The Curious Dr. Humpp

Starring:Ricardo Bauleo, Gloria Prat, Aldo Barbero, Susana BeltrÃ¡n, Justin Martin, Michel Angel, Mary Albano, Al Bugatti, HÃ©ctor Biuchet, Greta Williams, Alex Klapp, Norbert Nelson
Director: Jerald Intrator, Emilio Vieyra
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

The most bizarre experiment in human sexuality! Frozen-faced automatons and a goofy-looking monster abduct a collection of sexual specimens--hippies, lesbians, stripper Gloria Prat--who are whisked off to the estate of crazy Dr. Humpp. There, with the aid of aphrodisiacs, "electronic control of the libido," and a talking, pulsating, disembodied brain in a jar, Dr. H turns his guests into "veritable lovemaking machines." He then drains "the blood forces of sex" from the couples, which he uses as an elixir to keep himself eternally young. Investigating the kidnappings, journalist Richard Bauleo quickly finds himself part of the story when he is partnered with Miss Prat on Humpp's telepathic sex machine. Another delirious crackpot cult classic, "The Curious Dr. Humpp" is one of the wildest, wackiest mixes of sci-fi, monsters, and skin ever filmed!

Customer Reviews:

Apparently for every act of pleasure there is a corresponding act of perversion.......2007-03-08

It has been a while since I have checked out an offering from the friendly folks at Something Weird Video, and given that it is one of the few films in their collection to appear on a DVD without a second feature film I was inclined to believe that "The Curious Dr. Humpp" is one of the crowned jewels in their collection. "La venganza del sexo" ("The Revenge of Sex") is a 1971 Argentinean film from writer-director Emilio Vieyra ("Sangre de vírgenes"), known in the U.K. as "The Curious Case of Dr. Humpp," and as you might suspect, this film is really something weird.

It begins with a shadowy figure, first seen only as shoes and claws, goes around abducting a couple of lesbians, a drunken sailor outside of a bar, a young woman whose wall is covered with beefcake photos, a quartet of pot smoking hippies, and a stripper (Gloria Prat). The police are baffled by the string of kidnappings, which means it will be up to reporter George Foran (Richard Bauleo), who thinks the crimes are similar to something that happened in Italy thirty years earlier, which were done by some mad scientist studying sexual aberration. To the police this sounds like a wild leap in logic, but of course it is just a way of working in exposition. Indeed, Dr. Humpp (Aldo Barbero) has taken all of these people prisoner. I doubt I can improve on the description that Netflix provides on the sleeve for this DVD, so I will simply quote it: "With help from aphrodisiacs and clever inculation by a talking, pulsating, disembodied brain in a jar, Humpp turns his 'guests' into sex machines, using an elixir derived from their orgasms to stoke his genius and stay eternally young." So you have your science fiction, you have your horror, and you have your sex machines, thereby making "The Curious Dr. Humpp" a true triple-threat exploitation film.

When his film was brought to the U.S., Vieyra added an additional 15 minutes of sex footage, which is enough to make it seem like this is a soft core porn film with the science fiction bit thrown in to provide a veneer of legitimacy as opposed to a science fiction-horror film that has found a way to make sex a necessary part of the science. After all, Dr. Humpp is not just a voyeur, even though at one point her literally says: "Put the lesbians in one room. I want to observe them." He does indeed observe them, but in addition to making him hot and bothered the sight opens up some lesions on his hand. His nurse (Susan Beltran) brings him the aforementioned elixir, but the stuff is not working as well as it used to, which means he needs more aphrodisiacs to keep his "guest" going to produce more orgasms and a more potent, so to speak, elixir.

For me the problem is not so much the sex, because compared to what we have on late night cable these days what Vieyra is shooting works fine, unencumbered by either hysterical moaning or cheesy music. Ultimately, it is the talking brain in the jar that strikes me as being unnecessary. The weird looking automaton is bad enough, but it never speaks and therefore fits the tone of the rest of the film. But the ranting brain is just over the top and I think the story, such as it is, works just fine without the brain of the Italian scientist from thirty years earlier floating in a jar. Otherwise this weird mix of soft core and sci-fi horror is rather compelling, especially when compared to the usual SWV offerings. It might be a while before my next SWV rental simply because I strongly suspect that after this one everything I have left to check out in their catalog is going to be strictly bottle of the barrel movies.

The "Supplements" on this DVD start out with the original title sequences for "The Curious Dr. Humpp," along with the American theatrical trailer. Then there is the trailer and a TV spot for "The Deadly Organ," which is the U.S. version of Vieyra's 1967 film "Placer sangriento." Next we have a trio of film shorts: "Rasputin and the Princess" is the basic stripper and the gorilla routine that we have seen on several SWV offerings, but this time the guy is wearing a black leotard and a mask. "The Girl and the Skeleton" is a naked woman and one of those cardboard skeletons you hang up for Halloween and I would say use your imagination on this one because once you see it you will not have to. Then there is "My Teenage Fallout Queen," which is a parody of a folk song and I have no clue why it is included with the other two because the only thing they have in common is that there is a man (I assume it was a male skeleton) and a woman in each. Go figure. There is also another stellar edition of the Gallery of Exploitation Art Featuring Horrorama Radio Spot Rarities! (forget going to the drive in for a movie; go to see a man buried alive!).

Dr "Humpp" Indeed.......2005-01-30

Hard not to laugh at this one. Take 1950's atomic age sci-fi and combine it with 70s porn then shoot it all in glorious black and white and you basically have the formula and content for Dr Humpp. This is an out and out exploitation film, but it's no plan 9 from outer space, it is reasonably coherent, well edited and acted with a straight face. Those of you who will enjoy this curiosity know who you are and others need not apply. You could give it five stars for audacity or one star for a bogus plot, but either way it looks to be harmless fun.

Funny Looking Robot.......2001-11-15

There is a funny looking android thing in this film that is so ineptly wrought that it is just fascinating to look at. Is it papeir mache or something else. Is that a cardboard box that the robots head is made of? Who could tell. Wonderfully cheap!

I gave it a three but it's probably more like a 2 1/2........2001-07-26

Well, you get what you pay for when you purchase a title like "The Curious Dr. Humpp". That said, it's not a terrible movie as it does achieve the number one goal that every film should aspire to and that is to entertain.

The problem with "Dr. Humpp" as I see it is not with the movie itself, as it is with the American distributer, Jerald Intrater. When the production sought American distribution Intrater picked it up but wasn't confident that it could stand on its own as an exploitation flick so he filmed a whopping SEVENTEEN minutes of additional nude footage so it could be shown on the "adult" circuit. The liner notes credit Intrater with bridging these new scenes nicely with the original product but they are far from flawless. It also doesn't help that nearly thirteen of those seventeen minutes come right at the beginning of the film. You get about two minutes of setup before being launched into thirteen minutes of sex scenes with no dialog!

This aside, the main body of the film is still intact and is, as I mentioned, rather entertaining. Aldo Barbero does a fantastic job as the sexually domineering Dr. Humpp, and Ricardo Bauleo is shockingly blase as the investigative reporter on the case.

Something Weird Video makes "The Curious Dr. Humpp" a worthwhile DVD acquisition for those who enjoyed it on video. It's packed with extra features. More than I've seen on most recent movies even. It is evident that they've gone out of their way to bring the viewer the most comprehensive representation of this film so far.

south of the border brilliance.......2000-11-05

Without a doubt Frank Henenlotter deserves praise for finding this film in some NYC basement. Ususally one who steers well clear of fan adulation bordering on the insane, I must admit to being knocked for six by this incredulous mishmash of trashy delights. I'm stumped trying to remember any film that contains so many cross-genre elements and moments that border on surreal lunacy. HUMPP races and tramples other exploitation wonders in its way into my top ten exploitation films. It now resides alongside such stalwart performers as PINK FLAMIGOS, as a totally original peice of work. Recommended for those jaded with films that are over-hyped in the exploitation/ trash arena. This gem delivers the goods in all its unique glory - stamping its signature as the most whacked out mad scientist-raving bubblin' brain-goateed swingers-lesbian fondling-monster-a-go-go EVER COMMITTED TO CELLULOID.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Torn Between Two Lovers

The Simpsons - Viva Los Simpsons : Video

Auntie Mame (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: 3000 Miles to Graceland

Moro No Brasil