De Sade 70

In a career that spanned seven decades, Jess Franco achieved over 200 directorial credits in numerous genres, with the quality of his output varying wildly from inspired surrealism to entertaining sleaze to almost unwatchable garbage (with the majority tending to veer towards the latter). However, although Franco's skill as a film-maker was questionable, his ability to get hot Euro-totty to strip off in front of a camera and do whatever he asked was never in doubt, and large doses of frequent female nudity frequently made his movies more bearable.

Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion is a prime example of an otherwise rather dull (despite the lurid subject matter) and not particularly well directed movie made more enjoyable largely thanks to Franco's remarkable way with women. His two female stars in this film—regular Franco actress Maria Rohm and Swedish sex-bomb Marie Liljedahl—regularly disrobe, give each other rub-downs, and indulge in all manner of kinky activities, all of which helps the time pass a lot less painfully.

Stylistically, the film is fairly typical of Franco's work from the 60s and early 70s, when his films reflected the fashion and mood of the times, exploited the liberated attitudes of the young and incorporated psychedelic visuals to enhance the hallucinatory vibe. Nudity aside, the groovy music by Bruno Nicolai is probably the films greatest strength, his jazzy score really adding to the creepy, decadent vibe. The film is also notable for it's cameo by Christopher Lee, who doesn't get involved in the saucy action, but is still probably not all that proud of his involvement.

5.5 out of 10, happily rounded up to 6 for the lovely Marie Liljedah, who almost rivals Christina Lindberg in the major Swedish babe stakes.

Franco fans like to hold up EUGENIE as proof of his technical prowess. In fact, it only stands as further testament to his ineptitude. Okay, so Franco had access to the crane on this one... and so excited is he that he uses it again and again, with no imagination or purpose. The cinematographer was clearly a bit more accomplished than usual too, in fact the budget is clearly higher than your average Franco pic. But don't worry, his amateurism shines right through. Ridiculous casting (Liljedahl is way to old and tarty to play an 'innocent young girl'), lame dialogue, bad acting, inappropriate and clueless use of the camera, lame attempts at surrealism, un-erotic soft porn sequences... all the usual Franco 'trademarks' are here in abundance. If you want to watch porn, then buy the real thing. If you want to watch a movie, don't waste your time here.

Eugenie is a film that shocked 1969 audiences, with interracial kissing, woman-to-woman fondling, and brother-sister sex games. It is beautifully filmed, sublimely acted (within its cult pedigree), and has reams of coolness, which makes it a good bet for modern audiences. If you get bored watching Connery drive his Aston Martin to a romantic rendezvous for some witty repartee, Eugenie will likely bore you. If you prefer graphic to simulated, you might find it lame. But if you can buy into the characters and appreciate the care of the filmmaking, Eugenie is a rewarding, disturbing piece of celluloid. In the interview, Franco states "Of all my films, it is the one I hate the least." If you know Franco and his staggering body of work, that's saying something.

I'm sorry, I just can't be objective about 'Eugenie'. As I already love Jess Franco movies I can't even begin to imagine what someone unfamiliar with his output would make of this one. They'd probably be bored I suppose, but it's difficult to say. If you already groove behind Franco's strange and stylish sexploitation movies you will enjoy this one, loosely based on the Marquis De Sade. Franco regulars Jack Taylor ('Succubus'), Maria Rohm ('The Bloody Judge') and Paul Muller ('Vampyros Lesbos') are on hand, but the main reason to watch this is for the gorgeous Marie Liljedahl, best remembered as the star of 60s erotic cult fave 'Inga', and the appearance of horror legend Christopher Lee. Lee basically did this one as a favour for producer Harry Alan Towers, filmed for one day, and was later shocked to see the nudity that surrounded him. Franco made some borderline hardcore movies in his career, but despite being inspired by De Sade, 'Eugenie' isn't one of them, and is really quite tame. There's lots of nudity, and a bit of whipping, but that's about it. Eugenie's "journey into perversion" mainly appears to involve having her breasts fondled by various people and smoking a funny cigarette, but as Ms. Liljedahl is such a major babe most viewers will not be disappointed. The movie seems to have a much larger budget than many of Franco's other similar movies, and while the ultra-groovy soundtrack isn't as mind-blowing as 'Vampyros Lesbos' it's still very cool. So Franco fans will really dig this one, but newcomers are best advised checking out 'Succubus' or 'Vampyros Lesbos' first. Jess Franco's movies are certainly an acquired taste, but once you get hooked they are a real delight! I've only seen about a dozen out of his 200+ (or is that 300+?) output, and I would put 'Eugenie' somewhere in the middle. Not his best, but still recommended to fans of 1960s Eurosleaze.

Eugenie...the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion (1970)

*** (out of 4)

Jess Franco takes Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir and turns it into one of his best films. A young woman named Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl) is sent off to an island with Madame Saint Ange (Maria Rohm) and her perverted brother (Jack Taylor) and before long the two are sexually assaulting the girl as they act out various de Sade stories. EUGENIE is certainly one of the most bizarre films from this era and I don't think anyone other than Franco could have pulled the material off. I'm sure someone could have filmed a pretty version of this story but I think Franco perfectly nailed the situations because we're basically given one big nightmare for this girl with a psychedelic vision and a terrific score by Bruno Nicolai. What works so well with this film is the vision on its director because you really do feel as if you're watching some sort of strange and perverted trip. I really loved the red tinting that Franco used during certainly scenes and especially all through the finale. This really does add a surreal feel to everything you're watching. Add in the terrific score, which at times is rather playful (example: when Rohm helps Liljedahl with a bath) and at other times creepy and perverse. Another major plus is that Franco is given one of his best casts to work with. I thought Liljedahl was very good in her role. Yes, there are times where she can't fully capture the deprived situation of the character but other than this I thought the actress looked the part and was quite believable during the seduction scenes. Taylor isn't a master actor or anything but he manages to turn in a fine performance as does Paul Muller in his brief role and Herbert Fux in his cameo. It's also fun seeing someone like Christopher Lee in a film like this even though he wasn't aware of what type of film they were making around him. Rohm is the real stand out here as she's really one of the main vocal points in the film. She certainly has the look of the character but also manages to make you believe in everything she's doing. EUGENIE has some flaws throughout including some pacing issues and there are times where the soft or out of focus cinematography is just rather annoying. Still, this isn't a very easy story to tell but Franco brings it to life like only he can.