RIP Jesus [Jess] Franco

He was known as the man with many names. But whatever he called himself, Jesus Franco, aka Jess Franco, famed Spanish director has passed away at the age of 82. After he was admitted to the Pascual Clinic in Malaga, Spain last Wednesday with symptoms related to a stroke.

With nearly 200 films under his belt [Jess] Franco ran the gamut of 

genres from everything from Horror to Science Fiction: Eroticism to Porn. Franco had even did a stint as a second unit director for Orson Welles on the film “Chimes at Midnight” that was shot in Spain. Along with Welles [Jess] Franco worked with great Christopher Lee as Lee reprised his role as the famed vampire Vlad Dracula in 1970’s “Count Dracula”. In this version, Dracula is an old man that grows younger from his consumption of blood from the veins of young mavens.

Born in 1930 in Madrid, Spain, [Jess] Franco debut as a director at the age of 18 with the 1959 film “We Are 18 Years Old”. In 1968, Franco, was nominated for the Festival of Berlin for the film “Succubus”. The nomination brought Franco international reputation. From there Franco’s life and career became more consolidated as he tackled the “B” film genre. Filled with endless creativity and talent Franco was able to deliver more than one film a year. Along with being behind that camera Franco acted in almost all his films. Usually playing some sinister character. Always working a micro-budget, Franco -along with the great Ed Wood- can be considered the Godfather of the Do-It-Yourself style of filming. Always finding funding for his films as an independent, and keeping soul control for his vision. However, Franco has always had a problem with getting films released. Most of which being direct to video. But he survived where others had failed and continued to write, direct and produce his movies up until his death. His latest release was the 2012 film “Al Pereira vs. the Alligator Ladies” premiered in theaters on March 22nd.

[Jess] Franco was given an honorary Goya by the Spanish Film Academy for his “rich and varied filmography, and his absolute dedication and professionalism.” In an interview, Franco, that he considered “film as mere entertainment that helps people live. And feared its use to transmit messages of social-political” which he said was boring.

Some of the more notable films by Franco include: “Snakewoman” (2005); “Killer Barbys vs. Dracula” (2002); “Killer Barbys” (1996); “Slave of Crime” (1987); “Night of a 1000 Sexes” (1984); ‘Devil Hunter” (1980); “Jack the Ripper” (1976); “Female Vampire” (1973); “The Sinister Eyes of Doctor Orloff” (1973); “The Mistress of Doctor Jekyll” (1964).    

Until Next Time...

"The Zero Boys" My Sixth Must See Pick for the Halloween Season

What do you get when you take “Wrong Turn” and add a bunch of wannabe survivalists/paint ball game players and make it in 1986?

You would get “The Zero Boys” that’s what.

By 1986 the horror market, especially horror set out in the backwoods (think the “Friday the 13th series) was rapidly growing stale and I found the “The Zero Boys” a nice, if not a cliché, departure from the big three (Jason, Michael, & Freddy) but still giving us all the basic needs when it comes to the genre: babes, babes for fodder, dudes for fodder, booze, sex, and we can not forget the main attraction: that being crazed hillbillies living in the backwoods doing dastardly things to un-expecting saps that happen to run across them.

The film opens up with a red hearing, the surrounding countryside appears to either be the intro of one of those 80’s apocalypse films that B-movie Hollywood loved to turn out at the time or this it could be a suburb of Tijuana. They both look pretty much the same. However, both choices are wrong and it turns out to just be a paintball survival game.

We follow our heroes to the path of victory as the main Zero Boy, Steve (Daniel Hirsh) puts a well place blob of paint goo into the forehead of a dude dressed as a Nazi SS officer, and in effect winning their little side bet. That of SS guy’s girlfriend, Jamie (80’s Scream Queen, Kelli Maroney).

After a little tension and an early version of a bad music montage where we see the rest of the team get together with their girlfriends and head out for a long weekend away from the city we finally get out to the woods and learn a little backs story on why the Zero Boys call themselves that. I won’t go into the full details other than they used to suck as a paintball team and they didn’t get awesome until they started training with REAL weapons. (Don’t all awesome paintball teams train that way?)

Of course while the group is out playing in the woods Jamie thinks that she sees someone running in the distance. Of course, at first, no one believes until they hear a woman scream from off in the said distance. Which then leads them the group to discover -and to forget about the scream- a house and barn off the well beaten path. At first the group thinks they have stumble upon some rich dudes haunting lodge and do what any normal person does when they find someone else’s house in the woods: make themselves right at home.

And this being horror all the fun comes to a crashing halt when Steve and another of his posse stumble across the fun and excitement that is the barn. Turns out the owners of the house have set up a sweet little snuff movie production pad out in the barn. And now it looks as if the Zero Boys are next of the play list.

So check it out. While not the best of production values it does hold up well with the other 80’s offerings of horror and in my opinion surpasses some of the mainstream sequel retreads early mentioned.

Until next time…