Tim Lucas — Succubus(Book)

Released in the year 1968, Succubus, aka Necronomicón, was one of the first drives into the more dreamily kinky and hallucinogenic side of Jess Franco's filmography. It told of an S&M-focused nightclub performer who loses her grip on reality. The picture is often seen as one of the Eurocult auteur's most notable/ respected films. So, with that in mind, here we have the latest edition of PSP’s Publishing Midnight Movie Monograph series, which finds highly respected cult film commentator Tim Lucas doing a deep dive into the film and all that surrounds it.

The just under two hundred and fifty page publication comes in the form of a hardback A5-sized book. This features a dust jacket, and inside its back and front covers, are reproductions of original poster art from the film.  Inside, it's a monochrome blend of texts, stills, film release covers, and poster art.

When I used the words ‘deep-dive’, that really is an understatement, as Lucas goes above and beyond any study I’ve read of a single film. After the acknowledgements, the book opens with a fourteen-page chapter detailing why he feels the film is so important to himself and the wider cult audience.

As we move forward, he goes from looking at where Succubus sits in Franco's huge filmography of nearly two hundred titles. To discuss the meaning behind the Necronomicón title, it was given in some regions.

Then the lion's share of the book is a very in-depth anatomy of the film. Moving from breaking down the main titles,  looking at the ‘film doctor’ behind the US version, and the film's key/ main stage performance. Before jumping into a scene-by-scene breakdown, noting notable themes, character tropes, and other fascinating facts/ connections- this part of the book is like a commentary track on steroids.

After this, he looks at the film's initial release/ impact, the retitled Italian version of the film, and the impact the film made on the rest of Franco’s filmography.

Lucas's passion, nay, at times, obsession with film is clear throughout the book. Yet, he always focused on being as informative and interesting as possible. Meaning even when he’s focusing on the minutiae, his writing remains both readable and engaging.

Having enjoyed Mr Lucas’s commentary tracks over many years, it’s wonderful to see this book appearing. If you are a fan of the film to hand, Franco’s work in genreal, or exploitation films of the sixties, Succubus by Tim Lucas is a must. To buy direct, drop by here