Eugenie

Over a career spanning seven decades, Jess Franco has directed over 200 films in a wide range of genres, with his work ranging in quality from inspired surrealism, to erotically entertaining, to almost unwatchable (and mostly leaning towards the latter). However, while Franco’s filmmaking skills are debatable, his ability to get European temptresses to strip on camera and do whatever he asks them to do has never been in doubt, and the frequent female nudity has made his films much more watchable.

Eugenie… the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion is a prime example of a fairly boring (though somewhat intriguing) and not particularly well-directed film made all the more interesting by Franco’s magical way with his female performers. The film’s two female stars—Franco regular Maria Rohm and Swedish sex-bomb Marie Liljedahl—are constantly undressing, fondling each other, and engaging in bizarre activities, all of which help the film move along more smoothly.

Stylistically, the film is quite typical of Franco’s work from the ’60s and early ’70s, when his films reflected the trends and moods of the times, exploiting the liberal notions of youth and incorporating psychedelic imagery to enhance the sense of fantasy. Aside from the nudity, the film’s strongest asset is probably Bruno Nicolai’s groovy score, with its haunting jazz melody really adding to the decadent, creepy atmosphere. The film is also notable for the small role of Christopher Lee, who doesn’t get any sex scenes, but probably isn’t exactly proud of his involvement in the film.