I’ve attempted to watch several films by noted director Jess
Franco over the past few years and I still don’t get it. Fans in the horror
community hail him as one of the seminal directors of the genre in Europe over
the starting in the seventies when he truly began directing more and more
films. I’m sorry to say that the more of his movies I see the more he has in
common with Ed Wood than directors of note.
I’m sure much of his popularity stemmed from his use of
naked or semi-clad women in his films but there has to be something more than
that for him to achieve the status that he did. Perhaps it was his inclusion of
what some considered taboo subjects at the time like S&M. Whatever it was I
still have yet to become a member of the fan club. Perhaps someone can suggest
one of his better films than the ones I’ve witnessed to date.
Which brings us to this film. It begins with Dr.
Frankenstein and his assistant Morpho finally creating a creature that comes to
life. Unfortunately at the same time the assistants of Cagliostro are also
nearby and steal the creature away. This involves the first hilarious moment in
the film when the head of this group of henchmen is led by the character most
call “The Bird Lady”. Bedecked in green feathers leaving exposed flesh she
tends to caw like a bird rather than talk. Later on when she does talk you’ll
miss the cawing as she tends to overdramatize any and everything happening.
The monster itself is a joke to witness. Given the square
headed appearance we’ve known to love since the first Karloff film, this time
around he’s shirtless and painted silver for some reason. He can talk but still
in monosyllabic sentences. Worst of all is when his silver “skin” rubs off on someone
else in a scene.
During the capture of the monster Dr. Frankenstein was
killed. Now his daughter appears and seeks not only revenge but the return of
the monster as well. The police talk with her but are little use. To find out
just who is responsible for the murder she asks the victim. What’s that you
say, he is dead? Like that makes a difference. Hooked up in the lab she uses
magnetic energy to bring her father back around and learn what she needs to
know. Not one to let a good gag go to waste, Franco has the doctor regenerated
several times before he finally kicks off.
Facing off against Cagliostro won’t be easy. He’s survived
for centuries changing bodies as each ends its time on Earth. His plans are to
create a female creature to mate with the current one thus giving them the
chance to bring forth a number of offspring who would live forever providing
him with a more permanent place on the planet. Only Frankenstein’s daughter can
stop this from happening and avenge her father.
If this movie weren’t so badly produced it might have been a
decent story to film. Instead it has all sorts of nonsensical moments and
inclusions that might look cool but have little to do with what is going on.
Cagliostro has a number of followers dressed in the appropriate monk’s garb,
almost all with bland looks on their faces and several who are just skulls
inside the robes. Every scene they are involved in is the same filmed sequence.
If that weren’t enough the bird lady becomes more laughable each time she
speaks.
The acting in the film is so over the top as to make the
actors in the afore mentioned Ed Wood movies seem like major thespians when
compared. The lighting is often off, sometimes overly bright and others far too
obviously day for night. I’m still trying to figure out just what directing was
done for this movie. Maybe if I go back and watch it one more time with the
audio commentary track playing it will make more sense to me, but if that’s the
case then how good a movie can it be?
Look, I understand that movies like this need to be
preserved for historical purposes. They also need to be made available for fans
of the director and his work. But as for the casual viewer I would be hard
pressed to find anything to recommend about this movie. It does offer people
the chance to see one of the works of Jess Franco. But still, if someone can
recommend something that’s a better representation I’m all ears.
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