Vibrations (1968)
*** (out of 4)
Joseph W. Sarno wrote and directed this better-than-average softcore flick about a struggling writer named Barbara (Marianne Prevost) who is trying to get her career going. She moves into an apartment building but when her sister sexually adventurous Julia (Maria Lease) shows she begins to feel jealous of what acts are going on in the next room.
If you're familiar with this period of sexploitation pictures then you're probably aware that many of these films were made just so the raincoat crowd could go into dark theaters and see nudity. I recently saw an interview with Sarno where he said his only inspiration was the work of Ingmar Bergman and that's easy to see because it appears he always tried to do more story than just your typical skin flick. This one here deals with the issues between these two sisters, some of which go back to their days of children. I thought Sarno did a very good job in telling this story and managing to keep it entertaining even though at times the 75-minute running time had some repeat stories going on.
What really impressed me the most here were the performances. I thought both Lease and Prevost were extremely believable in their roles of the sisters and you can honestly say that they delivered performances and didn't just stand around delivering lines and waiting to be naked. Another wonderful thing is the lighting, which is just flawless and you can see the influence from the Bergman pictures. For such a low-budget movie Sarno at least makes you feel as if you're watching a more professional picture. VIBRATIONS is certainly one of the better films from the genre.
