Very much of its time, Sex of the Devil is the type of film often described as "trippy" or "wild." Whether or not these are synonymous with "good" is another matter. The filmmakers clearly value the plot less than the visuals, but I will do my best to describe it below.
Rossano Brazzi plays a surgeon on vacation in Istanbul with his much younger wife (played by Maitena Galli), a former model. The surgeon is suffering from feelings of inadequacy, particularly since his wife is something of a flirt. The surgeon's assistant (Sylva Koscina, here a blonde) seems to be making eyes at her boss. These three and a fourth, a friend of the surgeon, are staying in a villa under the watchful eyes of a maid, who is something of a witch. The friend is disturbed to find that they are all staying in the former home of a sculptress who committed suicide on that property. In addition, to all of that, there is not one but two mysterious strangers prowling around the grounds, one of whom, for some reason, wants to harm the surgeon (even after watching the film I am still fuzzy on why). In the course of the film, the characters find themselves repeating the late sculptress's love triangle.
I watched Sex of the Devil expecting a giallo. I suppose the film is, although the body count is low (two). One should not expect much in the way of mystery or murder. The film does offer some colorful photography, an ambiguous ending, bare breasts courtesy of Galli and Koscina, and a Stelvo Cipriani score that occasionally borrows from Iron Butterfly. If that sounds like enough for a movie, then so be it, but it was not for me.
