The Sinful Dwarf (1974/Severin DVD)
Picture:
D Sound: D Extras: C+ Feature: D
The Sinful Dwarf is one of the most twisted movies
I have ever seen. It is pure 1970s
exploitation cinema with an ugly, cackling little gremlin thrown in for good
measure. Played by Torben (apparently a
Danish children’s TV star at the time) the dwarf, named Olaf, and his drunken
former-nightclub-singer mother systematically kidnap girls, get them addicted
to heroine, and then prostitute them out.
The only part of this film that even resembles a plot follows a young
couple who rent a room in the building with the dwarf and his mother and
stumble upon their dealings.
Really
the only reason to watch this film is for the sheer novelty of it. The film has absolutely no cinematic or
artistic value, and it doesn’t even function as porn because despite a quarter
of the 95-minute running time consisting of sex and nudity, as soon as Torben’s
ugly little face hits the screen it’s just difficult to not feel queasy.
According
to the back cover, the print was discovered hidden in a janitor’s closet at the
Danish Film Institute, and the lack of preservation over the past 35 years
shows on screen, despite the supposed restoration. The image, in 1.33:1 full screen format, is
overly grainy and soft, and the audio in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is little
better.
The
extras consist of a theatrical trailer and two radio spots, but by far the
highlight of the disc is a ten-minute featurette called “The Severin Controversy.”
Apparently, two gentlemen petitioned for Severin to halt its
distribution of the film, not on moral grounds, but because in 1991 they
watched it while on drugs. As a result,
they have apparently been emotionally scarred, suffering night terrors and
(Gasp!) being forced to give up recreational drug use. In an effort to save others from the same
fate, these two noble gentlemen made a plea on camera to halt the distribution
of this disc. You decide for yourself
whether that is a deterrent, or yet more enticement to see this film for
yourself.
- Mathew Carrick
