A simple grade C Italian thriller with sex and violence becomes an A-picture thanks to an excellent script, strong acting and fine direction by Bruno Fontana, who also wrote the novel on which the film is based. At first glance the plot seems to be nothing new and the presence of Laura Gemser seems to indicate another EMMANUELLE-type adventure, set this time in the desert. Fans looking for cheap exploitation will find themselves with a whole lot more, as this gripping psychological study of the mental deterioration of a group of stranded soldiers is an excellent little movie and one of the best of its type I've seen. In fact it owes more to the gruelling Italian war epics of the '60s such as THE RED BERETS than the sleazy sexploitation drama into which it has been slotted. Despite lacking a budget, any stars (aside from Gemser in a relatively small role), gore, or special effects, this is a uniquely-crafted and utterly engrossing story of the lowest depths to which mankind will fall.Things begin rather predictably with a team of soldiers infiltrating an enemy base and shooting dead a wanted man. Unfortunately they are double-crossed by their contact and their captain is fatally wounded. Lost in a country they have no knowledge of and worn down by a lack of provisions and the searing heat of the desert, the group quickly descends into mindless bickering, and power struggles for the leadership emerge when the captain dies. Along their journey they pick up a mysterious guide known as Bony and rest at a remote house. At this point the film hits us with a nasty gang-rape sequence which is pretty brutal and nihilistic, seeing as the girl commits bloody suicide as a result of the violation. After this nothing stays the same and one realises that this will be an intense, downbeat, and definitely adult film.As more members of the party die and spirits dwindle, into the picture steps Laura Gemser as a mysterious sexual traveller who lures one man to his doom. What follows is a chronicle of sexual jealousy, leadership rivalry, and lots of violent murder as the remaining soldiers struggle to contain their feelings and eventually lose the remnants of their consciences. The outcome is predictable but oddly unmissable and its difficult to turn the film off once you've started watching. One thing it has in spades is atmosphere, with the sweaty Cyprus locations adding to the strong realism of the production and a lack of noticeable music/directorial flourishes adding to the feel of the film, making it seem almost documentary-like.The acting is very good from just about the entire cast; of course the strongest and most interesting characters last the longest. Angelo Infanti (a George Eastman lookalike) is particularly good as the hateful brutish rapist who takes over leading the soldiers when the rightful captain dies. Giovanni Brusadori also excels as the innocent soldier who struggles to cope when his companions turn to rape and violent murder and who eventually descends into madness. Genre regular Gabriele Tinti deserves mention as the cool, mysterious "Bony" character, whilst Laura Gemser has a great role and gets to act for a change as well as shedding all of her clothes when necessary. The action sequences are well-staged and generally exciting but it's the human drama which makes this so watchable. Despite an element of predictably to the narrative (you can see pretty much from the start where its going) this remains a strong, challenging and important little movie and surprisingly better than you would imagine.

The reviews so far on IMDb seem to be split down the middle regarding "La belva dalle calda pelle," also known as "The Dirty Seven" and "Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert." The majority of the negative reviews seem to base their criticisms on the fact that it is clearly not an official Emanuelle film (Laura Gemser is in fact called Sheila in the movie) and a flashback sequence that is over thirty minutes long, while the positive critiques make no mention the flashback, which is absent in the version known as "The Dirty Seven." This and the original Italian title make no allusion to Emanuelle. In this form the film is much more linear with only one very brief flashback where Sheila finds the dead body of her sister, thus establishing her motive.It should also be noted that Gemser is not introduced into "The Dirty Seven" until a substantial amount of time has past, where in the "Queen of the Desert" she appears almost immediately.I contend that the former is director Bruno Fontana's actual vision and that the "Emanuelle" version was re-edited (by someone other than Fontana) to cash in on Gemser's "Black Emanuelle" status.While I may be stating the obvious, I wish to appeal to those negative critics and let them know that this film exists in two entities, under two different titles and to think twice before blaming Fontana for "Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert," it's slapped-on title and its shoddy chronology.

Once again we have a case of a random Laura Gemser movie being retitled to cash in on the success of the 'unofficial' Emanuelle series, although whoever gave this film the AKA 'Emanuelle Queen of the Desert' was clearly having a bit of a laugh: the film is not set in a desert (it looks hot, but is obviously Mediterranean countryside); and Gemser's character is quite clearly named Sheila (and judging by her unladylike behaviour, she's definitely not royalty).La belva dalle calda pelle AKA The Dirty Seven AKA Emanuelle Queen of the Desert is essentially a revenge drama, with Gemser avenging the rape and murder of a young woman by a team of soldiers who have become stranded in the *ahem* desert after their mission goes awry; as things go from bad to worse for the mercenaries, the men begin to fight among themselves, giving Sheila the opportunity to exploit their weaknesses (usually starting by flashing her goods at them).And speaking of exploitation and weaknesses, this film has its fair share of both: there is some of nudity (of course), a smattering of sex, and plenty of violence, but also lots of poorly executed action, dreadful dialogue, tiresome drama, and laughable plot development—and with Gemser not even making an appearance until halfway though the film, I imagine that even the most ardent fans of the lovely lady will find this film a struggle to sit through.

As I turned on the movie, I didnt expect anything more than a weakly pieced together story with blatant excuses to throw sex and nudity into a no brained story. Ironically enough, the movie started out on that foot. During the first 10-15 minutes you are just thrown into a story that doesnt seem that it will have any promise or realism...and then it slowly hooks you.Bruno Fontanna (who wrote and directed this movie) cleverly chisels out realistic characters put into engrossing situations. You never know what their motivations are or what they have in mind until the moment comes through. The acting shows strength and the story itself keeps changing perspective, keeping you off balanced and wondering where the next turn will lead.Another thing I admired was the directing. The movie looks to have been originally shot on maybe 16mm film and gives you the impression of being a voyeur looking in on the intimate lives and thoughts of the characters.When I turned on the movie, I was laying down comfortably, almost asleep. By the time the movie came to an end, I was literally on the edge of my seat. In my opinion, this was a great film considering a low budget and basically a no name acting crew. Besides the gorgeous Laura Gemser who no one has really ever taken as a serious actress anyways.Not alot of nudity (if thats what you are looking for), but smart film making worth checking out - if you can find a copy of this Out Of Print title. 10/10