Tenemos 18 años

I think it would only be fair to say that with his feature film debut, Jess Franco did not start off like he was going to go on. In fact, if it wasn't for his name appearing in the opening credits I think there would be very few people who would have clocked this one as a Franco flick at all. It's essentially a light-hearted and breezy comedy about two Madrid girls who buy an old car and head off on a road trip. Afterwards, they re-imagine fantastical versions of the encounters they experienced along the way.

It's essentially a road movie and, therefore is quite episodic in nature. And the set-up allows for all manner of odd events occurring. One of which is a strange Gothic horror sequence, which points towards the general vicinity that Franco would inhabit later on in his career. For the most part though, this is very atypical stuff. Although it does have to be said that it is made with some care and attention and more budget than he would go on to be associated with. This is certainly a very curious debut and a true obscurity though. And when you consider that this is the first film directed by one of the most prolific film-makers of all-time it has to be considered worthy of a footnote in history at least. It won't necessarily appeal to most of his fans but will certainly be of curiosity value to the majority of them.