Waves of Lust (1975, Ruggero Deodato)

Another welcome addition to Raro Video USA's collection of classics is a film from Cannibal Holocaust's Ruggero Deodato (Raro also released his Eurocrime classic Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man). Basically an Italian exploitation remake of Roman Polanski's Knife in the Water, Waves of Lust features a few familiar faces to Italian film fans and a story that will keep you gripped to your seats (and guessing) until the unexpected ending.

Waves of Lust stars Al Cliver and Deodato's wife at the time Silvia Dionisio as a young couple who invite themselves on board a yacht owned by a wealthy man and his abused wife (John Steiner and Elizabeth Turner). Together the foursome begin teasing each other and playing games, though the games aren't all innocent. They form alliances with each other but they all have their own agendas and the games turn deadly.

Waves of Lust was a film I had been searching for and was overjoyed when it was announced for the U.S. division of Raro. Though Deodato's films are hit or miss, they are always enjoyable and one of my goals is to see them all. Waves of Lust definitely clicked for me. The cast was great and I am a big fan of Cliver and Steiner...though every time I see Steiner now I picture him as Jaffar in Enzo Castellari's Sinbad film..."shudder". The story was well written and had enough exploitation elements in it to please genre fans. The relationships between the characters was great and the beautiful cinematography added to the film. My only gripe was that the ending, though satisfying, was a little too abrupt. Overall, I highly recommend this film if you are a fan of Deodato or Italian sleaze.

RATING: 9/10

Order Waves of Lust directly (and at an amazingly low price!) from Raro Video HERE