markwood272 Saw via DVD 7/23/17. One of Franco's best works, in a class with the best of Mario Bava or Dario Argento. The film is his distinctly personal take on the myth of the animated (or re-animated) as homunculus (cf. Caligari, Golem, Frankenstein). The movie achieves strong pathos when the young heiress encounters the monster, a Freudian moment combining the beauty of Agnes Spaak with the terror of a vintage Lon Chaney reveal. The cinematic technique is assured, with especially masterful use of lighting and camera angles. The black and white photography is as visually striking as Franco's Eastmancolor "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971). Anticipates Lynch while looking back at Franju's "Eyes Without A Face"(1959) with maybe some Antonioni thrown in here and there – who knows? As in the other Franco movies I've enjoyed, great soundtrack and music, with the master himself in a keyboard cameo in a jazz dive. Essential film for Francophiles, but maybe also a good starter work for viewers simply wanting a break from Bunuel (yes, they met, according to this website).

Nigel P Depending on which version of this film's title you prefer, this Jess Franco picture might well be seen as a return to the character of Doctor Orloff, originally played so brilliantly by Howard Vernon in 'The Awful Doctor Orloff'(1962). As someone who became familiar with Franco's work through his later, gaudier 'exploitation' pictures, these earlier entries are a revelation – truly he was masterful at weaving horror atmospherics, a truly talented director of unnerving imagery, using stark black and white to its fullest advantage.Interspersed with several cabaret scenes – a favourite distraction of Franco and one that would crop up in many subsequent projects – this appears to be the story of lovely Melissa (Agnès Spaak), who travels to a superbly realised sinister family castle owned by her Uncle Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui). She has been lead to believe her father Andros (Hugo Blanco) died there recently – except that her uncle has turned him into a somnambulistic zombie who sleeps upright in a glass coffin. That's what zombies do, of course? Andros is given the full horror treatment in all ways but one. Direction, sinister musical cues, creepy lighting lay the chills on thick – and yet the make-up is far too subtle to justify the screams of hysterical fear that greet his stumbling confrontations with various characters.Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui is not hugely effective as Jekyll – he lacks any of the restrained sense of power Vernon had, and Manuel (Pepe Rubio) is occasionally rather irritating as Melissa's love interest (as juvenile boyfriend characters often are), but the acting is rarely less than adequate. The characters are not as important as the atmosphere Franco weaves, and the sinister world of 'Orloff' is pleasingly recreated – whatever the main character calls himself.

Claudio Carvalho The teenager Melissa (Agnès Spaak) travels from her small town in Austria with the Spanish Juan Manuel (José Rubio), who flirts with her, to the creepy castle of her uncle Dr. Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita- Jáuregui) in Holfen to spend Christmas with him and her aunt Inglud (Luisa Sala). Melissa's father Andros (Hugh White) has mysteriously died at the house of his brother Conrad sometime ago. Now she has just reached majority and Conrad intends to transfer the inheritance to her. Melissa is received by the servant Ciceron (Manuel Guitián) and she meets the strange Inglud. Then she meets Conrad in his laboratory, where he secretly carries out a sinister experiment. Melissa wants to get information about the death of her father but she is ignored by Conrad and Inglud. In the past, Andros and Inglud had a love affair and Conrad surprised them and killed Andros. Now, Conrad has turned Andros into a killer zombie controlled by ultrasonic radio wave and uses him to kill women with easy life. Inspector Klein (Pastor Serrador) is investigating the murders but has no clue. Will Melissa find the truth about her father?"El secreto del Dr. Orloff" is one of the best movies by Jess Franco in the earlier stage of his uneven filmography. The story is simple but makes sense; the acting is not bad but unfortunately Marcelo Arroita- Jáuregui is weak for a villain; and the black and white cinematography and the camera angles are top-notch. The music score by Daniel White is perfect for the atmosphere of this film. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "As Amantes do Dr. Jekyll" ("The Mistresses of the Dr. Jejyll")

MARIO GAUCI The second "Orloff" movie is apparently unrelated to the first (a re-acquaintance with which will follow): in fact, this name is omnipresent throughout Franco's filmography; anyway, it is more or less on the same level of THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS (1962) – even if I watched ORLOFF in English rather than French (or, for that matter, the original Spanish language). Again, Franco shows to be fairly adept with genre conventions and even manages to blend them relatively easily with a modern-day setting – still, he cannot help being himself and resist incorporating nightclub performances (in fact, this rather lazily makes the artistes themselves the victims so that we get a song every 20 minutes or so!) and, inevitably, erotic overtones.Incidentally, Howard Vernon (the actor most associated with the Orloff role) is sorely missed here – the character himself is only of secondary importance and appears very briefly – but the memorable Morpho figure, a disfigured zombie-like creature obeying its master's will (not unlike Cesare from the German Expressionist landmark THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI {1920}), is now assumed by Andros. The latter – played by Hugo Blanco, the villainous latest member of the Von Klaus family and whose brooding good looks suit his mute stalker here – is perversely turned into a monster (hence the title, though the print actually bears the absurd moniker DR. JEKYLL'S MISTRESSES - which would, in any case, have better suited Walerian Borowczyk's masterful 1981 film, DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES!) by his own scientist brother (Vernon's bearded, rather gruff replacement and saddled with the peculiar surname of Fisherman) when he catches him in bed with his own wife (she, of course, also pays for her infidelity by being driven to the bottle).However, the plot this time around is decidedly contrived: we never learn why Andros (who sleeps upright in a class cage, as Cesare himself did albeit in a wooden-box) is sent on a murderous rampage – after being revived, and subsequently controlled, by sound-waves – every once in a while (most effectively when he nonchalantly moves through a crowded nightspot following yet another attack). The "Digitally Obsessed" website review suggests the reason for the various killings is because Fisherman wanted to get even with his spouse…but this is hardly EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), is it?! Similarly, the heroine – the monster's daughter, whom she believed was dead and buried (at one point, he even visits his own grave!) – turns up to stay with the central family only so that we get the obligatory damsel-in-distress and add an admittedly refreshing touch of pathos to Andros' condition; Agnes Spaak, sister of the more famous Catherine(!), appears in this part. On the other hand, the girl's bland male counterpart is extremely annoying, and the presence of the Police basically only serves to keep the audience abreast of the villains' eventual apprehension.