Eugenie

Eugenia (English language version)
Eugenie (French language version)

Note: This is not to be confused with Franco's De Sade 70 / Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey into Perversion

Producer Karl Heinz Mannchen
Photography Manuel Merino
Music Bruno Nicolai

Cast
Susan Korda [Soledad Miranda], Paul Muller, André Montchall [Andrés Monales], Greta Schmid, Alice Arno [Marie-France Broquet], Karl Heinz Mannchen, Franco Manera [Jesús Franco].

Improvised from the writings of De Sade, Jess Franco's fascinating study of corruption deals with Albert Franval, an intellectual who writes books under the name "Radeck." Albert lives together with his young, virginal stepdaughter Eugenie in the outskirts of Berlin. Gradually, the impressionable Eugenie develops incestuous yearnings for her father, and when he becomes aware of this, he introduces her to his sadistic philosophy. Together they plot and execute the murder of a young model in Paris. Everything goes according to plan, and so they plan to continue their sanguinary activities for as long as they are able. The one flaw in their scheme is the ever-present Atilla Tanner, a writer who has become obsessed with the duo and relentlessly dogs them. Determined not to allow Tanner to interrupt their schemes, Albert and Eugenie pick up a young hitchhiker, whom they murder after some mildly erotic "party games." Boldened by this act of murder, stepfather and daughter cross another boundary and begin a sexual relationship. However, when Albert selects a musician named Paul to be their next victim, Eugenie becomes confused by her feelings for the young man and instigates a rebellion against her father that leads to tragic consequences....

Eugenie de Sade is told in the form of a deathbed confessional by Eugenie herself. Listening intently to her tale of incest and murder is Franco himself, cast in one of his most revealing roles to date. Simultaneously voyeuristic yet strangely compassionate, the character of Tanner mirrors Franco's approach to directing this strange story. Filmed largely from explicitly voyeuristic angles (the camera is perched outside doors, windows, and the like), the film establishes an uneasy tone from beginning to end but never crosses over to the often gratuitous extremes of Franco's hardcore films from later in the decade. The opening montage depicts Franco sitting with his back to a movie projector and smoking a cigarette as images of Eugenie engaging in foreplay with an unidentified woman play out in front of him. What initially seems to be a harmless stag film degenerates into violence as the death-like figure of Albert enters the action and proceeds to strangle the nameless woman to death. Through it all, Franco the director cuts back to Franco the actor as he watches, sullen and fascinated at the same time, as the orgiastic spectacle plays itself out. Franco continues to pop into the scenario throughout, whether it be to engage in philisophical discourse with Albert or to be a nuiscance as the deranged writer attempts to flee from a murder scene. Yet, through it all, Franco, as actor and director, exhibits a keen interest and compassion for his characters, and the end impression is closer to Greek tragedy than sleazy grindhouse exploitation.

Franco's unique specialty is often termed "horrotica," and there is little doubt that this film achieves the perfect blend of horror and eroticism. It's a spectacle in which death and sex are not only intermingled, but inseparable. Who better, then, to act as the director's fetishistic focal point than the late Soledad Miranda? Ethereal and sensuous, Miranda gives the character of Eugenie real depth and meaning, not to mention a much-needed sense of sympathy. Eugenie is not so much a villain as she is a victim in her father's perverted scheme, and Miranda conveys this tragic dimension quite perfectly. It's possibly her best performance, matched only by her turn as the vengeful widow of She Killed in Ecstasy / Sie Tötete in Ekstase (1970). Paul Muller is every bit her equal as Albert. Typically seen in supporting roles in Euro horror/schlock items, Muller obviously relishes the opportunity of taking center stage for once and, like Miranda, he invests his characterization with enough subtle nuance to overcome the simplistic dimension of "movie villain." His Albert is a compromised intellectual whose bitter pessimism causes him to hate Mankind and to ultimately destroy himself. It's a chilling and bold portrait in Evil that nevertheless affords the odd moment of pathos, as in the wounded look on his face when he sees Eugenie with Paul after he has forbidden her to see him again. Apart from Franco's Tanner, the rest of the cast is basically obliterated by the intensity of the leads, but this is as it should be.

Briskly paced and driven on by a magnificent soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai (most likely his best work), Eugenie de Sade / Eugenia is never less than fascinating. From the opening montage to the final shot of Franco's anguished countenance, we are in the presence of a deeply personal essay on self-analysis. Franco confronts his hang-ups without pulling any punches, and the end result is enlightening. It is possibly the best work of the director's career and is guaranteed to be a welcome change from the run-of-the-mill product churned out by the studio system. For that reason alone, it is essential viewing.

reviewed by Troy Howarth