Der Teufel kam aus Akasava (1971)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Paul André (writer)
Ladislas Fodor (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1971 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A mineral is discovered which can turn metal to gold or humans into zombies. When the mineral is stolen, secret agents are sent in to get the mineral back! |

Plot Keywords:

Nude With A Gun | Female Nudity | Nudity | Shower Scene | Grindhouse

Cast

Fred Williams	...	Rex Forrester
Soledad Miranda	...	Jane Morgan (as Susann Korda)
Horst Tappert	...	Dr. Andrew Thorrsen
Ewa Strömberg	...	Ingrid Thorrsen (as Ewa Stroemberg)
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Sir Philip
Walter Rilla	...	Lord Kingsley
Paul Muller	...	Dr. Henry
Blandine Ebinger	...	Lady Abigail Kingsley
Howard Vernon	...	Valet Humphrey

Also Known As:

El diablo que vino de Akasawa (Spain)
Hüter des Steines (West Germany) (original script title)
The Devil Came from Akasava

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

West Germany | Spain

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

The name's Miranda...Soledad Miranda

Soledad Miranda plays a British spy in this movie and is not believable in the slightest; but thank God she is in it because if she weren't, this Krimi-style James Bond send-up would have been a complete dead loss. This movie is rather strange all round. It's based on an Edgar Wallace story and therefore is shot in the same style as the popular Krimi films from the sixties and seventies; but it's directed by Jess Franco, who is more famous for his trashy euro-exploitation flicks, and it takes obvious influence from James Bond; although the suave spy featured here is a sexy female. The plot is complete nonsense of course and focuses around some mineral that has been discovered by some researchers. It has unique properties; it can turn ordinary metal into gold and...wait for it...humans into zombies. Naturally this mineral becomes pretty sought after and it is soon stolen. Shortly thereafter, Scotland Yard sends spies to investigate its disappearance and stop whoever has stolen the mineral.

Soledad Miranda made a handful of films with Jess Franco before her untimely death in 1970; and it's unfortunate really that this had to be one of them. She was in her element in films like She Killed in Ecstasy and Eugenie De Sade, whereas here she's out of her element and it's not really a very good performance. One of the most noticeable things about this film is the score. It's groovy and entertaining, but it's also constant and it does become a bit grating after a while. The madcap plot starts to wear thin rather quickly also and to be honest I was getting bored long before the movie ended. The whole zombie plot might make you believe that there'd be some horror element to the movie, but this is hardly touched on...although that might be a good thing as the quality of this production is very low even without that. It all bubbles up some stupid conclusion that fits the movie well. Overall, The Devil Came from Akasava is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. Soledad fans will of course want to track it down, however, and it is worth seeing just for her.