Franco February Day 6, this time it's top-tier Franco with The Other Side of the Mirror (1973), wherein a young woman haunted by the suicide of her father is driven to murder by mysterious impulses. While it's light on gore and sex I think the cracked-psyche/possession elements mixed with the atmospheric visuals are terrific. I can absolutely see this being a Franco film that people who don't generally like Franco (there's a few of you out there) would actually enjoy; it's a very assured, stylish and well put together Franco film. This is on Blu-ray from cult-cinema world adventurers Mondo Macabro with a terrific set of extras, highly recommended.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR (1974)
aka Al otro lado del espejo
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 99 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Jess Franco
Cast: Emma Cohen, Robert Woods, Françoise Brion, Philippe Lemaire, Alice Arno, Howard Vernon, Wal Davis
In Jess Franco's haunting The Other Side of the Mirror (1974) twenty-something Ana (Emma Cohen, Cannibal Man) lives in a sprawling mansion on the island of Madeira just off the coast of Spain with her father. It's there she meets a young man named Arturo (Wal Davis, The Horrible Sexy Vampire) and they fall in love, later announcing their plans to marry, which deeply troubles her father (Franco regular Howard Vernon, Countess Perverse), who voices his displeasure with her intentions. On the day her wedding dress is delivered she models it in the mirror, but is horrified to discover in the mirror's reflection that her father has hung himself, his face twisted into a bug-eyed, swollen-tongue caricature. In the aftermath she is understandably distraught and breaks things off with Arturo, looking for a fresh start she ends up travelling to the mainland where she embarks becomes the pianist-vocalist of a jazz ensemble, and has an affair with the band's denim-tuxedoed trumpeter Bill (Robert Woods, Countess Perverse)
Despite having fled her island home to start over we learn that all is not well with Ana, she is haunted by visions of her dead father who appears to her in mirrors, and who seems to be calling to her from beyond the grave, instilling within her the desire to murder any man who gets close to her. To that end we see her dispatch Bill with a bloody letter opener she finds laying on the ground in the park. After that she is cast in a play by stage director Miguel (Ramiro Oliveros, The Swamp of the Ravens), who also falls for her considerable charms, unaware of her darker side, and he too comes to a bloody end, a victim of Ana's murderous delirium and the bloody letter-opener.
Not long after her friend Tina (Alice Arno, How To Seduce A Virgin) arrives and takes Ana on a vacation, introducing her to wealthy couple Pipo (Philippe Lemaire, The Blood Rose) and Carla (Françoise Brion, The French Detective). The distraction seems to stave off her murderous impulse temporarily, but when the Brisas-loving Pipo falls for Emma's charms, much to his wife's dismay, he also meets his end courtesy of the now well-familiar bloody letter opener.
This was the first time I've seen this particular Franco film, and it's quite a gem, I would put it at the top of the pile, right up there with my favorite She Killed In Ecstasy, Countess Perverse, Vampyros Lesbos, and Bloody Moon. It has a slow-burn pace marked by surreal, atmospheric imagery with some cool supernatural elements, like her father's apparition and the mysterious bloody letter opener that seems to manifest from nowhere. It's also well-made, attractively shot by Antonio Millán (Eyeball) with a wonderful moody organ-infused score by Adolfo Waitzman (Hotel Fear) that hits all the right haunting notes. Star Emma Cohen is terrific, she's not only attractive but able to sell the fragile mental state of the characters as she is continually haunted by the image and voice of her dead father. We're sort of left to question if she is being possessed by her father, or is she simply murdering her lovers because she's a damaged psycho-killer. The film certainly leans one way more than the other by the fantastic finale, but I appreciated the ambiguity that it maintains for most of the film.
Audio/Video: The Other Side of the Mirror (1974) makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from Mondo Macabro in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1) sourced from a new 4K scan from film negative. The source is clean and well-preserved, fine grain and textures looks great, and the colors are well-saturated for the most part, it's a tad soft spots but still looks great. The uncompressed Spanish DTS-HD MA mono audio is likewise clean and well-balanced, the Spanish dialogue sounds great and is never a chore to discern.
Extras kick-off with Audio Commentary from Robert Monell and Rod Barnett, of the I'm in a Jess Franco State of Mind blog and The Naschycast Podcast respectively, who offer an in-depth and detailed exploration of the film's incestuous elements and the autobiographical nature of the film for Franco - it's a great track. We also get a 57-minute Stephen Thrower on The Other Side of The Mirror interview, who offers a lot of insight about the film, especially when it comes to the alternate versions of the film in various territories and what differentiates them, including the French version Le miroir obscène aka The Obscene Mirror which not only cut out the father stuff, but sexed it up quite a bit, and added Franco regular Lina Romay as the suicidal sister who haunts Anna.
Some of those French scenes with the lovely Lina Romay can be seen in the 4-min Alternate Scenes featurette that cull from both the French and Spanish versions with text explaining differences. I would have loved to have both cuts of the film, just because I love Lina Romay, but this version was apparently Franco's preferred cut of the film. We also get a 15-min archival Interview with actor Robert Woods with the American actor explaining how he ended up working with Franco in the 70's. This was also featured on a couple of previous Mondo Macabro titles, but it's pretty great as he talks about meeting Franco, the unique locations where films were shot, and his co-stars and love life. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a new illustration by Justin Coffee that captures the haunting motif of the film.
Special Features:
- Brand new 4k transfer from film negative, digitally restored
- Stephen Thrower on The Other Side of The Mirror Interview (57 min)
- Interview with actor Robert Woods (16 min)
- Audio Commentary from Robert Monell and Rod Barnett
- New Artwork by Justin Coffee
- Mondo Macabro Previews (13 min)
- Alternate Footage from the French and Spanish Versions (4 min)
The Other Side of the Mirror (1973) is a top-tier Franco production, a haunting and assured meditation on a young woman haunted by the suicide of her father, and driven to murder by mysterious impulses. It's pretty light on gore and sex, but the cracked-psyche/possession elements mixed with the atmospheric visuals are more than enough to carry it through without the benefit of the more lurid elements. I can absolutely see this being a Franco film that people who don't generally like Franco would enjoy; it's a very assured, stylish and well put together Franco film.
Screenshots from the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
