Customer Reviews

The Awful Dr. Orlof

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

STORY: When beautiful music hall entertainers begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances, Inspector Tanner is summoned to investigate. His resourceful fiancée decides to help him by attracting the attention of the diabolical Dr. Orlof -- who, with his blind henchman, Morpho, is using the skin of slain women to restore the beauty of his disfigured sister, Melissa!

PICTURE: 4/5 Image has given Jess Franco's "The Awful Dr. Orlof" a nice looking transfer at 1.66:1. The picture is sharp and blacks look good and solid, but in some scenes the blacks look a little on the gray side. I saw 3 vertical lines on the print and i did not notice any film grain. To spite a couple of flaws on the print, I think the picture looks the best the film will ever look.

SOUND: 3/5 The sound is 1.0 Mono English and French. The english track sounds good and clear, but i heard a couple of pops and the track distorts sometime when the music comes on. Overall, not a bad sounding track for a 26 year old film.

EXTRAS: 2/5 This is where the disc is a let down. You get not thing. But you do get some great liner notes from Tim Lucas.

OVERALL: 4/5 IMO, The Awful Dr. Orlof is a classic! If you like the old gothic films of Hammer, Mario Bava and Universal, then you should like The Awful Dr. Orlof. Even though this disc does not have any extras, it's still worth the buy to see this cool film.

I love this movie. Awful acting and all. There's atmosphere to spare and a morbid story that moves. A mad surgeon uses his disfigured mind-controlled "slave"---Morpho---to kidnap women to use in fiendish skin graft experiments to restore the ruined face of his beloved daughter. Set at the turn-of-the-century, his laboratory is the basement of an old castle surrounded by a moat. In this European version, there's a few [breast]shots here and there. But it's the delirium of the entire movie that keeps me going. Hysterically awful at times but so lovable as a relic of a bygone genre that I have to rate it high. The music is a cacophonus clanging that just adds to the lurid aura of Morpho stalking the women as his "master" waits nearby. Delicious b&w photography is preserved wonderfully on DVD. Jess Franco was noted for his sexy shockers but this is my favorite of them all. Dubbing is bad and this works just fine as well in making this a true-blue "Euroshocker" that to me defines itself.

When I was a boy they would show this movie very late saturday nights on TV and I'd stay up way past bedtime just to watch Gothic Horror Euro-movies like this and BLACK SUNDAY(a.k.a. "The Mask Of Satan")which terrified and scared me to death. I grew up, but I never forgot those two, amongst several other OLD gothic horror flicks I've been lucky to find on Dvd these past couple years. I always thought the terrifying "Mortho" was a vampire! All I know and have never been able to forget is that I was Mortho-fied with fear and terror at the site of him. I'd be so terrified laying in bed when the lights were out because I feared seeing his face on the ceiling if I opened my eyes. He still seems quite creepy after all these years. This movie is a CLASSIC of its genre and a 'must have' for collectors. It is a gem of a remaster in classic B&W, mostly filmed at night(it seems), nevertheless, it's a well made atmospheric movie. More of a "thriller" than a "horror" flick. Nice to have just for the memories of loving scary movies as a child...

THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF is the masterwork from the sinister mind of genius, Jess Franco. This movie contains all of the elements for a perfect movie. We get the mad doctor himself, played by the skeletal Howard Vernon. Then there's Orlof's blind, evil assistant, Morpho (Riccardo Valle), who hunts down and kills the women that the doctor needs. Also included are the police inspector Tanner (Conrado San Martin), dancehall babes, and some peek-a-boo scenes that are quite memorable! I almost forgot to mention the Doctor's disfigured sister, Melissa, who spends the entire movie on her back- in a cage! There's even a nice dark castle to boot! Yep, this movie has all the ingredients for a cold, clammy night's viewing! There are many movies w/ similar themes that would go together w/ Orlof to make quite the mega-marathon. I suggest THE HEAD, THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE, HUMAN MONSTER, BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT, ATOM AGE VAMPIRE, ATOMIC BRAIN, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (after all, what was Buffalo Bill trying to do?) to name a few. TADO has many influences, and has influenced many others. Highly recommended...

ORLOF is best known for having kicked off the trend in surgical Horror that stained the B-Movies of the 60s and 70s, hitting bottom with flicks like DR BLOOD'S COFFIN. Jess Franco's earliest and arguably best film offers a dark Gothic shocker is constructed as an amalgamation of many pop culture influences, but it also adds its own unique charm while ramping up the sex and violence. The premise has been lifted from the French classic EYES WITHOUT A FACE, where we find a doctor and his malformed apprentice kidnap women to steal there skin in order to graph it on to his burnt sister. Unfortunately, many of the strong performances are lost in the poor English dubbing, but the visual expressionism more than makes up for it. Vernon's stern, dignified Orlof balances menace and charm as he seduces women in the nightclubs of Paris, only to dismember them moments later. Orlof is a shadowy character, which Franco expresses visually through stark contrasts and lighting that transposes his sinister personality on screen. The blind, hulking Morpho also adds an intimidating presence as he silently stalks the streets with his dull, lifeless gaze. Most impressive of all are the beautiful settings in both the empty Paris streets lit by lamplight and the looming Gothic castle Orlof calls home. This is a strong Spanish Horror classic that is worth seeking out!

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

This movie reminds me some what of Lugosi's "Human Monster", but it really doesn't measure up. Somewhat atmospheric, but there really isn't much entertainment value here. If you find dubbed audio tracks distracting, then forget this one.