SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (Sie tötete in Ekstase)(director/writer: Jesus Franco; cinematographer: Manuel Merino; editor: Clarissa Ambach; music: Manfred Hübler/Siegfried Schwab; cast: Susann Korda (Mrs. Johnson), Fred Williams (Dr. Johnson), Horst Tappert (Inspector), Howard Vernon (Prof. Jonathan Walker), Paul Müller (Dr. Franklin Houston), Ewa Stroemberg (Dr. Crawford), Jesus Franco (Dr. Donen) Beni Cardoso (Dr. Donen´s Dead Wife); Runtime: 73; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Artur Brauner/Arturo Marcos; Image; 1971-West Germany/Spain-in German with English subtitles)
“I recommend this sleaze only to men who like to wear raincoats while attending an adult theater.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Another juicy role in a prolific cult filmmaker Jess Franco (“Venus in Furs”/”The Awful Dr. Orlof”/”Two Undercover Angels”) Euro-trash film for the super sexy star of Vampyros Lesbos, Susann Korda (also known as Soledad Miranda). Besides being sloppily made and poorly acted and scripted, it’s an exploitative soft porn film that sends a sicko revenge message. The heroine goes on a killing rampage, where I guess she shows those crazy hypocrites who did her man wrong who is the more crazy. You got me what is supposed to be arty (Wow! In one lovemaking scene Franco places a glass of sherry in front of the lens giving the shot an arty look) or entertaining about such kitsch drivel.
Controversial young medical research doctor Johnson (Fred Williams) goes nuts and then kills himself after a stuffy medical committee terminates his research into human embryos, bans him from pursuing further research in the field, disparages him as a charlatan and destroys his lab that held his lifetime research. His loving piece-of-ass wife (Susann Korda, died at the age of 27 in a car accident) keeps his body by her side for some necrophilia and schemes to kill those phony puritanical committee members who indirectly caused her hubby’s death by their evil actions. Mrs. Johnson dons a violet cape in her beautiful Mediterranean village setting and plays the part of a prostitute to lure the outspoken and arrogant Dr. Walker (Howard Vernon) to take her to his swanky hotel room, where he asks to be humiliated to help him get off during sex and she obliges but goes a bit further than he meant by cutting off his penis and slitting his throat. Mrs. Johnson then changes images, hair styles and color, and lures the attractive blonde Dr. Crawford (Ewa Stroemberg) into a lesbian relationship by pretending to be a lonely intellectual tourist in retreat at the remote resort. Dr. Crawford is suffocated to death by a pillow pressed against her face. Mrs. Johnson tags a note on the corpse saying “You are the second pig to die” and then signs it “J.” Outside a church she lures Dr. Franklin Houston (Paul Müller) back to her room, and then stabs him to death in his back with a scissors while having sex. The busy J then kills the wife of Dr. Donen and then the doctor (played by the director), who dies from multiple stab wounds after being tortured. The psychopathic black widow drives her car into the ocean with her dead hubby, and the pic mercifully ends with a suicide drowning.
I recommend this sleaze only to men who like to wear raincoats while attending an adult theater.
REVIEWED ON 9/14/2007 GRADE: D
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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