• Jess Franco's A Virgin Among the Living Dead was a real disappointment to me. Based on the plot descriptions I had read on the internet and the recommendations of a few trusted movie friends, I was sure that it would become one of my favorite Franco films. The living dead family are the biggest bunch of "do nothings" I've seen. Other than play the piano, have sex, and stand around talking, they really don't do much of anything. At a minimum, I would have thought they would be creepy, but dressed in their mod 70s outfits, they look like swingers on the make. I've come to expect more of my living dead.

• Franco's camera work (or it could possibly be the editing) is especially erratic in A Virgin Among the Living Dead. The film presents random flashes of images that have nothing to do with what's taking place on screen. The movie features random shots of various trees, random bushes on the side of the road, a couple of unknown people, an unidentified lake, and an unidentified fisherman. In several scenes, it's obvious that Franco had some extra footage he took from a car window or while walking in a forest that he included in the movie. While some of the other shots are quite nice to look at, they don't overcome the chaotic imagery.

• Acting is the strong point in the movie. Even though he has one of the goofiest characters I've seen him play, Howard Vernon gives a very nice performance. Paul Muller, in a small role, is as solid as ever. But the surprise for me came from Christina von Blanc. For a relative unknown, she does a nice job in the title role of the "virgin".

Appears to be many different versions of this film released over the decades, the one I saw is the British 2017 DVD rated 18. Apparently this is the Director's Cut, uncut. Included in the discs extras are a couple of X-rated scenes, one show a man's erect penis, other is a rape sequence. Not sure if these were part of the original film or added at a later date, either way their absence from the feature is no loss. On to the film itself - a young girl from England (I lazily watched the dubbed version which has her with an American accent!) is summoned to Monserrat Mansion for the reading of her late father's will. Being a Franco movie we have his usual combination of gothic horror and sex. In fact the horror is pretty tame, apart from some blood drinking, ghosts & a few severed body parts. Focus is more on young, female nudity in all it's full frontal beauty. Jess Franco is a director who you either like him or you don't. Plot wise this is tricky to grasp, especially at the end, but that's pretty normal for Jess. Some fantastic camera work - the hanged man travelling backwards in particular, great musical score & nice locations. Plus a bevy of beautiful naked girls. And Jess himself plays a main character, all be it a cretin! Certainly not to your average horror fan's taste but to those of us who like Franco/Euro horror it's a worthy addition.

Jess Franco brings to us another one of his Eurocine specials. This zombie/softcore entry introduces us to Christina a youmg girl who has been raised in boarding schools her entire life. Her mother died when she was very young and she hasn't seen her father since she was a child. When Christina (the titular Virgin in the title) is summoned to her ancestral home for the reading of her father's will she meets her twisted relatives who expose her to their strange lifestyles. This is basically a witches' brew of a film. Add an easily coruptable virgin,twisted family perverts, a french castle, a pinch of zombie pathos and a generous helping of skin and presto. This is one of Jess Franco's better looking films with good photography and decent camera work. The movie was recently released in a director's cut dvd version by Image and is well worth a look for fans and the occasional Jess Franco virgin. 7/10