The Vengeance of She (1968)

[Derf]

This weekend I watched The Vengeance of She. My wife saw the title and thought I'd enjoy it, so we got it. I didn't know it was a sequel (She, 1965); I found that out later. The movie is silly, badly done, and full of unconvincing characters.

The basic premise is that Carol (Olinka Berova) is being "summoned" to Kuma by the Maji in order to take her place as the reincarnation of Ayesha, the Queen of Kuma, she who must be obeyed. The problem is, Carol isn't Ayesha; Men-Hari, the leader of the Maji, is using mind control to convince her and Killikrates (Kuma's immortal male leader whose only concern is the recovery of Ayesha) that Ayesha has truly returned. Killikrates will direct Ayesha into the blue flame that will make her immortal so the two can rule together. As a bonus incentive, Killikrates will also allow Men-Hari to gain immortality. On her journey to Kuma, Carol encounters Philip, a psychologist, who falls in love with her despite her having the personality of a poached egg. He accompanies her to Kuma, and together they end what is apparently the last Roman outpost in the world (at least everyone is wearing Roman guard uniforms).

Taken by itself, the movie is bad, but in a good way. Taken as a sequel, it is a mind-boggling non-sequiter. In She, Ayesha and Kuma are discovered in a secret valley shortly after WWI. Her society is based on Egyptian culture. One of the explorers, Leo Vincey (John Richardson) falls in love with Ayesha and is led through the blue flame by her. He is made immortal, while she is destroyed. In Vengeance of She, Richardson is back, but now suddenly he is Killikrates, leader of what is clearly now a Roman outpost, and he had ruled alongside of Ayesha for years.

In logical movie sequel terms, Richardson's character would have been "immortal" for maybe forty years, and he would have known Ayesha for a few days, so he would hardly have been longing for her return. Why he would have changed the base of the civilization from Egyptian to Roman with a heavy dose of Middle Eastern thrown in for good measure is left unexplained. As for the Middle Eastern influence, that amounts only to some guys dressed as Arabs who command demons. Actually, there's only one guy dressed as an Arab (Men-Hari). The rest of the Maji are dressed more like medieval monks.

Does this movie sound like a mess? It is. I had a couple of belly laughs watching it, so it wasn't a total loss. Oh, and one thing that has to be seen to be believed is Ayesha's dress. Olinka Berova's bosoms are perky to the point of defying basic laws of physics, gravity, geometry and biology.

[Gerry]

Olinka Berova's bosoms are the two major reasons to watch this movie.  I liked it, but it's not one I will frequently revisit.

[Just Plain Horse]

I'm surprised it hasn't been remade into some stupid "grrrl power" peice of fluff.