Greta, Wanda or Ilsa the Wicked Warden, different names, same movie. This is a Jess Franco movie so within the first 2 minutes we have a bunch of naked women in a shower room, their substantial pubic hair almost hitting you in the face! This, an unofficial addition to the notorious Ilsa series, focuses more on sex & nudity (well, it is a Franco movie) than the violence of the other films. Having said that there's a very bloody fate in store for our Dyanne at the end. One other bonus is that we get to see a lot more of her ample charms than in previous outings. Released as Ilsa the Wicked Warden in the UK it's cut by 2m 31s.

Although this movie goes by several different titles essentially it is the 4th (and last) film in the "Ilsa series". However, rather than going by the name of Ilsa, Dyanne Thorne instead assumes the name of "Greta" and has chosen to become a redhead rather than a blonde. But other than that she is her usual sadistic self and has once again eluded a certain death in order to become the head of a mental hospital deep in the jungles of South America. Unfortunately, unlike the previous films this particular movie isn't nearly as good as those which came before it. The acting was bad, the script was awful and the actresses weren't that attractive. Likewise, while there is plenty of nudity none of the scenes were really that appealing or erotic. That said if a person enjoys a raw and sleazy movie simply because it is raw and sleazy then this particular picture is definitely something to check out. Otherwise it is probably best to simply avoid it.

Not really an official "Ilsa" film - in this entry, the character is actually named Greta - "The Wicked Warden" stars the inimitable Dyanne Thorne as the title character. She presides over a jungle prison that houses women guilty of some sort of "perversion": lesbianism, nymphomania, prostitution, etc. A young woman named Abbie Phillips (Tania Busselier) deliberately gets herself committed to this place, hoping to learn of the fate of her sister Rosa (Angela Ritschard)."The Wicked Warden" is a solid exploitation shocker. It's not as graphically bloody as "Ilsa She Wolf of the SS", but it still has its fair share of depravity. Have no fear: Greta / Ilsa is very much the sadist that she's always been. Director Jess Franco doesn't mess around here, as he gets to a shower scene less than two minutes into the movie. Voyeurs will be very satisfied with the level of flesh displayed; many of our female cast members parade around not revealing very much. The story by Franco and Erwin C. Dietrich is appropriately trashy, with just a touch of political subtext and a grim nature.The well endowed Ms. Thorne is quite watchable as always. Supporting her is Francos' longtime muse Lina Romay as Juana, a domineering patient with lots of demands for her new associate. Thornes' real-life husband Howard Maurer also co-stars, and gets to do a sex scene with her. What's neat to see is that Mr. Franco himself has not just a cameo, but another supporting role, as well meaning doctor Milton Arcos.Franco is able to deliver a finale / comeuppance that is pretty damn amusing, especially with the intercutting. It's a perfect resolution for this 95 minute exercise in sleaze.Seven out of 10.

"Ilsa, The Wicked Warden" is one of the very best of the Women-in-Prison genre.**SPOILERS**After several mysterious events, Abbie Phillips, (Tania Busselier) decides to go undercover in the Los Palomas Medical Clinic to investigate the strange reports that have been coming out of the facility. Immediately upon entering, the boss Greta, (Dyanne Thorne) tells her the rules of surviving, and issuing her a number for the others, throws her in with the other there. Attempting to cure her of her sexual deviance that she was sent there for, she finds that other inmate Juana, (Lina Romay) is actually a stooge for her and her different sadistic tendencies. After spending several weeks in the facility, she finds that the whole place is merely a prison for her to keep around other women for her own sexual desires, then turning them into illegal stars in secret snuff films when they've outlived their usefulness. Realizing that had happened to her own sister, who was in the facility, she goes out to help them others still trapped overthrow the prison and get out alive.The News: Though there isn't much new ground to this, it's still one of the better entries possible. Just like with most Women-in-Prison films, the main focus here is on the sleaze and nudity, which this one carries out with abundance. The film starts off with a full-on shower scene, inter-cut by another showing the warden in a bathtub taking a bubble-bath and washing herself down, and this is done for several minutes to open up the film, which is about the best possible way to do so. There's a later shower scene that is by far one of the single sleaziest parts of the film, where the new girl is forced to soap down another, including all of the body parts, and upon refusing to do so further, degenerates into a nude cat-fight in the middle of the shower. The fact that the uniforms are merely just a shirt barely covering the privates is another fantastic device for allowing nudity, as it results in it being flung open all the time or riding up to allow more. The strip-down and hose-off upon arrival generates more nudity, though the nature of the scenes and what's accomplished lead more into the sleaze category, and is simply a part of the film as well. The torture and S&M content is ferocious and brutal, with prisoners strung up on large chains or other devices and then furiously whipped with a large whip, or injected with a red-hot brand to the nether-regions, among other particularly disturbing scenes. There's also the wonderful scene where Greta sticks needles into the breasts of her lesbian lover, then lays on top of her to drive them in, which is mostly done through the use of close-up but carries out for so long that it's just and incredibly suspenseful and uncomfortable scene that really sticks out, more so since the participants are both nude for the duration. Aside from that, the film also works due to the pretty passable job Franco did on this one. There is some plot and some character development, an actual beginning-middle-end structure, and, most surprising, some unexpectedly solid camera-work, with very little of his characteristic zoom lens obsession. It's surprisingly restrained for the most part, non-characteristically reliant upon lighting and production design to create the mood. The trademark style still comes through in the odd scene, the best being the red filtered, out-of-focus tryst between the two lovers in a darkened room, with a glass purposefully placed to obscure the fumbling and groping. This is fantastic and really makes a case for the best directed scene in his career. The only flaws in here are the really confusing ending. We get this weirdness where the warden gets eaten alive by the inmates, and as the bunch of naked lesbians chow down on the camp commandant, the whole scene inter-cut with stock-footage of lions, tigers and so forth eating dead animal flesh. The purpose of what's going in is implied, but it's merely so outrageous that beginning to understand it becomes a lost cause, thrown in merely for more gore. The last, and most obvious flaw, is that, despite all the nudity and sadism on display, this now appears restrained in it's depiction of sex and violence. The film is decidedly tame and avoids showing anything particularly nasty, as even the scene in which the warden pierces her breasts with needles is restrained, with the camera cutting away from the actual violence to show the reaction on the face, showing relatively little in that scene aside from the moment when they press their breasts together. This is a little confusing, as why it decided to hold back on the one area it really could've worked wonders in to make it a classic, but as it is, these few problems are what hold this one down at all.The Final Verdict: About as sleazy as any other entry in the genre with a lot more going for it, this is a really nice upper-tier Women-in-Prison entry that really works. Seek it out immediately if you're a fan of any of the main creative cast, an avid follower of the genre or exploitation in general, otherwise steer clear of this.Rated UR/NC-17: Full Nudity, several strong sex scenes, Graphic Violence and Graphic Language