Emma, puertas oscuras

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.

I like the quirky, sexy and visceral, England set horrors of Mr Larraz, but whilst this has some of the usual ingredients, spot on 70s clothes, hippies and gory kills, it lacks others. A plot for a start. We are introduced to the victim/killer at the start and although the young actress tries to give the character some character, this is a one not piece with little variance. So too with others, they are introduced, they die with barely any interaction.

The usual sleazy sex is also missing and so much of this is set in a dark, deserted hotel with much creeping and chasing amidst the shadows. This didn't engage me from start to finish and although there are decent flashes it is a rather dull affair. Surprising, too, because this was made in the same year as and in between the splendid, Vampyres and Symtoms. Maybe the director just ran out of time, or interest.

After terrible accident a young psychotic girl Emma stays in a psychiatric hospital.Emma is released from a mental hospital after she becomes involved with a lesbian nurse,whom she then murders after the nurse goes back to her husband,who's also brutally slashed to death with a razor.The girl's mother tries to hide her from the cops,but is stabbed to death as well.The finale of "Emma,puertas oscuras" takes place in an abandoned and gloomy mansion.Interesting and well-directed psycho-slasher made by Jose "Vampyres" Larraz.Some calculated and gory giallo-like stabbings,nudity and grim atmosphere make this obscurity worth checking out.There are some interesting and suspenseful stalk-and-slash sequences in "Emma,puertas oscuras",so if you are a fan of Castilian crimson give this rarity a chance.8 out of 10.A pleasant surprise.

This is the second Spanish incursion for Larraz in the middle of a period in the early 70s when he was mostly shooting in the UK. In fact, the film shares some plot points and mood with the much better "Symptoms" that he shot the same year in England. For whatever reason the Spanish films that I have seen of Larraz don't have the same creepy and attractive atmosphere as the ones that he films outside his country and this is another good example.