News

Jess Franco: A name that inspires awe in some, revulsion in others, and eye rolling from those who see the sheer quantity of his output and are immediately dismissive. Making close to 200 films will tend to put one in that kind of light, as quality control would seem nigh impossible. And it was, for the most part; as someone fairly new to the sordid and sweaty oeuvre of Franco, I am choosing to highlight what I think are interesting, or at least enjoyable films from his catalogue. So it was with slight trepidation that I threw on 88 Films’ excellent restored Blu-ray of Devil Hunter (1980). Where would it land on the Franco Scale? As it turns out, a fun Indiana Jones meets Cannibal Island Monster jaunt is where he lands, and I’m more than happy to follow.

A little perspective perhaps; of the Francos I’ve seen, this comes across as the least personal,...

Stars: Al Cliver, Antônio do Cabo, Antonio Mayans, Bertrand Altmann, Gisela Hahn, Ursula Buchfellner, Werner Pochath | Written by Jess Franco, Julian Esteban | Directed by Jess Franco

Its hard to believe, but growing up I thought Jess Franco was a horror-filmmaking god; even though I’d never seen a single one of his genre films. Why? Well because I was an avid subscriber of Dark Side Magazine and the way they wrote about Franco and his films with such reverence (and some irony it would seem looking back at it now), you would have thought he was up there with the horror greats. Yet while, now, I know differently – Franco was very much a journeyman filmmaker, cranking out films at a pace unheard of today – he still has a huge fanbase out there. You only have to look at just how many of his film are available on DVD and Blu-ray,...