Horst_In_Translation Review of The Devil Came from Akasava

The Devil Came from Akasava (1971)

Soledad Miranda stunning beyond belief, but the story is meh

[4/10 · 13 September 2016]

"Der Teufel kam aus Akasava" or "The Devil Came from Akasava" is a West German co-production with Spain and the director here is the notable Jesús Franco. He is also one of the writers and he worked together on adapting the Edgar Wallace work with Ladislas Fodor and Arne Elsholtz who died earlier this year and looking for what Elsholtz is mostly known, you'd be a bit surprised to see him work on a Franco film. Then again, this 85-minute movie is not the typical Franco either. He is a bit restrained with nudity here, even if he is working with his two muses Miranda and Strömberg. Fred Williams also worked with Franco on other projects, but the most known cast member is Horst Tappert for sure. But even if Franco clearly intended this film a bit more serious than he usually does, the story about the ability to turn metal into gold never feels really authentic from start to finish. But hey, who would complain about that if we see the gorgeous and ill-fated Soledad Miranda in here on several occasions with little clothes on (she was already dead when the film was released). But unfortunately, she is not the undisputed main character in here as she is in several other Franco films. So yeah, her looks and Tappert's approach to the character make for some decent moments while watching the movie. But the story overall and also the way pretty much all the characters were written make this another forgettable Franco movie and in the end it is even more difficult to appreciate this film as a bit of a guilty pleasure, because Franco takes his work unusually seriously here on many occasions, which he usually doesn't do. Maybe the reason is the Edgar Wallace base material. I personally give it a thumbs-down. Not a complete failure, but also far from a convincing watch. Not recommended.