Nigel P This Jess Franco/Erwin C. Dietrich collaboration is sometimes considered a very loose continuation of the 'Ilsa' series that began two years earlier with 'Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS', also starring Dyanne Thorne in the title role. As you may expect, this is also known as a variety of titles: 'Greta, the Mad Butcher', 'Ilsa: Absolute Power', and 'Wanda, the Wicked Warden'. These changes in title, and in the name of the lead character, suggest this film might not have been initially intended as part of the series at all.So, then - Abbie Philips (Tania Busselier) is admitted into an austere psychiatric hospital for women. Unbeknownst to all, she is here because of false pretences: with the help of Doctor Milton Arcas (Jess Franco), who has long suspected foul play at the establishment but been unable to do anything about it, Abbie, or 'No 41', is a 'plant', here to find out what happened to her sister and possibly rescue her. She comes across perverse Juan (played by the always excellent Lina Romay, as cute as a button in a bob cut), ostensibly the 'top dog' amongst the women, and secretly the lesbian lover of terrifying chief warden Isla (or Wanda, or Greta, of course).This follows very much the pattern of other Franco 'women in prison' fantasies I have seen. The very effective - even restrained - scenes of torture are few and far between but pretty shockingly realised. For all his invasive camera techniques, Jess rarely lingers on gore, and that is the case here (although the abrupt ending is a pleasing exception), although what there is, is realistically (and painfully) conveyed. The dubbing is a lot better than on non-Dietrich collaborations, and Jess's direction is deceptively straightforward, happy to let the acting and circumstances speak for themselves without frantic zooms, etc. The locations are breath-taking and whenever a gun-shot is fired, it is a dubbed sound effect. The story moves at a fair lick too, and doesn't meander too much although there are moments of dullness. In short, these films show Franco's style in an effective, disciplined manner, but still allow him to indulge (and delight) in his non PC eccentricities.

Scott LeBrun 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.

HumanoidOfFlesh Being a fan of tasteless "Ilsa" series and Jesus Franco's sleazy filth I always wanted to see "Greta:The Mad Butcher".Thankfully I just bought uncut DVD of this film and wasn't disappointed.The film,in which starred Dyanne Thorne,was later repackaged as an Ilsa movie and there was in plans a fourth official film under the title "Ilsa Meets Bruce Lee in the Devil's Triangle",unfortunately it never got made.Thorne plays Greta del Pino,who runs correction centre for women somewhere in the jungles of South America.Women are tortured and degraded for her sadistic pleasure.However one of the inmates Abby leads the prisoners to revolt..."Greta:The Mad Butcher" is a sleazy and depraved exploitation pick that contains tons of full-frontal nudity and sleaze.A must-see for anyone into WIP cinema.

MARIO GAUCI Today, I watched another 2 Jess Franco titles from the Anchor Bay UK 8-Disc Set (which I rented from my local DVD outlet): ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN (1977) and JACK THE RIPPER*** (1976).Though I wouldn't say that ILSA is exactly a good film, I was still quite surprised by how it managed to hold my interest throughout. Not that it made particularly inspired use of the various subtexts suggested in the script (the snuff movie angle, for instance, is not dealt with in any depth) – apart from its over-the-top, and undeniably horrific, conclusion – but it was certainly above-average for an Erwin C. Dietrich production with adequate scenery, an evocative if repetitive score and competent performances. The dialogue of the German-language version, however, was pretty hilarious (the various odes to Greta/Ilsa recited by the inmates, the sanitation officials who arrive for a surprise inspection complaining that the rumors of the supposedly corrupt management inside the prison are unfounded – for obvious reasons, they may not have been taken to see the dungeons where the female convicts are tortured, but did they even question themselves why these were forbidden the use of underwear while serving their sentence?!); still, the English dubbing (heard during the interview section of the supplements) makes it sound even worse!I haven't seen the 'original' Ilsa films but, while Dyanne Thorne seemed to be relatively at ease inhabiting the Jess Franco movieworld, I also feel that her character was pretty one-dimensional and not really the main focus of the film; Lina Romay, on the other hand, has a lot of fun with one of her better roles; even Tania Busselier (in her third and last film for Franco) seems to have matured somewhat and here makes for a creditable heroine (for whom Franco boldly reserves an unexpected tragic fate, though this was perhaps done so as not to involve her in the film's cannibalistic climax).Unfortunately, this edition was cut by more than 2 minutes by the BBFC: the death-by-asphyxiation of Rosa Philips was evidently trimmed as it now occurs in a split-second; I may be wrong but I reckon that the remainder of the censored footage involved the lobotomy performed on the Tania Busselier character (did they even show this?) as her sudden appearance as a 'vegetable' is most jarring…Anyway, I look forward now to renting and watching another of Franco's notorious 'Women-In-Prison' films for Dietrich, namely BARBED WIRE DOLLS (1975).