Product Description

An Italian "nunsploitation" epic in which a demented Mother Superior and a rabid collection of mentally disturbed and sex crazed sisters lose their habits and morals with equal gusto.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60034 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-10-28
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, HiFi Sound, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Italian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Though ostensibly inspired by The Devils of Loudon, the true story of a convent suspected of breeding devil-worshipping acolytes, this purely exploitative example of "nunsploitation" tosses in elements of Edgar Allan Poe, the lurid sex and sadism of Italian exploitation horror, and even a bent variation on Romeo and Juliet. During the Inquisition Era, an innocent boy accused of heresy seeks refuge in the convent where his girlfriend has been sent by her intolerant father. The Abbess, who pretends to assist the young man, is an insatiable sadist who tortures her charges (usually half-naked) and accuses the innocent girlfriend of murder after the brutal death of her cellmate. This unsavory helping of kink delivers all it promises (nudity! whippings! lesbian sex between acolytes!) with ham-fisted bluntness and then sinks into a hypocritical happy ending in which the Grand Inquisitor himself becomes the paternalistic hero! Neither campy nor stylishly fun, this is for die-hard fans only. Included are trailers for this and three other Italian exploitation films and an extended introduction by British horror hostess Eileen Daly (which was actually recorded for a different film!), a black-leather Elvira with a whip and a penchant for kink that may not be to the tastes of all audiences. -Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Could've been a little more sinful
First of all, I am tired of people criticizing these Eurosleaze/horror films as if they were expecting some Spielberg epic. No one but NO ONE watches these for the "story", okay? Complaining about the lack of story singles you out as a doofus, because you are talking to the wrong crowd.
I preach to the converted, and as far as this film goes it has only a smattering of what we're looking for in this genre. The nudity is there...kind of. Not a lot of it, but enough to warrant some interest in the film throughout it's entire length. I was hoping this would be similar to "The Convent of Hell", an erotic graphic novel which tells the story of a group of nuns which mistakenly summons the devil, who then goes about raping them and turning them into nymphomaniacs. Not quite the plot here, as it happens.
A dash of very minor and brief lesbianism (one mild scene) is the best on offer here, and a "sex" scene between the abbess and the "hero" is completely forgettable. The end of the film, which is awash with topless nuns in some sort of weird, possessed freak out, is a decent climax. The main nun--a young girl falsely accused of murdering another nun (which is the basis of the story, if you care)--is the best looking, but unfortunately has almost the least on display. Of course, something which the director calls "violence" is present, but....whatever. Towards the end of the film a topless nun hanging is as extreme as it gets. However, there is a stirring moment when the nuns' true spiritual allegiance is revealed by a
creepy painting on the wall late in the movie.
The dvd notes claim it is all remastered, and maybe it is. And boy are they proud of how they transferred the audio to DAT and reprocessed it!
The trailer for the film is in Italian with no subtitles, and Redemption has added some sort of 5 minute prologue during which some goth girl introduces the film (see editorial review above).
Now, it's great that Redemption has taken such an active interest in their products, but several minutes of jabbering by some lady with white contacts trying to be scary is just stupid. Skip to Chapter 2 where the film starts.
In closing: it isn't Jean Rollin or "Bacchanales Sexuelles", but it's adequate.

Nuns, Nuns, Everywhere Nuns!
The Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine starts off suiting enough with some naughty, naked nuns and progresses onto more nun related nudity and so forth. However, I'm not quite sure why this is considered a horror flick. There is next to no gore or suspense or horror for that matter. The transfer is decent for this sort of film however the subtitles can be quite annoying. I gave this movie 3 stars because of the storyline, the acting, and the nun related nudity. However, if you are picking up this film for the "gore" or "horror" content, look elsewhere as this is not the film you want it to be.

Not exactly Shakespeare
The Sinful Nuns has lifted much of its plot from Romeo and Juliet, with the additions of a demonic nun and the inquisition. As a whole, the film muddles along with the lovers in turmoil plotline, only picking up steam when the inquisitor shows up. The one horrific sequence that stands out is when the denounced nuns are walled up in their convent, but their is little else. The film has ample nun-related nudity but little "gore". Probably not a film to be viewed more than once. The DVD transfer is acceptable.