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Engaged to direct by a reputable producer, Jesús Franco takes yet another stab at conventional B&W horror. The pulp thrills get a boost through the contributions of talented collaborators: excellent camerawork flatters the idiosyncratic obsessions of a writer-director in search of his own dream-world sensibility. Although it’s not saying much, this might be the best of Franco’s earlier B&W horror output.

The Diabolical Dr. Z

Blu-ray

Redemption / Kino Lorber

1966 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 87 min. / Miss Muerte; Dans les griffes du maniaque / Street Date February 6, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Estella Blain, Mabel Karr, Howard Vernon, Fernando Montes, Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, Guy Mairesse, Antonio Jiménez Escribano, Lucía Prado, Daniel White, Jesús Franco.

Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa

Film Editor: Marie-Louise Barberot, Jean Feyte

Original Music: Daniel White

Written by David Kuhne (Jesús Franco), Jean-Claude Carrière

Produced by Serge Silberman, Michel Safra

Directed by Jesús Franco

Am I correct when I remember...

Dr. Orloff’s Monster

Blu-ray

Redemption / Kino Lorber

1964 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 84 min. / El secreto del Dr. Orloff, Brides of Dr. Jekyll, Les maitresses du Dr. Jekyll / Street Date February 7, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Hugo Blanco, Agnès Spaak, Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, Luisa Sala, Perla Cristal, Magda Maldonado, Pepe Rubio, Pastor Serrador, Daniel Blumer, Manuel Guitián, Mer Casas.

Cinematography: Alfonso Nieva

Film Editor: Á Serrano

Original Music: Fernando García Morcillo, Daniel White

Written by: Jesús Franco, Nicole Guettard, A. Norévo

Produced by: Marius Lesoeur

Directed by Jesús Franco

Arguing the merits of Jesús Franco seems a blind alley to me. I know academic film writers that have seen dozens of his films and who assure me that they perceive an artist amid all the exploitation and pornography. Why not? I continue to see Franco as a fringe filmmaker of little talent and less interest. Keep anything up long enough and it...

Melissa hopes to enjoy a splendid Christmas with her family, but ends up getting more than she bargained for in Jess Franco's Dr. Orloff's Monster, aka The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll. We have Blu-ray cover art and details on the special features for Redemption Films' 2K restoration of the 1964 film.

In January of 2017, Redemption Films will release Jess Franco's Dr. Orloff's Monster, aka The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll, on Blu-ray with the following special features (via Blu-ray.com) and cover art:

"New 2K Restoration/remaster Audio commentary by Tim Lucas And More..."

Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): "Melissa, an attractive Austrian college student, travels to Holfen to spend the Christmas holidays at the castle of her uncle, Dr. Conrad Fisherman, but the mood she encounters there is hardly festive. Her uncle's behavior is cold and furtive, and her Aunt Ingrid is perpetually drunk, trying to forget the night...