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Eugenie De Sade
[Blue Underground]
1970; color
Directed by Jess Franco
Starring: Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, Andres Monales, Greta Schmidt, Alice Arno & Jess Franco
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Having fallen asleep during at least two previous attempts at watching one of Jess Franco's other Marquis De Sade inspired films, Justine, I wasn't too keen on reviewing this one. Finding out that Soledad Miranda plays the starring role though quickly changed my mind. (Regular readers already know I have a bit of a thing for her; irregular readers have now been informed.) I assume most people reading this review are at least casually familiar with the Marquis' writing - at least enough to know he's known for being perverse - so no one will be surprised to learn there's plenty of sex and death contained in this storyline. Although you may be surprised to see that Franco allowed Alice Arno to leave on her somewhat athletic looking knee socks during the lesbian sex scene with Soledad that kicks off the festivities. (I actually thought that was a nice touch. Of course, I also have a bit of a thing for knee socks.) Shortly after the aforementioned lesbian sex scene - which actually segues into being the film's first death scene - we get a little backstory about our beautiful young "heroine" and her not very beautiful, not very young, literal partner in crime, her "father", Albert Radeck. (Played by Paul Muller, another actor Franco worked with multiple times.) And I put those terms in quotes because, although Eugenie is clearly the main female character, I'm not sure we're supposed to have the sympathy or empathy towards her that the viewer generally feels for a film's heroine. Also, Radeck is technically her stepfather, having met and married her mother while she was with child. (PS: he killed the woman after meeting and marrying her too, but not before she could give birth to his future girlfriend.) Sadly, this does not make the sexual relationship between the two characters seem any less wrong. (Nor does it make having to see his bony naked ass any more pleasant, but I suppose we should all have known we were going to have to see it.) Another thing we learn is that Eugenie's father, a writer, has interests outside of pedophilia and incest. Namely, he is obsessed with committing the perfect crime and, not only convinced he has the wherewithal to do so repeatedly, he's convinced getting her to join him will be a perfect way to further strengthen their father-daughter bond. Plus, killing makes Eugenie totally horny. Oh wait... nobody knows about that yet. Anywhoo, as is the case with many of his films from this period, Franco appears in the film as well, here playing a journalist with a particular interest in Radeck (fortunately, not that kind of interest!) who shadows the couple in hopes of finding out their secret. Which he eventually does, once the film draws near a close and Eugenie is recounting her life story from her deathbed. Overall, although I would not rank this as highly on my Franco favorites list as Vampyros Lesbos, She Killed In Ecstasy or The Devil Came From Akasava, this is certainly one of his more linear and inspired De Sade inspired films.
—Bunny
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