Warrior Queen, Eruptions and Virgins

What exactly was going on in Pompeii in 79 A.D., before Mount Vesuvius erupted? Can a virgin be raped more than once? Important questions. As Mount Rainier gets ready to bury Seattle and as sorority girls attempt to redefine virginity, we will take a look at a Sybil Danning (not a virgin) film, 1987's "Warrior Queen."

Queen Berenice (Danning) is coming to visit Pompeii...the Cleveland of the Roman Empire. Her convoy will be attacked by highwaymen and she will kill all the attackers. Yep...bad a** queen. She'll arrive and instantly be bored and repulsed by her host Clodius (Donald Pleasance) and his neglected and nymphomaniac wife Philomena (Samantha Fox). Captured slaves then arrive in Pompeii for auction. Virgin Vespa (Tally Chanel) is everyone's darling and will have some gratuitous and humiliating nude scenes. Male and female, everyone who sees Vespa rapes her. Still, the virgin Vespa holds out hope for the right man. Enter Marcus (Rich Hill), a charioteer. Vespa wants him and he wants the virgin. So does everyone else and Vespa will continue being groped and raped. Berenice will take pity on Vespa and try to help her. Meanwhile, the love starved Philomena also desires Marcus.

Marcus desires many women, but not Philomena. Berenice often rises to the aid of slave girls being raped and groped by killing their attackers. Goliath (Marco Tullio Cau), a brute charioteer arrives and rapes the virgin Vespa, setting up a deadly showdown with Marcus. Berenice tries to help Vespa and so does slave beauty Veneria (Suzanna Smith). Veneria will also be raped a lot, but there are no virgin claims from her. Uh oh...Mount Vesuvius is rumbling. As the dueling charioteers fight for the virgins they lust for, and as Berenice murders Roman rapists, complete ruination of a misogynistic and brutal civilization may be imminent.

Just how long can the sultry and erotic Vespa hang on to the 'virgin' tag? Is the depiction of the Mount Vesuvius eruption a prescient foretelling of next year's Mount Rainier eruption that will bury Seattle? Did Roman queens really look like Sybil Danning? For a lot of cheese and beef, with some gratuitous and brutal plot devices, enjoy "Warrior Queen," directed by Chuck Vincent.