Foreword by Patricia Breen*
For all practical purposes, Nazi sex/torture flicks are a thing of the past. Once a sadistic curiosity, now deemed unconscionable by modern standards of political correctness, the genre's demise is especially mysterious in this day and age when historical tragedies such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the sinking of The Titanic are exploited as a love stories by mainstream Hollywood. A day and age when Spielberg's Schindler's List, which contains more nudity than any "Hell Camp" entry, airs on primetime network television uncut and uncensored.

The genre earned widespread attention through the release of Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS in 1974. A cruel yet fascinating effort loosely based on the alleged wartime shenanigans of Ilse Koch, the film set a sadistic standard for S&M torture films. (Of course, Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS was shot on the sets used for Hogan's Heroes, a television series that did more to dishonor victims of WW II than all of the Nazi torture flicks combined.) Ilsa spawned two official sequels, one quasi-sequel, and a dozen or so imitators including SS Extermination Camp and SS Hell Camp.

The Nazi legacy is a natural breeding ground for horror archetypes, yet to explore it as such, especially in a romantic or sexual light, is culturally taboo. Some of the greatest horror characters and themes are rooted in historical tragedies. Where would the horror genre be today without Vlad the Impaler's wartime antics? Or the Spanish Inquisition? Or hundreds of years of witch hunting? Or even the bombing of Hiroshima?

Thank Yahweh there's filmmaker Keith Crocker to put us back on track! In the late nineties, Keith and his faithful flock of film fanatics began Schindler's Lust. Like Andy Milligan, Keith Crocker embarked on a period piece with no budget to speak of. The film (sadly) remains unfinished. The existing footage was edited into a thoroughly enjoyable ten-minute trailer that Keith tacked onto his Bloody Ape feature. The lack of budget is apparent, yet it lends a surreal, oddly effective minimalist feel to the final product. Crudely formed, crooked Swastikas represent Nazi flags (is that duct tape?). A modern basement fuse box controls an Auschwitz death chamber. The out-of-synch sound almost makes the film seem as if it was shot in German, then later dubbed in English. Grainy film stock gives the impression that this footage was drudged up from some forgotten wartime archive.

Most importantly, Keith's depraved sense of humor shines through the exploitative subject matter (of course, when I say 'exploitative,' I don't mean that as a bad thing). So does it work? You bet it does. See for yourself. Below is a five-minute edited version of the original Schindler's Lust trailer. You can watch a rather large 15 MB MPEG, or a smaller, low-quality 1 MB REAL Media file. I, for one, would love to see this film finished. The late great Donn Davison agreed with me. Keith's always looking for a few good men (and women) to lend a hand ... or lend money. If you qualify, please see the next page for more details.

(* Patricia Breen runs William Girdler.com. The first 'Hell Camp' picture she ever saw was the original Ilsa. She was 15. Her best friend in the entire world -- a Jew -- rented it. He enjoyed it much more than she did at the time.)