The Diabolical Dr. Z

I wouldn't really class myself as a fan, but Jess Franco has still become my most-watched director, eclipsing the likes of Argento and Hitchcock. This is the forty-first film I have seen by the prolific Spaniard, and it's actually one of his better efforts, a demented piece of nonsense that proves that good old Jess could make a fun movie when he put his mind to it.

Antonio Jiménez Escribano plays the titular doctor, Dr. Zimmer (Z for short), who turns up at a medical congress to reveal that he has discovered a way to control evil. When he declares that he would like to test his process on a human subject, he is treated with disgust and disdain, causing him to drop dead of a heart attack. Understandably upset, Zimmer's daughter Irma (Mabel Karr) plots revenge...

This one is full of '60s cheeze: an escaped criminal turned into an obedient slave; Irma performing a facial skin graft on herself that leaves no scars; a sexy mind-controlled cabaret artist with poison fingernails; and, best of all, a mad scientist laboratory featuring a glass operating table with spider-like robotic arms (why? Because it looks cool!). Memorable sequences include the cruel killing of a pretty hitchhiker, a great fist fight down a long tunnel, and a victim stalked through a fog-shrouded town -- with impressive location work and excellent black and white cinematography throughout.