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