Karine Gambier in trouble..

To continue the illustrative theme for a moment, here's a typical scene from Franco's enjoyable WOMEN IN CELLBLOCK 9 (1977), one of his many W.I.P productions. Peter Blumenstock (who himself did the world a favour by releasing several great soundtracks via his Lucertola Media CD label) nicely summed up the appeal of the film in his brief review from the O.O.P Franco hardcover OBSESSION - THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO:

"A sadistic albeit uninspired script focuses on a single element: sexual torture. An audience in search for such delights will undoubtedly be well-served by this utterly tasteless film that makes no secret of its aim to deliver straight, cheap and sleazy sex for the raincoat brigade... Howard Vernon's portrayal of the sadistic Dr. Costa is among the most credible, fascinating and gloomy impersonations of a sadist one could hope for."

ROBERT MONELL: I would add that this image provides a compelling snapshot of the raw, rough aesthetics of the WIP in general modulated by Franco's specific sense of Art History--the tortured faces, the flesh, the shadows and the chains frozen in a moment which evokes both Goya and Helmut Newton, an artist unpretentiously and spontaneously injecting his sensibility into a (then) popular genre. As always in Franco's cinema we are reminded that we are watching a "performance" and get the sense that the performers are perhpas watching us. Thanks for the shot, Anthony, and Welcome...