Jess Franco’s career could be summarized by rearranging the words vampire, Dracula, and sex in endless permutations. Spanish-born and later France-based, Franco’s work veered from more commercial horror projects such as Hammer’s The Brides of Dracula to true genius such as The Diabolical Dr. Z. Considered by screening venue AFS to be the director’s “most digestible film for first-timers,” the plot revolves around the titular doctor Irma Zimmer (Mabel Karr) using her zombie-making machine to do what it does best and make a zombie out of erotic dancer Miss Muerte and her poison-tipped talons. – James Scott
