The latest installment in Impulse Pictures’ ongoing presentation of the softcore German series of 1970s erotica, Schoolgirl Report 8: What Parents Must Never Know is a goofy collection of bare-bosomed wriggling and lusty acting-out ladled over the wan narrative template of a high school field trip.
When the series got its start, it was produced ostensibly to serve as cautionary warning against the surging teenage libidinal impulses that might, I don’t know, destabilize society or something — so it had man-on-the-streets interview segments that (in winking fashion) provided clucking disapproval to all the carnal goings-on. Seven entries in, that framing device is gone, but it may be why the series retains its signature title card: “starring many uncredited adolescents and parents.”
For Schoolgirl Report: Volume 8, from 1974, director Ernst Hofbauer keeps the pace lean and streamlined, even if he shoots in a jumbled and distracting style that undercuts even the most rudimentary emotional connection to the material. The story — with copious flashbacks that afford more canoodling — centers on a group of girls who set their amorous sights on a hunky new instructor, and also aim to unlock the sex drive of their prudish (female) biology teacher.
The movie’s set-ups oscillate from laborious to obvious, and the acting (including from the fantastically named Astrid Boner) isn’t going to win any awards, that’s for certain. There is, however, an unusual cameo from erotica grand dame Christina Lindberg, and Gert Wilden’s dizzy, pleasantly insane synth music abets the proceedings. Just know that this pre-pubic-trimming curio isn’t high or even middlebrow art, and adjust your expectations accordingly. Caveat emptor, and all that.
Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Schoolgirl Report: Volume 8 comes to home video presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby digital mono audio track. Divided into ten chapters under a static menu screen, the DVD comes to market with unfortunately no supplemental features, but its English subtitles are removable, if one wishes to test their high school German. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. C (Movie) C- (Disc)
