The Diabolical Dr. Z/Review

Dr. Zimmer (Antonio Jiménez Escribano) doesn't have a big fanbase among the medical community. Especially when he reveals his latest experiments that involve mind control over animals. The doctors even become more distraught when Dr. Z says that this treatment should be done to humans. A last blast of ridicule at Dr. Z from the doctors causes him to have a fatal heart attack. In his last breath, Dr. Z tells his loyal daughter, Irma (Mabel Karr) to carry on with his experiments---And avenge his death.

Irma goes through with her father's plans, but comes up with a scheme to fake her own death and hire an anonymous person to do the actual crimes against the various doctors. Irma finds her killing machine in Nadia (Estella Blain), an erotic performance artist. With the help of a previous mind-controlled servant, Bergen (Guy Mairesse), Nadia ends up in Irma's clutches and is subjected to the mind-controlling invention. A robotic contraption which uses acupuncture to the nervous system. Now with an obedient seductive killer under her grasp, Irma sets out for her father's revenge. A friend of the Zimmers, Phillippe (Fernando Montes), who is also Nadia's ex-lover, will try to solve the mystery of the doctor hit-list.

Since this was a few years before Jess Franco would attain his famous/infamous label in his soon-to-be "Trashy" filmography, it's kind of like a special treat to see glimpses of things to come in this early entry of his with the femme fatales and so forth. But this one actually seems to stand by itself which could be in thanks to the great use of the black and white photography. The overall look successfully blends together making the movie appear to be a fine smorgasbord of genres which include gothic horror, film noir and vintage old school Euro-Horror (I couldn't help but be reminded of Georges Franju's Eyes Without A Face on more than one occasion). Definitely worth it if you want to see Jess Franco in pulp horror mode.

Reviewed by Laydback