Customer Reviews:
Average Franco.......2008-01-05
"The Devil Came from Akasava" was made around the same time and with much of the same cast as "Vampyros Lesbos" and "She Killed in Ecstasy". It's not as psychedelic nor as good as either of those, but it's still a very watchable Franco film. Soledad Miranda is good as usual and the underrated Ewa Strömberg also does a very good job.
Those who expect to see a horror movie or a sleazy secploitation film are likely to be disappointed. This is more of a spy movie. If you take it for what it is it's not bad.
SLOW BUT ENTERTAINING.......2007-10-29
Deep in a jungle in the country of Akasava, a mysterious death plagues the British government, and top agent Jane Morgan, (Soledad Miranda) is assigned to go undercover in the country with partner Rex Forrester, (Fred Williams) and find the cause of the disappearances. After looking at the possible angles, they find that the disappearances center around a special mineral that turns people into zombies. With an enemy group on their trail, they work together to solve the mystery of the mineral as well as the disappearances of the original deaths.
The Good News: Being that this is a Franco film, there's always several things to immediately expect. The first is that the film will really not make sense, feature a nice, jazzy score and the underlying reason is the copious female nudity. Soledad Miranda here provides the bulk of that, and has never really shown such a presence before. She captivates with her several remarkable scenes and willingness to perform, and there's several wonderful scenes of her in here. The strip-club act is the clear highlight, which is as sultry and erotic as anything else in his catalog. It is shot and choreographed beautifully, and watching Soledad Miranda dance in a continuous series of stylized poses is never a bad thing. The fact that the plot includes such genre-defying topics as a spy story, an adventure setting, soft-core erotica and zombies makes this such a special film, and the cleverness of them being tied together makes it stand out quite nicely. Other than that, that's about it here.
The Bad News: It goes without saying that in a Franco film, the constant zooming and jazz maybe for specific tastes, but the biggest flaw is that the film really takes it's time doing anything. The setup takes way to long to explain away, and after most of it was already told through the opening moments. The fact that a spy film would feature so little action is a big mystery, since it really could've done so easily. However, these are the main gripes here.
The Final Verdict: A little slower moving than usual for a Franco film, this is still a rather kooky and entertaining entry in his canon. A really high recommendation for the Franco aficionado, while those not that experienced in his work might want to start elsewhere, as there's better ones out there.
Jess Franco's Comic Crime Caper.......2006-11-09
Police agents, criminals & mad scientists search for a missing professor (now a zombie in Africa!) and thought to have discovered an ancient African alchemy stone with magic powers.
Akasava was made back-to-back in 1970 with Vampyros Lesbos & She Killed in Ecstasy - it has a similar great soundtrack & pop art look, similar stylish if erratic production values and the gang's all here: Ewe, Soledad, Vernon, Muller & of course Franco as his creepy self. This movie is not as good as the other two, it's not an "erotic horror" but Franco's attempt at a mainstream crime thriller with laughable sub-James Bond international "exotic" locations & an extended cast including lots of "proper" actors, presumably veterans of German TV drama. The amusingly convoluted plot purports to be an adaptation of an Edgar Wallace novel, though Wallace probably wouldn't have recognized the end result. Soledad Miranda plays a police agent working undercover as a prostitute in a London brothel and then as a striptease artiste in Africa...I somehow doubt that's in the novel.
Comedy crime caper was not Franco's strong point but personally I found Akasava vastly preferable to the earlier caper-movie Sadisterotica. As usual there are lots of striking scenes & clever touches alongside lapses of exasperating slipshod ineptness, but if you like Vampyros or Ecstasy you'll find plenty to enjoy here. Charismatic Soledad brings even the corniest scenes alive - and yes, in case you were wondering, she does spend most of the film in various states of undress. The DVD has a decent print and, thankfully, is in the original German with English subtitles.
Customer Reviews:
Average Franco.......2008-01-05
"The Devil Came from Akasava" was made around the same time and with much of the same cast as "Vampyros Lesbos" and "She Killed in Ecstasy". It's not as psychedelic nor as good as either of those, but it's still a very watchable Franco film. Soledad Miranda is good as usual and the underrated Ewa Strömberg also does a very good job.
Those who expect to see a horror movie or a sleazy secploitation film are likely to be disappointed. This is more of a spy movie. If you take it for what it is it's not bad.
SLOW BUT ENTERTAINING.......2007-10-29
Deep in a jungle in the country of Akasava, a mysterious death plagues the British government, and top agent Jane Morgan, (Soledad Miranda) is assigned to go undercover in the country with partner Rex Forrester, (Fred Williams) and find the cause of the disappearances. After looking at the possible angles, they find that the disappearances center around a special mineral that turns people into zombies. With an enemy group on their trail, they work together to solve the mystery of the mineral as well as the disappearances of the original deaths.
The Good News: Being that this is a Franco film, there's always several things to immediately expect. The first is that the film will really not make sense, feature a nice, jazzy score and the underlying reason is the copious female nudity. Soledad Miranda here provides the bulk of that, and has never really shown such a presence before. She captivates with her several remarkable scenes and willingness to perform, and there's several wonderful scenes of her in here. The strip-club act is the clear highlight, which is as sultry and erotic as anything else in his catalog. It is shot and choreographed beautifully, and watching Soledad Miranda dance in a continuous series of stylized poses is never a bad thing. The fact that the plot includes such genre-defying topics as a spy story, an adventure setting, soft-core erotica and zombies makes this such a special film, and the cleverness of them being tied together makes it stand out quite nicely. Other than that, that's about it here.
The Bad News: It goes without saying that in a Franco film, the constant zooming and jazz maybe for specific tastes, but the biggest flaw is that the film really takes it's time doing anything. The setup takes way to long to explain away, and after most of it was already told through the opening moments. The fact that a spy film would feature so little action is a big mystery, since it really could've done so easily. However, these are the main gripes here.
The Final Verdict: A little slower moving than usual for a Franco film, this is still a rather kooky and entertaining entry in his canon. A really high recommendation for the Franco aficionado, while those not that experienced in his work might want to start elsewhere, as there's better ones out there.
Jess Franco's Comic Crime Caper.......2006-11-09
Police agents, criminals & mad scientists search for a missing professor (now a zombie in Africa!) and thought to have discovered an ancient African alchemy stone with magic powers.
Akasava was made back-to-back in 1970 with Vampyros Lesbos & She Killed in Ecstasy - it has a similar great soundtrack & pop art look, similar stylish if erratic production values and the gang's all here: Ewe, Soledad, Vernon, Muller & of course Franco as his creepy self. This movie is not as good as the other two, it's not an "erotic horror" but Franco's attempt at a mainstream crime thriller with laughable sub-James Bond international "exotic" locations & an extended cast including lots of "proper" actors, presumably veterans of German TV drama. The amusingly convoluted plot purports to be an adaptation of an Edgar Wallace novel, though Wallace probably wouldn't have recognized the end result. Soledad Miranda plays a police agent working undercover as a prostitute in a London brothel and then as a striptease artiste in Africa...I somehow doubt that's in the novel.
Comedy crime caper was not Franco's strong point but personally I found Akasava vastly preferable to the earlier caper-movie Sadisterotica. As usual there are lots of striking scenes & clever touches alongside lapses of exasperating slipshod ineptness, but if you like Vampyros or Ecstasy you'll find plenty to enjoy here. Charismatic Soledad brings even the corniest scenes alive - and yes, in case you were wondering, she does spend most of the film in various states of undress. The DVD has a decent print and, thankfully, is in the original German with English subtitles.
DVD:
- The Eight Escorts
- The Fighting Seabees (John Wayne) [1944]
- The Fountain [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Great Silence [1968]
- The Incredible Hulk - Volume 2 - The Legend Of The Incredible Hulk
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Five Disc Collector's Box Set) [2002]
- The Man From Laramie [1955]
- The Monster Squad [1987] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Musketeer [2002]
- The OC - The Complete Season 2
DVD List
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