Starring: Amy Hesketh, Mila Joya and Beatriz Rivera

Directed by: Jac Avila

Running time: 95 minutes

Justine, the big-budget 2016 release from Pachamama Films, is a movie with more art than heart.

Lavishly shot in high definition with a large cast, period costumes and a musical score, the film attempts to bring to life the sadistic thrills in the Marquis de Sade's story about a maiden in 18th century France who is tortured, humiliated and violated. Sadly, it comes up woefully short. Despite everything that went into the production, Justine just isn't that arousing.

Particularly disappointing is the debut of Beatriz Rivera, a new performer in the Pachamama stable. Absolutely stunning and a good actress, her talents are wasted in this film -- most notably in a whipping scene that should have been so much better.

The movie starts on a promising note. Justine -- played by Pachamama actress/producer Amy Hesketh -- is sentenced at a courtyard trial for the crimes of prostitution and theft.

Her accusers pull down her top to expose her breasts and her arms are tied to pillars. Justine learns her penalty is to be stripped and flogged 50 times and then placed on display for one night in the pillory. A guy in a black executioner's outfit peels off Justine's dress and binds the naked heroine's legs to the pillars.

With Justine looking suitably terrified, the punisher starts whipping her back, as the crowd of observers counts along with each crack of the whip.

Unfortunately, while the whipping lasts a good long time, the emphasis appears to be on eliciting sympathy for the victim, rather than stimulating viewers. Empathy over erotica, you might say. Justine's anguished cries certainly convey pain but they're not the least bit sexy.

The flogging draws blood and by the time it hits the 40-strokes mark, Justine has passed out. She is awakened with a splash of cold water (a nice touch) and the whipping resumes.

When it's done, Justine is taken to a pillory, where her naked and bloodied body is locked in place for the evening. The guy who whipped her and another fellow, Monsieur Rodin (actor/director Jac Avila), take turns nailing Justine from behind. This is much less exciting than it sounds. The first guy's attack is so quick that if you blink, you miss it. And Rodin's attack takes a bizarre turn as -- midway through the rape -- Justine starts recounting the history of her misadventures to a woman watching the rape.

The flashback story that follows is mostly told through Justine's narration in a stilted manner with an unusual syntax ("My distinguished origins did not destine me to my current humiliation"). Presumably, it's an attempt to capture the style of the 18th century novel (I've never read it). At any rate, little happens over the next 15 minutes that's of much interest to GIMPers.

There's one scene where it's clear Justine has been raped. But the only part depicted on-screen is the morning after, when Justine wakes up in a grassy field with her head bloodied and her clothes ripped open.

There's also a brief beating that occurs inside a French home after Justine refuses to help two astonishingly bad actors murder a wealthy aunt. Justine, who is fully dressed, is thrown to the floor and beaten with kicks and a walking stick. Although there is talk of killing Justine, the two guys opt instead to sell her into slavery.

At an auction, Justine is purchased by Rodin and his lover and servant, Omphale (Beatriz Rivera). She is taken to the wealthy Rodin's home and cared for by Rodin, Omphale and Rodin's daughter, Rosalie (Mila Joya).

Justine learns Rodin gets his rocks off on Fridays by torturing his ladies. He begins with Omphale, whom he has accused of some bogus offence. Omphale is tied arms over head in Rodin's prison and her top is stripped off. Rodin starts using a flogger on Omphale but, unfortunately, the slaps are much too genteel (much-too-delicate whippings prove to be an ongoing problem in this movie).

Justine and Rosalie are brought into the prison and Rodin turns his attention to his daughter. Apparently, Rodin has some sort of nutty "grand plan design" to save millions of lives by recreating Christ's crucifixion, with Rosalie playing the part of Jesus (talk about a father with a holier-than-thou attitude). To soften Rosalie up for the role, she is bound to a rack and stretched.

Rodin orders Justine to whip Rosalie, threatening to make his daughter suffer more if Justine refuses. So Justine whips Rosalie with a flogger. Once again, though, the whipping is too soft.

The whipping duties are handed over to Omphale -- who is also a light touch -- while Rodin makes Justine lie on the floor. Justine is stripped naked and Rodin prepares to ride her. It's unclear whether this coupling is supposed to be consensual or not, but it doesn't matter, as Justine breaks the fourth wall and starts narrating story details directly to the camera -- while she is being humped (!).

The next torture sees a topless Rosalie tied to a wooden wheel. As the wheel is spun by Justine and Omphale, Rodin gently swats Rosalie with the flogger.

Rosalie yelps as she is struck by the flogger but the blows are still much too soft. This part also includes some close profile shots of Rosalie's face, with the camera remaining locked on Rosalie's face as the wheel continues to spin. Clearly shot with a camera that was mounted onto the wheel, the effect is creative but arguably not worth the effort, as it adds nothing.

Finally, it's Justine's turn. Rodin binds Justine to the rack and he and Omphale crank the rack, causing Justine to let out cries of agony as the pain increases. Rodin whips Justine's stretched body with the flogger, but -- once again -- much too gently.

A rather lame attempt to create a roasting effect is tossed in, with a fire set in a cauldron on the floor space behind the rack. Too bad for fans of this type of thing that the roasting looks like an after-thought and is poorly done. Although Justine squeals, it never appears she is experiencing anything more than a bit of campfire warmth.

Proving he can multi-task, Rodin sets up a triple feature of female suffering. While Rosalie remains strapped to the wooden wheel, Justine is escorted to a stage area, where she is forced to stand on a studded platform. Straps and chains are used to bind Justine's hands to her sides, her legs are chained together, and a strap around her neck works like a noose from above. To add to Justine's pain, a metal ball is chained to the strap around her waist, with the added weight pressing her feet into the studded platform.

Meanwhile, Omphale is bound to the rack. She cries out as her body is stretched and Rodin gives her the feather-duster treatment with the flogger.

Quite enjoying the whole display, Rodin sits down near Justine's stage area and enjoys a bottle of cold beer. History buffs would likely take issue with this part but it's actually pretty funny.

Soon, another Friday rolls around and it's time for more torture. A fully naked Justine gets her turn on the wooden wheel.

Omphale -- topless, but still wearing the bottom part of her dress -- goes next. She also gets whipped as she is spun but the whipping is -- stop me if you've heard this before -- much too gentle.

Later, as Justine and Rosalie are tending Omphale's wounds, Omphale describes a plan to help Justine escape. Justine manages to flee the house but it turns out the whole thing was a setup. Justine is captured by soldiers and taken prisoner.

... And thus endeth the flashback. Returning to the stocks scene from earlier in the film, naked Justine remains locked in the stocks and watches as Rodin arranges to have Omphale whipped. A French soldier and the guy in the executioner's outfit tie topless Omphale's arms to a pillar so that her bare back can be whipped.

The torturer uses a flogger to give Omphale 25 lashes. Omphale looks stunning at this point and the return of the guy from the opening scenes raises expectations this whipping could be quite good.

Alas, it is not to be, as this scene gets totally botched.

It starts well, with the punisher delivering a harsh whipping, punctuated by believable cries from Omphale. Before you know it, though, Omphale's back is a bloody mess and the whole thing is one gigantic turn-off.

The tragedy of this missed opportunity cannot be understated. Beautiful Beatriz knows how to sell a scene and this whipping would have been great if it weren't for all the blood. Huge demerit points to the makeup department and everyone involved in this bad call.

Rosalie is also in line for a whipping. Similar to Omphale, topless Rosalie is bound to a pillar and receives 39 strokes that leave her backside similarly bloodied.

Rodin's updated Passion Play follows. Topless and bleeding Rosalie, wearing a crown of thorns, carries the crossbar of her cross to the crucifixion site, followed by the similarly condemned Omphale and Justine.

The crucifixion takes place on a wooden log structure, which is probably a disappointment to the crucifixion fans. The structure allows Rosalie to be seated for her crucifixion, while Justine and Omphale are able to lean against posts.

The film ends with the three ladies left to die on the crosses. The only consolation for Justine is she learns her sister plans to avenge her death by marrying Rodin and then poisoning him.

My grade: C-

It's difficult to imagine who would actually enjoy Justine.

The film certainly doesn't cut it on a cinematic level. Despite its glossy production, the leaden script is confusing and the film's amateur performers don't have the acting chops to create an engaging story.

Nor does it work as adult fare. Although it features whippings and other tortures, the execution is weak, suggesting the creators don't know how to produce sexually stimulating material.

I believe Pachamama has the potential to do better, particularly when it can cast a true beauty like Beatriz Rivera. But the company needs a clearer focus. My vote, if I were to get one, would be for Pachamama to drop the Masterpiece Theatre ambitions and devote more time to learning the craft of making effective torture and rape scenes.

Creating whippings with enthusiastic villains and less blood on the victims would be a good start. Another all-too-obvious improvement would be to avoid ridiculous mistakes such as having a rape victim address the camera while she's being violated.