Going through the filmmography of Jess Franco is never an easy thing because not only do you have to go through more than 200 movies but you've also got to go through countless alternate versions. Sometimes films can have four or five alternate versions with newly shot scenes, alternate footage or footage thrown in from another director. In 1974 Franco made a film called EXORCISM, which was a very dark mix of sex, religion and violence. It was also released in a softer version under the title DEMONIAC and another version with XXX footage called SEXORCISMS. Then, in 1979, Franco took footage from EXORCISM and added a new plot around them and the end result is this film, THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME. The storyline here has Franco playing a former priest who escapes from a mental asylum and then goes on a killing spree killing people in the name of God. Look, I love Jess Franco and there are many fans out there who will call this movie a masterpiece. I'm not kidding, there are many people out there who love this version of the story but I'm not one of them and in fact I think it's an incredibly lazy film. The great thing about Franco is that he was always wanting to film something, which explains why he made so many movies. It's clear that he probably had limited funding and couldn't afford a full feature so he decided just to take an older movie and film new scenes. Many films from the past have done this and even the likes of Peter Bogdanovich has done it. That doesn't mean the end results are any good. I thought the storyline here was incredibly confusing and at times the "new" scenes just don't make much sense where they're added into the previous film. Another major problem is that the editing is downright horrid and among some of the worst that you're ever going to see. The pacing is among the worst you're ever going to see in a Franco film and the clips from EXORCISM have also been edited to the point where even they are ruined. Obviously, THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME isn't my favorite film from the Spanish filmmaker. With that said, if you're a nut for the director like I am then you'll probably want to watch all of these alternate versions but if you're new to the director then it's best to start with EXORCISM.

A soft-core sex farce using the Zorro legend as an excuse for countless lusty exploits. Jean-Michel Dhermay is the dashing and amorous Zorro who stands up agaunst the tyrannical California ...

1962 film by Jesús Franco

Maria, a beautiful young woman, runs away from home with her older lover, across the Spanish border to St-Tropez, France. He says they will be meeting friends and getting married soon but instead they break into a house make love, stay the night and plan to come back later to rob the house, during which things go awry and secrets come out.

A group of adventurers head to a primitive tribe in Africa to find a treasure of diamonds and a beautiful white girl who was lost years ago and was made the tribe's goddess.

Four mercenaries, employed by an African country, are responsible for negotiating a purchase of arms. They seize the sum planned for the negotiations and three of them flee to Spain after having abandoned the fourth in the bush. The latter manages to survive and then finds his accomplices who lead happy life ...

A woman, raised by an Amazon tribe after they killed her parents, seeks revenge on the tribe for their deaths by joining an expedition looking for the tribe's secret golden temple.

A squad of female mercenaries take on an organization called Space Clean, which is dedicated to stopping space exploration.

Set in an unspecified French village, the locals are shocked when a group of girls skinny dipping in the nearby lake (all very tastefully done I hasten to add) are killed by a group of zombiefied Nazi soldiers, that spring up out of the waters and drag them down to their demise. A couple of detectives are brought in to try and solve the mysterious murders, only to end up as the zombies next victims. It turns out that during the war, the French resistance ambushed and killed a squad of German soldiers and dumped the bodies into the nearby lake, but failed to take notice of any of the local superstitions (never a wise move). Although, seeing as this film appears to be set in the early 80's, why it's taken so long for them to emerge and start killing people is a bit of a mystery, but there you go. Not-with-standing, the villagers quickly organise a lynch mob to take down the zombie menace, only to end up being decimated by the undead soldiers, who's 'convincing' zombie make-up basically consists of green paint, which doesn't even cover the whole of the actors faces and keeps washing off in the lake. There's also a bizarre sub plot about one of the zombies visiting his former daughter, who strangely still looks all of 12 despite the fact she should be in her 40's if she was born near the end of the war, but then since when did logic ever come into these films? Such as why do their uniforms still look almost new despite being underwater for 40 years, or how come the skinny dipping girls are only knee deep in the water when viewed from the lakeside, yet appear to be swimming in 12 feet of it from the underwater shots? Bad acting, naff zombie make-up (the aforementioned green face paint), painfully obvious underwater shots filmed in a swimming pool, not to mention the plot inconsistencies bigger than the aforementioned lake itself. Low budget doesn't even begin to describe this film, which quite unbelievably was directed by respected Eurohorror director Jean Rollin, albeit under the pseudo name J A Laser. That's not to say the film isn't without merit. I bust a gut laughing at the thoroughly ridiculous scenes of the zombies attacking the naked young girls, and the equally ridiculous slapstick battle with the angry villagers. Utterly hilarious, grab the six pack and the popcorn and have a blast!

Helga, a woman who runs a strict prison camp, forces her female prisoners into slave labor and to be love toys for her own personal pleasure, as well as for her soldiers. Issuing torture and whippings to anyone who dares defy her, man or woman.

Dr. Orlof, a former prison doctor, abducts beautiful women from nightclubs to use their skin to repair his daughter's fire-scarred face. He is assisted by Morpho, a deformed monstrosity who delights in biting his victims. Orlof had better hurry, though -- a young police inspector and his ballerina girlfriend are onto his sadistic practices.

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans...