She Killed in Ecstasy

1971
5.6| 1h13m| en| More Info
Released: 10 December 1971 Released
Producted By: Tele-Cine Film- und Fernsehproduktion
Country: Spain
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A young doctor kills himself after a medical committee terminates his research into human embryos, considering it too inhumane. His wife then seeks revenge on those who drove her husband to his death by luring each member of the committee into compromising situations and then killing them one by one.

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Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Jeanskynebu the audience applauded
Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
unbrokenmetal The young and idealistic Dr Johnson (Fred Williams) proudly presents his work with human embryos, but has his expectations crushed by 4 experts (Howard Vernon, Paul Muller, Ewa Strömberg and Jess Franco himself) who ridicule the work of his lifetime and destroy his experiments. Dr Johnson commits suicide, and his widow (Soledad Miranda) decides she will kill the 4 enemies of her husband - in interesting ways. Meanwhile she keeps the body of the doctor and continues to talk to him as if he were still alive...A thriller with a remarkable straightforward story for a Jess Franco movie. Soledad Miranda is scorching the screen, the director gives her plenty of opportunity to stare with her dark eyes at her future victims. Not even a silly blond wig can damage her maniacal presence. The jazzy lounge music contributes a lot to the freaky atmosphere, but also the locations near Alicante/Spain are beautifully chosen. The only weak point to me is the role of the police inspector (Horst Tappert), because he seems to do a really lazy and sloppy investigation, considering there are several murder cases. Oh, and maybe it's the only time in cinema history that a car falls down a cliff and just breaks apart, it doesn't explode like it's full of dynamite - movie cliché avoided. Most likely it were only the costs which mattered, though.
Red-Barracuda If ever there was a film director who epitomized the term Eurotrash it surely is Jesus Franco. His films are a curious mix of art and trash. Some of them are terrible but some of them are great. She Killed in Ecstasy is undoubtedly one of the latter. I can think of very few film-makers who treat plot-dynamics with such extreme indifference as Franco, so, really there is no point whatsoever detailing the storyline. All you need to know is that it is unashamedly unrealistic and absurd with plot-holes so enormous that it is entirely pointless taking them even slightly seriously. Like Franco's other best films such as Eugenie, Vampyros Lesbos or A Virgin Among the Living Dead, this film relies on a combination of eroticism, mild horror, surreal imagery, some visual flair, astonishing music and an iconic female lead. Similar to those other films, this movie is, to put it mildly, not for everyone.Like the majority of his films, this movie has been produced on a minuscule budget, and it shows. But while Franco cannot escape from the cheap and rushed approach, impinged upon him by budgetary constrains, it is the things that the film gets right that are so remarkable. First off, that soundtrack. Wow. Very similar to the score for Vampyros Lesbos, the music here is extraordinary. Composed and performed by Manfred Hübler and Sigi Schwab, it's a highly infectious upbeat lounge classic that defies description. I don't know if Franco spent a disproportionately large slice of his budgets on his music scores but if he did then the gamble paid off, as the soundtracks to his best early 70's movies are pure gold and have helped make these little movies timeless. A very similar thing could be said about She Killed in Ecstasy's other trump card – Soledad Miranda. Honestly, I cannot think of anyone else like her. On paper she wasn't given a great deal to do in her Franco collaborations but I have rarely seen an actress with as much screen presence; she's frankly mesmerising. Despite the artificiality of these films, Soledad is never less than convincing. And in this film she is possibly at her absolute peak. She owns the picture. And Franco lovingly films her. Despite the abundant nudity and eroticism in her scenes it NEVER feels gratuitous with Soledad. Her presence is almost ethereal at times. I don't know if this has something to do with the real-life tragedy of her early death but, in any case, she is a treasure to be appreciated and her appearance in the handful of cult films she made with Franco is a testament to a screen presence that is equally beautiful, erotic, mysterious, vulnerable and confident. The other cast members are serviceable at best, although Howard Vernon is always kind of fun. But special mention must go to Horst Tappert as the police inspector, in all my years of watching films involving ineffectual policemen in pursuit of serial killers, I have never seen a more hopeless and hilariously unconcerned law enforcer. It looked suspiciously likely that he prepared for this particular investigation by smoking industrial quantities of marijuana.Negative aspects of the movie? Well, despite the soundtrack, the presence of Soledad and the nice visual touches, She Killed in Ecstasy suffers from one of the most common faults to be found in Franco's output – the pacing. His films never exactly move along at a fast tempo and this one is no different. His filming style seems to favour editing together LONG single takes, rather than a series of shorter edits. This results in some scenes seeming to go on far too long and the film drags at times despite it's short running time. One unusual result of this is when these long, fairly uneventful scenes are combined with the completely contrasting upbeat soundtrack. It makes for a pretty disorientating effect, watching a slow scene to a soundtrack you just can't help tapping your feet along to. It certainly is unique and, along with the presence of Soledad, makes these slow sections not just bearable but, for the most part, hypnotically enjoyable.This little cult item is definite proof that back in the day Jess Franco was making some films that offered something completely different in a good way. This is a classic of the sexploitation genre that I wholeheartedly recommend to fans of European cult cinema and the wonderful beauty that is Soledad Miranda.
Scarecrow-88 A wife in mourning(Soledad Miranda, in her final screen performance)molds into a lady executioner out for vengeance towards those she holds responsible for not only destroying her husbands dreams, but being the reason for his suicide.Dr. Johnson(Fred Williams)is holding out hope that the medical council will grant him permission to further continue in his research and experiments in the altering of the human organism with the aid of hormones(culled from animal and infant embryos). Deemed a charlatan by the four main voices on the council, Professor Walker(Howard Vernon), Dr. Huston(Paul Muller), Dr. Crawford(Ewa Strömberg) and Dr. Donen(Jesus Franco)he is scorned for an infringement on the Hippocratic oath. He will be discontinued from the practice of medicine and rejected by the medical community as a criminal for using human embryos from fetuses. He claims that his research is for saving lives and that their claims of his being such a monster are false. But, their voices are stronger than his and Dr. Johnson's career is finished which, within time, slowly drives him mad. The ringing of the medical council's hurling insults at his character rattle in his mind without ceasing..to the point that even his wife(Miranda), nakedly pursuing a sexual embrace, can not seduce him from his mental plight. With the rejection of his peers, Dr. Johnson sees no other alternative but suicide. Mr. Johnson's demise will drive his wife to seek retribution against those who took away her beloved.The film's rub is the exposing of those four founding members of the medical hierarchy where we see the cloak of their morality stripped away through the acts of seduction from Mrs. Johnson who is able to break down their barriers into hedonism. Mrs. Johnson's feminine wiles are too irresistible for the first three, with only Donen getting his comeuppance through other means.When Mrs. Johnson embraces a target, we see visions of her warm loving moments with her husband..these memories add extra incentive towards finishing the kill.Tailor-made role for Soledad Miranda where she is center-stage as both seductress and assassin. The film isn't that violent..most of the murderous acts are shot in a way to avoid explicit gore. But, Miranda shows the skin..that's a guarantee I can give you loudly. Lingerie and naked, Miranda's lady-of-vengeance will do whatever it takes to bring her victims into a compromising position so that they can meet their maker. I thought she was good. Damn good. Great scene towards the end showing Miranda crouched in the corner of a couch going insane as she thinks about the memories of her husband before his being "put on trial." And, no one is as sexy smoking a cigarette as she was.
Ky-D Frano is on again/off again more than probably any director in history. His days with Soledad Miranda were arguably his best, as can be seen in this tasty tale of revenge.Miranda plays a recently widowed woman who seeks out revenge upon the people she blames for her husband's suicide. She first seduces them and then kills them. The preying mantis metaphor is slapped on a little thick, as the later victims know what's going to happen to them, yet do nothing to stop it.The film is played out in a dreamy kind of pacing. Little sound and dialogue, distanced shots, slow camera movements; it's like a lethargic daze echoing the detachment of the lead character. Franco takes his time unfolding the seduction and revenge, and he displays more flair for cinema than many would believe him capable of. The film is far from flawless though; the story is never complex, acting is either too subtle or over stated and the dialogue is pretty simple. Also, the character motivations lack strength all around, which robs the film of most all emotion.Of the MANY Franco films to choose form, I would suggest this one for a view, especially to those unfamiliar with the director.7/10