I disliked Simon Nuchtern's debut feature THE GIRL GRABBERS, which I saw a couple of decades after catching all his '80s films in NYC theatrical runs. But his second movie TO HEX WITH SEX is even worse.
No, it wasn't "bad on purpose", but might as well have been made that way. Story of a nebbish having sex with beautiful women after making deals with the Devil (personified by a woman) goes South in a hurry.
Stefan Peters/Sebastian Dangerfield was lousy in GIRL GRABBERS and is tiresome here as Marvin, a young idiot working for an underwear company. Very talky script belabors an early scene (it runs on & on & on) where he's fired, and argues idiotically with his level-headed boss, hoping to reverse his decision.
His busty girlfriend Nancy (played by untalented Diana Goble) is mean to him. In a building basement he's confronted by a sexy girl who identifies herself as Lucibel, actually the Devil incarnate.
Instead of sex or sex tease, we get an interminable talk-fest, as Lucibel offers him a free wish (no strings attached), and Marvin opts to be president of a movie company.
Shazam! and he's in charge of Flux Films. (Nuchtern perhaps was making a highbrow allusion to a series of underground avant garde films of the '60s made by such luminaries as Yoko Ono and John Cale -how hip!) The indie studio's director is a swishy type overplayed by Larry Hunter, and the leading lady is sexploitation favorite Linda Boyce.
I would rather sit through an honest-to-God soft porn vehicle starring Boyce, made by Flux or anybody else, than this monstrosity making fun of same. But clearly Nuchtern would be ashamed to shoot porn, even though ultimately TO HEX WITH SEX would be marketed alongside porn.
He quickly screws things up and the entire staff at the studio quits, leaving him with nothing. Lucibel feels sorry for him and makes an absurd deal -she will make him irresistible to women if he moves in and makes love to her (exclusively) for six months.
SPOILER ALERT:
He agrees but gets worn out, so the next wish is for strength (to have sex), in return for his soul (natch). The kicker is that he slips in that she make him immortal, and of course that comes back to haunt him.
It's barely watchable, the only plus being the talent and quite offbeat allure of Paula Shaw as Lucibel. She has had a most checkered career, starting off in soft porn and later appearing often on TV, latterly in Canadian productions. She's styled here a la brassy Jessica Walter (circa PLAY MISTY FOR ME), and deserved a whole lot better.
Nuchtern muffs the entire project, trying lamely to save it with a paranoid orgy scene in the final reel loaded briefly with bare breasts. Nuchtern's next project was a straight drama COWARDS, but that one was spiced up by others to finally emerge as soft porn in the form of LOVE-IN 1972, poetic justice.
No, it wasn't "bad on purpose", but might as well have been made that way. Story of a nebbish having sex with beautiful women after making deals with the Devil (personified by a woman) goes South in a hurry.
Stefan Peters/Sebastian Dangerfield was lousy in GIRL GRABBERS and is tiresome here as Marvin, a young idiot working for an underwear company. Very talky script belabors an early scene (it runs on & on & on) where he's fired, and argues idiotically with his level-headed boss, hoping to reverse his decision.
His busty girlfriend Nancy (played by untalented Diana Goble) is mean to him. In a building basement he's confronted by a sexy girl who identifies herself as Lucibel, actually the Devil incarnate.
Instead of sex or sex tease, we get an interminable talk-fest, as Lucibel offers him a free wish (no strings attached), and Marvin opts to be president of a movie company.
Shazam! and he's in charge of Flux Films. (Nuchtern perhaps was making a highbrow allusion to a series of underground avant garde films of the '60s made by such luminaries as Yoko Ono and John Cale -how hip!) The indie studio's director is a swishy type overplayed by Larry Hunter, and the leading lady is sexploitation favorite Linda Boyce.
I would rather sit through an honest-to-God soft porn vehicle starring Boyce, made by Flux or anybody else, than this monstrosity making fun of same. But clearly Nuchtern would be ashamed to shoot porn, even though ultimately TO HEX WITH SEX would be marketed alongside porn.
He quickly screws things up and the entire staff at the studio quits, leaving him with nothing. Lucibel feels sorry for him and makes an absurd deal -she will make him irresistible to women if he moves in and makes love to her (exclusively) for six months.
SPOILER ALERT:
He agrees but gets worn out, so the next wish is for strength (to have sex), in return for his soul (natch). The kicker is that he slips in that she make him immortal, and of course that comes back to haunt him.
It's barely watchable, the only plus being the talent and quite offbeat allure of Paula Shaw as Lucibel. She has had a most checkered career, starting off in soft porn and later appearing often on TV, latterly in Canadian productions. She's styled here a la brassy Jessica Walter (circa PLAY MISTY FOR ME), and deserved a whole lot better.
Nuchtern muffs the entire project, trying lamely to save it with a paranoid orgy scene in the final reel loaded briefly with bare breasts. Nuchtern's next project was a straight drama COWARDS, but that one was spiced up by others to finally emerge as soft porn in the form of LOVE-IN 1972, poetic justice.
