The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (5 Stars)

If you thought "Barb Wire" couldn't be outdone in its camp nature, you were wrong. "The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak" – which I'll shorten to "Gwendoline" – outdoes it on all counts. It was made in 1984, and the main male character, Willard, is a shameless plagiarism of Indiana Jones. Gwendoline herself is based on the comic strip "Sweet Gwendoline" written and drawn by John Willie from 1947 to 1955.

The comics have been collected in a hardcover edition that can be bought from Amazon.com. Click here to buy the book.

In the film Gwendoline travels to China to search for her father, accompanied by her friend Beth. Her life is rescued by an adventurer called Willard, who's a gambler and a scoundrel. At first he refuses to give Gwendoline any further assistance, but she makes a bet with Willard, and if she wins he has to accompany her into the desert to the last known location of her father.

First they're captured by cannibals, but they manage to flee. The cannibals pursue them, but when Willard, Gwendoline and Beth enter a territory marked by large nets they're afraid to follow. They've entered the kingdom of the Yik-Yak, an all-female tribe who live underground and only go to the surface to hunt. They are only capable of bearing female children, so they capture men from the cannibal tribe for procreation. The Yik-Yak have evolved so that the women eat their mates after copulation.

There's a strict caste system in the tribe. The workers are topless, the warriors wear leather outfits and the ruling class wear long robes. Willard disguises himself as a warrior, but they soon recognise he's a man. Maybe he should have shaved?

Willard is tied up and prepared for the mating ritual. Why is he scared? There are much worse ways to die.

As I've already mentioned, the film is ridiculously camp, but the action is very well filmed. The comedy is low key, designed to make you grin rather than laugh out loud. The musical score is amazing. I was lucky enough to see it in the cinema when it was first released. The DVD release isn't perfect, but the picture quality is as good as can be expected for a low-budget film from the 1980's. I don't know if there's enough interest in the film for it to be remastered. I hope so.