Some truly stunning locations - even by prolific director Jess Franco's standards - once more belie the low budget used in this partial re-telling of Richard Connell's 'The Most Dangerous Game' (which is also known as 'The Hounds of Zaroff' - and in this film, we have Count and Countess Zaroff, played by a svelte Howard Vernon and a sun-kissed Alice Arno respectively).
These two shady characters have strange perversions of their own. But they would, wouldn't they? Enticing young females over to their paradise island, only to hunt them down and eat them. Cue much mysterious sniggering about the food served to each new girl - little do they know, they are eating the remains of previous victims.
Without explanation of any kind, Silvia Aguado is suddenly their latest guest. We are left to assume she was coerced by Tom and Moira (Robert Woods and Tania Busselier) as were the others. As Sylvia is played by uninhibited Lina Romay, it is no surprise that she is shortly stripped, seduced and haring through the palm-trees and long grass wearing naught but a pair of shoes, although these disappear in some scenes. (At least Franco allowed her that - it was rare you would see any actresses in a Jean Rollin film anything other than barefoot.) Nakedness is rife in this - we even get to see more of Arno and Vernon than we ever have before. For all the gruesome revelations, the camera is more than happy to meander occasionally and focus on the wondrous (apparently French) locations and generous displays of flesh.
Franco also makes great use of the fish-eye lens, or a technique very similar, to gently distort images and give them a greater sense of depth than mere normality would allow. This makes the locations, already impressive, appear vast and dream-like, especially the intriguingly designed château owned by the Count and Countess.
Finally, I was very taken with the music (by Jean-Bernard Raiteux and Olivier Bernard). A variety of styles, from morose piano motifs to 70's progressive rock. Shame there doesn't appear to be a soundtrack available - a box-set of Franco incidental scores would be most welcome.
These two shady characters have strange perversions of their own. But they would, wouldn't they? Enticing young females over to their paradise island, only to hunt them down and eat them. Cue much mysterious sniggering about the food served to each new girl - little do they know, they are eating the remains of previous victims.
Without explanation of any kind, Silvia Aguado is suddenly their latest guest. We are left to assume she was coerced by Tom and Moira (Robert Woods and Tania Busselier) as were the others. As Sylvia is played by uninhibited Lina Romay, it is no surprise that she is shortly stripped, seduced and haring through the palm-trees and long grass wearing naught but a pair of shoes, although these disappear in some scenes. (At least Franco allowed her that - it was rare you would see any actresses in a Jean Rollin film anything other than barefoot.) Nakedness is rife in this - we even get to see more of Arno and Vernon than we ever have before. For all the gruesome revelations, the camera is more than happy to meander occasionally and focus on the wondrous (apparently French) locations and generous displays of flesh.
Franco also makes great use of the fish-eye lens, or a technique very similar, to gently distort images and give them a greater sense of depth than mere normality would allow. This makes the locations, already impressive, appear vast and dream-like, especially the intriguingly designed château owned by the Count and Countess.
Finally, I was very taken with the music (by Jean-Bernard Raiteux and Olivier Bernard). A variety of styles, from morose piano motifs to 70's progressive rock. Shame there doesn't appear to be a soundtrack available - a box-set of Franco incidental scores would be most welcome.