unbrokenmetal The young and idealistic Dr Johnson (Fred Williams) proudly presents his work with human embryos, but has his expectations crushed by 4 experts (Howard Vernon, Paul Muller, Ewa Strömberg and Jess Franco himself) who ridicule the work of his lifetime and destroy his experiments. Dr Johnson commits suicide, and his widow (Soledad Miranda) decides she will kill the 4 enemies of her husband - in interesting ways. Meanwhile she keeps the body of the doctor and continues to talk to him as if he were still alive...A thriller with a remarkable straightforward story for a Jess Franco movie. Soledad Miranda is scorching the screen, the director gives her plenty of opportunity to stare with her dark eyes at her future victims. Not even a silly blond wig can damage her maniacal presence. The jazzy lounge music contributes a lot to the freaky atmosphere, but also the locations near Alicante/Spain are beautifully chosen. The only weak point to me is the role of the police inspector (Horst Tappert), because he seems to do a really lazy and sloppy investigation, considering there are several murder cases. Oh, and maybe it's the only time in cinema history that a car falls down a cliff and just breaks apart, it doesn't explode like it's full of dynamite - movie cliché avoided. Most likely it were only the costs which mattered, though.

Flixer1957 A young doctor experiments with fusing animal and human embryos, which incurs the wrath of the ruling medical board. They humiliate him and banish him; he then goes berserk and kills himself. After a decent interval of mourning, his widow–-played to the sultry hilt by Soledad Miranda–goes all-out for revenge. She's determined to wipe out all those bad doctors–male and female–who did her hubby wrong.Most of the killings involve Miranda using her (considerable) womanly wiles to seduce her victims before slashing or stabbing them. (One scene, however, would have us believe that it only takes 20 seconds to smother someone to death.) Once the slaying starts–about 30 minutes into the movie–things move along at a rapid clip. (Possibly a bad choice of words considering what our Black Widow does to her male victims afterward.) In any case, this rampage gives us many shots of Miranda's beautiful bod. Female viewers, meanwhile, can enjoy the scenes of Jess Franco shirtless and Howard Vernon in the buff. And everybody can amuse themselves by counting the spelling errors in the English subtitles, or relaxing to a music score better suited to a nightclub than a horror movie.The tired old "crime does not pay" ending involves some of the worst deductive reasoning I've heard on-screen. It's also oddly prophetic, considering what happened to Soledad Miranda in real life.

Thorsten_B For a film directed by Jess Franco (disguised under the alias "Frank Hollmann"), this one has a surprisingly straight forward narrative. Filmed on great locations (both concerning landscapes and architecture) and presented on the DVD in splendid picture quality, Francos delivers a fast-paced and entertaining interpretation of a common theme: the vengeful lady. No doubt much of the film owes to Francois Truffauts "La Mariée était en Noir"; but whereas Truffauts bride aims at revenge only, Francos heroine (as pretty as they usually are) mixes vendetta with arousal. Attention, spoilers ahead: If you ever wanted to see a nude 56year old Howard Vernon (but who would?) this one is the flick to rent. In a particularly bizarre scene Vernons character undresses and goes to bed with what he believes to be a prostitute; before things go further (with Vernon, Francos veteran associate, playing a highly ethical physician demanding to be insulted during the intercourse) comes a prayer... The director has a trademark cameo and so has German cult figure Horst Tappert, playing – as always – the leading policeman. There's also some lesbianism involved (resulting in one girl suffocating the other with a transparent plastic pillow!), but violence is relatively moderate. Some aspects of cadrage are of interest: The picture shows not what the protagonists hands are doing (although these doings are important for the plot), but at first only their faces, then slightly enlarging the view. Of the many films Franco made I own about twenty; of the ones I already saw, this is probably the one with the clearest storyline and the most focused storytelling. Not original, but neatly done, entertaining and still a true Franco.

bababear Jess Franco isn't known as a great artist, but he is one busy boy. In half a century he's directed 187 films under a variety of different names.Sundance Channel is presenting SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY this month and it's really rather enjoyable. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but I do appreciate that it has subtitles instead of being dubbed.Dr. Johnson and his gorgeous wife (Soledad Miranda) live in a house the size of a multi-story office building on a cliff overlooking the sea. He wants to break the frontiers of conventional medicine to help humanity, but winds up being barred from practicing medicine.In a major funk, he slashes his wrists. His widow vows revenge on the medical establishment.OK. There's the basis for solid drama. Not original, since the themes are timeless. But you can still work with it.The four doctors she targets have, between them, a room temperature IQ. All the better to trap and destroy them.But here's a major continuity problem. Just what is the time structure here? The action would seem to cover days or even weeks. But although Dr. Johnson's death is common knowledge his body is still in the house. His color stays good, no sign of decay, no flies buzzing around. The four targets aren't from this unnamed city: they're staying at a hotel. Why are they still in town?This being European and coming from 1971 you know that there will be zoom lenses a popping'. One scene, though, actually has some creative camera work. It's set in a hotel lobby. One of the men she's pursuing is sitting. We see Mrs. Johnson reflected in a huge mirror, and the camera fluidly zooms in and out so we see the faces of both parties without any cutting. There's a humorous scene (did Franco intend it to be funny?) without dialogue as she pursues him up a flight of stairs. He goes into his room, slams the door, and she's already inside on the bed wearing a silly wig. Huh?All things considered, Ms. Miranda's performance is good. It's a difficult part: in many scenes she's alone on screen silently staring ahead. A good part of the film finds her in varying degrees of nudity. Sadly, this is her last film: she died in a car wreck before the film was released.Just to help us remember that this is from 1971, there's a throbbing soundtrack of "psychedelic" music with a sitar (or a guitar or keyboard sounding like one) giving a Purple Haze atmosphere.The print Sundance Channel obtained is in great shape. The colors are sharp and clear, as is the soundtrack.Don't go expecting high art, but you just might enjoy SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY.