Orloff and the Invisible Man – French poster
I've definitely watched Orloff and the Invisible Man — or whatever other title you know it under — but I have zero memory of it. I think I might have liked it. Either way, I love this purple-drenched French poster for it!
Mansion of the Living Dead (1985)
Like most Franco efforts, Mansion of the Living Dead is fucking insane. There is no mansion in the film. And the living dead feel like an afterthought. Grimy bush munching and scenes of sadism take priority over the horror.
Lulu’s Talking Ass (1986)
Lulu's Talking Ass takes the talking pussy framework of Le Sexe qui parle (1975), but moves the Look Who's Talking abilities a few centimetres next door.
Jess Franco plays with a chicken head
I'm a huge fan of A Virgin Among the Living Dead. There are many reasons why, and one of them is the role director Jess Franco gives himself: a horrible creep whose vocal abilities consist only of incomprehensible wails and grunts.
A Virgin Among the Living Dead – French poster
A Virgin Among the Living Dead being a rather sombre film, this lurid poster isn't exactly the best representation of its content. But who cares?! It's amazing!
Thanks, Jean-René Gossart!
Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing Golden Temple Amazons (1986), a synth-fueled piece of silliness directed by Alain Payet and an uncredited Jess Franco (apparently his contribution was very small). The film is plenty entertaining; its highlight being a demented performance from Jean-René Gossart. I have no idea who Gossart is. Looking at his...
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
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,...
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)
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
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...
Toilet friendships from Ilsa: The Wicked Warden
A truly beautiful scene depicting friendships in a women’s prison courtesy of Jess Franco’s 1977 classic, “Ilsa: The Wicked Warden”. You either love the Ilsa films or you don’t. I love them. [youtube=http://youtu.be/ezDnYKoq7EU&w=540]
