The Diabolical Dr. Z

Miss Muerte is pulp horror put over with enormous flair and conviction. … Franco’s typically idiosyncratic take on the material grips the viewer from the first frames, only letting up at judiciously timed moments en route to a creepily ambiguous final shot.

This Spanish/French co-production from the diabolical director Jess Franco may be that prolific Spanish filmmaker’s finest film. … Running throughout this unique film is an undercurrent of Sadean sensuality, largely due to the presence of Estella Blain and Franco’s voyeuristic approach. Blain’s bizarrely erotic “dance of death” in the nightclub sequence is worth the price of admission alone. … Aided by cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa’s atmospheric lighting and gorgeous black-and-white photography, Franco here updated 1960s Continental horror with a striking eroticism and deliciously bizarre ambience.

A wonderful film full of wackiness, sex and robots, this is among Jess Franco’s very best. … With obvious nods to James Bond as well as the German Krimi, Franco concocts a story that is sexy, interesting and fun. With a great jazz soundtrack contributing, Dr. Z represents the final chapter of Franco’s work within the confines of the Spanish film industry.