This is a sumptuously-rendered, GIMPage-infused horror tale derived from the oft-told story of a madman who operates a wax museum, this time in pre-WWI Paris. Is he a brilliant artist with an eye for detail? Or is he injecting people with a drug that paralyzes them, pumping some special concoction into them to keep them alive (but dead-looking), and using them as exhibits in the museum? We all know the correct answer to that one.

The heroine of the story is dark-eyed, exquisite beauty Sonia (Romina Mondello), who gets a job in the wax museum as a costume designer. She meets a photographer-journalist who happens to be investigating a mysterious death in the museum. He tries to get information from a pretty blond prostitute Giorgina (Valery Valmond) who last saw the victim alive.

Giorgina is invited to a secret rendezvous but when she arrives at the address, she finds herself in a rather decrepit, abandoned building. As she tries to leave, she’s grabbed from behind. She ends up nearly-naked (a sheet covers her loins), strapped in the Dentist Chair from Hell, in a laboratory underneath the museum. The chair is actually an electro-mechanical device used not only to restrain the victim, but also to “pose” her once the paralytic serum has been administered. The villain operates the infernal machinery with levers, to the accompaniment of blinking bulbs, electric charges and colorful, bubbling liquids in glass containers. Yeah, this is classic mad scientist stuff, and I like it.

Meanwhile, Sonia and her lover are sniffing out the mystery. One night, Sonia leaves the museum late and is abducted. We next see her tied to a platform in a barn and her unknown assailant is putting gashes in her forearms. The idea is to use her blood to attract pigs to munch her to death. (I guess this works, but I didn’t grow up on a farm, so what do I know?). She’s clothed but looks disheveled (finally) and rather sexy as she struggles in vain to free herself. Rescued, Sonia lives to be GIMPed another day.

That day comes when, despite her boyfriend’s warning not to return to the museum, Sonia sneaks in at night to snoop around. Yoink! She’s grabbed by the neck, gagged and strapped to the chair just like Giorgina. We get nice long looks at her terrific bod and teary eyes, and there’s just enough wiggle room in the chair for her to squirm a bit. Unfortunately (for us), Sonia’s beau arrives to save the day. Fortunately, he must first engage in an epic battle with the villain, which gives us more opportunities to watch Sonia struggle. Unfortunately, the villain is defeated, and the “hero” returns to free Sonia. Fortunately, the machinery is still working, the needle is about to penetrate Sonia’s tender flesh, and the boyfriend has to figure out how to stop it, which gives us even more opportunities to watch her writhe a bit. Well, you know the drill, all good things must come to an end, but it was fun while it lasted.

Movie plusses: Beautiful victims, great production values (settings, costumes, lighting, props, it’s all good), thrilling score, and some extra sex and nudity thrown in. Decent performances by all. None of the damsels get bloodied or disemboweled.

Movie minuses: It’s an Italian flick, so of course the English is dubbed – not too badly, but Romina’s performance seems to be far better than that of the actress who supplies her “voice”. I would have preferred subtitles. The last five minutes of the film are a bit wack and include some CGI of SyFy Channel caliber. There’s a femdom scene in the brothel. And I’ve seen a few movies now that tried to use a fake pig-head in a scene, and it still hasn’t worked right.