Directed by Just Jaeckin, France/W. Germany/Canada. A woman (Corinne Clery) known only as “O” is taken to a country retreat by her boyfriend (Udo Kier) and initiated into the joys of sadism and masochism. Considering the themes here and the amount of female flesh on display, it surprises me to have to say THE STORY OF O. is close to unwatchable. The tedium of the actual narrative is relentless, but just as annoying is the film’s unspoken, but clear, self-definition as “art porn.” Somehow, the pretension to sophistication makes the film much more offensively misogynistic than an “honest” exploitation flick by, say, Jess Franco. 2/5.
MOVIES THAT DIE SCREAMING 