Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Woodyanders Mysterious and reclusive evil scientist Dr. Conrad Fisherman (a solid turn by Marcelo Arroita-Jauregui) resurrects his slain brother Andros (well played by Hugo Blanco) as a lethal automaton so he can kill hookers and strippers. Fisherman's feisty niece Melissa (an endearingly spunky portrayal by the adorable Agnes Spaak) finds herself in considerable jeopardy when she visits Fisherman during the Christmas holiday. Writer/director Jess Franco effectively builds an intriguingly eerie mood, offers plenty of elegant visuals courtesy of Alfonso Nieva's crisp black and white cinematography, maintains a steady pace throughout, stages the murder set pieces with real style and panache, and even tosses in a generous sprinkling of tasty female nudity. Since this a Franco flick, we also get a few groovy nightclub scenes: One memorably sultry scene boasts a sizzling striptease by a hot blonde while another sequence features a lovely brunette belting out a snazzy jazz song (Franco has a nifty cameo as a pianist in one of these scenes!). Daniel White provides a neatly varied shivery and/or jaunty score. The dark themes of adultery and voyeurism give this picture an extra luridly compelling edge. Fisherman's moldy old castle rates as a perfectly creepy location. Moreover, Andros makes for a genuinely pitiable, if grotesque monster; the scenes between Andros and his daughter Melissa are surprisingly tender and touching. A worthy item.

Michael_Elliott Dr. Orloff's Monster (1964) ** (out of 4)Jess Franco's sequel to The Awful Dr. Orloff is more of a remake than anything else. I watched the French version under the title The Mistress of Dr. Jekyll and this version features more nudity than the versions released in Spain and America. In the film. Dr. Fisherman (Marcelo Arroita Jauregui) kills his brother (Hugo Blanco) when he learns that he is having an affair with his wife. The doctor eventually brings his brother back as a zombie like creature to kill various women for him. I've never really been a fan of Franco's earlier period of Gothic horror films but you can certainly see that he has talent with these films. While I prefer his 70s work he does give this film a lot of style, which is something missing from those later films. The performance Blanco is pretty good but Jauregui comes off very boring and certainly can't fill the shoes of Howard Vernon from the previous film. The film is beautiful to look at and features a very nice score from Daniel White but in the end the film left me looking at my watch too much. The movie's pace is quite slow and all the stuff dealing with the police comes off boring. You can spot Franco during one scene. The DVD features some of the alternate scenes from the American and Spanish version of the film. I think I prefer the French scenes with the nudity as it makes the film stand out from countless other Gothic films of this period.

fertilecelluloid "Dr. Orloff's Monster" is an interesting curio, a sequel, in name only, to "The Awful Dr. Orloff", my favourite Franco pic. Only once in this version is the name "Orloff" mentioned. The Howard Verson role here, another disgraced surgeon, is played by Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui and his name is Dr. Jekyll. His "Morpho" equivalent, however, called "Andros" (Hugh Blanco), is a central character. Like Morpho, the blind manservant in "Awful", Andros kills for Jekyll and harbors a grudge or two.The story is straightforward. Jekyll's niece Melissa (Agnes Spaak) travels to Austria to visit her uncle at his brooding castle. She finds an unhappy household (shades of "A Virgin Among The Living Dead") and a hostile reception from Jekyll who is all work and no play. But being a curious lass, Melissa takes time to explore the castle at night and meets up with Andros, who turns out to be her missing, deceased father, a tragic figure who lives in a state of walking death and is controlled by low level sonics.Not as technically polished or atmospheric as "The Awful Dr. Orloff", it is still miles beyond most of the crap Franco churned out. Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, as Jekyll, is not a very charismatic male lead, and reminded me of a poor man's Sebastian Cabot (from TV's "Ghost Story"). Spaak as Melissa is very pretty and sexy and Blanco manages to elicit our sympathy for his shambling dead man.Stylistically, the film is uneven, and the pacing is funereal at times, evidence of Franco's work ethic melancholy. The director's trademark jazz clubs, saucy strippers and camera zooming are in surplus here, as is his penchant for lurid close-ups of deformed faces (something that must be ired). I like the film, but it lacks energy and suffers from cloudy motivation and one-dimensional characterization.Still worth seeing, though.

tim_age Although made on a shoestring budget and as a sequel to The Awfull Dr. Orloff, this is a very enjoyable flick and a fine example of early Southern European horror. It's actually better than it's predecessor.The plot is not real important (it contains a zombie-like creature, a castle and a mad scientist). What makes this movie is the mood, the often beautiful camera-angles, the art direction and the hints of later Franco movies.For example, there's several scenes with women performing, often in erotic scenes, with men watching - which is exactly the kind of voyeuristic cinema Franco would turn to in later years (Vampyros Lesbos, Demoniac).There's - of course - quite some nudity, which must have been considered quite risque in 1964. And there's a small cameo for the director himself, as a pianist who seems to be blind.....Also of interest is the use of electronic devices used to make the zombie a murderous weapon, they give a strange effect to the movie and reminded me of early 50's sci-fi B-movies.All in all, recommended for Franco fans and b/w horrormovie fans. If you've never seen a Franco I suggest starting with Vampyros Lesbos or Female Vampire.