By Melissa Antoinette Garza
With a tag-line of the sensual experience of ‘69, I have already fallen for Jesús Franco’s SUCCUBUS (1968). I love Franco and his visual choices in depicting variations on S&M, BDSM and sex in general, so if you’re only interested in whether I enjoyed the film or not- you can stop reading. I fucking love it. If you’d rather know more about the movie, the performances and all the strange and sexy scenes within it that are enticing as hell, then please proceed.
The movie opens with sexy, sadomasochist, redhead goddess Lorna Green (Janine Reynaud) standing on stage in a performance depicting violence and murder. It’s a deliciously naughty routine. In an unbuttoned shimmering, jet black cut-off shirt and a tight pair of matching pants, she commands the wickedly, sultry show in front of a live audience.
On display, she has two playthings, Bella (Nathalie Nort) and Ralf (Adrian Hoven), strung up on wooden planks. She visits the blonde fem Bella first. The toy is in a tattered white shirt and just the remnants of what was covering her backside. Lorna taunts her with a spanking cane before turning to Ralf. A willing captive, he stands in black silk briefs as Lorna places sweet kisses and begins to release him. Bella does not approve and calls out to stop her. Lorna saunters back over, now with a blade in hand, she presses it in the beaut’s flesh. Being an equal opportunist when it comes to punishment, she also inflicts a bit of performance pain into Ralf with the help of a trusty dagger. Of course, it’s all an act and the actors take their bow. It’s all just wonderfully, harmless yummy games that makes a gal like me yell out, “me next!’
As Lorna has fun and the vanilla-appearing audience eats it up, Pierre (Michel Lemoine) a malevolent man in the background watches on straight-faced. He dons a dark blue suit and only reveals his true thoughts via an inner monologue that lovingly approves of Lorna’s debauchery. That makes two of us! The difference is that he likes it because he’s the Devil and I’m just a weirdo with kicks involving knockouts with whips.
Pierre secretly marvels on how Lorna was a disciple made in his image that shall do his bidding. Satan or not, I feel like Lorna would eat him alive and have him begging for more. She has enough seductive control in her pinky to rule hell on Monday and have God handing over the keys to heaven by Tues. (Full disclosure, I have a very big crush on Janine Reynaud – RIP.)
After the show, Lorna is revved up and ready for some real action. She puts on a green teddy and shows up to the club owner, William Francis Mulligan’s (Jack Taylor) apartment. Sadly, he’s drunk and would rather pass out than screw.
Not being one to ever take a backseat to boos, she heats it up with a daring little striptease where she works everything. Will claims she’s old fashioned and boring. Fuck you, William, you unappreciative bitch. You don’t deserve the spanking cane!
Lorna falls asleep frustrated, but has a strange surreal experience when she does. In it, she’s naked and throws on a red robe. A bright light surrounds the scenery as she walks thru a large gate and into a place of chanting monks and then into a limo. We hear her thoughts as she describes vague memories of familiarity and a historical lesson of Pandora’s box. In the dream, Pierre shows up once again repeating how she is his disciple.
The visuals and imagery throughout this film, but in this scene in particular, are magic. The sequence is a testimony to Franco’s versatility and talent as a craftsman and an artist. I will always defend the artistry of erotica, adult entertainment, sexploitation, etc when there is artistry there. It infuriates me that because filmmakers like Franco included sexual fantasy into their film that they were not taken seriously by so many elitist pricks. I hate people who hold back in their work to appease the PG-13 bullshit. They’re hacks! I want my hardcore, balls-to-the-wall, fuck the man filmmakers to come back, raise hell and turn a few of us freaks on! Is that really too much to ask?
Still within the dream, she puts on a low-back, pristine white gown and enters a club where a male near-naked bartender serves her. There she is meeting someone named Admiral Kapp (Howard Vernon) who sits in a top hat and black suit. They play a S&M word-game that is all kinds of hot. Give me that over CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY any day!
In the morning, Mulligan awakes and gives a disgusted look toward Lorna who is still out and making-it with Dream Admiral. Sorry dude, had you been able to get it up last night, maybe she wouldn’t need the dream fuck. That’s on you, William.
At the club, a strange man comes up to Lorna and asks where she has been and what she thinks about the nights shared in Copenhagen. She tells him that she’s never been there and doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Bill decides to take Lorna with him to Berlin. They enter a funeral procession to see the Admiral has been murdered. She runs out in a panic and Will follows to see what is wrong. She explains that she feels as though she knows the man though of course she only knows him from the dream sex session.
Later at a swingers party, (or as the 60s called it, a party) the guests are given a sultry communion themed treat before engaging in explorations of the best kind. Lorna gets a tad jealous when a blonde is too intimate with William so she does the logical thing and starts an orgy of excess indulgence.
As she uses her wiles to summon the guests who get to their knees and begin barking, we see one man with a teddy bear on his head. Everybody needs kicks. The group pounces on her as a drag queen dances with a birdcage. Men and women alike, drop to the ground to taste her lips. I can see why YUMMY!
A little reserved, Bella is helped along the way by three friends. They carried her and placed her atop Lorna. Then her resistance was gone and she fell into the kiss. SO VERY YUMMY! This is where you say, Thank You Jesús Franco!
When visiting a palace, William tells Lorna a story of a murderous wife who used a dagger to kill her husband. He says that the woman was being used by the devil. She didn’t know why she did it, but was haunted by similar memories to the ones Lorna experienced in her dream. The two split up and William begins becoming hooked on her.
Odd things continue to occur as men approach Lorna in the club referring to her as the countess and telling her to remember who she is. William questions her but she says she doesn’t know what they’re talking about. William continues to grow suspicious as more dreams and visions come to Lorna. In an odd surreal therapy session she is asked her thoughts on different monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. She says they are sweet but then is asked about Pierre. Then she partakes in a lovely lesbian fantasy where both she and the gorgeous lady with her wear white lingerie and stockings. It shifts and changes and in the end turns violent.
In one cool scene, Lorna controls mannequins and make them attack. It’s very cool and makes me wonder if TOURIST TRAP (1979) was slightly inspired by it The lovely Lorna then proceeds to make out with one of the dolls. I’ll take that too. I don’t care. She’s the type of toxic that I wouldn’t mine dying from.
William has that same vibe as he falls deeper under her trance. So happy that she has returned, he ignores all the red flags she throws his way.
Lorna accepts her role as Devil Queen and begins conducting her little shows for real. I’m not going to lie, it’s still sexy as hell. I mean, it sucks about the bloodshed and whatnot, but come on, look at her. It’s incredibly hot!
I can’t recommend this one enough. It is a sexploitation masterpiece! A decent enough copy is on YOUTUBE, but I’d buy this one for sure.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
