Sexy Nature

La comtesse perverse, directed by Jess Franco, is a film that attempts to blend elements of eroticism, horror, and drama. It tells the story of a countess who indulges in sadistic sexual games with her lovers, leading to a series of mysterious deaths.

The film's cinematography is visually captivating, with its use of shadows and lighting creating a haunting atmosphere. The surreal dream sequences add an intriguing layer to the narrative, making the viewer question what is real and what is not. However, these strengths are often overshadowed by the film's weaknesses.

One of the major issues with La comtesse perverse is its pacing. The story meanders, taking too long to develop and lacking a clear narrative arc. This results in a disjointed viewing experience, which may leave audiences feeling disengaged. Additionally, some of the performances feel stilted and overly dramatic, detracting from the overall impact of the film.

Despite these flaws, there are moments where the film manages to capture the viewer's attention. The exploration of themes such as power dynamics and sexual violence, while controversial, does provoke thought. Furthermore, the film's score, composed by Bruno Nicolai, adds a certain level of tension and suspense.

In conclusion, La comtesse perverse is a mixed bag. While it has its moments of intrigue and visual appeal, these are undermined by its slow pace and inconsistent performances. It may appeal to fans of erotic horror or those interested in exploring unconventional themes, but it falls short of being a truly satisfying cinematic experience.

Sylvia (Lina Romay) is lured to the private island of Count and Countess Zaroff (Howard Vernon and Alice Arno), where she becomes the latest unwilling participant in the aristocrats' sport: hunting humans (and then eating them).

Countess Perverse is The Most Dangerous Game as envisioned by prolific Spanish sleaze merchant Jess Franco. With the hunter and the hunted both women, and both stark naked during the hunt, this could have been a hugely enjoyable slice of exploitative trash, but Franco seems less interested in the battle to the death between humans than he is in gratuitous sex, the majority of his film consisting of long, boring softcore romps, with the action occasionally straying into hardcore territory. There's countless crotch shots, lesbian couplings, and lots of bumping and grinding, with even Franco regular Howard Vernon getting in on the action (not a pleasant sight!) - all shot in Franco's trademark blurry, erratic fashion. Of the 87 minute runtime, at least 70 minutes are wasted on this tedious 'erotica' before we finally get to the hunt, which is just as badly directed as the rest of the film.

As if Countess Perverse wasn't bad enough, Franco tacks on a ridiculous 'it was all a dream' style happy ending that it beyond ridiculous.

2/10 - both points awarded for the interesting architecture. If one can say anything about Franco, it's that he certainly had an eye for an impressive location.

Back in the early 90s, as I teen, I ust to read Darkside Magazine, and Jesus Franco always took up a portion of it.

These movies were generally not in the public gallery, and to me they looked more like soft porn than horror. I would usually skip this section, but with birth of the internet I finally got around to watching them.

I can see why the British horror magazines gave Jesus Franco attention. For sure 50 percent is misogynistic porn. Cant even say soft porn, as there are real sexual acts on camera. Probably why hey never took off in UK at the time, as they would have been banned.

It is seldom taken from a female perspective, and indulges in male dark fantasies. Female on female intercourse, and close ups of hairy vaginas take up a good part of the running time of the movie. There is also sexual violence, but it presented in a erotic sexy sort of way. It is perverse, but in horror movie perspective rather tame. Sado masochistic would be best description, a theme that always seems to crop up in his movies.

What I like about these movies most is locations, architecture, mise en scène, dress wear etc. In these areas Jesus Franco is genius.

Better than hammer horror, or anything we were producing in UK in aesthetic sense, or at least on par with the very best.

His camera explores Spanish locations, not unlike he explores the female body with a passion, and the architecture and locations used are 2nd to none. Makes some interesting use of the wide angle lens in interior shots too.

I see influence movies like this may have had on Tim Burton/ David Lynch etc. From jutting volcanic rock faces, from islands emerging from the sea, to architectural marvels, his cinematography creates a kind of ethereal flow for the most part, which makes his movies easily watchable.

If sexual content is something that particularly offends you, then you wont like this movie. It could be easily accused of not taking sexual violence seriously, or eroticising it: but from a movie fans perspective, these movies are far from a dead loss.

It could easily upset feminists for example. Others may just find it slow paced and boring, with an over preoccupation with sex scenes. These criticisms would be certainly not be unfounded either lol.

This film was interestingly enough released the same year as Franco the dictators rule ended in 1975. This movie is in French but the location is the seaside town of Alicante according to IMDB. I been there and thought it was an awful place personally, but Jesus makes it look good some how. We are on an island or at sea for the most part, which probably helped.

With the camera hes almost a Kubrick. "The Most Dangerous Game (1932)", which this movie is said to be based on, is also one of my favourite early horror movies.

Countess Perverse (1974)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The Countess (Alice Arno) and Count Zaroff (Howard Vernon) seem like your normal type of people but what horror lies within their castle walls say the otherwise. It turns out that the two are actually cannibals who are provided women by another local (Robert Woods) who the Countess hunts down with her arrow. Soon another woman (Lina Romay) is delivered for their wicked game but things don't go as planned.

Jess Franco's LA COMTESSE PERVERSE is a sexed up version of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and like many of the director's work from this period it's available in several versions. The film was originally a hard sell anywhere so the producer had Franco shoot more sex scenes including some hardcore ones. The film would find a release via the hardcore version and this was what was on the market for years. Finally, a 76-minute director's cut of the original version was released as well as a new hardcore version under the title SEXY NATURE.

This was my first time watching the director's cut and it's certainly better than the hardcore versions but I'd still say it falls short of being one Franco's better films. There are some interesting things scattered throughout the picture including an early sequence where one of the women are on a boat and headed towards the island. There's a really weird music score here and the visuals on the boat just make this a rather surreal sequence. The film is actually rather light on the cannibalism subject, although this here was apparently why it couldn't find a release.

The film offers up a nice cast of familiar faces. Vernon is always fun to watch in these Franco movies as is Woods. Both men offer up good performances here. Arno is extremely good in the role of the perverted countess who likes to kill women and then eat them. Romay makes one of her earliest appearances here and she's obviously easy on the eyes. The cast are certainly a major plus and especially since Franco fans will be used to most of them.

I think where the film fails is that there's really no energy or drama throughout. There's never a risk that you feel for the woman and the final hunt is rather boring and the film just doesn't contain enough to keep you fully invested in what's going on.

La comtesse perverse is a provocative, uneven blend of erotic horror and surrealism, riffing on the classic "Most Dangerous Game" premise but filtered through Franco's unmistakable lens. The film's greatest asset is its atmospheric cinematography, which uses shadows and natural light to create a haunting, dreamlike quality, particularly in early sequences set on the water and in the isolated mansion. Bruno Nicolai's score adds a layer of tension, occasionally elevating the mood when the pacing lags. Alice Arno stands out as the titular countess, delivering a performance that is both menacing and alluring, while Lina Romay, in one of her earliest roles, brings a vulnerable physicality that suits the film's exploitative tone. Howard Vernon and Robert Woods are reliable presences, but the acting overall veers from stilted to melodramatic, never quite grounding the outlandish narrative. The explicit content, which ranges from softcore to more graphic scenes depending on the version, feels more like a commercial afterthought than an organic part of the story, often overwhelming the film's attempts at suspense or psychological intrigue. While the visuals and occasional surreal touches intrigue, the film is ultimately undermined by sluggish pacing, repetitive sequences, and a lack of genuine dramatic tension. Despite flashes of Franco's idiosyncratic style, the movie struggles to maintain engagement, with the final hunt arriving too late and executed without urgency or suspense. For fans of Franco or Eurocult oddities, there is some appeal in the cast and the film's audaciousness, but most viewers will find it a frustrating, meandering experience that never quite delivers on its lurid promise.