Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker August 26, 2025

The second title (sort of, more on that later) from Delirium Home Video, 1977's 'Satanic Sisters' (aka "Sexy Sisters", aka Die Die Teuflischen Schwestern") arrives on Blu-ray disc for the first time in North America. Directed by the infamous Jess Franco ('She Killed in Ecstasy', 'Female Vampire'), the film stars frequent Franoc collaborator Pamela Stanford ('Lorna, the Exorcist', Nathalie: Escape from Hell'), French adult film actress Karine Gambier ('Gefangene Frauen', 'Women in Cellblock 9'), Jack Taylor ('Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf') and Erik Falk ('Rolls Royce Baby'). The release features a host of on-disc supplemental materials that are highlighted by a piece contributed by author and leading Francophile Stephen Thrower. A slipcover is also included.

Since I first published the review of Delirium's initial title, 1975's Rolls Royce Baby, there have been some developments in terms of Delirium's releases and their distribution. Per an official announcement, they have entered into an agreement with an exclusive distributor and as such, both Rolls Royce Baby and Satanic Sisters have been discontinued. But fear not! There are still some copies of these releases to be found in the wild, and collectors and fans who missed either or both of those two titles will see them re-released at an undisclosed future date, and both will include new art and special features. The next title in line though, the Lin Romay tour de force Doriana Gray will be the first title to be released in line with these new specifications and the exclusive distributor. However, even though another release is forthcoming, in the name of being thorough, I'll be taking at look at this release as I did with Rolls Royce Baby.

Edna (Pamela Stanford) lives with her half-sister Milicent (Karine Gambier). With help from a small staff and Dr. Charles (Jack Taylor), Edna cares for Milicent, who needs to be kept restrained due to her overwhelming and all-consuming nymphomania. Part of that care sees Edna luring men back to their home to service Millicent's insatiable appetites. But all is not quite as it seems, as Edna is found to be working in league with the unscrupulous Dr. Charles who routinely administers the injections that are the cause of Milicent's condition. When she finally finds someone with whom she can connect despite her condition, it will be up to her new-found love to save her before she is swindled out of her sizeable inheritance.

In the tradition of some of Franco's best work, much of Satanic Sisters plays out like some sort of twisted dream. After watching Edna ply Joe with her venus flytrap wiles, he's hopelessly ensnared. Joe (and the audience) drifts along wherever and with whatever Edna decrees. When she doesn't approve of his car, he quickly lets her drive him to her home. When she directs her maid to undress him, he offers neither resistance nor even a hint of shyness. When she changes the game entirely and informs him that, despite her actions and advances up to this point that he's to spend the night with her obviously unstable sister, he simply goes with the flow. When the night is over and he awakens in his car, he is unable to find his way back to the house until a chance encounter later allows him to follow Edna. Logic and reality have no place here, events merely unfold in the manner in which Franco needs them to.

The more time the film spends with Milicent, the more reality begins to bend further. While she dreams or fantasizes about obtaining her freedom from confinement, she (and we) have difficulty understanding when and if she has left the gilded cage (replete with a golden door and golden bars) that is her home. While clearly enjoying the water, it's uncertain if she actually visited an outdoor swimming pool and the beach, as in both instances she's seen engaging in some of the behavior that results in her being confined. All that is truly certain is that hers is a troubled and joyless existence, an erotic dream with no pleasure and no end.

Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Delirium's first title, Rolls Royce Baby , had a relatively consistently healthy-looking 1080p transfer, the same unfortunately doesn't hold true for Satanic Sisters. As with the Ascot release of the title from some years ago, the early goings, approximately the first 25 minutes or so, fare the worst. Here, flesh tones veer from vintage but healthy looks, to reddish, to washed-out. Day-for-night shots are problematic here as well, reading far darker than they should. One such scene, where Pamela Stanford and Kurt Meinicke (Joe) park in his VW to become better acquainted, sees the picture take on a yellowish hue. Here softness invades, and crush is also an issue. When taking some time to bounce back and forth between this disc and Ascot's release from 2013, I noticed that their disc struggled in these moments also, just not quite as much. On that disc, the scene in the car softens and shadow consumes much of the detail, but the colors remain closer to true. When back at Edna and Milicent's home, Meinicke's face still darkens on the Ascot disc, but does not mimic the very deep red that is visible on the Delirium disc.

That aside, outside of those opening two reels, the rest of the film is much in line with what one would expect from a lower-budget production from the 1970s and things improve quite a bit. There is the odd missing frame, minor damage, an instance of flickering, and the like. But on the whole, colors are much more stable, residing within an acceptable but slightly washed-out palette that again, is in keeping with films of the era that have not undergone massive restoration. Skin tones improve. There is still some variance from scene to scene, but on the whole, they look much healthier and realistic which is important for a film with such a significant amount of its runtime devoted to soft-core couplings. Fine detail also comes into focus much more with fine lines, wrinkles, hairstyle particulars, and other elements of the actors' appearances being open for investigation, and are particularly so in the close-ups of which Franco was fond. Darker areas of Edna and Milicent's home can be deep, but can also absorb detail. Given its age and its origin, it's a solid enough transfer.

Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Satanic Sisters is outfitted with a pair of English Audio options, a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The primary difference between the two isn't as dramatic as one might expect in terms of immersion. After lending support to the music during the opening club scene, surrounds are infrequently used on the 5.1 track in this front-heavy affair. Dialogue on the 5.1 track, though, can have an echoey presence which can be a bit distracting. As a result, with regard to the English tracks, I spent more time with the 2.0 track which preforms well enough and is more fitting for the film given both its era and its roots. Music is well-rendered, and Baumgartner's score shines. Dialogue is clean and intelligible, as are the frequent moans and sighs. Dubs can sometimes be a dodgy proposition, and though some prefer them to reading subtitles, the voices used for the English dub seem ill-fitting to my ear. The German 2.0 track is perhaps even cleaner than the English 2.0 track, and the greatest difference between this 2.0 track and the English 2.0 track is that the volume of the score is noticeably lower on the German track while it can be more forceful on the English dub. That isn't to say that music isn't allowed to dominate, but such moments are more carefully selected, such as when Milicent and her nurse play in the sea, where the score swells while they're in the water and diminishes when they return to shore so that dialogue can again be in the forefront. After spending time with all three, I found the German 2.0 track to be my favorite. Dialogue here is the focus, and is largely without defect. Music is precise and kept largely in the background. Sound effects such as footsteps, seagulls, waves, and the like are era-appropriate. Every viewer has their own taste, but for me, the German 2.0 track is the one I will consistently select for all future viewings.

Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Author Dennis Daniel - Daniel begins with a discussion of the opening club scene, the likes of which was something of a staple for Franco. He then addresses his love of Franco's films, beginning with what started his personal fandom and what makes Franco so appealing to him. From there, he launches into something of a defense for Franco's body of work before getting into the film itself and its stars, Pamela Stanford and Karine Gambier, and his particular affinity for Gambier is apparent. He shares a extensively from an interview he did with Franco in 1999, where Jess shared information about his family, his upbringing, and his love of cinema, and the censorship in place under the Franco regime (which finally ended when Jess was 45), before delving into his film career. He's less concerned with tracking the onscreen action and tailoring his comments accordingly than he is in sharing his love for the cast and Franco's films. Later in the track, he lists what he believes are Franco's essential films, which every new fan must see, including The Awful Dr. Orloff, The Diabolical Dr. Z, 99 Women, The Bloody Judge, and Count Dracula among others. It's an interesting, free-form track.

• Original Trailer (1.02)

• Twins of Evil: Author Stephen Thrower on 'Satanic Sisters' (22.32) - Thrower covers a great deal of ground in a short amount of time. He discusses the working relationship Franco had with Dietrich, the films they made together, how Franco's habit of working on several films at once created tension between the two, and the cast for this film which is a mix of Franco and Dietrich "regulars". He eventually settles in and focuses on this film in particular, and he takes a moment to point out the Rolls from Rolls Royce Baby, which returns here for a cameo of sorts. The short is up to Thrower's usual standards and is a "must watch".

• Photo Gallery (2.16) - A collection of stills automatically advances to a sitar soundtrack.

• Franco, Bloody Franco (40.24) - This is an audio interview with Jess Franco from June of 1976 in Zürich, and is subtitled in English. The interview starts with Franco discussing his film, Jack the Ripper which starred Klaus Kinski, whom Franco professed to adore. He talks about having Zürich stand in for London in the film, being more impressed with the architecture there than in the city that was the actual home to the events depicted. He also discusses knowing Peter Baumgartner when the two played in various bands in Paris during the early 1950s (Franco played trumpet). He spends time talking about other directors like Terence Fisher and Roger Corman, and professes (up to that point), the fastest he ever shot a film was in just one week, not being able to match Corman's 3-day mark. Stills and lobby cards scroll by for the course of the interview.

• Vintage Trailer Reel (6.44) - Bearing a title card that reads "vintage Jess Franco VHS trailers (sic)", trailers include Oasis of the Zombies, Demoniac, A Virgin Among the Living Dead, The Screaming Dead, Erotikill, and The Invisible Dead.

Satanic Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Franco's work may not be for everyone, but the Erwin C. Dietrich financed and influenced Satanic Sisters is one of the more approachable and conventional of the director's work. Many of Franco's tendencies are on display here, make no mistake, including the opening scene with a largely mute audience paying rapt attention to a small stage show, the blurring of dream and reality, and a number of familiar faces from his other films. Pamela Stanford and Karine Gambier easily carry the film and command the viewer's attention in every scene. While it may not make every Franco fan's list of the director's top-tier films, it's certainly on mine, and Delirium's disc is fairly solid. Outfitted with a healthy assortment of on-disc supplemental material highlighted by Dennis Daniel's commentary and a segment with Stephen Thrower (which alone probably justify the purchase even for those who won the Ascot disc), Satanic Sisters comes recommended to Franco's fans and the Franco-curious.