Der Teufel kam aus Akasava

This spy film from prolific exploitation director Jess Franco is probably most notable for being the final film the gorgeous actress Soledad Miranda appeared in before her untimely and tragic death very soon afterwards. In this one she is a secret service agent who goes undercover as a go-go dancer in order to track down international criminals who stole a precious mineral that can turn base metals into gold and people into zombie-like creatures. It's a nonsense plot-line, although it's one of the more plot-driven films I have actually seen Franco attempt.

Its strengths lie in other areas, most notably Miranda, who is easily the best thing about this. Like in all the Franco films she starred in, she once again displays an effortless magnetism and sensuality. The very fact that she operates partially as a stripper of course plays up the latter aspect quite a bit but like her other appearances in erotic roles, it always feels somewhat classy with Soledad. Aside from her there is a regular gaggle of stock Euro actors who will be very familiar to anyone who has seen other Franco films from the period. Also in common with those films is the soundtrack of glorious kitsch groovetastic sounds. So essentially seek this out if you either (a) appreciate this very particular brand of retro lounge music or (b) like Soledad Miranda (who wouldn't?) or (c) must see all things Franco (in which case you're probably insane). It's not as good as other Franco/Miranda collaborations such as Vampyros Lesbos or She Killed in Ecstasy but it still has enough about it to make it an entertaining watch.

"The Devil Came From Akasava", more an exotic adventure than a spy movie, is one of the slickest-looking Jess Franco movies I've seen so far, though Franco (over)uses the ZOOM function of his cameras so much you'd think he was a kid who had just discovered them and couldn't resist fooling around with them. Nonetheless, his greatest failing - one that can easily be associated with many of his movies - is his inability (or maybe his indifference) to tell a coherent story: I watched this movie twice and I'm still mixed up on more than a few whos, whys and hows. As a an adventure film, "The Devil Came From Akasava" never gets exciting. Still, it's worth a look for the astonishingly beautiful Soledad Miranda, whom Franco films fetishistically, and who can blame him - the woman is sheer perfection. However, the script gives her little to work with, and as a result her character is shallow - as is the entire film. ** out of 4.

If you´re an admirer of Jess Franco and the unforgettable Soledad Miranda, who died shortly after the production of this film, which has been produced back to back with Vampyros Lesbos and Sie tötete in Ekstase, in which she starred also, this one´s definitely a must-see. Everything in this movie is adorable (besides gorgeous Soledad, who is credited as Susann Korda): the plot (hilarious secret agent/conspiracy stuff), the actors (watch out for Horst Tappert), the production values (you might remember from Vampyros Lesbos) and, of course, the unbelievable groovy 70s soundtrack. It´s got everything you wish from a typical Jess Franco movie. And if you haven´t seen one yet, this is a good one to begin with.

Soledad Miranda plays a British spy in this movie and is not believable in the slightest; but thank God she is in it because if she weren't, this Krimi-style James Bond send-up would have been a complete dead loss. This movie is rather strange all round. It's based on an Edgar Wallace story and therefore is shot in the same style as the popular Krimi films from the sixties and seventies; but it's directed by Jess Franco, who is more famous for his trashy euro-exploitation flicks, and it takes obvious influence from James Bond; although the suave spy featured here is a sexy female. The plot is complete nonsense of course and focuses around some mineral that has been discovered by some researchers. It has unique properties; it can turn ordinary metal into gold and...wait for it...humans into zombies. Naturally this mineral becomes pretty sought after and it is soon stolen. Shortly thereafter, Scotland Yard sends spies to investigate its disappearance and stop whoever has stolen the mineral.

Soledad Miranda made a handful of films with Jess Franco before her untimely death in 1970; and it's unfortunate really that this had to be one of them. She was in her element in films like She Killed in Ecstasy and Eugenie De Sade, whereas here she's out of her element and it's not really a very good performance. One of the most noticeable things about this film is the score. It's groovy and entertaining, but it's also constant and it does become a bit grating after a while. The madcap plot starts to wear thin rather quickly also and to be honest I was getting bored long before the movie ended. The whole zombie plot might make you believe that there'd be some horror element to the movie, but this is hardly touched on...although that might be a good thing as the quality of this production is very low even without that. It all bubbles up some stupid conclusion that fits the movie well. Overall, The Devil Came from Akasava is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. Soledad fans will of course want to track it down, however, and it is worth seeing just for her.

This is a kind of a silly spy spoof like the ones that were big in Europe at the time. Jess Franco did any number of them ("Kiss Me Monster", "The Girl from Rio"). It also might by be loose adaptation of an Edgar Wallace mystery, which were really big in Germany where the film was produced (although more likely it's based on a work of his much less talented son, Bryan Edgar Wallace). The story involves a bunch of characters all chasing after this mineral a murdered professor has discovered that can apparently do everything from waking up patients in narcoleptic comas to turning worthless metals into gold. The mineral is really a "McGuffin" though, in fact, the whole plot is pretty much a McGuffin. The real fun to be had is watching all these bizarre characters crossing and double-crossing each other.

Franco regulars Paul Muller and Howard Vernon are on hand, the latter playing a pretty unconvincing hired assassin. Ewa "Vampyros Lesbos" Stromberg also has a small role, but she keeps her clothes on this time. My favorites though are the lead villains--a husband who is apparently confined to a wheelchair and his prim, matronly wife who wields a mean sword cane! The real reason to watch this movie though can be summed up in two words: Soledad Miranda. Soledad Miranda had what the French (and a a lot non-French pseudointellectual types)called "je ne sais qoi" (basically "I don't know what"). She was very beautiful, standing out even among the many beautiful actresses Franco worked with. She was also talented having made many movies before she started working with Franco. She was always willing to take her clothes off and display her beautiful body, but she was classier and much less unabashedly exhibitionistic than her successor Lina Romay (who probably should have been more "abashed" about doing hardcore porn or letting Franco practically explore her colon with his zoom lens). Maybe it was because she died tragically young. She was always a sexy but ethereal actress whose erotic presence haunted even silly, nonsense movies like this.

As his fans know, Franco himself as director had a certain "je ne sais qoi" with some of his films. (With others though it was more like "je ne sais why the hell I am watching this crap!"). He's especially zoom-happy in this movie, but it actually works pretty well with the frenetic, pop-art style plot. It's not a great movie by a long shot, but the movies Franco did with Soledad Miranda are all pretty special, even the slightest ones like this.