Al otro lado del espejo (1973)

A nightclub singer is haunted by the ghost of her late father. The dead man summons her through a mirror, forcing her to commit a series of violent crimes.

Director:

Jesús Franco

Writers:

Jesús Franco (screenplay), Jesús Franco (story),

Stars:

Emma Cohen, Philippe Lemaire, Françoise Brion

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emma Cohen	...	Ana Olivera / Annette Whitman
Philippe Lemaire	...	Pipo
Françoise Brion	...	Carla
Alice Arno	...	Tina
Howard Vernon	...	Ana's father
Robert Woods	...	Bill (as Robert Wood)
Simón Andreu	...	Miguel Ferrara / Michel
Carmen Carbonell	...	Tante Elvire / Aunt Elvira
Ada Tauler	...	Estefania - Bill's Wife (as Adela Tauler)
Roger Sarbib	...	Count Herman
Wal Davis	...	Arturo Barbour
Chantal Broquet	...	Angela
Jesús Franco	...	The Pianist
María Bassó	...	Elvira
Nicole Guettard

Storyline

A nightclub singer is haunted by the ghost of her late father. The dead man summons her through a mirror, forcing her to commit a series of violent crimes.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | lesbianism | alternate version | sex | female nudity

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Details

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

3 September 1975 (France)

Also Known As:

Inside a Dark Mirror

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 9,855,682 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP), Producciones Cinematográficas Orfeo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Obscene Mirror (Italian version)

Obscene Mirror (1973)

*** (out of 4)

This is a pretty well, if highly praised, film from the Spanish director, which is (apparently) available in three different versions. The version getting all the love and praise is the Spanish version while the French and Italian versions are re-edited with hardcore scenes and an alternate cast added to the mix. The version I watched was the Italian one, which is hard to review due to the hardcore scenes, which were added. The basic plot, I believe, is the same from each version and centers on a woman (Emma Cohen) who suffers a breakdown after the suicide of her sister (played by Lina Romay in this version). Soon after the suicide the sister begins to see her dead sister inside a mirror, which causes her to go out, bring men home and kill them. Again, it's really hard to judge this film due to the added scenes and the fact that the Spanish version is apparently totally different but there was enough here to I loved to recommend people seeing this but at the same time you should certainly try and get the original version (which I will be looking for). The film reminded me a lot of Franco's Venus in Furs, which is among the director's best films. There's a deeply haunting, sad and tragic nature and atmosphere, which runs throughout this film and it wasn't hard to get caught up into the mental state of the main character. Franco's direction is very sharp throughout but most of the credit has to go towards Cohen who is simply terrific in the film. She doesn't have to resort to nudity or cheap thrills to get her performance across. I guess the best way to explain it is that she comes across like a spirit and just floats from one scene to the next, slowing breaking down in front of our eyes. Sadly the disc I watched also didn't feature any subtitles so I couldn't follow any of the dialogue, which there was plenty of and I'm sure if I could follow the story more I would have loved it even more. The hardcore scenes, which again, were added, are pretty ugly and add absolutely nothing to the movie. These scenes really killed everything that was going on so I found myself hitting the FF button through them. I'm hoping to track down the director's cut soon since most fans think this Italian version is a complete mess. If it is a mess and I enjoyed it this much then I can't wait to see what the Spanish one offers.