Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS

When Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS hit theaters, Nazi erotica was already one of exploitation cinema’s most successful subgenres. So why did this particular movie become such a sensation? Maybe because Edmonds went all-in on the myth of the Buchenwald “Kommandeuse” Ilse Koch, who after the war was accused of some of the most horrific crimes imaginable. Almost none of it could be proven, but the lurid legends surrounding her lived on—and human-skin lampshades, torture, BDSM, and sex under inhumane conditions always bound to tickle the lower reaches of the imagination. And Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS has all of that—in excess. (Olaf Möller)