Buoyed by his film 'Vampyros Lesbos', Director Jess Franco quickly employed a very similar cast and crew for this typically leery-titled horror/drama.The mighty Soledad Miranda plays the wife of Doctor Johnson, whose experiments with embryos has caused him to be vilified by his peers and banned from continuing his work. Taking care to wear a series of tight shirts unbuttoned to reveal some handsome jewellery, he then goes through spiralling turmoil ending in suicide. His wife determines to get revenge on those who drove him to this.As with just about all Franco films, scenes of tension are accompanied by exotic and jaunty jazz music that sometimes works because it is so inappropriate and sometimes doesn't. The former Mrs Johnson's subsequent seductions-prior-to-murder are scored with grimly fitting incidentals, and together with Franco's obsession with close-ups and zoom-outs, concoct a heady, disorientating nightmare. Surprisingly, Franco regular Howard Vernon is the first person to cop it.Apart from making her name in 'exploitation' films, there's no denying Miranda's power as an actress. She is tremendous throughout despite (on the DVD I am watching), she is buried beneath unbefitting dubbing and subtitles, and has a genuine sense of presence that makes the routine seduction/death plot line far more interesting than it would have otherwise been. Her early death on the eve of what looked like global stardom remains a great tragedy.

The young and idealistic Dr Johnson (Fred Williams) proudly presents his work with human embryos, but has his expectations crushed by 4 experts (Howard Vernon, Paul Muller, Ewa Strömberg and Jess Franco himself) who ridicule the work of his lifetime and destroy his experiments. Dr Johnson commits suicide, and his widow (Soledad Miranda) decides she will kill the 4 enemies of her husband - in interesting ways. Meanwhile she keeps the body of the doctor and continues to talk to him as if he were still alive...A thriller with a remarkable straightforward story for a Jess Franco movie. Soledad Miranda is scorching the screen, the director gives her plenty of opportunity to stare with her dark eyes at her future victims. Not even a silly blond wig can damage her maniacal presence. The jazzy lounge music contributes a lot to the freaky atmosphere, but also the locations near Alicante/Spain are beautifully chosen. The only weak point to me is the role of the police inspector (Horst Tappert), because he seems to do a really lazy and sloppy investigation, considering there are several murder cases. Oh, and maybe it's the only time in cinema history that a car falls down a cliff and just breaks apart, it doesn't explode like it's full of dynamite - movie cliché avoided. Most likely it were only the costs which mattered, though.

Dr. Johnson (Fred Williams) is happily married with his beloved wife Mrs. Johnson (Soledad Miranda) and is researching human embryos using animal cells. When he brings his findings to the Board of the prominent Dr. Franklin Houston (Paul Müller), Prof. Jonathan Walker (Howard Vernon), Dr. Crawford (Ewa Stroemberg) and Dr. Donen (Jesus Franco), the committee rejects his researches and destroys his laboratory. Dr. Johnson has a nervous breakdown and commits suicide, and the disturbed Mrs. Johnson seeks revenge, seducing each member of the Board and killing one by one while having sex with her victims. "Sie Tötete in Ekstase" a.k.a. "She Killed in Ecstasy" is a movie of revenge that uses a storyline very similar to François Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black" with a grieving woman seeking revenge on the responsible for the death of her beloved lover. However, this film follows the usual style of the director Jesus Franco, with kinky sex, nudity, lesbianism and murders. The hot Soledad Miranda is very beautiful and sexy. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "Ela Matou em Êxtase" ("She Killed in Ecstasy")

She Killed in Ecstasy (1971) *** (out of 4) Four doctors humiliate and eventually ban another doctor from practicing medicine, which causes him to commit suicide. A few months pass and the dead doctor's wife (Soledad Miranda) starts seeking revenge. Even though director Franco has nearly two-hundred films under his belt, this one here remains one of his most popular. Even though it isn't connected to Vampyros Lesbos, this film could be called a companion piece as both feature the beautiful Miranda who would sadly die shortly after filming this movie. It goes without saying that she's the main reason to watch this film as her cool and calmness really makes an impact with the viewer and her sleek character really comes off very memorable. It also goes without saying that Miranda was a very beautiful woman and this here also pops off the screen as she displays her sexuality. Supporting players Howard Vernon, Paul Muller and Franco himself also offer up fine performances. With the strange visual style and extremely fine music score, this here rightfully belongs near the top of any Euro title out there. While there are certainly short comings in the film in the end there's no denying that the star of this film was a one of a kind and this here is one of her best roles.