Having been previously disappointed by both "Succubus" and "The Virgin Among the Living Dead", "Venus in Furs" came as a pleasant surprise, and establishes the director, at least in my book, as a truly visionary auteur. As seen in "Succubs", Franco relies mostly on imagery, symbolism and music to it's seemingly plot less story. These elements are, however, essential for a film such as this, where "style" becomes "substance", which consists basically on creating a visual representation of a musician's nightmarish fantasies, much like in Dario Argento's "Deep Red". That being said, the film's style doesn't really owe a lot to Argento, but rather to another important Italian director - Federico Fellini. Franco's attempt to enter an artist's subconscious during a personal crisis, is hardly any different to that of Marcello Mastroianni in "8 1/2", only with a considerable amount of horrific elements and sleaze added into the mix. As I've said before, music is one of the key element to "Venus in Furs", as it enhances it symbolizes the world the protagonist has submerged into. Accompained by a unique visual style which recalls both the works of German expressionism and 60's psychedelia, music replaces it's few but surprisingly poorly written dialog (which is almost entirely a voice-over monologue by lead actor James Darren), in symbolizing character's emotions and situations they find themselves in. Though the 'written words' are secondary in Franco's world, and this one in particular, the characters are very well written and surprisingly likable. James Darren is as confused as the audience in his Chet Baker-inspired role, and perfectly conveys the feeling of being a strange in his own universe. Klaus Kinski is a memorable villain as always, and almost reminiscent to his performance as Count Dracula in Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu, the Vampyr". Maria Rohm is a fine replacement to Soledad Miranda, and her performance of a speechless, gorgeous but vengeful 'evil spirit' is as unforgettable as her Spanish counterpart. Yet it is Margaret Lee who really outdoes Rohm as the other important female figure in the picture, as a very pitiable, lonely and equally beautiful antagonist. Last but not least, Barbara McNair is lovingly charismatic as the a-little-too-friendly Rita, whose small role might be important than it seems. Nevertheless, the performances have been criticized for being a bit dull, but I think it makes the film's bizarre, trippy universe even weirder, as well as giving some interesting hints as to understanding it's purposely ambiguous finale. For all it's cons, that are easily forgiven by it's pros, the film is a 8/10 near-masterpiece.