Lorna the Exorcist 1974 Jess Franco

In all my years of watching movies, I'd never seen a Jess Franco movie.  That's sort of amazing since he's closing in on 200 films for his career.  You'd think I would have stumbled upon one sooner or later.  Nope.  I probably would have never seen one of his movies if not for all the good things I'd heard about this one.  Well, maybe not good things, but reviews that were filled with words like "shocking!", "transgressive!", and "must be seen to be believed!"  So I had to see for myself.

And now I have.  And I'm not sure why I liked it so much.  Or why I want to see more of his films ASAP.  It's cheap, grimy, and more than a little bit sleazy, but that's not why I like it, or why it's so interesting.  The story's basically an old fairy tale - guy down on his luck is promised huge sums of wealth if he hands over his unborn daughter to a witch on her 18th birthday.  No, really.  The movie starts just before the girl's birthday.  Her father receives a call instructing him that the witch is here to honor her part of the bargain.  That's it.  Why is it good?  I don't know.  Is it the acting?  Not really.  How about the fact that Lorna the witch looks like Candy Darling after a 3 day coke binge?  No, but it's interesting....


Witches draw on eyebrows just like your grandma

Maybe it's the jazzy new age guitar noodling on the soundtrack?  No, but even that fits the otherworldly drream vibe of this movie.  Is it the spectacular modern architecture?  Let's just say that if you liked Hiroshi Teshjgahara's Antonio Gaudi or Jim Jarmusch's Limits of Control, you'll find plenty to like here.  If architecture isn't your thing, there's always the hardcore lesbian scenes.  That's right.  Full on hardcore.  But it's in the service of the story, so it's ok.  This was also around the time of porno chic, when people thought that hardcore sex was going to be a more regular component of movies.  It's a little off putting at first, but it's not nearly as jarring as in the Swedish movie Thriller.

Here comes the power transference!

Somehow all of those things come together and make a movie that is definitely more than the sum of it's parts.  It's definitely worth watching, and if you do, I'm sure you'll come back to it again and again, sort of like the recurring dream you've had since you were five about the spooky house with the trap doors and disappearing exits.

The DVD by Mondo Macabro for this film is spectacular.  The film looks as good as it ever will, and there's plenty of extra features as well.  Cast bios, two seperate interviews with Stephen Thrower (author of the fantastic Nightmare USA) about Jess Franco and Lorna, respectively, as well as an interview with the editor of the film make round out the disc.