The Diabolical Doctor Z

The Diabolical Dr Z is one of director Jess Franco's best 1960s Gothics. The film oozes atmosphere and features some lush black-and-white photography, together with threatening shots of darkened corridors (in a prison, in the doctor's mansion, on a train) which feature prominently in Franco's early work (The Awful Dr Orloff, The Sadistic Baron von Klaus) and in many 1950s/1960s horror movies (for example, Riccardo Freda's The Horrible Dr Hitchcock); psychoanalysts would probably explain these shots by relating the use of this type of mise-en-scène to the concept of the `spider woman' (or the `monstrous feminine'), which is a central concern of this film and of the films of Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava. Knowing that Franco often borrows ideas from Surrealism, however, it may be self-defeating to try to find this type of `meaning' in his films: in his 1960s pictures, Franco simply delights in covering the intertextual quotation that takes place in his films with lashings of Gothic atmosphere. Franco's films are an exploration of excess, and could be likened to onions: once one layer of `meaning' has been peeled away, the viewer is left with an indeterminate number of other layers. The Diabolical Dr Z also highlights Franco's anti-idealism: most of the characters in this film are simply out for revenge, or are seeking to further their careers, and think nothing of trampling on the people in their path. This theme would become more prominent in later Franco films, which expressed it through the metaphor of vampirism (The Female Vampire), the motif of the `witchhunt' (The Bloody Judge) and the conventions of the Women in Prison film. With hindsight, Franco would have been the ideal candidate to film an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. The Diabolical Dr Z will probably not appeal to those whose interest in horror begins and ends with `ironic' horror films such as Scream; as with the work of Mario Bava and Terence Fisher, although there is a large amount of intentional humour in Dr Z (via some very witty dialogue, particularly the comments made by Franco-in a cameo as a policeman-in the final scene), modern audiences may poke fun at its predominantly sombre tone, and will probably be alienated by both the use of black-and-white photography and Daniel White's atonal jazz score. This is a shame, because for me, Franco's 1960s films (together with some of his 1970s pictures, such as Exorcism and The Demons) represent some of the highlights of the horror genre.

What a treat to see this rare, underrated film restored and uncut, from a pristine, fine grain 35mm print. The film has never looked or sounded this well in the United States.I love the offbeat nature of its plot and characters, so refreshingly different from the one and only story formula American films use (boy meets girl, she gets mad when he doesn't treat her like God, they get back together when he admits he's wrong about everything and she is, in fact, God).The hair, clothes, music and general vibe of this film takes me back to my childhood, so it's always a happy trip down memory lane for me to watch it. The cinematography is very stylish and the performances are excellent. And did I mention the marvelous score?Not for 21st century techno-barbarians, but a must for those whose cinematic hunger pains can only be quenched with class, elegance, style and wit. Highly recommended!

This is one Franco film that has everything going for it. Excellent (CRISP/CLEAR) b&w photography gives a chilling low-key gothic feel to the going's-on, a bizzare mixture of artsy murders and kinky nightclub routines. Dr.Z (Strangelove?) hangs around for only a few minutes and then it's his daughter that revenges his death by brainwashing an exotic dancer to dispatch those who ridiculed Dr.Z. With poisoned tipped finger nails, bodies thrown from trains, slammed through windows, etc...you will most likely enjoy this eurotrash classic. Franco regular Howard Vernon has a small role and Franco appears as a police inspector.Great stuff. Enjoy.

Feels like we've seen it all before - perhaps so!

Un grand film série B des années 60 qui fait partie de ma vidéothèque ! a regarder absolument surtout pour le personnage de miss death, incarne par Estella Blain qui fait ici une prestation remarquable .

Real good.

Great title, decent movie. By experimenting with lab animals, the good doctor believes he has perfected a way of controlling an individual's morality. He tells his cohorts of the scientific community he would like to try this out on humans; not to worry, though, he'll only utilize "expendable" people, such as death row inmates. Three of his fellow doctors ridicule him for such nonsense and apparently this embarrassment is so strong it causes his death. Now his daughter, Irma, plans vengeance against the three men whom she faults for her father's death. Irma uses her father's technique to command Miss Muerte, a performance artist with dreams of stardom and the deadly fingernails to make it happen, to seduce and kill the three men. I enjoyed the movie, though I wouldn't say it is great by any means. As Miss Muerte, Estella Blain looks fantastic. (I'd like to see her outfit made into a Halloween costume) The jazz score fits fairly well, though it doesn't help to make the movie any scarier. Some of the themes remind me of "A Clockwork Orange," with its themes of medically or biologically controlling morality and the will to either do well or inflict harm. I would guess Anthony Burgess perhaps influenced the story. The DVD is really decent, with a clean transfer and great menu options, including a French language track with English subtitles. I'm giving the DVD an extra ½ star since Mondo Macabro did such an exemplary job with it.

Jess Franco has re-told, sequelised his Orlof in innumerable manifestations. Names change, characters have varied slightly yet he tends to want a mad scientist save someone or the world only to be thwarted, whilst aided by a dubious henchman with a predilection for harming women in states of undress. Of all the many variations of this theme, this Diabolical Dr Z is a related piece of quality schlock, morality can go hang..As ever, sieving the stream for Franco nuggets, silt and other deposits build up. But thankfully, this has a tight and persuasive ambience, shot with a lot of care for the most part. It carries some of the concepts from Awful Dr Orlof and others, with those nightclub hints, zooms, quality shadow work & lunatic sci-fi apparatus. In other words if he could have done, he would have thrown in a kitchen-sink, assuming it had breasts. Luckily for eyes everywhere, the female 'killer' in a sheer catsuit is eye-candy non plus ultra... And her poisoned nails, a death by sci-fi kitsch that outlasts the next ten tawdry Franco misses..Pace is fine, acting is actually good across the board, the spanish dialogue flowing, rather than stilted which it can be when translated. After a slow establishing back story, we get enmeshed in criminal behaviour, dancers, revenge motifs & a pleasant hint at what lurid things are to escalate toward, in Franco's erotically charged voyeurism of the 70's. Perhaps tamer by later measurements, this is a clean bright crisp print of a gothic monochrome potboiler and stands easily next to other works by less outre directors..though, with Franco shuffling about as a 'seen it all before' jaded inspector, this is as ever a piece of personal enjoyment on Francos part. Successful all rounder, atmosphere and sixties demi-monde flavours in a lickable lolly of light.

Fantastic!!!...