Synopsis:
"Jess
Franco's first major film is an atmospheric, well-photographed,
amazingly lurid little masterpiece that deserves serious attention
from horror fans. The brilliant, cacophonic jazz score and
unusual camera angles work to create a real feeling of menace,
and there's rich attention paid to period detail, and eerie
lighting. The English version is even well dubbed. This was
a big hit for Franco, and he followed it with a sequel, DR.
ORLOFF'S MONSTER, in 1964.
This movie was part of a craze in Europe for plastic surgery
related horror films, launched by Georges
Franju's EYES
WITHOUT A FACE, AKA THE
HORROR CHAMBER OF DR. FAUSTUS (1959).
Franco's film is also a homage to the Edgar
Wallace book DARK
EYES OF LONDON, which features a
character named Dr. Orloff sending his blind henchman out
on missions of murder. Filmed in Spain. Director Franco wrote
the screenplay under the psuedonymn David Kuhne. He also appears
in a scene as the piano player." -
from DVD
Pacific
My oppinion:
I must admit I was very surprised about
how good this movie was. Not many Franco movies are good in
the way this one is. Don't get me wrong, I love Franco's work,
but I didn't expect a "quality" movie like this one. The Awful
Dr. Orlof has some very creepy moments, and the B&W photography
and nice looking sets creates a marvellous atmosphere. The
acting is on an ok level, except for Howard
Vernon wich does a great performance
as Dr. Orlof! You even get some black & white nudity, wich
is always fun. The soundtrack was also very nice, and deserves
mentioning. The plot isn't exactly groundbreaking, and there
are a few scenes that brought out a little giggle from me
(like the "sketch artist" scene) but that didn't lower my
impression of the movie. The only other negative thing I can
think of is the dubbing, wich was pretty terrible at certain
points, but I'm getting used to that..
If you're a Franco fan, and haven't seen this yet, I'm sure
you'll be as impressed as I was, but this one is definantly
worth a look even if you're not a fan of Franco's work! Highly
recommended!
My rating:  
Want more info on this movie?:
IMDB
Buy "The Awful Dr. Orloff" at:
DVD
Pacific, Amazon.com
or VideoUniverse
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