The Sizzlin’ Something Weird Summer Challenge 2024: Fantasm (1976)

Uschi Digard week (June 23 – 29) Digard is best known for her work with Russ Meyer but she became an SWV fan favorite for two gargantuan reasons, her charm and her prolific career. The Swiss actress fled to America in 1968 and began a long career filling the silver screen from corner to corner with her overflowing positive energy. Show the lady some respect and watch one of her movies.

This is not about the one with the silver balls, yet I remain obsessed about the idea that when people are fucking the Lady In Lavender in Phantasm, they’re fucking the Tall Man.

No, this is the adult movie from Down Under directed by the man that would one day make Psycho II, Richard Franklin. He used the name Richard Bruce, but it’s the same talented man who made Roadgames and Cloak and Dagger.

German sexologist Professor Jürgen Notafreud (John Bluthal) is here to explain to us how the female sexual mind works. To do so, we’re going to watch an anthology film of sexual hijinks, kind of like an Amicus movie but you know, with fucking.

There are many tales here, like the woman who is being pampered in a “Beauty Parlour,” a husband (William Margold) and wife (Maria Arnold, who is in the best titled of all Harry Novak’s movies, Wam Bam Thank You Spaceman) playing a “Card Game” where she takes on as many of his friends (Kirby Hall and Robert Savage) as she can (and then Wendy Cavanaugh and Helen O’Connell also come over), “Wearing The Pants” has a housewife (Gretchen Gayle, My Body Hungers) do some forced feminization and sodomy on a man (Con Covert) who steals her clothing and “Nightmare Alley,” which has Rene Bond being assaulted by Al Williams until she likes it.

Umm…it was 1976? No, I can’t defend it.

At least this recovers with “The Girls,” as Uschi Digard — listed as Super Girl, as if she was coming in from a Russ Meyer movie — and Mara Lutra engaging in some sapphic screentime. Then, the film’s most famous moment has John Holmes rise from the water nude — yes, it’s still intimidating — and eat “Fruit Salad” off of Maria Welton.

Fantasm seems to be about displaying taboos, like how Candy Samples lusts for her son (Gene Poe) in “Mother’s Darling” and a black exotic dancer (Shayne) performs for Richard Partlow, Paul Wyman and Sam Wyman. Or “After School,” where young Roxanne Brewer (Sexual Kung Fu in Hong Kong and Dr. Dildo’s Secret; spoiler warning; the doctor is a dildo) dances for her teacher (Al Ward) until he has a heart attack. Guess that test is cancelled tomorrow.

Finally, in the scene that you knew I’d like most, a “Blood Orgy” finds Serena get sacrificed by a Satanic cult, but not before making love to their priest (Clement von Franckenstein, whose father Sir George Franckenstein was the Austrian Ambassador to the Court of St. James).

It’s like Faces of Death but, you know, about boinking.

Also: John Holmes’ name is Neptune and at one point, it seems like his underwater lover is using his massive membrum virile as a snorkel.

I would assume that Brockton O’Toole got his inspiration from this movie. And if you got that, you definitely walked through some video store curtains.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.