The Demons (1973) User Reviews

Naughty nuns and wicked witches.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 4 February 2014]

It's not at all surprising that Les Demons, Jess Franco's sequel to The Bloody Judge, was severely truncated for the US market: it's an extremely repetitious film, never quite knowing when to quit. That said, the full length version is still the way to go, because this being a Franco movie, it would be a crime to miss even a second of the depravity, of which there is plenty to wallow in.

The film, clearly modelled on Ken Russell's The Devils (1971), opens with the torture and burning of a witch; as the old crone goes up in flames she places a curse on the people responsible for her death—Lord Justice Jeffries (Cihangir Gaffari), Lady De Winter (Karin Field) and Thomas Renfield (Alberto Dalbés). Years later, beautiful nun Kathleen (Anne Libert) begins to experience sinful dreams and, along with her equally tasty sister Margaret (Britt Nichols), is suspected of being a witch, bringing them to the attention of Lady de Winter and her wicked pals. After much cruelty, torture, and sex, it transpires that sisters Kathleen and Margaret are the dead witch's daughters, and that they are to be her instruments of vengeance.

With a plot that goes in circles, Franco's trademark (ie. clumsy) directorial style (erratic zooms, roving camera etc), and loads of crap acting, Les Demons isn't exactly what you would call a Euro horror classic, but with Libert and Nichols regularly disrobing to indulge in all manner of deviancy (self gratification, lesbianism, sex with the devil—that sort of thing), plus a hefty dose of sadism and violence, this trashy piece of nunsploitation should still hold your attention to the end. A wonderfully incongruent soundtrack—including a funky bass guitar that kicks in whenever the women get saucy—only adds to the charm.

6/10 (which, from me, is a pretty decent rating for a Franco film).

Fast-paced, trashy Devils rip-off

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 18 June 2016]

A typically inane jumble of sex and horror from prolific pervo Jess Franco – here masquerading under the name 'Clifford Brown'. Obviously inspired by the similarly-titled Ken Russell epic THE DEVILS, Franco is happy to throw in as many ingredients as he likes into the heady brew. Yep, here we have it, a combination of lesbian nuns, sadistic torture, swashbuckling, black magic, court intrigue, romance, and a witch who can turn people into skeletons via a deadly kiss. However, I'm afraid that the film isn't as eclectic as it sounds; indeed the most exciting thing about it is the music, which ranges from vaguely-appropriate guitar/folk noise mixed with outlandish rock during the frequent sex scenes. Franco's blurry camera typically zooms into the private parts of various women as they undress; there's lots of frolicking and moaning, and it's a complete turn-off for sensible viewers.

The English-dubbed version of the film is pretty poor and the camera-work as shoddy as ever. Lots of jump cuts make little sense and result in a sometimes headache-inducing movie. The nubile Libert and Nichols are happy to strip often for the camera, whilst Alberto Dalbes is a spitting image of our own Tony Blackburn – and whose idea was it to call him Renfield (a la Dracula?). Franco regular Howard Vernon is on hand as a star-gazing nobleman. Franco spices up the sex with some distinctly unappealing torture sequences, such as the opening when an old woman has a needle driven into her arm and then has boiling water poured over her. Mmmm, nice. Anyway, the combination for ingredients makes for typical Spanish fare; certainly bad but fast-paced with it.

Jess Franco's The Demons...

[MovieGuy01 · 6/10 · 7 October 2009]

I quite enjoyed watching The Demons directed By Jess Franco It was rejected in 1972 but later passed uncut in 2008. it is about a witch who is burned at the stake by the inquisition, but before the flames begin to burn her. she manages to curse the Principal witchfinder. The film contains everything from torture, lesbian sex to demonic possession, and also features lesbian nuns around in the film so it is quite a strong film to watch for viewers to see. I think that Jess Franco has directed a lot of good and bad movies. but there does seem many that are enjoyable to watch. I feel that all fans of Jess Franco fans should watch this movie.

THE DEMONS (Jesus Franco, 1972) Edited U.S. Version: **; Director's Cut: **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 16 October 2004]

Review of the edited U.S. Version

This is a Franco film I had been longing to watch for various reasons: its being a sequel of sorts to Franco's own THE BLOODY JUDGE (1970), as well as the fact that the film was probably made as a direct response to Ken Russell's THE DEVILS (1971) – not that, in retrospect, there is much similarity between the two!

Well, my first reaction to it was one of disappointment, in essence due to too much insistence on pointless sex scenes and too little real period flavor; I can understand that Franco had only a miniscule budget to work from and, of course, I've only watched the heavily-cut 79-minute English version (with superimposed Dutch and French subtitles, and pathetic framing to boot!) – so who knows if the full-length 116-minute version is a significantly better film (certainly a lot more coherent, I presume)? Actually, the comparisons made by Brad Stevens on the 'Mondo Erotico' website between all existing versions of this film (and, more importantly, describing just how many shots are missing from what I saw) is depressing indeed!

While I certainly find great faults with THE BLOODY JUDGE (about which I've expounded upon in my review on this Forum), and even if I do concede that THE DEMONS is a more personal take on the matter on Franco's part, I cannot say that I prefer it in any way; then again, I'm disadvantaged because I've only watched the former through Blue Underground's 'definitive' cut on a stunningly-restored SE DVD! To go back to my dissatisfaction with the film, i.e. the sex angle: a measure of just how gratuitous the nudity is, for example, is in the successive footage of Kathleen (played by Franco regular Anne Libert) and the Mother Superior masturbating (the latter aroused herself by having spied on the former!). I'm not against the concept behind the scene itself (as I presume it would be only too natural in such a repressive environment as that of a convent!), but simply the fact that we have to go through the exact same motions in such a short time; if Franco had only suggested that the Mother Superior was going to 'emulate' Kathleen, it would have had a far greater impact, in my opinion. Of course, later on, we need to watch Britt Nichols have a go at it as well (not that I regret it in the least, mind you)! Actually, the film definitely had potential, and I tend to agree with the following statement by Dave Wood, lifted from his 'Mondo Erotico' review of THE DEMONS: 'It's a shame Franco couldn't have made a stronger link between the archaic, sadistic practice of witch hunting with the enlightened period of scientific discovery.' (Instead, the film prefers to wallow in its own 'sensationalism' which is not like we've never seen it done before, and better too!) The music score too, while quite a good listen on its own, is totally inappropriate with the mood the film seems to be aiming at!

The cast does what it can with the material, though I'm sure they all knew what they were in for from the beginning (unlike Christopher Lee in THE BLOODY JUDGE, apparently):

· although Anne Libert (who bravely faces up to her countless torture scenes throughout the film) is the true protagonist here, I was more intrigued by the supernatural sub-plot (the introduction of the devil-figure is especially well done) involving her sister Britt Nichols' 'demonic' revenge on their tormentors (one of them Kathleen's own lover, hilariously called Renfield – Thomas Renfield?!)

· Karin Field as Lady De Winter is an appropriately authoritarian figure, but who counts intimate S&M sessions and lesbian grapplings among her 'divertissements' (the latter scene which she shares with Britt Nichols, where Margaret openly laughs at Lady De Winter's seduction of her, as though winking at the audience and saying 'Here we go again!' is perhaps an unwitting commentary on the very 'concept' of the film and, in retrospect, Franco's general obsession with sex!); still, it's inconceivable – to say nothing of hysterically funny – that the aristocrat would recognize the disguised Margaret, as one of two novices she had sexually scrutinized back at the convent near the beginning of the film, not by her beautiful face but rather by her private parts (which she describes as 'a sight not easily forgotten', or words to that effect)!

· Howard Vernon is good as always as the 'star-gazer' who doubles as a political activist (and, unknowingly, also has a few skeletons of a different sort hanging around in his closet!) though, regrettably, he is too often relegated to the sidelines

· Cihangir Gaffari, aka John Foster, cuts a rather dashing, but undeniably mean-spirited, figure as Judge Jeffreys (more in tune with Franco's conception, I guess, than the solemn 'n' stiff Chris Lee) but, again, he is given relatively little to do…and doesn't the director contradict himself here by allowing him to be present during some of the torture scenes; where is the great 'I never knew…' line from THE BLOODY JUDGE, now?!

The 'kiss of death' given by Britt Nichols to each of the three persons responsible for her and Libert's mother's death and which turns them into skeletons is rather laughable, too – surely, Franco could have thought of a more 'realistic' way of dispatching his 'villains'?; at the very least, for it to be effective, we should have first seen them rotting away…but I guess the budget didn't extend to taking care of the special effects! Though the film seems to be leading towards a tragic ending of sorts (Nichols 'forced' to kill her sister's lover and for this being 'turned in' by her own sibling), it never quite manages to move us in this way, partly due to the overall amateurishness (and anything-goes mood) of the production! I was also baffled by the film's final image (the re-appearance of the 'Bride of Satan to take 'possession' of the Anne Libert character), but then Francesco Cesari explained to me that it's likely the 'conversion' of the good and sweet Kathleen (think De Sade's Justine) to the 'philosophy' adopted by her sister Margaret (replacing Juliette in Sade) and, in that context, I must say that it makes a hell of a lot more sense!

At this stage, I'm not sure whether I'll go for X-Rated's upcoming SE DVD (that will include three different versions of the film, all of them longer than the one I saw) – a lot will depend on the price – but I'd certainly love to be able to re-evaluate it by watching THE DEMONS in its proper form…

Review of the Director's Cut

Rather than formulate another full-blown review, somewhat belatedly here are a few points I jotted down after viewing the Director's Cut of LES DEMONS via X-Rated Kult's 2-DVD Set:

· Has resulted in a reassessment (of sorts) of the film, as this version is a considerable improvement on the disappointing and incoherent U.S. edit: the widescreen photography gave the film a really sumptuous look

· The soundtrack alternating between English and unsubtitled French (which obviously sounded far more natural) didn't bother me: in fact, I'll be watching it again somewhere down the line by way of the Extended Version

· Apart from the French-language sequences which are obviously new to me, I appreciated some of the extended scenes featured in the Director's Cut, notably Britt Nichols' rape by the demon (which is a lot more satisfyingly presented than in the shorter version) and the 'kiss of death' moments where I was glad to be proven wrong: in my review of the film I had written 'The 'kiss of death' given by Britt Nichols to each of the three persons responsible for her and Libert's mother's death and which turns them into skeletons is rather laughable, too – surely, Franco could have thought of a more 'realistic' way of dispatching his 'villains'?; at the very least, for it to be effective, we should have first seen them rotting away…but I guess the budget didn't extend to taking care of the special effects!' and, lo and behold, now we get Karin Field dissolving into a skeleton and smoke coming out of Alberto Dalbes' hair, as a sign of gradual disintegration, prior to his own demise; as far as I could tell, however, Judge Jeffreys' death was the same as before

· But then I was happy to see other sequences go: Doris Thomas' overlong masturbation scene (again note my comments from the review: 'a measure of just how gratuitous the nudity is, for example, is in the successive footage of Kathleen [played by Franco regular Anne Libert] and the Mother Superior masturbating [the latter aroused herself by having spied on the former!]'); the silly S&M session between Field and Dalbes; and the extended torture sequences – all of which had bothered me the first time around, so I'm pleased to learn that Franco had shared my feelings about them all along!

· Ultimately, I wouldn't consider the film to be one of his greater achievements, even in this guise – the film MAY look great but Franco's direction is as awkward as ever: note the scene where Karin Field orders Luis Barboo to kill the two guards, bribed by Howard Vernon, to allow Anne Libert to escape – they just stand there waiting for him to run them through with his sword!; or Jeffreys' death scene, already pointed out by someone else here – the 'audience' gives no reaction whatsoever to his supernatural demise but, then, when Britt Nichols puts a curse of them, they back away in terror!!

· The video transfer was pretty good but I was most distressed by the soundtrack of the English-language version: it contained numerous audio drop-outs which go on for several seconds, sometimes effecting the dialogue itself; can someone tell me if it's the same in all the various versions?

· Still, even if the film scores a few points over THE BLOODY JUDGE (1970) – especially by taking the viewpoint of the witches rather than that of the witch-hunter – I'm still inclined to prefer the latter (which I also re-evaluated somewhat because of it) by virtue of its more polished production, the cast and, of course, its remarkable if somewhat incongruous S&M sequences

Demonzzzzzzz

[Bezenby · 3/10 · 10 November 2017]

My mate gave me this. He'd ordered it especially from Germany for reasons unknown. There's no plot explanation needed - you just have to look at the cover and see who directed it.

Highlights of this film include:

1) Hitting the display button to find out how soon I've got before it ends 2) Losing interest 3) Wondering what my mate was expecting when he bought it 4) Realising exactly why it had been sitting in my collection unwatched for a decade 5) Being relieved that I didn't watch the 117 minute special version on disc 2.

Lowlights include:

1) Every scene lasting forever. 2) Female nudity rendered boring. 3) Endless scenes of women being tortured. 4)Everything else about the film.

Rubbish demonic horror/witchcraft effort

[The_Void · 3/10 · 6 July 2008]

Jess Franco at his very best can compete with the best of the cult filmmakers; but catch a bad effort and you'd never believe it in a million years. Les Demons represents a really bad effort for the prolific Spanish director, and that's really putting it lightly. The film would be best be described as demonic horror involving witches. The plot has something to do with a witch being burned at the stake, but really it's all so boring that I spent more time concentrating on my desire for it to finish than the actual plot. Luckily the version I saw was the chopped down seventy eight minute version, and although maybe they cut all the good bits out; I have to say I'm glad I saw the short version as I don't think I could have stomached almost two hours of this nonsense! As is usually the case for films like this; Les Demons is packed with sex scenes and most of them appear to serve no relevance to the plot whatsoever, and they're not even well filmed. The only thing that this film has going for it is that it's well shot at times and the music creates an effective mood. My opinion of Jess Franco changes according to which version of the director I'm watching; if it's good Franco then I'm a big fan, but if it's the Franco that made this film; I usually wish I hadn't bothered. Not recommended!

a tale of medieval lesbian nuns from the great Jesus Franco - HOT!

[Mathis_Vogel · 5/10 · 22 May 2004]

After an old witch is burned at the stake by the inquisition her two nun daughters execute a revenge which amounts to them seducing every man and woman that comes their way. Dealing with lust and anguish (frequent themes in Franco work),'Les démons' is quite a polished work by Franco's standards. Widescreen compositions are impressive and psychedelic music outstanding(a catchy guitar tune starts playing every time there is a bare flesh on the screen). Sadly Jess Franco didn't bother to hire a good cameraman, so some shots are out of focus, especially during zooms. Still, the camera-work in 'Les démons' is much better then in such later Jess Franco movies as 'White cannibal queen', for example. Regular Jess Franco actor Howard Vernon ("The awful Dr. Orloff") has a supporting role. Recommended for Franco admirers and those who find the idea of lesbian nuns hot.

Shocking

[Falconeer · 7/10 · 3 November 2012]

Yes I was shocked; at just how good this film was. Jess Franco has made some awful films, but "Les Demons" is certainly not one of them. The 'De Sade-like' tale concerns two beautiful sisters, orphaned and left at a convent, to be raised as pure servants of God. But their origin is a mystery to everyone. As it turns out, they are the daughters of an old witch, who vows while she is being burned at the stake, that her daughters will take revenge on her tormentors. The aptly named Lady De Winter, the icy blond servant to the equally cruel Lord Jeffries, embarks on a hunt to find and destroy the supposed witches before they can take their revenge.

With a surprising amount of attention to historical detail, an interesting story unfolds, with many unexpected turns. The widescreen cinematography is beautiful, and many shots are stunning. Lavish interiors and costumes, as well as the usual fantastic soundtrack that you would expect from a Jess Franco production, all add to the quality of The Demons. Another surprise was the lack of nudity and sex in the production. Of course those elements are there, but they are not overdone, and the largest portion of the film is dedicated to the story, and to character development. The words "elegant" and "restrained" don't' usually come up when describing Franco's work, but in this case those words are appropriate. The version I saw is the restored cut, running 1 hour 41 minutes. I'm sure the heavily cut North American version must really ruin this beautiful film. "Les Demons" is up there in quality level with Franco's slightly superior "Love Letters of A Portuguese Nun." Highly recommended.

More porn than torture - but bad porn nonetheless

[Groverdox · 3/10 · 24 November 2019]

"Les démons" is a stunningly tedious little nunsploitation flick from the prolific and generally underwhelming Jess Franco, who made this under a pseudonym for some reason.

The movie is typical for this sort of thing: a woman is burnt at the stake and issues a curse on everybody, then people start suspecting local nuns of being possessed and they are given the Euro-horror torture treatment, ie. tied naked and having their breasts burnt and punctured... in a surprisingly non-violent fashion.

Yes, this is long before "torture porn" became a subgenre, and as such, if you want heavy violence, you'll be disappointed. But the thing is, I think you'll be disappointed anyway. There's basically no plot, just that little set-up and then lots of boring torture and sex scenes. How and why did they ever think this should go for two whole hours?

I will say that one of the women featured - Britt Nichols - is actually very beautiful, but in typical exploitation movie style, the direction doesn't take advantage of this. They think it is enough to just show the actresses naked. They don't know that it's often necessary to shoot and light them in certain ways to accentuate their beauty and make it the focal point.

They probably thought it wasn't necessary, and hey, maybe they were right.

Not bad, for Franco...

[sgcim · 7/10 · 31 August 2014]

Franco's flicks always have something entertaining about them, even if that turns out to be the 'so bad it's good' aspect, but this was actually a pretty good film. I have to say that it must have had to do with the writing and acting. The dialogue wasn't stupid; something pretty odd for a Franco film. I can't remember one stupid line from the film; it actually made sense for the most part. The acting was also much superior to most of his other films I've seen. It seemed like these people actually knew how to act. My hypothesis is that JF was using some talented French actors, instead of the bimbos he used in all his other movies, most of whom had never acted before, and just turned him on sexually. The only part that reminded me of the typical Jess Franco film was the fact that the judge turned into a skeleton at the end in front of the entire town, and no one said a word! The unusual use of rock-based music for some scenes worked pretty well, and Daniel White did a pretty good job with some of the Latin jazz bits.

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 5/10 · 18 January 2018]

This Jess Franco tale of demonic nuns and graphic debauchery makes a good stab at portraying period costume and detail. It also boasts another fine performance from Anne Libert (as Kathleen), and an unusual and enjoyable score from Jean-Bernard Raiteux which does a lot to sell the mood of the piece, as does the director's usual fine eye for locations.

Other than that, this is an often ponderous venture that dashes between sex-scenes and torture. It doesn't engage much, despite some strong performances (Howard Vernon features sparingly, but is typically strong. Incidentally, I wonder if he always dubs himself for foreign sales of Franco films, because the voice used has an uncanny resemblance to his own timbre). Whereas 'The Bloody Judge (1970)', which has similarities with this, had the towering charms of Christopher Lee as a central character with some depth, this has neither. It does have Britt Nichols, who is excellent as Margaret, especially towards the end.

It is enjoyable, just rather dull. Designed possibly to cause a stir similar to Ken Russell's 'The Devils (1971)', this seems content to attempt to shock by mixing Franco's familiar perversions in religious trappings. This isn't quite a historical horror movie as, despite its title and premise, delivers nothing much in the way of horror. The gore is somewhat muted, but perhaps this is because I am watching one of several cuts of 'The Demons'. Running at 79 minutes, this version might have had some of the stuffing taken out of it, although in the latter part of the film, events take on a fittingly demonic turn!

Not Franco's best then, but certainly worth watching.

Early 70's Nunsploitation at it's finest!

[rmtaylor90 · 8/10 · 11 September 2016]

If you know anything about Jess Franco films or the genre of Nunsploitation you should know what you're in for. Medieval period film, accusations of witchcraft, demonic possession, nuns going crazy in a convent. You know, weird stuff like that. Jess Franco was quick to cash in on the success and controversy of Ken Russel's The Devils and made his own Inquisition horror film The Devils (aka Les Demons) Franco style.

While being burned at the stake, an accused witch curses the principal witchfinder and his minions. While this happens very, very slowly members of the royalty and religious establishment are caused to suffer and they also take pleasure in a series of their own sexual desires, torture and demonic possession by the witch's daughter Margaret. How Margaret becomes bewitched will unfold as you watch the film. As you already know (assuming you've seen Franco films before) Jess made very slow paced often sexually delirious, hypnotic dreamlike films with amazing visuals and music scores as is with The Demons. His films are often loved or hated by the b-movie cult community. I happen to like Franco films very much from all decades of his film career. Especially his output during 68-75. The man was making feature films at a furious pace. Some good, many well... not so good and at the height of his creative powers. He also had more and more freedom as the 70's moved along as censorship loosened in Europe giving him more freedom to create his own genre of film making. Zooms, close ups of butts, vaginal pubic hair, statues and buildings. His music scores, sometimes often overshadow the movie itself and deserve proper vinyl release. The Demons is an essential and often overlooked film of the demonically possessed nun genre and just a fun Euro-cult movie to watch. Like I mentioned above, everything from the music score to the delirious and wild sex scenes is all classic Franco from his most creative output post Soledad Miranda period in this film. If you're looking for a masterpiece of cult cinema Jess Franco's The Demons isn't the one for you, but if you are a true sicko like me and are looking for some of the most wild, delirious, sexually depraved gems of underground cult film making this film will give you a run for your money. I often tell people Jess Franco was the Marquis de Sade of Cinema. Many of his films capture the depravity of the Marquis works in so many of his movies. I give this film an 8/10 because for a Franco film this is actually a very well made low-budget demonic nun sleaze fest.

The Demons

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 6 February 2022]

"Let The Exorcist beware, The Demons are here!"

One can only imagine that Jess Franco sat in a theater as Ken Russell's The Devils ended and thought to himself, "But where's the sex? I want more of it. I demand more of it!:

After watching a witch burn, we meet two nuns in a convent, the virginal Margaret (Britt Nichols AKA Carmen Yazalde, who appears in The Erotic Rights of Frankenstein, A Virgin Among the Living Dead and is sacrificed in Tombs of the Blind Dead) and her more sex-obsessed sister Kathleen (Anne Libert, House of 1000 Pleasures and Sins of the Flesh).

A rich woman named Lady De Winter (Karin Field, Target Frankie and Return of Shanghai Joe) believes that Kathleen is possessed by Satan and that the two are the daughters of that blackened witch, so she puts her top man, Thomas Renfield (Alberto Dalbés, A Quiet Place to Kill and Espionage In Tangiers) after her. Of course, he falls in love and lets her escape. And even when Inquisitor Lord Justice Jeffreys (Cihangir Gaffari, Dick Turpin and Bloodsport) gives him another chance, Renfield runs back to her and the two are soon tortured into near oblivion.

Meanwhile, Satan himself appears in the convent and assaults Margaret, replacing her innocence with an overwhelming desire to punish anyone who harmed her mother or sister, starting with Lady De Winter, often by kissing them into skeletons. You know, no one loves female revenge more than Jess Franco and he's going all out here, with Margaret seducing her Mother Superior right into suicide and then leaving no man or woman safe from her vengeance.

This is one of the more gorgeous films Franco would make - it was shot by Raul Artigot (The Ghost Galleon, The Cannibal Man, The Pyjama Girl Case) - and he makes great use of his budget. And he lives up to those dreams of a movie that somehow answers, "What if Witchfinder General was more about lesbians?"

Sleazy Joy

[Tweetienator · 4/10 · 7 February 2022]

Tastes like a real Franco - some nudity, some torture, some horror, some action. A solid mix of sleaze and cheese, some violence and action poured into the mix, production is adequate. Les démons: not an essential Franco you have to know if you are on your journey to check his work out, but if possessed and tortured nuns sound like some fun to you this may be just the right kind of movie for you.

"Have You Ever Been In Contact With The Devil?!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 25 August 2021]

A witch curses her executioners while being burned at the stake. Nearby, a convent is suddenly besieged by impure thoughts, deeds, and general naughtiness. Unclean spirits have taken hold of the sisters therein, resulting in wanton, wicked nakedness.

THE DEMONS is a Jess Franco film, so it's not surprising that the nuns have lost their habits. There is indeed copious female nudity, as well as perverse situations and gory torture.

Though Franco's depiction has taken a lot of flack, just what would we expect to happen in a demonized nunnery, anyway? Square dance night?

WARNING: This film contains the infamous "virginity check" and "bride of Satan" sequences!

Those accustomed to the Director's work should definitely enjoy this movie. Others might want to watch something a tad less blasphemous...

One of the better Jess Franco trash horror films

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 13 August 2008]

Jesus Franco Nunploitation film about two nuns who are sisters causing a convent to be turned upside down by lesbianism, demonic possession and other fun things.

Its a well acted and we shot film that didn't seem to make a hell of a lot of sense. It was interesting to watch the twisted and lustful goings on for a while but after a while my interest drifted and I found myself no paying attention which made following the minimal story even more difficult. As these things go its actually not bad but not the sort of thing I want to be watching after midnight.

6 out of 10.

it is the sex scenes that predominate

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 24 February 2010]

Despite a little over use of the zoom lens now and again and inexplicably repeated lines this is a pretty well made Jess Franco movie. The budget must have been decent because picture quality and cinematography above par with some excellent location shooting, inside and outside. Costumes are also good, he must have borrowed those from some other film, and there is some effort to keep the tale within known historical events. None of this is to say, however, that there aren't lashings of sex. There is some torture but not overly done, no it is the sex scenes that predominate and fairly erotic and varied they are too. Anne Libert does well in the lead and generously shares her body with most of the rest of the leads. Howard Vernon is set against type for once and I reckon acquitted himself better than when he is given reign to go jumping and over acting everywhere

More Jess Franco fun with demon nuns

[J. Canker Huxley · 8/10 · 10 July 1999]

This Jess Franco (aka Clifford Brown) classic is a cross between Ken Russell's "The Devils" yet with all the bad photography and 70s softcore sex that make Franco's movies unique.

A stand out in this Franco film is this movie's odd soundtrack. The music has two styles; a heavily Spanish influenced guitar and flute instrumental that backs a majority of the movie and a ripping 70s rock soundtrack (a la Iggy and the Stoogies "Funhouse") during all of the sex scenes.

All amounted to the total Jess Franco experience. Although this was the English edit of the film, I would still name this as one of Franco's "better" works.

Decent

[Michael_Elliott · 8 March 2008]

Les Demons (1972)

** (out of 4)

101m. Director's Cut

A witch is burned at the stake and swears her daughters will seek revenge for her death. This is a rather disappointing effort from director Jess Franco. The film is too slow and it seems the director doesn't know if he wants to make a straight witch film or a sexploitation film dealing with lesbian nuns and various other beautiful women. The score doesn't help matters either. However, seeing lesbian nuns in action is a reason to check it out. There are at least nine versions of this film out there.

The DVD set I have contains two other versions but this one here is a 2003 edit by Franco.