Waves of Lust (1975)
A young couple becomes embroiled with the personal problems of another couple on a yacht moored off Sicily during a turbulent weekend of fun, sex , betrayal, domestic abuse and ultimately murder.
I really enjoyed this Ruggero Deodato effort which was a long way from his more notorious films and has next to no blood in it. What it does have in spades is sleaze, as the couples swap partners and get up to various sexy antics. Some of it, towards the end, not so playful.
John Steiner is excellent as the increasingly deranged Giorgio with Al Cliver somewhat subdued as Irem, the only other male in the film. The film lives or dies on how convincing the cast are when there are only four of them on a yacht, creating an increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere. The two women played by the equally gorgeous Silvia Dionisio and Elizabeth Turner are just as capable as their male counterparts when it comes to the sexual games. As the film continues suddenly it seems everyone is no longer playing and seem to all have varying agendas. The way the script allows the characters to develop and brings out near psychopathic tendencies in some, proves somewhat of a triumph for the tautness of Deodato's direction. This may well be my favourite Deodato film of all.
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