Emanuelle’s Perverse Outburst (1983)

Directed by Joe D’Amato
Starring Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Mark Shannon
Release Date: July 20, 1983
97 Minutes/Color

Whatever else one might say about the bizarre cinematic world of Joe D’Amato, the man certainly was resourceful. Few could toss five of their previous efforts into a blender, re-dub them to create a completely different story, and come up with something that works even though it shouldn’t. EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST, a silly title for a rather grim film, exists as more than the sum of its parts, providing an apt introduction for Black Emanuelle into the burgeoning home video world of the 1980s.

Emanuelle, a bed-hopping journalist from New York City, joins forces with the CIA to uncover a sex trafficking ring. They are impressed with her efficiency, and she is tasked with infiltrating a multinational criminal enterprise, seducing double agents to ascertain their loyalty. It isn’t long before she ends up tackling a dangerous drug operation, but soon agents begin falling all around her. Has her cover also been blown? Will she be the next to die?

Far from the cartoon-like world of the usual Black Emanuelle film, OUTBURST opts for a darker tone. There is an air of danger throughout the proceedings, and it feels like there are real stakes for our heroine. While Gemser’s Emanuelle is no stranger to finding herself in mortal (or moral) peril – this time her shenanigans aren’t framed by the silly and sumptuous surroundings of, say, EMANUELLE AROUND THE WORLD. In that film, everything is so decidedly over-the-top that we know Emanuelle will find a movie serial-style solution to escape any peril she finds herself in, generally losing her clothes in the process. Not so here, where D’Amato has almost fashioned a giallo piece. Almost. Still, this is no small feat when what you have to work with is bits and bobs of fluffy sexploitation films.

There is a general sordidness to this affair that is quite effective, particularly as the generally confident Emanuelle starts seeing her fellow spies dropping left and right and realizes she is probably next. In the final shot of the film, what will happen next is left ambiguous. It would be impossible to discuss without spoiling it, so pay attention. This moment is easy to miss.

It’s not entirely clear who the audience for this film was meant to be. There are no records that I have been able to locate of a cinema release. The film only seems to have surfaced, with French titles and dubbing, on SECAM tapes in the early 1980s. With Porno Chic well and truly passé by that point, and a market brewing for adult content for in-home viewing, it is likely that EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST was created for this purpose.

With the original films rarely seen since their regular cinema releases when OUTBURST emerged, it is likely that audiences in 1983 would not be familiar with this repurposed footage. They would have little reason to doubt this was a new film, and producers could squeeze out a bit more dosh from the material. D’Amato never missed a chance to line his pockets with a bit of extra lira, and you’ve got to admire his enterprise.

OUTBURST is a tricky film to comment on when it comes to sight, sound and performance. While it’s certainly not unusual to see D’Amato’s casts covered by dubbed dialogue, the roles they are seen to inhabit here are not the roles in which they were filmed performing. This leaves character motivation destined to remain at a very basic level. A sort-of “white hats vs. black hats” type of scenario, if you will. As much as I enjoy this film, I do have to concede that it can be hard to tell who are the good guys and who are the bad, who is working for whom and what exactly is happening on a few occasions. I would say, though, the choppy narrative puts the audience on the back foot, enhancing the feeling of discomfort and danger.

Rather miraculously for a filmed collage of this type, there are few continuity errors to be found. Truthfully, I found but one major enough to take a viewer out of the story. In a pointless subplot, which serves no purpose other than to underline what a bastard he is, Misha (Mark Shannon, PORNO HOLOCAUST) has an after-dinner conversation with an uncredited Lucia Ramirez (also of PORNO HOLOCAUST). Naturally he suggests they bump uglies and, naturally, she’s all for it. We soon cut to the two of them in the shower. However, the willowy Ramirez has suddenly been replaced by buxom actress who bares of her but a passing resemblance. Other than this soapy slip-up, and the fact that Laura Gemser looks noticeably younger in footage taken from 1976’s BLACK COBRA, the continuity stands up well.

The visual landscape is fairly consistent, D’Amato being the cinematographer on all of the projects from which the footage was borrowed. The cinematography matches acceptably throughout.

Music, which has a distinct 1970s department store vibe, is credited to the prolific Detto Mariani. I’m not so sure about that, as Mariani generally provides far more inspired soundscapes. Additionally, a few of Nico Fidenco’s music cues from EMANUELLE AND THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE are unmissable in the mix. These two points lead me to believe that library music makes up quite a bit of the soundtrack.

The sexual scenes are fine, if not much to write home about. We’ve seen it all before (in this case both figuratively and literally), and are mainly of the softcore variety. There are hardcore moments as the film moves into scenes from PORNO ESOTIC LOVE and SESSO NERO, but these mainly consist of Mark Shannon looking bored while getting blowjobs from Annj Goren (PORNO HOLOCAUST, EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE RETURN OF EVA MAN). If it’s simply titillation you are looking for, you may wish to keep looking.

While the final original Black Emanuelle film was WOMEN’S PRISON MASSACRE, today’s film is technically the last of the official entries. It’s fitting, then, that it stands as a sort of Greatest Hits package. Most of the D’Amato stock company appears: Laura Gemser, her real-life husband Gabriele Tinti, Mark Shannon, Dirce Funari, Annj Goren, Lucia Ramirez, Venantino Venantini and Ely Galleani. Michele Starck (who was so memorable in BLACK COBRA) also stars. It feels a bit like a school reunion, except Mark Shannon keeps waving his willy around.

Never-mainstream, and nearly forgotten by genre buffs, EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST languished for decades on grey market bootlegs. Most of these copies displayed all the signs of 11th generation copies duplicated on consumer grade VCRs. Rolling pictures, muddy color, murky visuals and audio sounding like it was recorded off of a badly-tuned AM radio came standard. All this changed in 2023, with the release of Severin Films’ phenomenal Blu-Ray boxset The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle. OUTBURST has been meticulously re-constructed from the films that parented it, with only one brief shot remaining unidentified and left as-is.

The feature is a accompanied on the Blu-Ray by an entertaining commentary from author Bryan Connolly and film programmer Amber Adams. While there isn’t a lot of background on the film for them to share – the information simply isn’t out there – they discuss the development of the Black Emanuelle franchise in a witty, conversational style.

While it may not reach the heady heights of EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS or SISTER EMANUELLE, the Black Emanuelle series bows out respectably with EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST — and fittingly with its most prolific director and star at the helm. Recommended.

-Johnny Stanwyck

The Sensuous World of Black Emanuelle Blu-Ray boxset can be ordered directly from Severin Films at this link.

THE GRINDHOUSE EFFECT

Emanuelle’s Perverse Outburst (1983)

Sleaze for the true cinephile.

Share this:

Sleaze for the true cinephile.