diabolicaldrz Reviews

Del rosa al amarillo (1963)

Romantic classic!

[12 February 2008]

Strangely hard to find today, this little Spanish classic is definitely worth tracking down! Romantic and touching as few other movies, with a great cast, clever writing and a killer soundtrack.

The movie starts with the story of a young boy who's in love with the beautiful Margarita (played by my all time favorite actress, Cristina Galbó, the reason why I stumbled across this movie in the first place!). The story shows how this kid tries to get her attention, and later how he manages their relation. The ending is devastating, it even got a few tears from me! Excellent. The actor who plays the boy it's extremely talented, weird thing with child actors, and Cristina obviously shines in her first role. She would go into cult star status with later horror movies like La Residencia or Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. Of him I know very little about, but I'm sure I'll start digging his work now that I saw how much talent he has! Then comes the second story, about two mature people, both living in a asylum with very strict rules. They can't see each other, so they communicate with love letters. Most of the segment consists on them reading each others letters... It's very inspiring and romantic. It's definitely better written than the first chapter, and the acting is just as good.

Very recommended Spanish classic! Worthy for every fan of romantic dramas or horror fans curious enough to watch Cristina Galbó's debut.

Night Has a Thousand Desires (1984)

The Night of the 1000 Sexes...

[20 December 2007]

One of those obscure hypnotic efforts our beloved sleaze director Jesus Franco filmed after he returned to his natal Spain in the 80s. Full of surreal situations, very explicit sex and a naked Lina Romay wandering around. This one is actually one of his all-time bests. Beautifully filmed and very surreal, using to a great effect the Spanish locations, and the sight of the beautiful nude body of Lina Romay is enough to make this one a essential movie for fans of the sleaze master. The music score mix some of the cues from Female Vampire, along with a new one, also by Franco regular Daniel White. The plot is very similar to that of Franco's Nightmares Come at Night and Voodoo Passion, but in my opinion, this version surpasses those movies as it's a much more mature effort. Franco finally created a movie where reality melts into an erotic nightmare!

Similar to Macumba Sexual in style, this is a great surreal softcore-almost-bordering-on-hardcore erotic horror flick from Franco. A 8 out of 10.

Countess Perverse (1975)

The Most Erotic Game?

[20 December 2007]

One of the most popular and copied movies of all time, The Most Dangerous Game, gets a erotic remake by sleaze director Jess Franco. The idea sounds very daring and dangerous, but thankfully, The Perverse Countess is a complete winner! From the very hot girls on display (Lina Romay is pretty much naked through the whole movie... Shocking I know!) to the exciting horror elements, this one is a stylish masterpiece of the genre. The camera moves are pretty wild, and the locations are beautiful. The music score is very nice to listen at first also (although it gets a bit repetitive by the end...) The cast is pretty damn awesome also, full of Franco regulars. As the rich owners of the island where the game is played, Alice Arno shines in the role of the evil countess, while Howard Vernon plays her husband, in his usual charming self. The impossibly gorgeous Lina Romay plays the latter victim of the eccentric couple, while Tania Busselier from Ilsa: The Wicked Warden shows up to get naked somewhere.

Very recommended movie, as it's one of Franco's absolute best. It's sad this overlooked classic doesn't have a DVD release in ANY language...

Apocalipsis sexual (1982)

Lina Romay!!!

[20 December 2007]

Okay, so the only reason I stumbled this obscure Spanish XXX roughie was because my absolute favorite actress; the gorgeous, sexy, talented, hardcore, etc Lina Romay was on it. And I couldn't be more happy that I did. The movie is a very entertaining and sleazy porn with a interesting (for the genre!) plot and lots of rough sex. The cast is pretty good, with Ajita Wilson giving a nice performance. "She" is looking pretty hot also (especially when getting big pool cues through her behind...) But obviously the biggest reason to watch this one is for Lina. She's looking at her best here, performing hardcore of course. Viva Lina!!

Very recommended.

Nightmares Come at Night (1970)

Good erotic thriller by Franco

[5 August 2007]

Nightmares Come at Night isn't one of Jess Franco's most famous movies. And it's not his best either. But it really does deserves more attention than it gets. It's a very entertainment and erotic thriller starring the beautiful Diana Lorys (The Awful Dr. Orloff) and Paul Muller. The plot is about a woman (Anna) who starts having weird and scary nightmares of her killing people. To make things worse, the people in her dreams appear dead the next morning. Is Anna really going insane or she's the victim of a much more sinister plan? As I said before, this is not one of Franco's best films. It has an uneven pace, bad acting and he really waste the talent of actress Soledad Miranda, who appears in a tiny and incidental character. But the movie also has good things going on. The story is very worthy, there's a lot of nudity, there are some scenes that are very hypnotic and the score by Bruno Nicolai is brilliant (one of the best of his career in my opinion). The opening credits are a very nice touch also.

Very underrated Franco flick. A 7/10 from me.

Devil's Nightmare (1971)

Recommended piece of Euro trash

[30 July 2007]

The movie is about seven tourists who must spend the night in a creepy castle, because of bad weather. There, the owner tells them that a family curse preys upon the mansion. In the middle of the night, when they're having dinner, a strange woman appears (Erika Blanc). And here's when the movie starts to get real good. Sorry, no more spoilers. Watch the movie by yourself to find out what's going on.

This was a nice revelation! I wasn't really expecting much of it, but was pleasantly surprise. It's creepy and well made. The story is very original, the music is spectacular, there's a good amount of nudity as well (sorry, no Erika), and the steamy lesbian sequence is sure to please the sleaze crowd. The direction could have been better though (the camera work was sometimes too flashy and messy) and the acting (aside from the excellent Blanc) was very bad. A special mention deserves the excellent make-up Erika had when she played the succubus. Very well made and chilling.

A nice piece of Euro horror that gets a 8/10 from me.

Baba Yaga (1973)

Very interesting Euro horror

[30 July 2007]

I saw it last night for the first time and thought it was spectacular! Filled with style and inventive camera work that could leave Argento in shame, the movie had a bizarre, interesting story. The pace was slow and lethargic (similar to Franco's Succubus and Vampyros Lesbos); the music was excellent, including a melancholic jazz tune and a stylish rock score; and the acting was above average: Carroll Baker, as opposite of what many reviewers said, shines in the role of the evil witch (and looks very attractive also), and Isabelle de Funes was a nice revelation. Cult favorite George Eastman is also good in is supporting role. For the sleazy guys, there was also some mild S&M and some T&A, but nothing worth mention . Too bad the director only made this film, as he looked very talented. A 8/10 from me.

Women's Prison Massacre (1983)

Emanuelle by Bruno Mattei

[7 July 2007]

I saw this one a while ago and was really surprised by it I thought it was gonna be as bad as other Bruno Mattei flicks, but i was wrong. The last entry in the Black Emanuelle series is as good as Emanuelle in America (The best in my opinion) and maybe the best women in prison movie ever made (After Barbed Wire Dolls that is).

The plot is about a gang of murderers who take hostage a women's prison, where they rape and torture the girls as well as the guards. Our favorite female reporter is an innocent inmate who is being charged for a false drug possession.

The movie is very different from the Emanuelle series. For a start, there are very little sex scenes and the movie is hardly erotic. The violence is good and there are a few sleaze touches. The score is horrible (in the best possible way) and the acting is so over the top you'll have a laugh at it.

My only complaint is that Laura Gemser doesn't get naked at all, but still very recommended. 9/10

The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970)

Essential view if you're into the incredible word of giallo!

[7 July 2007]

This unusual giallo starring Dagmar Lassander (Hatchet for the Honeymoon- The House by the Cemetery) and Susan Scott (Death Walks at Midnight- Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals) is one of the best of the genre! The movie follows a middle age married woman (Minou) who is almost raped by a psycho inform her that her husband is a murderer. The madman blackmails Minou into sleeping with him. A few days later she receives a letter with photos of her and the blackmailer in bed together! The movie is unusual to the giallo as it doesn't have violent murders or explicit nudity. Instead, director Luciano Ercoli (Death Walks on High Heels- Death Walks at Midnight) give us an interesting story, a lot of style, wonderful Ennio Morricone score, and great acting by the four leads in a film that will keep you interested till the end .

Very recommended if you are into the wonderful world of giallo. 9/10.

The Psychic (1977)

Lucio Fulci's best movie

[7 July 2007]

This underrated giallo is probably Lucio Fulci's best movie. Without his usual gorie style, the film is about a clairvoyant woman, Virginia (Played by Jennifer O'Neill- Scanners), who has a vision of a murder that happened years ago. When she goes to her new husband's country house, she finds out that it's the same place she saw on her vision. So she smashes one of the walls of the house and finds a skeleton in it. Now the police think Virginia's husband is the murderer. But she doesn't think the same and does everything possible to prove he's innocent, so she start to investigate (giallo style of course)- Sadly ignored at the time of it's release (Maybe because it has almost no blood and no nudity), the film is filled with suspense, especially after the hour mark. It has a great storyline and above average acting. The score deserves a special mention as it is arguably the best giallo music ever, even beating Goblin's Deep Red. Recommended to anyone who likes the giallo genre, Lucio Fulci's fans and people who think he's a hack. Definitely a 10/10.

Women in Cellblock 9 (1978)

Entertainment women in prison flick

[7 July 2007]

Released almost at the end of the infamous collaboration between Jess Franco and Erwin C. Dietrech, Women in Cellblock 9 is a entertainment women in prison flick starring the gorgeous Karine Gambier, the innocent looking young actress Susan Hemingway and the great Howard Vernon.

The movie follows a group of women lead by Karine Gambier, who are captured and send to a tropical prison. In there, a female warden and the sadistic Dr. Costas (Vernon) force the girls into revealing the secrets of the organization they belong. But the women won't talk, so they torture them in various ways. After the ladies can't take it anymore, the try to escape the prison, starting a battle to survive.

While no as sleazy as Barbed Wire Dolls (1975), the movie features some good torture sequences and a lot of female nudity, to satisfy all exploitation fans. Definitely worth a look. 7/10

El ojete de Lulú (1986)

Hilarious Franco porn

[7 July 2007]

By 1986, the legendary exploitation director Jess Franco was back to his home land, Spain. In there, he was given all creative freedom. This lead to some of the best films of his career (Macumba Sexual, Cries of Pleasure and Mil Sexos tiene la Noche), but also, during this period, he directed some of the worst (Oasis of the Zombies, Revenge in the House of Usher, Mansion of the Living Dead). Somewhere in between lies this hilarious hardcore porn effort. Starring his wife Lina Romay, the movie introduce us a very interesting character: Lulú's talking ass, who is unhappy because his pal, Lulú's vagina is the only one getting all the action! Yeah, that's the movie basic plot. Very amusing. But the movie falls flat with the hardcore scenes. Most of them are not very interesting and the actors aren't in the best shape (except Lina, who no matter what, always looks incredible).

Recommended if only for one memorable scene where Lina uses an Oscar statue for giving herself pleasure. Priceless! 6/10.

Mansion of the Living Dead (1982)

Not Franco's best

[1 July 2007]

I had high hopes for this one. After watching the excellent Macumba Sexual (Made around the same time, with the same locations and most of the same actors) I was expecting this one to be as good as that one. But it wasn't. Mansion of the Living Dead is one of the worst movies Jess Franco ever directed. The plot had potential, but it's not handle well. The pace is very slow and even the sex scenes drag a bit. Also, the make up of the monks is awful!

But the movie also have some good things, like the beautiful, paradise-like beach, which gives the film a certain atmosphere, very creepy in some scenes. Also good is lead actress Lina Romay, looking very hot especially in the scenes where she walks completely naked through the hotel.

From the boring sex scenes (I can't believe I just say that!) to the embarrassing attempt to create a story make this movie one of Franco's worst. Not recommended at all. Check out "Macumba Sexual" (1983) or "Gemidos de Placer" (1983) instead.

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977)

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977)

[1 July 2007]

The fifth part of the Black Emanuelle series starring Laura Gemser is, along with Emanuelle in America, the most of famous of them all. And with a good reason: The movie is a entertainment mix of softcore sex, "extreme" gore and adventure epic! The plot goes like this: While doing an undercover work in a mental hospital, Emanuelle discovers a girl who seems to have been raised by a cannibal tribe. She decides to go to the Amazonian jungle and there she finds that the supposedly extinct tribe is very much alive and the massacre starts! Even if the movie has a typical "cannibal flick" plot, and the gore is a bit restrained (but amusing to watch), the purpose of the movie is to show as much nudity as you can in a 90 minutes movie. And in that, the movie doesn't disappoint a bit. The main actresses are all very attractive, especially Laura Gemser and Euro horror regular Susan Scott (Death Walks at Midnight).

On a side note, the soundtrack of this one is pure gold! Written by Nico Fidenco, the catchy main tune is very effective.

It's not as good as Emanuelle in America, but I still recommend this to anyone who likes 70s exploitation cinema! 7/10