Satanic Sisters – Delirium Home Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Switzerland, 1977
Director: Jesús Franco
Writer: Erwin C. Dietrich
Cast: Pamela Stanford, Karine Gambier, Jack Taylor, Esther Moser, Kurt Meinicke, Marianne Graf, Eric Falk, Walter Baumgartner, Jesús Franco, Mike Montana

Release Date: April 28th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 86 Minutes 53 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $41.98

"The comely Pamela Stanford stars as Countess Edna Van Stein, a predatory woman who prowls the streets at night to bring back men for her and her disturbed, sexually insatiable sister Milly (Karine Gambier) to sleep with. As the lurid encounters continue, reality and fantasy collide and the truth about these ""Sexy Sisters"" is revealed. " - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.25/5

Satanic Sisters comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.6 GB

Feature: 23.1 GB

No information is provided about the source. While the source mostly looks great, black levels for darker scenes are not always convincing. Flesh tones look healthy, image clarity is strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction. That said, colors often look muted.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both tracks sound clear and balanced, and they are satisfactory range-wise. That said, their differences are minimal. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a photo gallery (17 images—poster/stills), the official theatrical trailer (1 minute 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a German theatrical trailer (3 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German, no subtitles), an interview with Stephen Thrower, author of Flowers of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco, titled Twins of Evil (22 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with author and film historian Dennis Daniel, trailers for Barbed Wire Dolls, Doriana Gray, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, and Love Camp, and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 2,000 units).

Summary:

Satanic Sisters was one of eighteen films that Jess Franco made with producer Erwin Dietrich over a three-year period. Their collaboration began with Downtown and ended with Girls After Midnight.

A woman, with the help of her doctor lover, tries to convince the courts that her sister is insane before she comes of age and claims the family's fortune.

Although Satanic Sisters has an interesting premise, its sex-heavy opening setup does not do it any favors. It is not until almost 25 minutes in that any worthwhile exposition occurs. Fortunately, once the older sisters' plan is laid out, things pick up considerably as the narrative finds a better balance between erotica and exposition.

A common complaint about Jess Franco’s films is their languid pacing. Although Satanic Sisters moves at a deliberate pace that seems eager to reach its destination, the film ultimately features many flourishes that are sure to please fans of Jess Franco. That said, Jess Franco’s films are more about mood than conventional storytelling, and Satanic Sisters does a superb job in this regard.

The most memorable performance is Pamela Stanford’s (Lorna . . . the Exorcist) portrayal of Edna, the greedy stepsister who will do anything to steal the family fortune. Another performance of note is Karine Gambier (Women in Cellblock 9) in the role of Milicent, a younger sister who’s being driven to madness. Cast members of note are Jack Taylor (Succubus) and Eric Falk (Mad Foxes).

While the narrative is padded with erotica, it does feature some well-played twists. Another strength of the narrative is its use of a flashback that fills in details about a childhood trauma. Visually, Jess Franco never wastes an opportunity to showcase the female cast members who spend a lot of time in the nude. The most Jess Franco moment is a nightclub dance sequence that opens the film. Ultimately, Satanic Sisters is a mid-tier Jess Franco film where the positives outweigh its negatives.

Although the audio/video presentation of Satanic Sisters is not as strong as that of Delirium Home Video’s other Jess Franco release, Stephen Thrower’s interview makes this release a worthwhile purchase.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer