Horror Movie Review: She Killed in Ecstasy (1971)

What do you think about the films of Jesús Franco? The director famous for his low-budget exploitation erotic thriller/horror films? Do you love them? Hate them? Or find yourself mostly indifferent?

Personally, I sit in the latter camp, having seen my fair share and have found some to be enjoyable enough, but plenty that are either boring or bad. Though with Jesús Franco the word bad doesn’t necessarily mean unwatchable. There are plenty of his films that are ‘so bad, they’re good’, and often because the director knew exactly what he was making and played up to expectations, especially as far eroticism went.

Which brings me to She Killed in Ecstasy. A film which, on paper, looks like it’s going to be one of the bad Jesús Franco films. Not only because its basic premise sounds so ‘meh’, but because its plot borrows elements from previous Franco films Miss Muerte and Venus in Furs. It also utilises nearly the same crew and several actors from his previous film Vampyros Lesbos.

Everything about She Killed in Ecstasy sounds like no effort was put in and that it would be a dull experience. Yet, the final result is not only entertaining but creates a femme fatale style character who has strong motivations for her murderous rampage and comes across quite sympathetic. This is Mrs Johnson, played brilliantly by Soledad Miranda, and she wants revenge on four people she holds responsible for her husband’s death.

Dr Johnson, her husband, killed himself after a medical committee rejected his work and ordered him to stop. The man was humiliated, and try as she might, Mrs Johnson couldn’t bring him out of his depressed state. It is an excellent setup, and one that has a bit more wackiness to it thanks to the unorthodox experiments that Dr Johnson was conducting. It’s funny, because while his humiliation is unfortunate, the medical committee isn’t necessarily wrong for demanding he stop.

Regardless of their justifications, Mrs Johnson wants revenge, so sets about seducing each person (three men and one woman) before killing them. There’s an argument that she probably doesn’t need to go as far, sexually, as she does before she kills them, but this is a Jesús Franco film and bare skin is a guarantee.

Credit must be given Soledad Miranda, who manages to make her character feel so vulnerable and powerful, regardless of her state of undress. It’s possibly her best role, and while her revenge tour isn’t quite as compelling as something like I Spit on Your Grave, it’s built up well, handled with deft (and violent) care, and results in a very cool ending.

You won’t hear this much from me, but I really liked this Jesús Franco film. Maybe it’s because my expectations were low, but it held my attention, and I found the story and characters compelling to watch. It’s not even that erotic of a film, especially as the sex/nudity is coming from a revenge angle. If you’ve not see this one yet, it’s definitely worth checking out.