The films of Spanish director Jess Franco can be a hard
sell for average film watchers. No matter what film you chose as an entry point,
Franco's work is too often a mighty fine cure for insomnia. I understand this
problem. I'm not one of the many fans of his movies who is enamored of the long
dull stretches in which we watch people smoke in jazz clubs while brooding
about their horrible feelings of ennui. Long, languid scenes of bored people
acting tired can be of interest for a minute or two but stretched to feature
length it begs the question - "What are we doing here?" I need Franco
to do something with his camera and since his obsessions and mine overlap in
some areas - naked women, old horror tales, pulp adventure stories, monster
movies, etc - he occasionally crafts something that keeps my attention for the
full runtime. Such is the case here where Uncle Jess is playing with the classic
monster characters beloved by generations of horror fans the world over. If he
sticks to the tropes of a typical monster story will it serve as a good launching
pad to Franco fandom for the 'normal' film viewer? If it deals with the legend
of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein can it keep tedium at bay? As with all things in
his huge back catalog, only time- and the individual watcher's curiosity- will
tell.
Franco’s take on the Frankenstein legend is unusual, of
course, with nods to both Universal Studios' classics of the 1930's and the
more colorful British Hammer efforts if the 1960's mixed with a few cocktails
and a possible hit of acid. The title in question, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, now arrives on Blu-ray in its full strength, director-preferred French version
complete with English subtitles with the option of the English dub track as well.
This release may come as a relief for long time Franco-files even if there are
still several other versions out there on the gray market to keep them hunting
if they wish. Of course, most Jess Franco movies have multiple versions
originally created for different countries' specific cinema laws and the in
depth study of alternate edits is a hobby for many Euro-Cult fanatics, so maybe
this Blu-Ray just marks the latest chapter to be added to the story.
Although this is a film inspired by the classic monster
films of years gone by, it's the erotic aspect of the proceedings that is
highlighted throughout. We are introduced to an older, heavier than normal
version of Baron Frankenstein played by the slumming Dennis Price. He has just electrically
shocked his odd looking silver skinned monster to life and we witness the
creature's cries of pain as it calls out for the doctor to stop. I'm not the
first to notice that the idea of a man creating life without a female as part
of the equation is fascinating in many ways and the monster's begging for
relief in this sequence plays into those disturbing ideas of the horrors of an
unnatural birth all too well. Soon after this Frankenstein’s castle lab is attacked
by the henchman Caronte (Luis Barboo) and a cannibalistic bird woman named
Melissa (the gorgeous Anne Libert). Melissa is blind and only has a few green
feathers glued to her naked body to indicate her freakish nature - although her
set of long claws are a giveaway that she might be more than just a crazy woman
with a cape and feather fetish. Caronte and Melissa leave Frankenstein for dead
and take the stolen monster to the castle of their master Cagliostro (the
legendary Howard Vernon). Cagliostro is an evil, apparently undead magician who
can control minds and who is on the hunt for a new body in which to place his
immortal mind.
The presumed dead Frankenstein is found by his daughter Vera
(Beatriz Savón) who arrives at Castle Frankenstein just a little too late to
save him. Being a Frankenstein though she reanimates her father using his own
electrical shock therapy which allows him just enough energy to fill her (and
us) in on the whole 'monster on the loose and under the control of Cagliostro
scenario'. Also in the mix is Dr. Seward (Albert Dalbés) who spoke to
Frankenstein before his death and knows about the monster so he’s now paying
visits on Vera in an attempt to get his hands on the creature for himself. Vera
tracks down the monster in mid abduction of an artist’s model but she can't
maintain control of the creature and so Frankenstein’s creation is soon back in
control of Cagliostro. At this point there is a try at creating a female being to
mate with the monster using another abducted woman from the nearby town but
that goes badly. Soon all hell breaks loose as the various players make their
stabs at getting what they want from the clever Cagliostro as the magician
moves to set himself up for occupation of his next body. Who will survive?
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein is a bizarre film no matter
how you chose to approach it. It must be one of the oddest variations on Mary
Shelley’s most famous piece of fiction with its oblique storyline, strange
visuals and it's odd sexualization of several characters. This isn't the first
film to add a daughter to Doctor Frankenstein's family line but it is the first
to also add Cagliostro and a nude, blind, bird-woman to the proceedings. Not
that I'm complaining, mind you. Variety is the spice of life and, in my
opinion, cinema as well so adding bizarre elements only increases my interest. Not
that everything is pulled off effectively. The most obvious knocks against the
movie is that it is incredibly cheap, sloppy, tasteless and usually pretty
crude but I think that Franco sometimes makes these things work in his favor.
Granted, the entire affair is often just plain weird but, like walking down the
main drag of a freak show, it's never boring! You hardly know where to look for
the next crazed sight.
This was the second Monster Rally film Franco made with most
of the same cast and, if memory serves, the better of the two even if I kind of
prefer seeing
Vernon
playing Dracula. Franco was a master of finding gorgeous locations in which to
film his poverty ridden productions and The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein shows
that skill off to good effect. He was always taking a risk whenever he set his
stories in the past but he mostly pulls it off here if you overlook some too
modern machinery in the lab and an occasional sighting of streetlights behind
the actors. Of course, there are things that can't be overlooked entirely like
the monster’s Karloff styled square-head make-up showing its seams and his
shiny metallic body paint rubbing off of the sweaty actor in a few scenes. As
for the other actors, I can only imagine what was going through Anne Libert's
head as she paraded around a gothic castle nearly nude, waving feathered arms
and squawking to communicate. She was certainly game for anything, it seems. Dennis
Price looks pale and bloated in his pasty make-up as he jerks and flails on a
metal table to simulate being revived - repeatedly- to advance the lurching plot. I almost feel
like I should be ashamed for enjoying his performance but I guess you gotta
earn a living and he clearly threw himself into his work. Of course, Franco
shows up in a wordless cameo playing Frankenstein’s greasy haired assistant
Morpho adding another film to the long list for that character name in Franco's
filmography. And the Blu-Ray's commentary track confirms that the film's composer
Daniel White appears as the hapless police inspector along for the ride with
the much more determined Dr. Seward. As you might have surmised, the film is
wonderfully crazed and the expected violence is often handled in a way that
suggests that everyone involved knew the budget was never going to allow for a
totally serious film. The moment when a swift camera edit allows acid to
completely remove a person's head shows both a clever filmmaking eye and an
acknowledgment of what the production can and cannot accomplish. The fact that
you'll never forget the scene once you view it is a nice plus! I can only
imagine what 1970's audiences thought of this madness. As Tim Lucas makes clear
on his commentary track this is the French version of the film with all the
nudity reinstated. The 'clothed' Spanish version was padded out with about ten
minutes of scenes featuring Lina Romay in a pointless subplot about a gypsy
girl who hears voices from the beyond and talks with an old woman in the woods.
Although it might have been nice to have that version as an extra on this disc,
having seen that cut I can say it is pretty dull and easily the least
interesting version of the film.
Luckily for fans this Redemption/Kino Lorber Blu-ray release
of The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein has been mastered in high definition from
the original 35mm negative and presents the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect
ratio making it quite probably the definitive edition. The transfer looks very
good with much more detail than I remember from past discs with the night
scenes noticeably brighter (and therefore understandable) than in the past. Having
these day-for-night scenes looking as they should is almost reason enough to
see this version. As the co-author of Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco Video
Watchdog editor Tim Lucas is a perfect choice for the disc's only
substantial extra, the aforementioned commentary track, on which he smoothly
guides the viewer through the Franco Frankenstein experience. He talks about
aspects of the film's conception and production from the Portugal locations,
the various actors' histories with Franco, the methods the director used to
maximize his time as well as Lucas' musings about how this film fits into the
history of Frankenstein cinema. In fact, Lucas has so much information
seemingly at his fingertips that the film's 74 minute running time starts to
feel too brief to allow it all to be related! Even if you find this film to be a terrible,
slapdash affair I urge you to give this commentary a listen. I suspect it will
open your eyes to the joys of not just this film but to a good portion of Jess
Franco's filmography. As an extra kind of extra the original French trailer for
the film is also included on the disc which has a Tim Lucas commentary on it as
well! He really did have more information than the film allowed!
