|
VAMPIRE JUNCTION
The ever odd world of Jess Franco has another addition friends, and as always, it's what you expect, and a bit NOT what you would expect. Vampire Junction is finally seeing release Via VHS from www.b-movie.com. But more on that later.
WELCOME TO SHIT CITY!
Nope,
I'm not talking about the movie, but the script calls for this film to take
place in the above named city....and Shit City is one strange place. Looking
more like an old fashioned movie set for a cheap western than a place Jess Franco
is likely to frequent, our heroine-Lina Romay of course, comes to the town in
the pouring rain looking for a surgeon to interview...but he isn't talking.
Seems vampires rule Shit City, and like so many other hapless doctors in horrorfilms,
he can't escape their grasp. Lina sort of investigates...sort of. She does dream
quite a bit, and those dreams are raging full of ghostly vampiric nymphets with
a strong penchant for pussy. As she explores the bizarre town she runs into
the town drunk, played by Franco collaborator Ezequiel Cohen-who keeps her busy
laughing at him, and eventually into the dark overlord (whose actually fun and
interesting origin I won't spoil here.)
Uh, the count wears a cowboy hat...I call him Count Hatula. Not very menacing I must say...but effective enough.
After some native women try to warn away Lina-and she doesn't heed that warning, we are off to the races so to speak. Extended writhing on all of the female actresses is called upon, and they deliver it with great enthusiasm. So, it ain't much on plot, but as is the case with many of the recent Franco films, the story isn't in the story, it's in the images. And Franco and crew pull out some quite nice ones.
Synopsis aside, Vampire Junction is an interesting and entertaining film-perhaps more so than similar productions of late. A strange sense of humor combines with some of the most morbid sexual images Franco has conjured in many years come together fairly seamlessly. While the story of the Vampire Lord (Viktor Seadstrom) and his battle with the sheriff (played by Broken Dolls' Paul Lapidus) is fairly silly, the erotic content makes up for this in spades. Lina Romay actually takes a back seat for much of the film, leaving two Franco firsttimers to handle the action. Fata Morgana and Samantha Olsen turn things up with seriously stronger than usual lesbian hijinx. One sequence in particular takes "eating out" to a strange new level as the vampiress shaves down the pubic hair of her victim (phew, good thing they have disposable razors in Shit City)-before copulating and devouring her freshly shaven areas! Well...if that don't beat all eh? Franco seems to have lost all inhibition and desire to be mainstream here. The final erotic sequence is rather strong, perverse, and downright eerie looking as the nude vampiresses spider walk upside down towards Lina Romay, with the intent to pull her deep into a very sticky web of three girl acrobatics. If nothing else, it's one of the kookiest lesbian scenes I think Jess has ever shot, and that says a LOT!
Aside from the powerful sexual components, the film has several other idiosyncracies that are endearing for the right viewer. Ezequiel Cohen provides a very interesting manipulated soundtrack (with incidental music by Jess Franco of course...gotta sample the man in his own film), and as is the case with many of Franco's films, the environment of the film has a personality that you'll want to poke around a bit more. With it's "old west" setting, there are funny hand drawn wanted posters laying about the sets that had me rewinding to take a closer look. It's almost as if the Franco's performance fetish has morphed into complete and utter disregard for reality here. All the better I say.
Both Fata Morgana and Samantha Olsen are in the forthcoming Incubus, with Morgana appearing in the highly anticipated (by three of us I think) Killer Barbys vs. Dracula. Overall, a fun addition to the One Shot Francoverse.
The
tape from B-movie.com is another matter altogether. Frankly, for the 34.99 I
paid, I feel a bit ripped off. Recorded on a very poor quality cassette with
dropouts and fuzz abounding, it's in a clamshell box, with a very cheaply done
cover. I remember when Mari Cookie hit tape it looked respectable at the very
least. With promises of a DVD in the works, I'll look forward to hurling this
away. I understand that it's going to be a tough racket selling movies as odd
and small as this, but to treat it with ZERO respect is just sad. Hopefully,
b-movie will fix this shortly with a Sub Rosa dvd that lives up to the standard
they have set with Mari Cookie and Meat Market. If you can't wait...go for it,
but be prepared. All others, drop them a line and tell them you want your Franco
on DVD!