Carroll Baker is Helen, a race car driver (you heard me right) living in Spain who suddenly spies her former lover (Jean Sorel) on the track during a practice run, causing an accident. Slightly hurt, Helen needs rest, and coincidentally Sorel invites her down for a vacation at the coastal cliff side estate of his wealthy new wife (Anna Proclemer). Already sick of Sorel’s philandering, Proclemer tries to enlist Helen in a murderous plot. Things don’t go as planned. Accident? Homicide? Emotional chaos and paranoia envelop Helen’s existence. Then Sorel’s sexy stepdaughter (Marina Coffa) arrives, amping things into overdrive. Loud colors and groovy fashions are in a constant swirl of early seventies delirium, and once you are halfway through this sexy psychological thriller, you’ll understand why in some European territories it was released as A Drug Called Helen (it was also called – to the confusion of many Lenzi/Baker fans – Paranoia!). It rivals Mario Bava’s Five Dolls for an August Moon in ultra-mod, unwholesome goodness.
Chris D. explores the career of Carroll Baker, acclaimed American actress turned Italian exploitation cinema queen, on the New Beverly blog.
