Given its title, one would assume that 1975’s Russ Meyer’s SuperVIXENS provides a sequel to 1968’s hit Vixen. One would assume incorrectly, as outside of a mutual focus on sexually active buxom women, the two stories share no substantial connections.

Clint Ramsey (Charles Pitt) works as a gas station attendant at a location in the US southwest desert. His wife Angel Turner (Shari Eubank) treats him poorly, as she takes out her jealous nature on him.

Upset when she believes Clint cheats on her, Angel seduces police officer Harry Sledge (Charles Napier). When he can’t perform sexually, SuperAngel taunts Harry, a choice that provokes him to murder her and burn down the house.

To escape punishment, Harry pins these crimes on Clint. This sends Clint on the lam.

All with lots of sex along the way, of course. This seems natural, as what runaway homicide suspect doesn’t find himself pursued by plenty of random women with enormous breasts?

Although I said that Vixen and SuperVIXENS shared no similarities beyond “lotsa naked big-boobed babes”, this doesn’t prove entirely accurate. In addition, neither movie comes with a particularly strong plot.

Though SuperVIXENS does fare better in that regard. Vixen existed as a largely story-free exploration of a horny – and unlikeable - woman’s actions, whereas at least SuperVIXENS attempts an actual narrative.

SuperVIXENS also delivers a radically different tone. Vixen took itself seriously and devoted a chunk of time to social, racial and political domains.

On the other hand, the “sequel” brings a comedic romp. Director Russ Meyer fully embraces a wacky satirical tone, one that seems like a weird match with the violence involved in the story.

Does this work? Not really, partly because the film shifts at the drop of a hat.

At its core, SuperVIXENS wants to deliver a bawdy romp. Usually campy, it takes aim at flicks of this sort to offer a satirical version.

After all, I find it tough to swallow a film that makes Nazi Martin Bormann (Henry Rowland) the owner of a remote gas station. Meyer clearly wants to deliver a rowdy and broad comedy.

Essentially SuperVIXENS exists as a gender-reversed spoof of all those movies in which a young woman travels and finds herself seduced by a selection of pervy guys. Here we get beleaguered Clint – unwilling to fornicate with other women despite the death of his wife – as he attempts to fend off the advances of a slew of hotties.

In theory, this could offer a lively tale, but Meyer can’t pull it off. In particular, two concerns dog SuperVIXENS.

For one, Meyer continues the misogynistic streak he showed in Vixen. That movie’s lead offered a genuinely foul character, a selfish racist who proved entirely unlikable.

This trend continues here, as SuperVIXENS abounds with problematic female roles. Even if we ignore what a nasty piece of work Angel offers, the majority of the women Clint meets offer fairly terrible people as well.

Sure, some exceptions occur. Still, I can’t ignore bitter and nasty way Meyer depicts women here.

In addition, the scene in which Sledge murders Angel feels like it comes from an entirely different film. After an opening that exploits wacky comedy, this sequence becomes borderline brutal to watch.

I suspect Meyer figures we won’t feel much sympathy for Angel’s plight because we already view her as borderline despicable – and that proves true, as it becomes tough to care about her fate. Nonetheless, the movie paints Harry’s assault in such a dark manner that it feels disconnected to the rest of this broad comedy.

It doesn’t help that the Harry/Angel sequence runs much longer than necessary. Perhaps Meyer figured we needed to see how actively Angel provokes Harry to have it make sense.

But the film doesn’t require this at all. We quickly accept Harry as a psychopath and a shorter and less graphic sequence would still convey the necessary information.

Or maybe Meyer simply could’ve found a way to justify Clint’s journey without the involvement of violence and slaughter. Meyer seemed to believe the film wouldn’t work if he left out the extended murder scene, but I disagree, as I think this section just throws off the tone too much.

Even without the slaying, SuperVIXENS would remain an iffy proposition, mainly because it just doesn’t go much of anywhere. The stabs at comedy lack much wit and the overall theme of Clint’s time on the lam doesn’t click.

At least not in this tale’s context, partly because much of the movie avoids the legal repercussions of Clint’s travels. Even when his past comes back to haunt him, it does so in an accidental manner that feels too coincidental.

Those events also precipitate another perilous tone shift that fails to succeed. Maybe a better filmmaker could pull off these jolts, but Meyer couldn’t.

Less than stellar acting doesn’t help. On one hand, Napier offers easily the best performance of the bunch, but on the other, his intensity feels out of touch with the rest of the film.

The others tend to seem fairly amateurish. Of course, Meyer populates the movie with a bevy of sexy ladies, but none display particularly strong acting chops.

105 minutes also seems too long for this particular tale. Chop it down to 85 minutes and it goes down more easily, but at this particular running time, SuperVIXENS wears out its welcome.

All that said, I think SuperVIXENS fares considerably better than Vixen did, mainly because it attempts an actual story. Whereas the 1968 film used a general framework as an excuse for lots of sex and skin, the 1975 flick follows a real narrative path.

Granted, it doesn’t work, but I give Meyer credit for his willingness to try to give us a “real movie”. Nonetheless, SuperVIXENS lacks creativity, charm or laughs, so even with a lot of attractive unclad women, it turns into a less than enthralling experience.

Russ Meyer’s SuperVIXENS appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not up to the high level of the scan for Vixen, this image nonetheless held up nicely.

Overall sharpness seemed positive. Despite some slightly soft wider shots, the movie usually boasted appealing delineation.

The flick lacked shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes failed to manifest. Grain seemed appropriate, and outside of an occasional gate hair, print flaws didn’t pop up along the way.

Colors felt positive, as the movie’s natural palette seemed appealing. The hues brought a good array of qualities.

Blacks felt firm and dark, and low-light shots brought solid clarity. The picture worked well as a whole.

Though it showed its age and budgetary restrictions, the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural still seemed fine. Speech became a weak link, as lines could seem edgy and thin, but they remained intelligible and usually held up well enough.

Music showed better range, even if the score and songs never became especially full. Effects demonstrated some distortion but usually offered acceptable clarity. Though not a particularly good soundtrack, the audio was satisfactory for a low-budget movie made about 50 years ago.

As we head to extras, we start with an audio commentary from director Russ Meyer. Recorded for a 1990s laserdisc, Meyer provides a running, screen-specific discussion of cast and crew, story/characters and aspects of the production.

Meyer’s commentary for the original Vixen told us little about the film’s creation. Instead, Meyer told us a lot about his sexual exploits and the sexual exploits he arranged for others.

On the positive side, here Meyer actually focuses on the creation of SuperVIXENS most of the time. On the negative side, his observations usually seem fairly banal, and he often simply narrates the movie and chuckles. That leaves us with a forgettable commentary.

In addition to the film’s trailer and a TV spot, some video programs flesh out the disc. Russ Meyer Versus the Porn Busters features a circa 1990 chat with the filmmaker.

During the 23-minute, 54-second piece, Meyer discusses the then-current efforts of those who wished to censor “adult” projects, aspects of his career, his thoughts on pornography, MPAA ratings and the then-new “NC-17”. As a contrast to the rambling presence of the commentary, here Meyer proves engaging and thoughtful.

The Return of Harry Sledge spans 18 minutes, 45 seconds. It brings info from actor Charles Napier.

The veteran performer tells us about his career and his specific experiences working with Meyer. This winds up as a quality look at the topics.

We conclude with an episode of The Incredibly Strange Film Show. Aired in September 1988, this program goes for 39 minutes, 17 seconds and involves Meyer, film critic/collaborator Roger Ebert, former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and actors Tura Satana and Kitten Natividad.

“Strange” delivers a broad look at the life and career of Meyer. It hits the important notes and winds up as a solid overview.

Raunchier and more comedic than its immediate predecessor, Russ Meyer’s SuperVIXENS nonetheless fares no better than the awful Vixen. Devoid of any real entertainment value, it becomes a sluggish chore to watch. The Blu-ray brings very good visuals, adequate audio and a mix of bonus features. Outside of some attractive unclad women, SuperVIXENS goes nowhere positive.