Joe D-amato - Queen Of Elephants 2- Sahara -19... 〈2025〉

Queen of Elephants 2: Sahara is today a deep-cut obscurity. It never received a legitimate DVD release in English-speaking countries. Some German VHS tapes exist under the title Dschungel der Begierde 2 or Sahara – Die Rache der Elefantenkönigin. Italian VHS might be found as Colpo di sole nel Sahara or similar generic retitling. Online, it surfaces occasionally on private trackers or boutique streaming sites dedicated to vintage exploitation, often sourced from nth-generation VHS rips.

For scholars of Joe D'Amato, it's a minor but essential example of his late-career obsession with "one-location erotica." For fans, it's comfort food: no intellectual demands, just shapely bodies, warm sand, and a dirge-like synth score.

Critical rating (as per rare user reviews): ★★½ (two and a half stars) – "Enjoyable if you like sun-drenched softcore with silly costumes; drags in the middle; the belly dance scene is worth the price of admission."

What makes Sahara fascinating to watch today is the vibe. This is 1995, yet the film feels like a relic from 1985. The fashion, the dubbing, the synthesized score—it’s a time capsule of a genre that had already died out in mainstream cinema.

The cast is comprised of the usual suspects from the Italian B-movie circuit. You aren't watching this for

The film titled (1998)—often marketed under the English DVD title Queen of Elephants Part 2: Sahara Joe D-Amato - Queen Of Elephants 2- Sahara -19...

—represents a distinctive entry in the late-career filmography of prolific Italian filmmaker Joe D’Amato

. Released shortly before his death in 1999, the movie is a follow-up to his 1997 production La regina degli elefanti The Elephant Queen Queen of Elephants

), though it functions more as a thematic successor than a direct narrative sequel. Context and Production Directed by Joe D’Amato and written by Donna Dane

(pseudonym for Donatella Donati), the film was shot on location in

. Despite its marketing as a sequel, critics and film databases note a few key incongruities: Thematic Divergence Queen of Elephants 2: Sahara is today a deep-cut obscurity

: While the first film centered on a "jungle girl" raised by elephants in Africa who is "rescued" and brought to Scotland, lacks actual elephants. Cast Roles

: Although many cast members return—including lead actress

(Luce Caponegro)—they typically play different characters than in the original. Genre and Style

: The film leans heavily into D’Amato’s later-career focus on adult-oriented content, blending elements of the "Tarzan-style" exotic adventure with explicit sequences. Plot and Tone The narrative follows two wealthy businessmen who travel to

to purchase a leather company but find themselves distracted by "exotic delights". Characterization is often secondary to the film's erotic focus, a common trait in D'Amato's high-output period of the late 1990s. Italian VHS might be found as Colpo di

Reviewers note that while D’Amato was renowned for grittier horror classics like Anthropophagus

, this "Queen of Elephants" era opted for a more lighthearted, adventure-juvenile tone reminiscent of Jungle Jim , albeit with hardcore additions. Summary of Key Information Sahara (Video 1998) - IMDb

The late 1990s was a transitional moment for European adult cinema. The widespread availability of internet pornography was beginning to kill the traditional "erotic thriller" and "softcore adventure" market. D'Amato, ever pragmatic, simply lowered his budgets further and sped up production – sometimes filming two movies simultaneously.

Queen of Elephants 2: Sahara belongs to a subgenre of "desert erotica" that includes earlier films like The Sheik (1921) with Rudolph Valentino, The Desert Fox (erotic remakes), and D'Amato's own The Desert of the Damned (1991-ish?). By setting his story in North Africa, he tapped into European colonial nostalgia and timeless exoticism, safe from modern political correctness.

Moreover, the "elephant" motif, while barely visible in the sequel (budget constraints likely meant stock footage of elephants from an earlier documentary), serves as a symbol of memory, strength, and matriarchy – fitting for the Queen figure.

By the mid-to-late 1990s, Italian filmmaker Joe D'Amato had cemented his reputation as one of the most prolific and fearless directors in European exploitation cinema. From gruesome horror (Anthropophagus) to post-apocalyptic action (Endgame), from hardcore pornography (Erotic Dreams) to historical erotica (The Convent of Sinners), D'Amato – born Aristide Massaccesi – rarely paused for breath. By the end of the 1990s, he was focusing heavily on exotic erotic features shot in and around Rome, often using standing sets, Sahara-like dunes, and Eastern costumes bought from theatrical warehouses.

One of his most curious late-career series was Queen of Elephants – a loose trilogy or set of standalone films exploiting the perennial male fantasy of powerful, sensual "queens" ruling over remote, unforgiving landscapes. The second chapter, often listed as Queen of Elephants 2: Sahara (original Italian title likely La regina degli elefanti 2 – Sahara, c. 1998–1999), is a prime example of D'Amato's ability to blend softcore sensuality, pseudo-ethnographic adventure, and pure cinematic escapism on a minuscule budget.