Blind Target

It was during my teenage years in the 1970s that I was introduced to Jess Franco's movies: Shlocky horror, sexy babes, European locations, poor scripting and bad acting. Many people don't care for this. As an immature teenager I loved it. Now as a 40-something man, I consider it a sinful pleasure. Yes, of course I still love it! Therefore, when I came across this recent Franco production boasting exotic locations, spies, international intrigue, and of course sexy babes, I was expecting to be entertained! WRONG! What the hell was this?? Franco's movies have gotten worse. Or rather, he was not able to make the transition from film to video. That is the only way to explain the terrible editing and choppy sound throughout this movie. A major distraction was when voices were recorded (reading a script, blandly and calmly) inside a sound stage while the actors are running outside. Also, the lack of ambient noise made the viewing experience seem "fake"; and there were cuts where other sound sources awkwardly chimed in. I had the DVD and expected to hear the director comment about how the sound and negatives had been damaged before the movie was released, but they were able to re-create the movie by splicing together different parts that had been saved. This at least would have made sense...

Too bad! Please let me repeat, when I watch a Franco movie I expect an outrageous script and bad acting. This movie was happily full of both, and no comments are needed. But I also expected a basic standard of cinematography, which Franco was capable of 30 years ago. What went wrong? The esteemed Jess Franco should be embarrassed! A high school film making class could have produced a better product. Oh well.