Whereas Felini is content to betray his films to almost coherent plot and the shameful act of playing his hand too early, Jess Franco smothers his visual media idiom with layers upon layers of fantasy and dream sequence. Not only does the main character, whom I refuse to give a name to, tip-toe through the film's haze in a daze of somnambulant wonder, but her steely stare and enigmatic dialogue can almost conjure up feelings of confusion. We are watching a film where the protagonist almost has no identity at all, so should we feel guilty for feeling that the film has no plot at all? I think Franco achieves his aim here, for Succubus is a barrage of buzzwords all done with smoke and mirrors. I was so impressed I almost kicked the television in through sheer jealousy.His artistic vision is such that his contempt for his audience is to be commended. Why else would he insert a party sequence where a dwarf and a transvestite dance, a girl asks for her doll back, and a man in a suit reads beat poetry? It was only logical that everyone started acting like dogs, for here Franco is showing us that we are all animals at heart. In a show of unison, I was foaming at the mouth at this sequence, like a rabid dog. In this magical scene, Franco relentlessly throws pretension in our faces until we are left with nothing but animalistic feelings of rage and hate.The scene with the dummies is also of note. Here, Franco is clearly, blatantly showing us that we, that is those who paid money for Succubus, are the real dummies. The performance art, where people are chained to posts, is also an obvious metaphor. Franco is the one holding the knife (representing this film), and we, the audience, are the ones tied to the posts, helpless, enduring the torture. Truly, this man cannot but stand head and shoulders above his contemporaries.I may be beneath such a visionary, because I don't quite understand the technique Franco employs to actually stretch time within a film. The back of the DVD said this film was about 72 minutes long, but somehow, probably because I was lost in such a fantasy world before me, this film seemed to last twice that length. Franco is so good at his art that even time cannot withstand his power.Succubus doesn't quite reach the heights of White Cannibal Queen (amazing parable of man's fight against technological progress – why else would the jungle be so obviously set in a park), or The Devil Hunter (words fail me with this one – the struggle of the African man against the white invader – If you don't get that by Al Cliver fighting a naked, circumcised man then you simply aren't watching), but I think here, by riddling the dialogue with pop culture references, Franco truly makes a film that is beyond criticism.I give this film a one. Franco has no need for ratings. His films are beyond ratings. And what's beyond the beyond? Nothing. Therefore: Jess Franco's films should get ratings of 0.

Nightclub striptease artist Lorna Green (ravishing redhead Janine Reynaud in peak sultry and enigmatic form) performs a racy S&M act that threatens to become a deadly reality. Pretty soon Lorna is having trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. Is Lorna some kind of agent for Satan? Or is she just going mad? Director Jess Franco, working from an oblique, yet intriguing script by Pier A. Caminecci, delivers an artful blend of elegance and decadence that along with the languid pace, tasteful, but still highly arousing nudity and kinky sex stuff, a supremely hip and groovy jazz score by Friedrich Gulda and Jerry van Rooyen, a nifty array of eclectic literary and cinematic references, and an extremely abstract narrative that keeps you guessing right up until the end exactly what is going on all combine together to create a heady and hypnotic mind trip that casts its own singularly off-kilter spell and radiates its own heavy and unique psychedelic vibe. This movie is a true work of boldly unconventional and experimental avant-garde cinema that plays by its own decidedly obscure and esoteric rules, with a wealth of gorgeous visuals courtesy of the vibrant color cinematography by Jorge Herrero and Franz Xavier Lederle and such inspired moments of sheer weirdness as a bunch of people at a posh party acting like dogs and mannequins that for some inexplicable reason come to creepy life. The insanely lovely Reynaud looks positively smashing in fancy dresses and even better in the buff. Moreover, there are fine performances by Jack Taylor as Lorna's suavely evil manager William Francis Mulligan, Adrian Hoven as concerned psychiatrist Ralf Drawes, and Michel Lemoine as the sinister Pierce. Howard Vernon briefly pops up in a neat bit part as the flaky Admiral Kapp. An admirably bizarre and uncompromising little curio.

Delirious, near plot-less mood piece and if it's more LSD inspired than the Devil then we must remember when it was made! After a startling SM opening (which even itself is not what it seems) we move to soft focus and dream or imaginings or remembering…. Lots of literary and cinematic references and indeed this is the Franco film that Lang himself praised. Beautiful and mesmerising the film unfolds at a leisurely pace but has a richness within each fold. A rare movie to languish within. Old Jess could make 'em when he tried. Fine central performances too including the indomitable Jack Taylor and Howard Vernon. I haven't even mentioned the Lisbon locations - ah!

I must immediately make clear that the version of 'Succubus' I watched was the American one with the shorter running time. I have absolutely no idea what has been cut and how different this is from what Jess Franco originally intended. Even so, this is a remarkable movie, and one of the most interesting Franco movies I have seen.The beautiful Janine Reynaud plays Lorna Green, an enigmatic erotic dancer cum performance artist who stages odd, sadomasochistic events at a nightclub. She is plagued by hallucinations (?) and begins to confuse fantasy and reality, a common Franco scenario. I have to admit by the half way point I didn't have a clue what was going on, or who was who, but I didn't mind. Plot in 'Succubus' is secondary. Atmosphere, aesthetics, babes and surreal dialogue which name-dropped everyone from Stockhausen to Spillane to Mingus to De Sade, make this movie essential viewing. Reynaud is stunning to look at, there's some tasty jazz on the soundtrack, and there's the added kick of seeing the legendary Howard Vernon, a Franco regular who also appeared in everything from Godard's 'Alphaville' to Polanski's 'The Ninth Gate'.Beginners should check out 'Vampyros Lesbos' first, still the most satisfying Franco I've seen, but make 'Succubus' a close second. You'll see nothing like it anywhere!