Macumba Sexual (1983)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Excellent but underrated film

A Masterpiece!

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

The quote on the cover of this DVD is taken from the mighty Immoral Tales tome, and describes this film as 'one of the last glorious death throes of European sexploitation.' An apt way of describing possibly Jess Franco's most perverse project – at least, from those I have seen.The plot, as ever, is straightforward – the supernatural Princes Obongo (Ajita Wilson), the Goddess of Unspeakable Lust no less, ensnares Lina Romay in her Candy Coaster wig, playing Alice Brooks together with regular Antonio Mayans, billed as Robert Foster, playing Novio de Alice. To be honest, Novio doesn't get much of a look-in – the story seems really to centre on the smouldering, deadly relationship that occurs between Alice and Obongo.Transsexual actress Wilson, who died five years after this was completed at the age of 37, is described by Franco as a kind of female Christopher Lee – not so much an actress, more a presence. And this is true. She cuts a truly memorable, and at times terrifying, figure – tall and prone to wearing flowing white robes, striding across deserts with her two unnerving 'dog-slaves', or laughing maniacally as she seduces a naked Alice via her dreams.Franco's camera-work, at times restrained and others frantic (the blurring zooms during the many sex scenes against the glare of sunlight is purposefully disorientating) glories in the delights of the Canary Isles, and also wife Romay's (at times shockingly) uninhibited performance, both in and out of a straining pair of hot-pants. Franco turns up briefly as another of the lunatic cyphers he loved playing so much.The results are an acquired taste – what else would you expect? I enjoyed it, as I've enjoyed most of Franco's films. His filmic perversions took on a new and personal level once his native Spain had relaxed their laws on hard-core pornography and I can only admire his unique pursuance of this during this time. Such a singular approach drew him ever further into cult territory, which he seemed to fully embrace for the next 23 years.

A young couple meets princess Tara on an island (filmed on Gran Canaria) after she previously appeared in their dreams already, accompanied by a bird-like demonic creature. The princess says she ruled in the name of the god Macumba for 300 years already. This is obviously a quasi-remake of "El Signo del Vampiro" where the heiress of Dracula provided a similar personification of obsession beyond death. "Macumba", 11 years later, even goes a step further in stylistic obsession and must be counted among Jess Franco's best movies, even though Ajita Wilson is no match for Soledad Miranda. Franco quotes Kubrick's "The Shining" here when the name of the princess is typed again and again on the machine, and seems to refer to Herzog's "Nosferatu" when the timeless ship sails without wind (and we never see the faces of a crew, either). Besides making an unbelievable lot of movies, Franco certainly watches even more which explains how he can reinvent his own style over the decades, never running out of ideas."She is the mirror of evil and of death", the hotel manager says once about the princess, and the word "mirror" is the key here. No matter how normal the young couple appears to be, they have a dark side in them which is mirrored (and set free) by Tara. Tara never enters the city - everyone who want to meet her must travel through the desert on the back of a camel! The voyage is a ritual of cleansing, purifying, though in the opposite sense of purgatory, because it opens the traveler's mind up for evil. Certainly a movie about sin, not virtue.

The mysterious Princess Obongo(Ajita Wilson)of the Canary Islands, who may or may not be dead, and her erotic(..and perhaps evil)effects on a vacationing couple. Alice(Lina Romay)is a real estate agent and her lover(Antonio Mayans),a writer, are overcome by the passionate dreams featuring Obongo and the film follows their submission to her lustful will. What are Obongo's motives? More importantly, who is she and what does she symbolize/represent? What is her purpose and/or objective for Alice and her lover?While the film is essentially another VERY stylized and evocative porno, Franco uses imagery of voodoo, African statues & tribal objects, along with the stunning locations of the South of the Canary Islands and dream-like sequences between Obongo(mostly relishing her acts towards her quarry)and her prey, to create an otherworldly experience. I don't think one ever truly feels the film is grounded in reality, and I do feel that's what Franco was going for. The film is really about Franco's love affair with the Canary islands and Romay's naked flesh..the director's camera embraces both. I do think the setting, and voodoo imagery layered within, are crucial for the atmosphere produced in this film. I didn't particularly find any of the characters attractive, so the other strengths worked more for me that the multiple sex sequences. Ajita Wilson is quite a presence on screen, if the others in the film do little to assist her. Romay looks rather ridiculous in that wig, but she is basically in the film to move and twist her naked body in a bed, or being seduced by Wilson and her hideous, dog collared entourage.

There is some confusion as to the correct title, running time and date of this film. On the DVD Jess himself mentions that the film should be 'Macumba' and yet IMDb has a separate listing for this title. Anyway we have what we have and thankfully it's a goodie. If not quite as delirious as was intended it certainly has a life its own and whilst there is barely any plot or even dialogue it takes us with it, back and forth. The fantastic, open-legged performance from Lina Romay in her hottest of hot pants, helps enormously. So too does the majestic/devilish turn from Ajita Wilson. The Canary Isles settings are wonderful and with the film being so well shot it looks fantastic all the time with some real stand out scenes such as Ajita's appearance on the beach, striding along with what looks like a couple of hounds and turns out to be a couple of naked slaves on leashes! There are a lot of sex scenes but thanks to an obvious chemistry between the two leading ladies these are lively and often most erotic. Jess seems aware here that the same sex set- up again and again for a prolonged period does not equal erotic and he allows himself to play with his zoom lens at some surprising moments. There is one particular bed scene where shafts of sunlight fall across the nakedness and he picks this out momentarily causing the flesh to go out of focus. It is little bits and bobs like this throughout the film that give it if not a surreal quality then certainly a unsettling edge, despite all the sun and sex. Excellent.