Voodoo Passion (1977)

AKA Der Ruf der blonden Göttin (Call of the Blonde Goddess), Le cri d'amour de la déesse blonde (Love Cry of the Blonde Goddess),Las diosas del porno (The Goddesses of Porn), Märät unet (Wet Dreams) and Porno Shock

Its funny, although hardly surprising, given that it seems to be the case with most artists, that despite how divisive the films of Jess Franco are, even among his own fanbase, the man himself was his own harshest critic. It wasn't uncommon for Franco in interviews to be dismissive of his work, expressing displeasure with one aspect or another. Its nevertheless obvious though to anyone who's well versed in Franco's filmography that there were certain films Franco was very fond of given the multitude of times he would return to a theme or even a character name. An obvious film in this camp would be The Awful Dr. Orloff (1962), a film Franco would keep referencing throughout the remainder of his career. Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1969) is another stand out, being Franco's first adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom, a text who's inspiration would prove to be endlessly fruitful for Franco. Vampyros Lesbos (1971) would also see its idea's expanded upon by Franco in films such as Lorna the Exorcist (1974), Macumba Sexual (1981), Vampire Blues (1999) and Snakewoman (2005). Another key “springboard” title for Franco was Nightmares Come at Night (1970), the first in a series of semi-related films like The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973), Sexy Sisters (1977) and Voodoo Passion, a tropical twist on some of Franco's favorite re-occurring obsessions.

Susan, the wife of an American diplomat, arrives in Haiti to be with her husband Jack. Almost immediately upon arriving, Susan begins to feel strange, namely due to the hypersexuality of Olga, Jack's sister who's behavior around Jack borders on incestuous. Not long after Susan begins suffering from vivid nightmares involving voodoo ceremonies with each dream ending in Susan's murdering of someone. With each nightmare, Susan begins to believe the murders have actually occurred and aided by the constant presence of voodoo dolls and the voodoo practicing servant Inès, gradually begins to lose touch with reality.

It never ceases to amaze just how far Franco could stretch a story he'd previously told multiple times with only the slightest of tweaks. While he'd expanded upon the ideas initially touched upon in Nightmares Come at Night with the aforementioned The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff, what makes his successful take on the familiar themes found in Voodoo Passion so incredible is that he had shot yet another somewhat relatable film the same year with Sexy Sisters. Still, Voodoo Passion is easily capable of standing on its own two feet. What sets the film apart from Franco's other post-Nightmares Come at Night variations on a theme is the Haitian setting and naturally the voodoo lore that comes with it, which is yet another example of Franco's skill at getting the most out of one particular idea in that voodoo as acts as a perfect primer for not only the films supernatural side but for other facets of the story as well. Per usual with this type of story, Franco gradually poses the idea of something far more sinister of a more natural origin is afoot and while some of the twists of the story can be seen as far-fetched, credit must nevertheless be given to Franco for following through as they are rather clever. It should come as no surprise that the films biggest highlights are Susan's voodoo ritual based dreams with Franco's typically hallucinatory eroticism in abundance, giving way to several striking visuals and pulsating tribal drums blaring over the soundtrack.

Voodoo Passion was one of several collaborations between Franco and Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich, a fruitful partnership which produced two of Franco's very best films, Doriana Gray (1976) and Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (1977). Franco and Dietrich's working relationship got off to a bit of a rocky start after Dietrich first saw Barbed Wire Dolls (1976), the first Franco film he backed due to its rough aesthetic and out of focus moments with Dietrich even considering not releasing the film at all. After releasing the film and seeing how profitable it became, Dietrich stopped having second thoughts about Franco for the most part, though several of the films Franco made with Dietrich stick out on account of Franco not operating the camera as he was want to do. Interestingly, despite Dietrich distaste for the freewheeling, handheld camera work that he found so off-putting in Barbed Wire Dolls, he later claimed that Franco was ahead of his time with that style of shooting, even going so far as saying that Franco predicted Lars von Trier's “Dogme 95” movement which insisted on more naturalistic shooting and handheld camerawork. Voodoo Passion might not exactly fit that description but Francophiles that have yet to see the film will find plenty to love as the film is one example out of many that showcases Franco's talent for re-purposing old storylines without the feeling of redundancy.