Never mind the title, this does not have much affinity with the famous French S&M movie, Histoire D'O. Instead, it is one of Franco's several movies inspired from and loosely based on Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir. This is quite unlike some of Franco's better known kitsch sleaze flicks. It is a deliberately slow-paced, minimalist piece of erotica. Yes, there are quite a lot of (soft-core) sex, three-some, lesbian, etc., scenes esp. in the first 2/3rds of the movie, and yet despite the presence of these skin scenes, the movie is a very uncommercial and personal effort. The victim's eventual descent into being a prey of the predatory aristocrats from cherishing a chance at free sex experience is very well executed and the final sado-orgy is terrifyingly nightmarish.