ma-cortes
Intriguing as well as thrilling Euro-horror film stunningly shot by recently deceased Jesus Franco or ¨Uncle Jess¨ , born Jesús Franco Manera , a prolific Spanish film-maker who specialised in psychedelic Gothic terror , often laced with sex and violence . The sadistic Baron Klaus deals with a woman (Mabel Karr who married Fernando Rey) seeks to revenge her dad's (Antonio Jimenez Escribano) death by using a stripper (Stella Blain) , with long poisonous fingernails , to do her bidding . As she kidnaps a local dancer and controls her mind so she can seduce the scientific (Chris Huerta , Marcelo Arroita , Howard Vernon) who panned and mocked him . At the end takes place a twisted surprise about the murders . Nothing ever stripped your nerves screamingly raw like the Diabolical Doctor Z . Enjoyable and above average rendition about European terror , a habitual genre during the sixties . This very campy picture contains thrills , action , phantasmagoria , horrifying situations , and being compellingly developed . Here Franco manages to give us an appropriate ambient , an evocative production design , being rightly narrated , including a criminal plot enough to keep you intrigued throughout the flick . Interesting screenplay and adaptation by Jean-Claude Carrière , Luis Buñuel's ordinary writer . The picture was made by the time in which Franco directed nice movies such as : ¨Rififi En La Ciudad¨ , this ¨Miss Muerte¨ or ¨Diabolic Doctor Z¨ , ¨Necronomicon¨ and ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ , developing a consolidated professionalism , as his career got more and more impoverished in the following years, but his endless creativity enabled him to tackle films in all genres , from "B" horror to erotic films . Others , however, have been downright atrocious : ¨Emmanuelle Exposed¨ (1982) , ¨Red Silk¨ (1999), and his last picture ¨Al Pereira vs the Alligator Ladies¨ (2012) one of the worst films I have ever seen . ¨Miss Muerte¨ belongs to his peculiar series about ¨Doctor Orloff¨ , as he is also called ¨Doctor Klaus¨ or ¨Doctor Z¨ , the first was "The Awful Dr. Orloff" , it's followed by various sequels such as ¨El Secreto del Dr. Orloff¨ (1964) aka "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll" , "Orloff y el hombre invisible (1970) aka "Dr. Orloff's Invisible Monster" and finally "Faceless" (1987) . Fine acting by Mabel Karr as vengeful daughter and unforgettable Stella Blain who plays an arty/spider dance . And other notorious secondary actors in brief appearances as Howard Vernon , Cris Huerta , Jose Maria Prada , Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui , Rafael Hernández and Guy Mairesse , some of them uncredited . And , of course , a special and sympathetic intervention by Jesús Franco , as always . Evocative and adequate cinematography in black and white by Alejandro Ulloa (Horror express) . Atmospheric original music by Daniel White (Franco's usual musician) who appears as a British Pólice detective . The motion picture was well directed by Jesus Franco ; being professionally written , produced and often deemed among his very best . Jesus Franco was a Stajanovist director , as his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013 , a record few can match in the era of talking pictures . Given that many Franco films exist in three or four variant versions, sometimes so radically different that alternative cuts qualify as separate movies , his overall tally might be considerably higher but embarrassing . However , here he doesn't use his trademarks , as he pulls off a traditional narration , without zooms , neither lousy pace . As the picture belongs to Franco's first period in which he made passable flicks . Franco used to utilize a lot of pseudonyms and customary marks such as zooms , nudism , foreground on objects , filmmaking in ¨do-it-yourself effort¨ style or DIY and managing to work extraordinarily quickly , realizing some fun diversions, and a lot of absolute crap . Many pictures had nice photography , full of lights and shades in Orson Welles style , in fact , Franco was direction-assistant in ¨Chimes at midnight¨ and edited ¨El Quijote¨ by Welles . He often used to introduce second , third or fourth versions , including Hardcore or Softcore inserts or sexual stocks many of them played by his muse Lina Romay . In many of the more than 200 films he's directed he has also worked as composer , writer , cinematographer and editor . His first was "We Are 18 Years Old" along with the documentary ¨El Arbol de España¨ and his subsequent picture was ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ (1962) , the best of all them . Like ¨Justine¨ , some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining : ¨The Diabolical Dr. Z¨ (1966), ¨Vampyros Lesbos¨ (1971), ¨A Virgin Among the Living Dead¨ (1973) , ¨The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein¨ , ¨Female Vampire¨ , ¨Women Behind Bars¨ (both 1975), and ¨Bloody Moon¨ (1981). As his ¨Necronomicón¨ (1968) was nominated for the Festival of Berlin, and this event gave him an international reputation . He also directed to the great Christopher Lee in 4 films : "The Bloody Judge" , ¨Count Dracula¨, ¨The Blood of Fu Manchu¨ and ¨The castle of Fu Manchu¨ . Jesús's influence has been notable all over Europe . Many of his films have had problems in getting released, and others have been made directly for video . More than once his staunchest supporters have found his "new" films to contain much footage from one or more of his older films . He broke up with all that and got the independence he was seeking . He always went upstream in an ephemeral industry that fed opportunists and curbed the activity of many professionals . But time doesn't pass in vain, and Jesus' production has diminished since the 90s ; however he went on shooting until his recent death .
ferbs54
Of the dozen or so films directed by Jess Franco that I have seen, from his gigantic oeuvre of over 190 (!) pictures, 1966's "The Diabolical Dr. Z" is easily the best of the bunch. Aptly described by the excellent reference book "DVD Delirium 2" as a "beguiling mixture of drive-in sleaze and European art film," this French/Spanish coproduction--from a director whose output has been wildly variable, both in terms of quality and subject matter--greatly surprised me. In it, Dr. Zimmer dies of a heart attack in front of the medical convention to which he had come to present his latest findings. Using her father's recently invented gizmo that enables one to control the minds of other men, Irma Zimmer enslaves a psychotic strangler and a taloned cabaret performer with the oh-so appropriate appellation Miss Death. With these two cat's-paws, she sets out to avenge her father on the three convention members she holds responsible for his demise. The picture has a roster of fine attributes that sets it way above the usual horror fare, including (and foremost, for this viewer) some sensationally gorgeous B&W photography by DOP Alejandro Ulloa, a mournful, outre and discordant jazz score by Daniel White, and a story that just keeps getting wilder as it proceeds. (The plot device of a woman going after the medical men she deems responsible for a loved one's death would be revisited by Franco in the far inferior film "She Killed In Ecstasy" in 1970.) In the roles of Irma and Nadia (Miss Death), Mabel Karr and Estella Blain are simply outstanding, and Franco regular Howard "Dr. Orloff" Vernon, as well as the director himself, offer amusing performances in lesser roles. The film is taut, exciting and really an incredible experience to sit through. Dare I say it: a Jess Franco horror masterpiece! This Mondo Macabro DVD comes with the usual bounteous array of extras, including an interview with "The Bad Boy of Spanish Cinema," Franco himself. The print looks great, offers excellent subtitling for the French-language soundtrack, and is a must for all fans of well-made Eurohorror. I, for one, loved it!
Witchfinder General 666
Jess Franco, who is (with over 180 directed films) probably the most prolific exploitation director of all-time, is far too often dismissed as a creator of nothing but worthless junk. It may be true that many of his films fall into that description, but fact is that Franco's amazing repertoire, especially that of is earlier years, includes several downright brilliant films. Such as "The Awful Dr. Orloff" (1962), "Venus In Furs" (1969) or "The Nights of Dracula" (1970). Or this sublime film. Along with Franco's first success, the earlier classic "Gritos En La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", 1962), "Miss Muerte" aka. "The Diabolical Dr. Z" (1966) is easily the greatest Franco film I've seen, an incredibly creepy, atmospheric and absolutely amazing gem that no lover of Horror or Cult-cinema could possibly consider missing."The Diabolical Dr. Z" follows "The Awful Dr. Orloff", and it even references the eponymous Doctor of the earlier film. The wheelchair-bound Dr. Z, to whom this film owes its English aka. title is only diabolical for about ten or fifteen minutes into the film, after which his daughter plans diabolical revenge through her father's successful experiments in mind-control, a serial killer escaped from death row, and the razor-sharp fingernails of a sexy exotic dancer named 'Miss Muerte'... The film delivers less sleaze than your typical Franco flick (which is, of course, due to the earlier release date), but stands out with an incredibly creepy Gothic atmosphere, fantastic settings, a brilliant score and an ingenious and genuinely morbid storyline. Antonio Jimenez Escribano is delightfully weird as the eponymous Dr. Z, and Mabel Karr is wonderfully malicious in the role of his vengeful daughter. The cast also includes Franco-regular Howard Vernon, who is always an enrichment for cult-cinema fans. The cast-member which is the most convincing reason to watch the film, of course, is the sexy 'Miss Muerte' herself, Estella Blain. Director Franco has a cameo as a police inspector. "The Diabolical Dr. Z" is eerily shot in Dark mansions, laboratories and old mansions and accompanied by a haunting score which intensifies the uncanny atmosphere. The storyline is ingenious and the characters are wonderfully demented. This truly is an immensely enjoyable gem for fans of Cult-Horror. I am tempted to give it the highest rating, but even without an extra star for personal delight, this is an absolutely awesome film that no Horror lover should miss. "Miss Muerte" comes with my highest recommendations and a more than well-deserved rating of 9 out of 10!
