Director Piero Schivazappa’s visually stunning S&M masterpiece has a journalist, Maria (Dagmar Lassander), facing off with sadistic Dr Sayer (Philippe Leroy), who kidnaps her to subject her to depraved acts. As the pain and the humiliation progresses, Maria turns the tables on the increasingly disturbed Sayer.

It’s easy to get carried away with the pop art psychosexual glory of The Frightened Woman as almost everything is stylised to the nth degree. It looks glorious, sounds glorious (the Stelvio Cipriani score is particularly infectious), and is way ahead of its time in its themes. While it might appear to be nothing more than misogynistic fantasy for most of the runtime, when Maria gets the upper hand, it builds to a perfect climax.

Shameless’ new HD release presents the film looking amazing as it’s from a new, restored 4K transfer, with the original Italian language alongside the British dub. The main feature is accompanied by a pair of interviews, including a brand new one with star Lassander, which is very enlightening. There’s a limited edition slipcase for those who care about these things, too. Regardless of the bells and whistles, this is an essential movie for fans of Italian cinema, particularly those interested in erotic thrillers.