Rating: **
Review Date: 9/14/24
Cast: Magda Konopka
A scientist develops a potion that regenerates cells and restores youth, but it also unleashes violent primal behavior. Ignoring the risks, a disfigured Dr. Marnie Bannister (Magda Konopka) kills the scientist for the potion and becomes a sexy and manipulative femme fatale. She quickly finds herself in the company of criminals and shady millionaires as she climbs up the social ladder in search of wealth and power, but discovers that her transformation wears off after a few days. The police are baffled by the crimes committed by Bannister, who has seemingly vanished into thin air. Eventually, the charade is exposed, which leads to a shootout and a runaway car.
First of all, the film is extremely silly and works entirely on the charms of Magda Konopka. She dominates every scene and is shockingly sexy and fiercely independent, even if the 60s fashions are outrageous and not particularly flattering. The potion does quite a number on her, and even transforms her hair and makeup to glamorous extremes. The major thematic difference between the comic book and the film is that in the comics, the potion is responsible for Bannister's violent and depraved behavior, whereas in the film she demonstrates that she's a psychotic murderer BEFORE ever taking the potion. This deviates from the usual "Jekyll And Hyde" fare in that her transformation is physical only.
While it was probably pretty shocking at the time, the sex and violence seems remarkably tame by contemporary standards, and the camera shies away from nearly everything. There are only a couple of extremely brief topless scenes and very little blood. It's an average-looking production with a James Bond derivative music score, and at times the pacing can be very tedious. It's definitely an oddity in Italian cinema as censors were just starting to loosen up and filmmakers were beginning to explore their new boundaries.