funny and strange.

What I can gather of the plot is a man and woman stumble upon an old mansion that belonged to the woman's ancestors. As the couple have a picnic nude, they read an old diary by Sexcula (Debbie Collins, who is very attractive in a Marilyn Chambers sort of way) who talks about a man she created named Frank who just can't get it up. He has no interest in women so Sexcula tries everything she can to give Frank a boner attack. Lesbian sex, suck jobs, massages, nothing seems to help the poor guy. But while this is going on, there is a quick subplot of an ugly, fat Igor type creature and some naked robot lady on a table who he wants but there is also a gorilla in a cage who wants some of it too. Yeah, I'm not making this up.

During the third act, the film switches gears and suddenly jumps into a making of a adult film where a man and woman are going to be married but can't keep their hands off one another. This makes no sense and while the priests reactions were funny at time and the bride is super hot, I missed the old gothic feel of Sexcula and wasn't sure what the film makers were thinking of. The ending is complete batshit as it jumps all over from every plot of everyone having sex and the director suddenly yelling cut and walking out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Huh?

While I prefer my adult films different (and this sure is different) one of the biggest problems is the transfer. The film looks awful. Most of the night sequences or in the castle are so dark, you can't see anything. All of the gorilla/Igor scenes are almost completely black. I can't rip on Impulse's transfer too much since this is a lost film, however much of the movie is almost missed due to the picture quality. The lighter sequences or day scenes can be seen but to me, these were the dull parts of the movie.

Impulse was able to find an old trailer for Sexcula but aside from that, there are no special features. Why can't adult films ever have commentary? I would have loved to have heard Debbie Collins talk about this film or director Holbrook discussing why he even made this film. Or any of the actors or crew members talk about how hairy they are or why most of them have zits on their butts (Again, not kidding) Like the movie itself, these are missed opportunities that could have made the DVD a worthwhile viewing.

[Rating: 2]