The Diabolical Dr. Z — The Diabolical Dr. Z( Blu Ray)
From the mid-1960s, The Diabolical Dr. Z blended mad doctor horror, revenge thriller, and low-key sci-fi with a largely grim tone, which is informed by both gothic horror and noir genres. The film is one of the earlier releases from Infamous euro-cult director Jess Franco, and it’s a monochrome affair, being a lot more subtle compared to his later work, though it has a very tangible/dread-filled atmosphere. Here from Eureka is a new Blu-ray release of the film, taking a 2k scan, a new commentary track, and a selection of new/ old extras.
The Diabolical Dr. Z ( aka Miss Muerte, Miss Death) is a joint Spanish/ French production. It was made in 1966, and was the 11th feature film from Franco, who, before the end of his career, notched up an impressive two hundred plus features.
We open up in fine, eerier gothic meets noir fashion- as we see a man creeping through/ escaping from a ragged rock-lined prison, as lightning continuously strikes- the man we later find out is Hans Bergen(Guy Mairesse) a strangler, who has many victims to his name.
Next, we go to the nighttime lab of Dr. Zimmer(Antonio Jiménez Escribano) a dark-glassed, grey-haired, and wheelchair-bound neurosurgeon- who has been experimenting with animals to control their actions, and when Bergen staggers to the doctor's door, it’s somewhat of a (dark) godsend.
In due course, Zimmer and his stern blond-haired daughter Irma (Mabel Karr) head to a medical conference, with the doctor raving about his experimental work. The other doctors in attendance, including Franco regular Howard Vernon, are appalled by what the not-so-good Dr Z is saying- one thing leads to another, and Zimmer has a major heart attack, with his last dying breath asking his daughter to continue his work.
Back in the lab, we find out via a weird metal tentacle/ glass operation table and a spike inserted in his head, that Han is now under the control of Irma. She next decides to fake her own death by mowing down, then burning a female hitchhiker, and then plans her revenge on the doctors who mocked her father.
One night out in a local nightclub club she sees a performance from a dancer whose stage name is Ms Death ( Estella Blain). Her act finds her dressed in a see-through body suit- crawling on a spiderweb stage, attacking a male manikin with darting back & forth eyes. Here Irma sees her way to revenge, so she kidnaps the dancer, places her on the strange operation table, and so the razor-bladed nail dancer starts working through the revenge list.
Adding to the decidedly gloomy/ grim tone of much of the film, we have a soundtrack that brings together wonky doom jazz, and bleakly tolling piano keys/percussion. The film's only moments of semi-levity occur when two rather odd detectives turn up to investigate things- one of them is wearing dark glasses/ scaf wearing Jess Franco.
I first saw The Diabolical Dr. Z some twenty-some years back- it was one of the first Franco films I saw, and it was most impactful with its blending of gothic & noir tropes. And I must say it still stands up, been a most uneasy/dread-filled watch- with great use of moody camera work. As mentioned earlier, it’s a very different beast from Franco’s later work, which at times can be a little roughshod/ perverse. So I’d most certainly say this is a great/ more formal introduction to Mr Franco’s work.
The recent Blu-ray is region B, and it features a lovely, crisp and clean monochrome 2k print. With a choice of either the original French track or an English-dubbed track.
Moving on to the extras, we get a good selection of new and archived things. First up, we have a commentary from genre film expert and Video Watchdog founder Tim Lucas. He opens up by commenting on the open location, which was used in a few of Franco’s early productions. He comments on the cinematography of Alejandro Ulloa- this was the one and only film he did with the director, though Jess was very pleased with the results. He talks about how the film was one of the few Franco films that had a conventional storyboard, due to the lovely shot composition. He gives bios of actors as they appear, as well as sometimes mentioning other notable roles. He touches on how the film links into the mythos of earlier horror pictures by the director. He discusses the film's nightclub dance scene and how Franco did more than a few similar sequences throughout his huge filmography. He points out a few moments that were cut out of the original US version of the film. He talks about the swimming in the lake scene, and how this was the first suggestion of Lesbianism, which later appeared in many of the director's films. Later on, he discusses what he calls the ‘dance of death’ scene, where a victim is slowly stalked by their killer. He quotes from interviews with the director from the original release of the film, and declares it one of Franco’s most successful commercial/ formal films. A most informative/interesting track.
Otherwise, on the new side, we have Death on the Continent( 25.45), which finds Xavier Aldana Reyes, author of Spanish Gothic, talking about European Gothic cinema of the 1960s. Awful, Diabolical, Sadistic (19.03) video essay from historian Samm Deighan on mad science in gothic horror, going from Mary Shelley to Jess Franco.
On the archive side, we have, interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière(17.41). Interview with film historian Lucas Balbo(15.41). Interview with Stéphane du Mesnildot, journalist and author of Jess Franco: Énergies du Fantasme(11.11).
The finished release comes with a booklet featuring new writing on The Diabolical Dr Z and its director by Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, co-editor of The Films of Jess Franco. The release is a limited edition of 2000 copies.
Hands down, The Diabolical Dr Z is a great entry point into the truly huge filmography of Jess Franco. It’s one of his more formal/ easily approachable films, with a general feeling of grim dread, with some great moments of horror. This new Eureka release features a lovely, crisply moody 2k scan, and a good/interesting selection of extras- be they new or archive.