In our last thrilling episode, I talked about Vampyres as being one of the pinnacles of European erotic horror. I felt that I couldn’t very leave the topic without saying a few words about the man whose lengthy career has largely been built around this form: Jesús (Jess) Franco. Cult movie connoisseurs will already be very familiar with him, and should feel free to stop reading now. For the rest of you, consider this a brief, guarded, introduction.

The word “prolific” hardly begins to describe Franco...s output. He’s directed over 150 films, most of which he also shot, wrote and scored. But are they any good? They are certainly very personal, and fine arguments for the auteur theory (but then, so are the films of Ed Wood and Doris Wishman). Lucas Balbo, Peter Blumenstock and Christian Kessler rightly titled their excellent book on Franco Obsession. Franco IS capable of putting together a well-crafted piece of cinema, though this tends to be the case earlier in his career. Kim Newman, writing about Russ Meyer, said that he “knows how to make good films, but refuses to do so,” and the same could very well be said of Franco. (Being utterly consumed with the erotic is something else the two directors have in common, but Franco has none of Meyer’s technical perfectionism). Though Franco’s films are very sloppy, are plagued by a horrendous overuse of the zoom lens, and have plots that can most charitably be described as “loose,” they are also very improvisational, much like the jazz Franco also loves (and plays), and can be rewarding in the most unexpected ways.