Antonio Mayans Movies
Cult cinema legend Jess Franco takes the helm for a film he claims is, "among the most sincere and creative films of my career," an erotic tale of vampirism that offers a bizarre twist on the familiar mythos. A publicist's agent seeking to secure the rights to a 20th Century cult movie icon's life story travels to meet the actresses' surviving relatives. Upon making their acquaintance, the agent discovers that they live a life of unbridled hedonism. This is a family with some sizable skeletons in their collective closet, and as the agent delves ever deeper into their mysterious background, she slowly begins to succumb to their dark and seductive charm. Fata Morgana, Christine Levin, and Lina Romay star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carmen Montes, Fata Morgana, (more)
A friendly face masks the mind of a twisted serial killer in Spanish painter-turned-filmmaker Martin Garrido Barón's disturbing tale of a man who has finally succumbed to his most violent and murderous impulses. Antonio Frau (Fernando Acaso) has just been released from prison after serving 25 years for the murder of his former girlfriend. Upon inheriting a dilapidated motel from an unknown relative, Antonio determines that his sudden good fortune is a sign from God that he is to begin cleansing the world of those tortured souls who have lost the will to carry on. With a driving urge to achieve notoriety, Antonio sets about luring a series of naïve victims to room six for a series of grueling, blood-soaked purification rites which he meticulously documents in a diary of both images and the written word -- all the while hiding his heinous crimes from his unsuspecting new wife. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fernando Acaso, Maria Jose Bausa, (more)
A small British girl named Diana was lost in a jungle somewhere on the continent of Africa many years ago, and now a treasure hunting expedition has begun searching for the her as well as for precious artifacts. What the rich Brits couldn't imagine, however, is that the little girl in question has grown up among the cannibalistic Mabuto tribe and is worshipped as their goddess: statuesque and always nude. The pale-faced English may expect some recognition should she and the expedition team lay eyes on each other, but Diana's mind has developed in the presence of the Mabuto's brutal lifestyle and she sees no kinship between herself and the visitors. Might she sense some connection before they are all sacrificed and eaten? ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
- 1982
Woodsman Tony Ferrandis, already a bit around the bend, is completely unhinged by his solitude. When beautiful Ellie MacLure ventures into the forest, she is kidnapped by Ferrandis. He wastes no time expressing his intentions, raping her repeatedly and submitting her to mental torture. In 1965, director William Wyler told a story similar to this in The Collector (1965). But whereas Wyler's film had artistic merit (and no rapes), Heat of the Flame has no further purpose beyond gratuitous nudity and violence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1982
Filmed in Spanish, this movie follows the events that befall a sex-fixated couple when they get tangled up in a murder. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
Jesus Franco's surrealistic voodoo film stars Ajita Wilson as Princess Obongo, who lives in a strange castle on a sunny desert island. Through sexual rituals and seduction of vacationers, the princess seeks to spread her evil around the world. A rather bizarre, dreamlike film recalling Franco's Vampyros Lesbos, this one benefits from the powerfully erotic performance of Wilson, who died in 1987 amidst strong rumors that she was a transsexual. Franco regulars Lina Romay and Antonio Mayans co-star as her intended victims, and the director turns in a funny cameo as a voyeuristic janitor who collects stuffed fish. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
Filmmaker Jesús Franco, director of such low-budget exploitation flicks as Vampyros Lesbos and Killer Barbys vs. Dracula, helmed this 1981 X-rated women-in-prison film. The plot concerns a pair of newlyweds who are kidnapped while driving through Spain and taken to a prison run by sadistic lesbian warden Magda Urtado, played by transsexual porn actress Ajita Wilson. Once in the clutches of Urtado, the couple is witness to rape, bestiality, sadomasochism, and sex-slavery as the nymphomaniac warden attempts to quench her insatiable thirst for carnality. Banned in the United Kingdom, Sadomania also stars former Playboy Playmate Ursula Buchfellner. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ursula Buchfellner, Ajita Wilson, (more)
Cult filmmaker Jean Rollin hit rock bottom with this soggy horror tale of drowned Nazis rising from their watery graves as hungry zombies. Howard Vernon leads a cast familiar to any fans of the prolific Jesus Franco, who was slated to direct this film before his bosses at Eurocine gave the assignment to Rollin. It mattered not, because Franco was able to take his own crack at the Nazi-zombie subgenre with the equally wretched Oasis of the Zombies. Bad cinema buffs are free to take their pick, while those looking for a better treatment of the same plot should consider Ken Wiederhorn's Shock Waves instead. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howard Vernon, Pierre Escourrou, (more)
- 1980
In this typical Jesus Franco S&M/sex opus, Katja Bienert plays a young woman who was raised in a convent. Searching throughout Europe for her sister, she finally arrives in Spain, where she finds her held prisoner in a brothel. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
The internationally produced From Hell to Victory is evocative of the works of Erich Maria Remarque. Several close friends of varying nationalities are separated by WW II. German Jurgen Dietrich (Horst Buchholz) is isolated from his old chums by his loyalty to the Fatherland. Still, he and his former comrades hold out hope for a happy reunion at war's end. George Peppard, George Hamilton and Capucine also appear. Despite some well-done battle sequences and a star-studded cast, From Hell to Victory never received an American theatrical release. In some prints, director Umberto Lenzi is billed as "Hank Milestone" (possibly an homage to All Quiet on the Western Front director Lewis Milestone). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Peppard, George Hamilton, (more)
- 1977
Aristides Ungria (Jason Miller) was a political prisoner being held by a Latin American dictatorship, but he has escaped. A trained dog has been sent to hunt and kill him. While he is trudging through the jungles, he is at a relative disadvantage to the dog. Later, the dog suffers a disadvantage, as it attempts to find its prey in man's jungle: a city. As the hunt continues, the hunter and hunted develop a grudging respect for one another. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rafael Albaicin, Juan Antonio Bardem, (more)
- 1976
- R
In this horror movie, a sudden nuclear war interrupts a wild orgy in a ramshackle house. The participants are spared the fate of those outside who are all blinded. Afterwards the newly blind begin attacking the house causing the man inside to fight them off with a high-powered rifle to protect the luscious young women inside. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A priest--a former revolutionary--finds himself the target of a manhunt in a small Mexican town. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Telly Savalas, Martin Landau, (more)
