One of the most frustrating aspects of watching Jesse Franco films is that once in a while he demonstrates that he is capable of making professional level cinema - that is if he can be bothered to put in the actual effort. SKIE looks like a film that he may have actually taken the time and effort to polish up the rough edges, at least when it came to photography, sets, costumes, and nude bodies.
He has a great screen vixen to work with here - his lead actress essentially carries the film with her screen presence and photogenic body. The film is worth watching once simply for the chance to marvel at how good she looks on film. She can't really "act", of course, but who cares? She's HOT!
The basic plot, done to death even by this point, is the old "black widow" motif of the emotionally disturbed woman who mates, then kills. (Or in this case, seduces, then kills as she seeks revenge for the death of her husband). I'll give Franco and the screenwriter credit for taking the time to actually set things up properly before they get to the "real" reason for the movie's existence (the seduction and nude scenes), but as usual, once the heroine starts her quest, things are just too easy for her. For the purposes of the plot, everyone else in the film (including the police, who really ought to be more interested in this rapid-fire string of sensational murders and mutilations) have no brains or restraint whatsoever. The girl just shows up and *bam!* within three minutes of screen time all her victims (including the lady, who turns out to be a lesbian) are in bed with her...except for the last member of the group, who conveniently faints so she can tie him up.
Other problems: Franco "zooms" in and out on the actors so frequently you'd think he was collecting royalties on the idea - it gets annoying after 20 minutes. And the "swinging" psychedelic jazz track is both a plus and a minus - while it certainly perks up some of the slower scenes, it also seems extremely inappropriate at other times; few things seem less in tune with events like a funeral scene or actions like fleeing a brutal sex murder than sprightly horn and jazz organ charts. And sometimes the music stops in the middle of a scene, changes motifs, and starts up again with no regard for the events on camera. It makes for weird disconnect with the plot for the movie and interfered with my attempts to suspend disbelief. Franco (or the editor) also uses certain flashback shots over and over again until you get bored with what once was pleasantly titillating. And did I mention that the heroine keeps her husband's body around for days but it shows no signs of deteriorating? (Unless I missed an embalming scene during an early bathroom break, this makes no sense.)
It's Jesse Franco, it's exploitation trash, and it's slick on the surface but hopelessly sleazy and cheap. Go watch it if you like that sort of thing.
He has a great screen vixen to work with here - his lead actress essentially carries the film with her screen presence and photogenic body. The film is worth watching once simply for the chance to marvel at how good she looks on film. She can't really "act", of course, but who cares? She's HOT!
The basic plot, done to death even by this point, is the old "black widow" motif of the emotionally disturbed woman who mates, then kills. (Or in this case, seduces, then kills as she seeks revenge for the death of her husband). I'll give Franco and the screenwriter credit for taking the time to actually set things up properly before they get to the "real" reason for the movie's existence (the seduction and nude scenes), but as usual, once the heroine starts her quest, things are just too easy for her. For the purposes of the plot, everyone else in the film (including the police, who really ought to be more interested in this rapid-fire string of sensational murders and mutilations) have no brains or restraint whatsoever. The girl just shows up and *bam!* within three minutes of screen time all her victims (including the lady, who turns out to be a lesbian) are in bed with her...except for the last member of the group, who conveniently faints so she can tie him up.
Other problems: Franco "zooms" in and out on the actors so frequently you'd think he was collecting royalties on the idea - it gets annoying after 20 minutes. And the "swinging" psychedelic jazz track is both a plus and a minus - while it certainly perks up some of the slower scenes, it also seems extremely inappropriate at other times; few things seem less in tune with events like a funeral scene or actions like fleeing a brutal sex murder than sprightly horn and jazz organ charts. And sometimes the music stops in the middle of a scene, changes motifs, and starts up again with no regard for the events on camera. It makes for weird disconnect with the plot for the movie and interfered with my attempts to suspend disbelief. Franco (or the editor) also uses certain flashback shots over and over again until you get bored with what once was pleasantly titillating. And did I mention that the heroine keeps her husband's body around for days but it shows no signs of deteriorating? (Unless I missed an embalming scene during an early bathroom break, this makes no sense.)
It's Jesse Franco, it's exploitation trash, and it's slick on the surface but hopelessly sleazy and cheap. Go watch it if you like that sort of thing.