The Diabolical Dr. Z

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delysid d weird and confusing black and white movie from jesus franco. it wasnt as pornographic as his later work Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/03/18 Full Review Audience Member A great little masterpiece by Franco..To must watch, definitely...! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member You can see right here what Franco is really capable of doing. This is a fairly conventional black and white Euro pulp horror with an actual conventional plot and loads of suspense. It's reminiscent of a 60s era Dr. Mabuse film with a bit more emphasis on horror. As the plot goes, it's not among the very best, but it's an impressively stylish film with some incredibly odd and unconventional imagery which really elevates it. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member "The Diabolical Dr. Z" is eerily shot in Dark mansions, laboratories and old mansions and accompanied by a haunting score which intensifies the uncanny atmosphere. The storyline is ingenious and the characters are wonderfully demented. This truly is an immensely enjoyable gem for fans of Cult-Horror. I am tempted to give it the highest rating, but even without an extra star for personal delight, this is an absolutely awesome film that no Horror lover should miss. "Miss Muerte" comes with my highest recommendations Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member At least the title of the English version is good, though they left a few letters off the end. I can fix it: "The Diabolical Doctor Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." A mystery film in which there is no mystery for the viewer to solve is intrinsically dull. Likewise for a horror film in which nothing horrifying happens. "Doctor Zzzzzzzzz" fails on both counts. The Doctor himself only appears in the first few minutes of the film. He gets laughed at at a scientific conference and dies of a heart attack on the spot. For the rest of the flick, we have his daughter seeking vengeance. Early on, her face gets burnt when she sets fire to a car in an attempt to fake her own death, but she does some home plastic surgery to fix things. Then she starts using daddy's mind control machine (a plexiglass table with robotic arms attached to a machine that goes "ping") to control people's minds and make them do her bidding. The story after that revolves around a performance artist/burlesque dancer (Miss Muerte) who has long fingernails that the doctor's daughter tips with poison. Most of the rest of this sleep-inducing bit of celluloid flotsam consists of the dancer scratching scientists while being pursued by two stereotypical British detectives. Let the napping begin! The acting is second-rate at best. We always know exactly who is behind the killings and their motives. Everything is as dull as can be. "Doctor Zzzzz" may have been loosely based on Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," except the ape from that story has been replaced by Estella Blain here. The ape probably could have been more convincing in the role. Jesus "Jess" Franco went on to do some surreally strange exploitation flicks later in his career. They were by no means good movies, but at least they were entertaining in their oddball imagery and even freakier dialogue. None of that is present in "The Diabolical Doctor Z." The most diabolical thing about this one is its amazing ability to trigger something close to narcolepsy in its victims. Errr, viewers. No, no... victims. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member a Jesus Franco masterpiece! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Diabolical Dr. Z

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