The Alcove pairs Joe D'Amato with Laura Gemser and sees both of these cult icons at their sordid and sleazy best! Joe D'Amato made a hell of a lot of sleaze films; and while I do consider myself a fan of his, it has to be said that a large proportion of his output is rather rubbish...but not so with this film. The Alcove is as good a porn flick as it is a character study, and that's what puts this film at the very top of the director's filmography - by not focusing on the sex, when we do get to see it - it means so much more. The plot line is actually really good, too. We focus on a country house where the house Mistress, Alessandra, is sharing a sordid affair with the secretary Wilma while her husband is away fighting Zulus. He returns from the war bearing gifts for the women; and he also brings home a slave girl named Zerbal, whom he was given for saving the life of her father. The slave soon starts to get used to life in the house and decides that she doesn't want to be the slave anymore. After noticing the two women having sex, Zerbal decides to worm her way into the Mistress' affections...
This film absolutely could not have been made today and the reason for that is the inherent racism running throughout it. Laura Gemser's character gets all manner of vicious insults thrown at her throughout; though it doesn't really make for uncomfortable viewing given Gemser's obvious beauty. Her role here is somewhat different from the strong Emanuelle character we're more used to seeing her as; although the role does become more like what we're used to as the film progresses. The film becomes an expose of sexual desires between five different people all pulling different ways and it makes for fascinating viewing; the fact that sixty percent of the main cast is made up of beautiful women doesn't do it any harm either! The jewel in the crown is Gemser, of course, but her co-stars Lilli Carati and Annie Belle are very easy on the eyes too! Being a D'Amato film you can expect plenty of sex and he doesn't disappoint. There's not quite as much quantity compared to some of his other opus', but this is more than made up for in quality as the sex scenes are very well filmed; particularly those between Lilli Carati and Laura Gemser. Overall, this really is an excellent film that I would class as a must see for anyone who enjoys sleazy Euro-porn. It's a rare one, but finding it is very much worth the effort!
