Franco Week
Jack the Ripper - Swiss poster

Jack the Ripper – Swiss poster

In 1976, Jess Franco gave the world his version of Jack the Ripper starring the movie industry’s scummiest man, Klaus Kinski. As of writing this, I’m yet to see Jack the Ripper, but this poster that incorporates preliminary designs by Charles Copeland is phenomenal. Movie: Jack the Ripper Director: Jess Franco Country of movie: Germany/Switzerland...
Doudou

Doudou

There’s nothing worse than bad comedy. Unless that comedy is so horribly unfunny that it becomes the funniest thing ever. In this scene from Faceless, Jess Franco demonstrates his comedic chops with perhaps the most painfully unfunny scene ever, which of course makes it the funniest scene ever. Franco gives us a wailing homosexual stereotype,...
Tender Flesh (1997)

Tender Flesh (1997)

I’ve always been a little too nervous to delve into Jess Franco’s post-80s output. I’ve heard terrible, terrible things about these latter day efforts, even from the toughest of Francophiles. But surely, surely, with so many films from this period, there must be a few good ones. Killer Barbys (1996) has its share of supporters...
The Music of Jess Franco

The Music of Jess Franco

News of Jess Franco recent death has hit many cult films fan hard. Of his truly epic directorial output, I have personally seen a paltry amount. Of those I’ve seen however, a mark was definitely left. Films such as Vampyros Lesbos, 99 Women, The Awful Dr. Orloff  and A Virgin Among the Living Dead were important...
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)

Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)

I’ve decided to use Franco Week, Mondo Exploito‘s week long tribute to the late Jess Franco, as an opportunity to watch some Franco films that have been gathering dust on my “to watch” list. Kind of selfish, yes, but I also don’t think that any Mondo Exploito reader needs to read an article telling them...
Jess Franco

Jess Franco

Like many horror and exploitation fans, I was saddened to hear of the death of the legendary Jesús “Jess” Franco last week. While I’ve haven’t enjoyed everything the man made, his unbelievable output of almost two-hundred films has always impressed me. Among that incredible stack of films, there’s many gems – far more than most...