The infamous porn/horror/exploitation filmmaker Jess Franco has made over 150 movies during the course of his astonishing fifty year career--and about five of them are good. A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD might not actually be his worst, but it's definitely the worst I know of.
Incoherent, unrelentingly repetitive (we see the same ridiculous dream sequence THREE TIMES in its entirety), terribly shot, horribly acted. That's not to say it isn't entertaining at times. Check out the Wizard Video version--the dubbing is funnier than anything the Zucker Brothers could have come up with. Were it not for that act of desperation on the part of some poor distributor, this might possibly be the single most unwatchable movie ever made.
Of course, there are those who will defend the original director's cut of this movie. I can't say why. A little more sex and nudity, marginally more coherent editing and the absence of the aforementioned dream sequence (which was actually shot by Jean Rollin) are about the only differences. The acting, photography and pacing all still boggle the mind. And it's still far more fun with the often side-splitting English dubbing on the soundtrack.
I will admit that there are a handful of scenes which are oddly, perversely interesting. A sequence in which the family has gathered for the funeral of a deceased clan member is darkly humorous at first, with the patriarch mumbling biblical passages and his niece (daughter?) doing her nails, while the woman's body is propped against the wall. But even this sequence goes on for an outrageously long time, as though Franco was desperate to hit the ninety minute mark.
Of course, there's the infamous reading-of-the-will scene, which is so completely off-the-wall and bizarre, I defy anyone to watch it without either laughing the ass off or scratching their head in bewilderment.
Overall, this has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is better than this, no joke. But, as a fan of bad movies, it is fairly entertaining, even if it is in a way the filmmakers never intended.
Franco may be the only filmmaker in history who deserves to appear on both a list of the ten worst and the ten most productive. His movies may be terrible, but he's made at least 150 of them over half a century. You can't argue with that.
Incoherent, unrelentingly repetitive (we see the same ridiculous dream sequence THREE TIMES in its entirety), terribly shot, horribly acted. That's not to say it isn't entertaining at times. Check out the Wizard Video version--the dubbing is funnier than anything the Zucker Brothers could have come up with. Were it not for that act of desperation on the part of some poor distributor, this might possibly be the single most unwatchable movie ever made.
Of course, there are those who will defend the original director's cut of this movie. I can't say why. A little more sex and nudity, marginally more coherent editing and the absence of the aforementioned dream sequence (which was actually shot by Jean Rollin) are about the only differences. The acting, photography and pacing all still boggle the mind. And it's still far more fun with the often side-splitting English dubbing on the soundtrack.
I will admit that there are a handful of scenes which are oddly, perversely interesting. A sequence in which the family has gathered for the funeral of a deceased clan member is darkly humorous at first, with the patriarch mumbling biblical passages and his niece (daughter?) doing her nails, while the woman's body is propped against the wall. But even this sequence goes on for an outrageously long time, as though Franco was desperate to hit the ninety minute mark.
Of course, there's the infamous reading-of-the-will scene, which is so completely off-the-wall and bizarre, I defy anyone to watch it without either laughing the ass off or scratching their head in bewilderment.
Overall, this has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is better than this, no joke. But, as a fan of bad movies, it is fairly entertaining, even if it is in a way the filmmakers never intended.
Franco may be the only filmmaker in history who deserves to appear on both a list of the ten worst and the ten most productive. His movies may be terrible, but he's made at least 150 of them over half a century. You can't argue with that.