If the movie seems disjointed, that's because it was three episodes from an Italian TV series that were glued together, then dubbed into English. The original TV series was itself based on the Italian erotic comic "Valentina", created in the 60s by artist and writer Guido Crepax. Valentina's look was deliberately patterned after silent film legend Louise Brook. The TV series lasted only one season, between 1988 and 1989.
The very first storyline in the movie, the one with the doll, came from a very popular story arc from the comic called "Baba Yaga". A proper movie version was created back in 1973 under the same name. A cult following has grown up around that movie since.
The first time the 1988 movie aired was on Showtime, back in 1990. I too was confused by the plot, not realizing that it was several episodes poorly edited together. When I started getting into European comics in the early 90s, I finally learned the background to the show. It came as a shock to me when I found out Demetra Hampton, the actress that played Valentina, was from the United States.
The very first storyline in the movie, the one with the doll, came from a very popular story arc from the comic called "Baba Yaga". A proper movie version was created back in 1973 under the same name. A cult following has grown up around that movie since.
The first time the 1988 movie aired was on Showtime, back in 1990. I too was confused by the plot, not realizing that it was several episodes poorly edited together. When I started getting into European comics in the early 90s, I finally learned the background to the show. It came as a shock to me when I found out Demetra Hampton, the actress that played Valentina, was from the United States.
