Freakish film noir

>> Singapore Sling is as odd as it gets

by MATTHEW HAYS

I never thought it would happen, but I think I’ve found a film that’s too depraved for me. It’s a bizarre ’91 entry from Greece titled Singapore Sling.

The setup, as best I can explain it: two twisted women live in a villa in a mysterious place (it’s never really named specifically), where they have a tormented relationship. Meredeth Herold plays the daughter (Laura), while mother is played by Michele Valley, who looks a bit like Tina Louise strung out on heroin. The characters are clearly not mother and daughter (they look about the same age), but call each other that just to up the ante in their wacky s/m relationship. They taunt each other, caress each other’s breasts and enact death scenes, all the while gasping orgasmically. But the real fun for these gals begins when they meet up with a film noirish fellow in a rainstorm while they’re out in the middle of the night burying a corpse. Panos Thanassoulis plays the mysterious stranger, and the women spend the rest of the film trying to figure out where he came from and why he’s there.

And their methods of interrogation are not for the faint of heart or squeamish. They tie him up, electrocute him, rape him, gag him, throw up on him in the middle of the act, urinate on him and do various other things to him that I can’t quite recall.

Singapore Sling is going to rub you in either direction—there’s no middle ground here. Director-writer Nicos Nicolaides has created a sort of über-Lynchian world; indeed, watching his creation, you might feel as though you’re having a Freudian nightmare, caused in part by the spicy food and Tequila you had last night before going to bed. Nicolaides’ universe is a harsh and unforgiving one, but intriguing nonetheless. He references Otto Preminger’s Laura, film noir as a genre specifically and the state of cinema generally. I love weird movies, but I still can’t say this is one of my favourites. I do, however, give it extra marks for its sheer audacity. :

Singapore Sling screens this weekend at Cinéma du Parc