Contamination .7, Emanuelle vs. The Trees

Laura Gemser mesmerized men...and women...as the exotic beauty 'Emanuelle.' Her allure and beauty seduced many a man...and women...in her films. Alas, when her husband died Ms. Gemser left acting and emerged a costume designer. One of the first films she designed wardrobes for was 1993's "Contamination .7" (aka "The Crawlers"). Though filmed in Utah, this is really an Italian horror film, directed by Fabrizio Laurenti and Joe D'Amato. Perhaps not the best film ever made, with some sub-par acting, but this movie is better than "Ready Player One" and every actor in it is better than Mila Kunis.

The beautiful (okay, she's kinda mousy and her facial features are too big for her face) Josie (Mary Sellers) returns home to her small mountain community from the big city. Obviously a failure, she runs back to her old beau, Matt (Jason Saucier), a failure who didn't leave town. Oh yes, the nuclear power plant is dumping waste into the woods. Oh, the trees are soaking it up. By the way, the workers at the plant and townspeople are smartly clad in an assortment of colors and styles. The nubile Susan, fleeing a rapist runs into the woods and is grabbed by tree roots who squeeze her to death and infest her formerly beautiful body. Dr. Taylor (Bubba Reeves), the smartly dressed drunk power plant scientist, tries to warn the power plant officials about the radiation and realizes he has run into a major cover-up conspiracy.

The roots continue to attack. They entangle two smartly dressed assassins, a dapper woman feeding her horses, a sophisticated clad drunk, and a handsomely clad deputy in a graveyard. The mousy Jodie, in a very cosmopolitan looking wardrobe, teams up with an appropriately clad Matt. The two find an investigative reporter, who is also smartly dressed, and Dr. Taylor and this quartet will lead a rag-tag, but well dressed, posse of townspeople against the monster tree roots. All out war will break loose, and even Paula (Jaymzlinn Saxton) the town whore, modestly clad in prostitute garb, will grab a shovel and help out. Many will die, but the effort will be heroic.

Will Josie and her enlarged facial features be able to lead the smartly dressed mountain community against the radioactive monsters? Will the radioactive tree roots spread out of Utah and infest all of the Pacific Northwest? Could this film have ever been made but for the expert costume design of our favorite 'Emanuelle,' Laura Gemser. In defense of this film, though the first hour is slow and awkward, the last 30 minutes are fast-paced and filled with stylish shirts, blouses, and trousers. Enjoy Ms. Gemser's wardrobe efforts in "Contamination .7."