01 March, 2014

EL MISTERIO DEL CASTILLO ROJO (1972)

Thanks to Michelle Alexander for drawing my attention to this still from an unfortunately incomplete zombie film started by Jess Franco in 1972. Looks like it could have been very interesting and the presence of  the stunning Kali Hansa is always welcome. This appears to have been partially lensed at the striking Ricardo Bofill designed structures in Southern Spain. This was Franco's first project for his Manacoa production company and feature the director himself as a mad scientist. The book OBSESSION: THE FILMS OF JESS FRANCO suggests that the film was meant to be more in the comedic vein that straight horror, with either synthetic humans or zombies.  Of course, Jess Franco rarely made "straight" anything...


3 comments:

aleXz said...

I did some research about the location of these pictures and seems unlikely to be the Boffil buildings in Calpe (where LA COMTESSE PERVERSE was shot too) because it was finished in 1973 and those interiors were also used in THE GIRL FROM RIO in 1968. I couldn't find the exact place but should be somewhere in the coast of Spain, as I doubt very much they went to Rio de Janeiro just to shoot this little and misterious project.

You can find more about the script and the location here:
http://franconomicon.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/el-castillo-rojo/

Robert Monell said...

Thanks for the added info. There's another shot of him directing this where you see an exterior of the building, maybe different locale from this interior. I'll try to add it.

Michelle Alexander said...

You're welcome and it's a pity this film was never completed. Love Kali because she was not only beautiful but also very physically strong and I believe quite intelligent too.