The quote on the cover of this DVD is taken from the mighty Immoral Tales tome, and describes this film as 'one of the last glorious death throes of European sexploitation.' An apt way of describing possibly Jess Franco's most perverse project – at least, from those I have seen.
The plot, as ever, is straightforward – the supernatural Princes Obongo (Ajita Wilson), the Goddess of Unspeakable Lust no less, ensnares Lina Romay in her Candy Coaster wig, playing Alice Brooks together with regular Antonio Mayans, billed as Robert Foster, playing Novio de Alice. To be honest, Novio doesn't get much of a look-in – the story seems really to centre on the smouldering, deadly relationship that occurs between Alice and Obongo.
Transsexual actress Wilson, who died five years after this was completed at the age of 37, is described by Franco as a kind of female Christopher Lee – not so much an actress, more a presence. And this is true. She cuts a truly memorable, and at times terrifying, figure – tall and prone to wearing flowing white robes, striding across deserts with her two unnerving 'dog-slaves', or laughing maniacally as she seduces a naked Alice via her dreams.
Franco's camera-work, at times restrained and others frantic (the blurring zooms during the many sex scenes against the glare of sunlight is purposefully disorientating) glories in the delights of the Canary Isles, and also wife Romay's (at times shockingly) uninhibited performance, both in and out of a straining pair of hot-pants. Franco turns up briefly as another of the lunatic cyphers he loved playing so much.
The results are an acquired taste – what else would you expect? I enjoyed it, as I've enjoyed most of Franco's films. His filmic perversions took on a new and personal level once his native Spain had relaxed their laws on hard-core pornography and I can only admire his unique pursuance of this during this time. Such a singular approach drew him ever further into cult territory, which he seemed to fully embrace for the next 23 years.
The plot, as ever, is straightforward – the supernatural Princes Obongo (Ajita Wilson), the Goddess of Unspeakable Lust no less, ensnares Lina Romay in her Candy Coaster wig, playing Alice Brooks together with regular Antonio Mayans, billed as Robert Foster, playing Novio de Alice. To be honest, Novio doesn't get much of a look-in – the story seems really to centre on the smouldering, deadly relationship that occurs between Alice and Obongo.
Transsexual actress Wilson, who died five years after this was completed at the age of 37, is described by Franco as a kind of female Christopher Lee – not so much an actress, more a presence. And this is true. She cuts a truly memorable, and at times terrifying, figure – tall and prone to wearing flowing white robes, striding across deserts with her two unnerving 'dog-slaves', or laughing maniacally as she seduces a naked Alice via her dreams.
Franco's camera-work, at times restrained and others frantic (the blurring zooms during the many sex scenes against the glare of sunlight is purposefully disorientating) glories in the delights of the Canary Isles, and also wife Romay's (at times shockingly) uninhibited performance, both in and out of a straining pair of hot-pants. Franco turns up briefly as another of the lunatic cyphers he loved playing so much.
The results are an acquired taste – what else would you expect? I enjoyed it, as I've enjoyed most of Franco's films. His filmic perversions took on a new and personal level once his native Spain had relaxed their laws on hard-core pornography and I can only admire his unique pursuance of this during this time. Such a singular approach drew him ever further into cult territory, which he seemed to fully embrace for the next 23 years.