Joe D-amato - Queen Of Elephants 2- Sahara -19... -

Taken together, the title promises: female authority, exotic locale, sequel stakes, and an ambiguous, possibly dystopian frame.

No official theatrical release occurred. DVD-era boutique labels (like X-Cess in Germany or NoShame in the US, though they focused on earlier works) have largely ignored the late-period D'Amato catalog, making Queen of Elephants 2 a rare collector's item today.

While not ranked alongside his more famous works, Sahara (1998) is a snapshot of the final phase of D'Amato's career, which continued until his death in 1999. It showcases his ability to produce a feature-length film with a very small budget, leveraging a "foreign" setting to create a sense of adventure, however tame compared to his earlier, more intense exploitation films.

Directed and photographed by D'Amato himself, the film features a "who's who" of 90s adult and erotic cinema stars: Dina Pearl Joe D-Amato - Queen Of Elephants 2- Sahara -19...

Like most D’Amato films from 1985 onward, Queen of Elephants 2 would have been ignored by mainstream critics, reviewed only in niche genre magazines (e.g., Video Watchdog , Shock Cinema ). Scholars of Italian exploitation might praise its unpretentious energy, while others decry its animal exploitation (real elephants are unlikely, but D’Amato did use distressed animals in films like Endgame ). It would likely hold a 2.5/10 on IMDb, cherished only by connoisseurs of “so bad it’s good” cinema.

represents a fascinating cross-section of late-90s European adult cinema, directed by one of exploitation film history's most prolific auteurs. Known simply as Sahara in original production circles and released on home video formats in 1998 , the film was marketed internationally as Queen of Elephants Part 2: Sahara . This tactical re-titling linked it to its 1997 jungle-themed predecessor, La regina degli elefanti ( Queen of the Elephants ).

Joe D’Amato films often have 5–10 alternate titles ( Queen of the Elephants could be a re-cut of Sahara or Violence in a Women’s Prison etc.). Fans looking for “Queen of Elephants 2 – Sahara” might find nothing, yet the footage exists under another name. No tool currently maps scene-by-scene across different edits. Taken together, the title promises: female authority, exotic

To understand how Sahara intersects with its predecessor under its alternative billing, it helps to examine the core production elements of both entries side by side: Sahara (Video 1998) - IMDb

The film features a prominent lineup of late-1990s European adult icons:

Elephants in exploitation cinema often represent raw nature, memory, and power. Here, the “queen” who controls them becomes a castrating figure – her command over the largest land animal subverts male authority. However, D’Amato undermines this via gratuitous nudity and rape-revenge tropes, reducing potential feminist subversion to sensationalism. While not ranked alongside his more famous works,

The sex scenes are standard 90s late-night Italian softcore: repetitive synth music, heavy breathing, and lots of pearl-clutching close-ups. Violence is minimal—a dagger threat here, a slap there. This isn’t D’Amato at his gory peak ( Beyond the Darkness ); it’s D’Amato paying for a camel rental.

This post examines the probable identity of such a title, teases apart its thematic DNA, and imagines how D’Amato might have built a film around that name—useful both for cinephiles tracing his filmography and for writers or filmmakers inspired by his methods.

An iconic Italian actress who plays a key role, though her presence is primarily for exotic aesthetic appeal rather than a deep narrative. Zenza Raggi: Appearing as Karim. Additional Cast: Amanda Steel (as Mora), John Walton (as Abdul), and The "Sequel" Confusion The marketing of this film as a sequel to Queen of Elephants