The Spanish-born José Ramón Larraz was a lesser known but definitely talented and visionary cult/exploitation director with a fascinating repertoire. Between 1970 and 1990, he made approximately two dozen of horror films varying from brilliant to awful, but literally every single one of them is curious and worthwhile. The undeniable highlight of his career is the lesbo-exploitation flick "Vampyres", but also acclaimed are "Symptoms", "The Coming of Sin" and "The House that Vanished". Personally, I'm also a big fan of his late 80s slasher attempts "Rest in Pieces" and "Edge of the Axe". Although a devoted Spaniard, Larraz nearly always tried very hard to make his films look typically English.
Clearly, "Emma, Puertas Oscuras"/ "Dark Doors" is one of Larraz' least memorable efforts. It was released in 1974, the same year as his two prime efforts ("Vampyres" and "Symptoms"), which increases the suspicion this was merely a quick and insignificant side-project, even for the director himself. The copy I own is an extremely poor transfer from VHS, and approximately only 1 out of 3 of the dialogues in Spanish is translated into English via subtitles, just enough to vaguely know what is going on.
And still, the film has a sort of irresistible and genuinely ominous atmosphere going for it. The plot, if you can even call it a plot, is thin and dumb. The titular Emma is a teenage girl in a hospital in London. She was badly hit by a car, and because of the accident she reverts to committing brutal murders. If you ask me, that excuse won't hold up in court. The odd female doctor Sylvia Keane adopts her, but Emma quickly turn against her and flees into the countryside with a lewd hippie couple. Characters come and go, Larraz' doesn't bother to give them any depth or background. There are some nicely grim murders (including with a razor blade) but, overall, this is probably the last José Ramón Larraz movie you need to seek out.
