Jesús Franco Movies

From infamous schlock-master Jess Franco (Vampyros Lesbos) comes this gory flick that blends elements of horror and Western films. When an unsuspecting female doctor arrives in Fallas, NM, she soon realizes the town is like none other. Before long, she's encountering undead vampire cowboys who serve a seductive countess. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Euro-horror cult hero Jesus Franco directed this horror story which features his trademark blend of scares and sensuality. Rachel Crosby (Rachel Sheppard) is a pretty but naive American student visiting Southern Spain. While in Spain, Rachel attracts the attention of Countess Irina von Murnau (Analia Ivars), a vampire with Sapphic tendencies who wants to seduce Rachel and initiate her into the cult of the undead. When Rachel becomes aware of the Countess' diabolical plans, she discovers a gypsy named Marga (Lina Romay) whose knowledge of white magic and personal vendetta against the vampire becomes Rachel's first line of defense. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Having previously laid waste to the Occidental police forces of Hong Kong and mainland China before being dispatched by Cagliostro the Ancient Wizard, malevolent criminal mastermind Dr. James Wong and his cruel daughter Tsai Ming return to usher in a whole new era of crime years after the powerful sorcerer has passed away. They made their living by kidnapping and ransoming the daughters of rich and elite, though it was only a matter of time before Dr. Wong and Tsai Ming met their match in the form of a wise and benevolent wizard. But now Cagliostro is gone, leaving the two criminal fiends clear to concoct yet another diabolical scheme. With the help of their assistant assassin Loba, Dr. Wong and Tsai Ming have now harnessed the power of virtual reality. Their first goal is to abduct the daughter of a wealthy European businessman, though they've underestimated the lengths to which the desperate father will go in order to ensure that no harm comes to his little girl. As super sleuth Nelly Smith and her inept assistant Doc Petry attempt to navigate the Hong Kong underworld and locate Dr. Wong's secret hideout, they discover that the power of the ancient is still alive and well in the modern world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Scream queens Michelle Bauer and Linnea Quigley star in this sexy mystery from cult filmmaker Jess Franco. When several local people turn up missing, Sheriff Marga (Bauer) investigates. Soon she finds herself thrust into the lurid world surrounding the mysterious nightclub owner Tarantula (Lina Romay). Mari Cookie and Killer Tarantula also stars Amber Newman and Robert King. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Over the course of his lifetime, the legendary director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was forced to leave many of his grander movie-making projects unfinished, generally for want of sustained financial backing. Each successive unfinished effort generated buzz throughout the worshipful film community that only served to brighten the luster of his legend. Thus it was only a matter of time before one of his many admirers bought the rights to the fairly extensive footage he shot for his film Don Quixote (begun in 1955) and attempted to edit it into some semblance of a finished film, based on research into Welles' stated intentions and notes. A fuzzy, out-of-focus print of the resulting film was shown at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, and it was immediately deemed as a hashed-up job, a travesty bordering on the sacrilegious, by the assembled deeply interested and knowledgeable viewers. Their criticism focused mainly on issues that ordinary viewers would deem excessively technical, but the gist of it was that this was a very un-Wellesian use of Welles' footage. However, the film does offer viewers a unique opportunity to see some of the master's mature story ideas onscreen. In addition to footage from the film, the movie is also a kind of semi-documentary homage to Welles, showing footage of the famed director at work. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Spanish exploitation king Jésus "Jess" Franco helmed this gothic horror outing, as a very loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The House of Usher." As it opens, Dr. Alan Harker (Antonio Mayans) receives a distressed letter from his former university professor-cum-mentor, Dr. Eric Usher (Howard Vernon), that prompts him to travel to Usher's castle. Once there, Dr. Harker discovers, to his utter horror, that Usher is trapped in the jaws of madness, obsessively attempting to resurrect his comatose daughter Melissa with the blood of abducted young girls. As death looms near, Usher enters a terrifying netherworld that finds him continually tormented by malevolent otherworldly forces including the spirit of his dead wife, that of his wayward housekeeper, and those of the many young women who have fallen prey to his abductions and homicides. As this occurs, Usher's castle itself begins to crumble in response to him, and Harker realizes that he must flee for his life. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide