Paroxismus (I shall refer to it as the American title Venus In Furs) is without a doubt Franco's masterpiece. Succubus comes close, and Love Letter of a Portuguese Nun is pretty good, but in terms of style and content, Venus in Furs is Franco at his best. It's a jazzy, hallucinatory, frightening drug haze of a film which is filled with sometimes unintentionally funny dated dialogue ("It was like she was on some crazy, drugged-out trip. But, hey, if that was her bag, then I was cool with it.") Venus in Furs is also filled with strange imagery which lingers in your mind like a horrible nightmare. And the ending is absolutely wonderful! Forget all the retro seventies crap out there now, if you want to see how the seventies were really like, check out this flick! Oh yeah, and it also has a cool soundtrack, complete with lounge music. And, hey, if it's your bag, then I'm cool with it!
Review of Venus in Furs
