Watch SS Camp 5: Women's Hell For Free

So much average

good back-story, and good acting

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

WWII—the Germans are losing the war, but their atrocities continue unabated, a shipment of new prisoners arriving at a women's concentration camp, where they are immediately divided into two groups: whores for the sexual gratification of German officers, and human guinea pigs for Nazi experimentation.Having presumably made a tidy profit from his infamous video nasty SS Experiment Camp, director Sergio Garrone went and did it all over again with SS Lager 5, another tasteless concoction of sex and violence guaranteed to offend the sensibilities of all but the most jaded Nazisploitation fan.This one has all the ingredients one might expect—evil Aryan doctors, a lesbian head guard called Greta (Patrizia Melega), a sadistic lieutenant (Serafino Profumo), group shower scenes, a botched escape plan, one particularly plucky prisoner (Jamaican babe Alina, played by Rita Manna), and the brutal torture of numerous naked women (fingernail-pulling, head-crushing and tongue-ripping, oh my!)—but what makes it REALLY objectionable is its use of genuine concentration camp photography during the opening credits (an eye-opener of an introduction if I've ever seen one) and, later on, authentic death camp footage depicting the unceremonious dumping of corpses in mass graves.This shameless plumbing of the depths of taste and decency in the name of entertainment make SS Lager 5 one of the most effectively nasty films of its ilk.

All kinds of horrible stuff happens to the luckless lady prisoners at SS Camp 5. Their fierce and sadistic Nazi captors either force the women to become prostitutes so they can sexually service Nazi officers and boost morale or use them as guinea pigs for barbaric scientific experiments. Director/co-writer Sergio Garrone certainly doesn't skimp on the leering low-grade sleaze: we've got plentiful gratuitous distaff nudity, two group shower scenes, an orgy, a few sordid soft-core sex scenes, and one very nasty rape. Moreover, Garrone delivers the raw, ugly and sickening brutality by the nauseating bucketful: Among the hideous sights on display are four would-be escapees being torched in an oven, various poor ladies having their legs set on fire, one gal has her head crushed in a vice, another gets repeatedly punched in the stomach with sharp brass knuckles, a third lass has flaming bamboo sticks placed under her fingernails (ouch!), and a fourth woman has her tongue torn out with a huge pair of tongs. This thoroughly fetid flick further benefits from the sound acting by a capable cast, with especially stand-out turns by foxy Pam Grier lookalike Rita Manna as feisty Jamaican Alina, Giorgio Cerioni as the humane Colonel Strasser, Serafino Profuma as cruel commandant Lt. Hans, Paola Corazzi as fetching blonde Edith, Patrizia Melegna as mean Nazi bitch Greta, Paola D'Egidio as the gutsy Deborah, Attilio Dottesio as quack scientist Dr. Abraham, and Paola Lelio as homely fat whorehouse madam Magda. Maurizio Centini's plain cinematography, the moody, melancholy, flesh-crawling synthesizer score by Vasili Kojucharov and Roberto Pregadio, and the grim, despairing tone all greatly add to the overall considerable sliminess and mean-spiritedness of this choice sick Italian Nazisploitation trash.

"Naziploitation" has got to be the most worthless and redundant sub genre of horror cinema, and yet it was extremely popular during the late 70's. All these controversial-sounding titles like "SS Hell Camp", "SS Experiment Love Camp" or this "SS Camp 5: Women's Hell" are extremely boring and poorly made movies and not even half as shocking as they think they are. Tinto Brass' "Salon Kitty" and the ever-infamous "Ilsa – She Wolf of the SS" are still somewhat interesting, but that's merely because they function as simple and straightforward sex films. This "SS Camp 5: Women's Hell" is the worst one yet. It's a totally mundane and ugly movie without action, suspense or atmosphere. The Second World War is almost over, but these sadistic Generals in the camp don't yet realize that Germany is losing. Whenever a shipment of new prisoner girls arrives, they get divided into two groups, namely whores and medical guinea pigs. The only thing I learned from this movie is that Nazis apparently liked to play with fire… The medical experiments all involve setting the girls (or at least certain body parts) on fire. Whenever they want to punish a girl for insulting the Third Reich; they use fire. Whenever a girl needs to be eliminated… Well, you know the drill. In the end Russians invade the camp, the female prisoners – led by a Jamaican babe – join the battle against their torments, and they live happily after all. Insufferable garbage, avoid at all costs.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*"S.S. Camp 5: Women's Hell" concerns itself with race relations, abortion, medical experiments, mass female showering and other important issues while telling the tale of prisoners in a Nazi prison. Female prisoners of course. The good looking ones are sent to be prostitutes. The not so glamorous ones are sent to be medical experiments. Their favorite experiment was pouring oil onto the leg of a prisoner and setting it on fire. See, that way the doctors can look at the burn wound and see if they can heal it. Or else it was all for the viewers pleasure so he can see a female scream in pain.Yes, it was another lowdown Naziploitation movie. I won't rest until I've seen them all. They are all so unbelievably slimy. Naziploitation flicks are women's prison movies except they have the Nazi stigma drenched over them. I feel dirty after watching them. I'm almost ashamed to admit having seen it. Almost! This one was a little tame. On the plus side, there was nudity and two mass shower scenes. There is a decent torture scene and a couple of unnecessary medical experiment scenes. So that's good. But all of the sex scenes were weak. The women weren't that attractive and there was no gratuitous girl/girl action. I mean, the female warden should be horny. Am I wrong? She wasn't. Nor was she overly sadistic. Ilsa, we needed you for this one. Worth a peek though if you love a good, wholesome Nazi prison flick.