May 26, 2003

In this section we’ll be reviewing DVDs from other countries. More often that not, these won’t be playable on American players. One will need an all region DVD player. However, more and more genre fans are seeking out such equipment. The American format is NTSC Region 1 or 0 (aka all region). However, other countries can be PAL, instead of NTSC, and regions can go from one through 6. DVDs aren’t that difficult to find. There are many sites which offer titles from other countries. My two favorites are Diabolik DVD and Xploited. Both have strong inventory, reasonable prices, and fast/friendly service. Before buying an import DVD, make sure your home system can play it.


Being a Jess Franco fan these days is a great thing. Not only is the controversial Spanish director still alive and working (only Takashi Miike cranks out more films per year than Mr. Franco), but a week rarely goes by that some older Jess Franco titles don’t resurface on DVD. Considering, Franco has directed over 200 movies, we’ve got a lot to catch up with, so keep ‘em coming. Pay close attention to the reviews below, as the VIP titles, which were done for Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich, are NTSC Region 0, meaning they can be played on any American system. They also look and sound great, as Dietrich has put a lot of time and money into their restoration. The extras are great,too--especially the featurette on the restoration process. Absolutely fascinating. The Euro Shock titles don’t come close in the extras department, but, in their favor, they do have incredible four page booklet’s with rare stills from the films. Now you can actually own photographs of Katja Bienert and Ursula Buchfellner! We’ve got more Jess Franco import DVDs to review in future weeks. Plus, check out our domestic DVD reviews. One will find probably close to a couple of dozen Jess Franco reviews.

Barbed Wire Dolls aka Frauengefangnis (1975. VIP. Directed by Jess Franco. Cast: Lina Romay, Monica Swinn, and Paul Muller. NTSC Region 0. 1.85:1 enhanced for 16x9 TVs. English, German & French mono. 81 minutes. Extras: Collection of video interviews, featurette about the Restoration of the film, trailer, Cast & Crew bios, stills gallery, and trailers for other VIP films.). Another solid WIP feature from Jess Franco. Maria da Guerra is having a tough time. After killing her father who was trying to rape her, the judge sentenced her to life in prison. Her new home is run by a sadistic lesbian warden--who, when she isn’t coming up with some new tortures, is trying to seduce her more attractive prisoners (like in most Franco women in prison films, there’s never a shortage in that department). The usual things are on hand, corrupt politicians, cat fighting, shower scenes, torture, lesbian encounters, some gore, et al. However, this has more artistic leanings, not unlike, let’s say, Jonathan Demme’s Caged Heat, than other movies of this ilk. There’s a real sense of desperation here. One feels it’s bleakness. Long before we come to it’s “down” conclusion, the viewer knows there’s not much hope for those who live behind these prison walls. Monica Swinn is excellent as the warden. One of Jess Franco’s crowning moments.

Bloody Moon (1980. Euro Shock. Directed by Jess Franco. Cast: Olivia Pascal, Christopher Moosbrugger, Alexander Waechter, and Nadia Gerganol. PAL Region 2. Fullscreen. English Mono. 82 minutes. Extras: trailer, slideshow, and booklet). Jess Franco has directed every kind of film--musicals, comedies, porn, erotica, zombies, cannibals, vampires, gothic horror, science fiction, etc., so one knows he must have an all out slasher film to his credit. Bloody Moon is that slasher film. It’s a fairly typical, although still entertaining, body count movie. Girls are mysteriously being murdered and just returning home from a couple of years in the psycho ward for attacking some young girls is the mentally challenged nephew of the rich Contessa. Guess who is the leading suspect? The story might not be overly original, but there are a few imaginative death scenes and Franco keeps things moving at a fairly brisk pace. Plus, it might be derivative--but it’s not devoid of suspense. Bloody Moon’s only real drawback is its horrible disco soundtrack. Close your ears to that monotonous beat and you can certainly have fun with Bloody Moon.

Ilsa The Wicked Warden (1977. VIP. Directed by Jess Franco. Cast: Dyanne Thorne, Lina Romay, and Tania Busselier. NTSC Region 0. 1.85:1 enhanced for 16x9 TVs. English, German, French, and Italian Mono. 94 minutes. Extras: collection of interviews, featurette about the restoration of the film, trailer, cast/crew biographies, stills gallery, and trailers for other VIP DVDs.). Let’s set the record straight, this is not another sequel to the Ilsa WIP saga. But, it does start Dyanne Thorne, as a sadistic, nasty, Nazi, prison warden--so it’s close enough. She seems to be wearing much of the same wardrobe, too. This time, her character’s name is Greta Del Pino. The name might be different but she still gets her kicks from a number of imaginative ways of torture. The sister of one of the prisoners, convinces an understanding doctor (played by Jess Franco), to get her sentenced to the jail. Talk about sisterly love, the girl was beaten, raped, and humiliated and that’s by her fellow prisoners. Just wait to you see what the sadistic guards got to do. Since this is an “unofficial” Ilsa movie, it’s not included in the recently released Ilsa box set. My suggestion is you follow my lead, buy the box and this, too. All four are grindhouse classics.

Linda (1980. EuroShock. Directed by Jess Franco. Cast: Katja Bienert, Ursula Buchfellner, Raquel Evans, Bea Fiedler, and Otto Retzer. PAL Region 2. Widescreen. English Mono. 78 minutes. Extras: trailer, slideshow, and booklet). Betsy (Ursula Buchfellner) is working in an upscale Spanish hotel. She’s totally unaware that her boss (Raquel Evans) also owns the country’s most infamous brothel. One thing leads to another (don’t want to ruin too much of the plot, I’d rather you buy this DVD) and Betsy is now forced into prostitution. Along comes sister Linda (Katja Bienert) for a visit. Confused, she begins a search to find the missing Betsy. What she finds isn’t pretty (unless we’re talking about the large number of attractive actresses in Linda.), but it doesn’t keep her from losing focus. For that matter, Jess Franco even keeps the camera in focus (most of the time anyway). This is a solid Jess Franco film which makes excellent use of sleazy situations, nice locations, and a strong cast--Ursula Buchfellner and Katja Biernert together are more than enough reason to pick up the Linda DVD.

Sadomania (1980. EuroShock. Directed by Jess Franco. Cast: Ajita Wilson, Ursula Buchfellner, Robert Foster, Jess Franco, Gina Janssen, Andrew Duzoni, Uta Koepke, and Otto Reizer. PAL Region 2. Widescreen. English Mono. 87 minutes. Extras: trailer, slideshow, and booklet.). This is one Jess Franco title which had always eluded me. Was the wait worth it? Definitely. Sadomania is a twisted, tasteless WIP flick that should more than satisfy anyone who collects this exploitation sub-genre. The story takes place in a mysterious South American country, where life is cheap--especially if you’re a woman. Ajita Wilson (who according to legend began life as a man!) is the lesbian warden. Her prison is full of mostly beautiful women, who somehow keep their looks even though they’re forced into hard labor or, for those who are lucky, prostitution. Then, there’s Governor Mendoza (cult fave Robert Foster), who has special needs. He stops by the prison to find a girl who might be able to help his wife and he get over their sexual problems. One knows this place is crazy, as in the opening minutes we see a happy newlywed couple being arrested. He’s released, she (Uta Koepke) must stay--maybe forever. Of course, they should’ve taken care of him because he’s now free to rescue all those inside. All the usual prison clichés help fill out the plot. The actors/actresses do a fine job, Franco’s direction is relatively straight forward, and there are several cult favorites in the cast. Besides the aforementioned Robert Foster, Ajita Wilson, and Uta Koepke, Sadomania also stars the beautiful Ursula Buchfellner. Order it now!