RIP Jess Franco – this legendary Director has passed away, just a year after his wife, the legendary Lina Romay, died! Sad news indeed, but let’s celebrate their crazy life together!
Excuse me: why is a naked woman trying to kill me with a bow and arrow?
Now that I have your attention: let’s look at the little-known, prolific Director Jess Franco – one of the craziest Directors EVER!!
Yes, she is a bit scared too…as this is Lina Romay – the Director’s WIFE! Yes, you are about to enter the naked world of an offbeat Auteur! Meet Jess Franco!
“Jess” Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic “The Awful Dr. Orloff,” which received wide distribution in the United States and England.
Spain’s most prolific master of horror JESS FRANCO dead at 82.
Awful news: Kike Mesa, director of the 2007 documentary “Jess Franco: Way of Life”, announced Franco’s passing at the age of 82 on his Facebook page.
Franco is believed to have directed more than 200 films of the cinema fantastique genre and worked with Orson Welles on his never completed Don Quixote feature.
He had some American box office success with “Necronomicon” in 1967 , and his biggest hit “99 Women” in 1968…
“One Soul Hungered To Touch Another!”
Let’s celebration this European exploitation master!! Franco also had success in the grindhouse realm, as low-budget, high concept movies flooded grindhouse theaters and drive-ins across America…such as this one – a classic of european erotica:
“Linda loves her work, and her work is LOVE…”
I mean, hard to miss the point of these movies! But they were popular for what they were, and Franco spent the rest of his career churning out dozens of these “sexploitation” films…most starring his wife!
Lina Romay!
Yes, his wife Lina Romay was also his creative partner, and they made many films together! Here are two great examples!
Hunting Humans Was Her Favorite Game!
What a great tagline for a movie!
Countess Perverse!
Here’s the plot in a nutshell: Two wealthy aristocrats lure a virginal girl to a Spanish island for a night of sex, death and cannibalism.
But there is SO much more! Here is how The AV Club described the movie:
When a young couple in a classy seaside village finds a nude woman washed up on the beach, they aren’t particularly surprised by the story she tells them, about a house of horrors and a “man with black glasses” who’s trying to kill her.
As you can tell, this isn’t going to end well for the couple. But that’s what makes it so perversely fun – as you are about to see!
These aristocrats have a fun hobby: They strip their guests and send them out on the grounds to be hunted, Most Dangerous Game-style. If the guests survive long enough, the count sets them free.
Otherwise, the countess—who is also naked, save for a quiver of arrows—shoots them dead, then roasts them and serves them for dinner! Yes, you read that right!
The Most Dangerous Game – Naked!
I mean, that’s what is going on here: hunting humans for sport – and in this case, everyone is naked!
And just before the closing credits roll, the count looks down at the corpse of his magnificent bride and boasts, “You will be the best meal of my life!”
How do you top madness like this? Well, for Franco that was easy!
Lorna The Exorcist. This 1974 film by Franco has a simple logline: A man is tormented by an ex-lover, Lorna, who is some kind of witch. She has a strange power over a number of women in the film, including the man’s daughter, Linda.
Remember, in the early 70′s, just the fact that a film was from France, where morals were looser, was cause for celebration. What people didn’t expect was such a strange mind blower like Franco!
And let’s be honest, Mondo Macabro’s extended teaser will blow your mind right now!
Star Lina Romay was Franco’s wife, and starred in many of his films…sadly, she died recently at age 57, from cancer in Málaga, Spain.
Check out the bizarre, perverse and fascinating work of this legendary sexploitation duo!
