Tag Archives: Jesus Franco

The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966) – A Wickedly Unique Twist on Villainy

31 Thursday Oct 2024

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Jesús Franco’s The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966) is a heady, atmospheric venture that stands out among the director’s works as one of his most striking films. With its singularly captivating female antagonist and a plot thick with gothic flair, Dr. Z was groundbreaking in several ways. The film presents a unique departure from traditional horror tropes, challenging the norms with a woman leading the charge into villainy, a rarity for its time and an element that adds to its enduring fascination.

The plot follows Irma Zimmer, daughter of a disgraced scientist, Dr. Zimmer (Antonio Jiménez Escribano – uncredited), who has invented a device capable of controlling minds. Following her father’s untimely death, Irma takes up his work and enacts her revenge on those who ruined him. Portrayed by the icy, magnetic Mabel Karr, Irma becomes Dr. Z, a vengeful and morally ambiguous character who is as cunning as she is ruthless. Her transformation into the sinister Dr. Z adds a refreshing dimension to the horror genre, as Franco explores themes of power, vengeance, and the blurred lines between science and madness.

The character-driven nature of The Diabolical Dr. Z makes it one of Franco’s more narratively cohesive works, which, coupled with the ambitious set designs and atmospheric cinematography, gives it a distinctly gothic, almost operatic quality. Franco expertly builds tension with long, lingering shots and artful close-ups, capturing Irma’s descent into moral ambiguity and her ruthless determination with a subtle yet chilling edge.

While Franco’s later works are often associated with the exploitation genre, Dr. Z is an example of his capability to craft horror with genuine suspense and thematic weight. It may not have the polish of higher-budget 1960s horror productions, yet it excels in showcasing Franco’s raw creativity and his talent for darkly inventive storytelling. This is Franco at his most restrained and artistically daring, proving his knack for complex, morally ambiguous characters.

The Diabolical Dr. Z is a bold entry in 1960s horror cinema, especially with its portrayal of a woman steering the horror from the front lines. Franco’s deliberate pacing and commitment to his singular vision make this film a high point in his career and a worthy watch for those who appreciate horror that challenges conventions while delivering psychological thrills.

  • Saul Muerte (no relation to Miss Muerte lol!)

Retrospective: The Awful Dr. Orloff “From Controversy to Cult Classic”

07 Friday Jun 2024

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Released amidst the burgeoning wave of European horror cinema in 1962, The Awful Dr. Orloff initially faced a storm of negative reviews and comparisons to the iconic Eyes Without a Face. However, as time has passed, this atmospheric tale of terror has carved out its own unique place among the X certifications of the 1960s, earning a cult following for its blend of Gothic horror and psychological intrigue.

Directed by the prolific Jesus Franco, known for his avant-garde approach to filmmaking, The Awful Dr. Orloff stands out as one of his most accessible works. Franco, often associated with controversial and experimental cinema, demonstrated his mastery of the genre with this chilling tale of obsession and madness.

At its heart, The Awful Dr. Orloff is a haunting exploration of the dark recesses of the human psyche, as seen through the lens of the enigmatic Dr. Orloff and his macabre experiments. Played with sinister charisma by Howard Vernon, Dr. Orloff is a mesmerizing figure, drawing viewers into his twisted world of cruelty and depravity.

Despite initial criticisms and comparisons to Georges Franju’s masterpiece Eyes Without a Face, “The Awful Dr. Orloff” possesses its own distinct identity and merits. While both films explore themes of identity and morality within the realm of surgical horror, Franco’s vision offers a more visceral and lurid experience, unapologetically delving into the depths of human depravity.

What sets The Awful Dr. Orloff apart is its relentless atmosphere of dread and unease, fueled by Franco’s keen eye for visual storytelling and his willingness to push the boundaries of conventional horror. From its haunting cinematography to its evocative score, every element of the film is crafted to immerse viewers in a world of gothic terror and psychological torment.

Over the years, The Awful Dr. Orloff has found a devoted audience among horror aficionados, drawn to its blend of Gothic aesthetics, chilling atmosphere, and unabashed embrace of the macabre. While it may have been overlooked in its time, it has since earned its place as a cult classic of European horror cinema, standing as a testament to Franco’s visionary approach and the enduring power of cinematic terror.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Vampyros Lesbos (1971)

15 Thursday Jul 2021

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I remember sometime ago reading an article from the team at Diabolique Magazine about this fascinating, prolific film director Jesús Franco, who was synonymous for his exploitative work in the horror genre, and was immediately intrigued.

Celebrating 50 years since its initial release back in 1971, Vampyros Lesbos is an erotic horror story which follows Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Strömberg) who has a series of erotic dreams about a vampire Countess Nadine Carody (Soledad Miranda) who seduces her and feeds off her blood. Despite being warned not to, Linda travels to an island to seek a new home, but in doing so, soon encounters the afore-mentioned Countess in a house where the infamous Count Dracula once resided. It is not long before Linda succumbs to Nadine’s advances and they are embroiled in a sexual encounter and ultimately drawing blood from her neck.

The story itself takes some convoluted turns through its telling, including a nod to another Stoker creation, Dr. Seward (Dennis Price) who treats Linda from her wounds. But he has an ulterior motive in trapping Nadine and convincing her to turn him into a vampire.
There is also a warped and malicious torturer, Memmet, (played by Franco) who seems hellbent on kidnapping Linda and carrying out his salacious desires upon her. All of which leads to Linda needing to expel her curse by killing Nadine.

Where the film suffers from a fairly leaden acting across the board, Vampyros Lesbos makes up for this through its visual exposition combined with the psychedelic funk soundtrack (which had a reawakening of its own in the 90s when remixed and released as an album called Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party). It hardly stretches the imagination, but has a certain appeal to it that marks an identity of its own and along with Franco’s other ‘71 release She Killed in Ecstacy make a cracking double feature.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Bloody Moon (1981)

26 Friday Mar 2021

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It’s probably criminal that a self-confessed Surgeon of Horror, that I have now just sat down to watch a film by Jesús Franco, a Spanish director whose work spanned over 170 films and garnered a reputation in the field of exploitation and B-Movies.

The film under the retrospective gaze is Bloody Moon, which celebrates its 40th Anniversary since its release, fits perfectly into this description. Part of its appeal / repulsion, depending on your stance comes down to the heavily stylised nature of the film.
Bloody Moon is incredibly clunky and on many occasions the editing of the narrative is fractured and sparse, which can alienate the viewer through the series of seemingly unrelated scenarios that are strung together.
What does work well however is by creating a prologue that deliberately skew our perspective of our lead suspect, Miguel (Alexander Waechter). Miguel bears a horribly disfigured face and due to this he is already ostracized from society. When he tries to hide his features from a woman during a sexual encounter, by masquerading as someone else, it naturally goes wrong. Feeling rebuked again, Miguel loses his temper and stabs the poor victim to death with a pair of scissors and is institutionalised in a mental institute for his crime.

Five years later, Miguel is left in the care of his equally disturbed sister, Manuela (Nadja Gerganoff) who runs a youth boarding school of languages on the Costa Del Sol. It is the school camp / campus setting that has likened this film to other slasher films of the time, like Friday the 13th.

We have our central heroine, Angela (Olivia Pascal), who arrives at the school and immediately becomes the subject of Miguel’s infatuation. So when the body count then starts piling up then Miguel immediately falls under suspicion. 

Despite its displaced narrative, there are some moments when the bouts of the extreme are satisfying for fans of the genre, namely the power saw scene. There is however, a harrowing moment that swiftly follows this when a child who tries to save the girl from the killer grind, and is mowed down by a car as he tries to escape.

Bloody Moon is nicely tied up through an admittedly maniacal conclusion that is handled with a heightened sense of melodrama. It deserves your time, for it is both entertaining and twists and turns its way along while amping up the gore factor at timely moments. So if you can forgive the clunks and awkward delivery, there is a decent slasher film lurking beneath the surface.

  • Saul Muerte