Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Night of Open Sex Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 22, 2020

Jess Franco's " Night of Open Sex" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the disc include two new programs with critic and author Stephen Thrower as well as archival interviews with the director and his muse, Lina Romay. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

I am just about convinced that Jess Franco’s most consistently unhinged films come from a period during the ‘80s when he shot a whole bunch of them for a small Spanish production company. I believe I have seen six of them, plus one (La chica de los labios rojos) that I have vague memories of but do not have any notes on in my catalog, and they are all playing with fire. The manner in which they mix explicit and violent content is so unusual that I wonder if Franco was actually testing what could be shown in mainstream cinemas. Stephen Thrower mentions that there are films from this period that were never released theatrically, and one that Franco could not finish, so obviously there were some issues with their content. If I had to guess, I would say that Franco went too far, but he did not stop. In a typical for him fashion, he just kept on going.

Night of Open Sex is a hybrid project that utilizes two completely different personalities to impress. Indeed, one half of it is essentially a Eurospy thriller that rehashes the type of material that routinely attracted the attention of the legendary British producer Harry Alan Towers. A striptease dancer named Moira (Lina Romay) becomes involved with two independent assassins (Antonio Mayans and Miguel Angel Aristu) who are after a large load of Nazi gold that is in the possession of a dying General (Albino Graziani). Moira and the first assassin then capture the General’s niece, Tina Klaus (Juana de la Morena), who is supposed to meet him and get a map to the gold, and after she reveals the location of the secluded villa where the old man is dying kill her. Immediately after Moira becomes Tina Klaus, and the General cannot tell because he remembers her only as a little girl. The location of the gold is revealed in a riddle, the General dies, and after getting raped by the second assassin Moira becomes his partner.

The other half is a collage of episodes that offer the type of thrills and chills you would almost always get from exploitation films. For example, there is a lot of material with Moira simulating prolonged exotic sex acts before big crowds of visibly excited clubgoers. Elsewhere the assassins also join the fun, though they emphasize nihilistic violence that instantly wipes out the arousing from the erotic. (There is one particular sequence that is so ugly that it is really a miracle that the Spanish censors did not ban the film because of it). Needless to say, the awkward contrasts that begin to emerge immediately after Moira and the assassins go to work make the film look legitimately unhinged.

The glue that keeps the film together is a cheeky sense of humor which makes the hunt for the gold seriously unpredictable and above all typically Franco-esque. Obviously, given the nature of the contrasts the film produces it is easy to guess that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but its presence makes it virtually impossible for the viewer to get offended or flat-out dismiss it as mish-mash of exploitation thrills.

A chic jazzy score adds a lot of flavor to the film and at times even makes it look quite impressive. The opening sequence with the blue tint, for instance, is a classic example of Franco’s ability to produce quality material while working with a miniscule budget. (Thrower speculates that the voice in this sequence belongs to Franco, which makes it even more special).

*Severin Films' release of Night of Open Sex is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was struck from the original camera negative. The film is also fully uncut.

Night of Open Sex Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Night of Open Sex arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K master that was apparently struck from the origin camera negative. It is quite good, but it is also easy to tell that the film was done with a tiny budget because some of the footage that was used to do the group and outdoor scenes reveals different native characteristics. The fluctuations in terms of density and clarity are small, but they are certainly indicative of the nature of the project. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments, so the entire film has a pleasing organic appearance. However, the encoding could have been optimize to ensure stronger and more natural grain exposure. Colors are stable, but I think that saturation could have been even better. Image stability is very good. Two obvious reel skips are present, but my guess is that this is how the film was edited. All in all, this is a fine organic presentation of the film that retains some native fluctuations. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Night of Open Sex Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is clear and stable. However, it appears that it was transferred from the original materials 'as is', without any additional clean up work. So, from time to time extremely light background hiss as well as some minor pops can be heard. There are no distortions to report in our review.

Night of Open Sex Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Night of Open Jess - in this video program, critic and author Stephen Thrower discusses the conception of Night of Open Sex, the exact period in which the film emerged, some of Jess Franco's creative choices, and the film's placement in the director's Spanish period. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• In the Land of Franco: Part Two - back in January of 2020, Severin Films released a promotional trailer for Stephen Thrower's exclusive new program In The Land of Franco in which he visits various locations throughout Europe where Jess Franco shot many of his popular cult films. Presented here is part two of the program. Part one of the program appears on the label's recent release of Cries of Pleasure. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• When Donald Met Jess and Lina: Part Two - presented here is an archival interview with Jess Franco and his muse Lina Romay, which was conducted by American filmmaker Donald Farmer in 1993 at Hotel Cap Negret in Altea, Spain, during the production of Jungle of Fear. The bulk of the information addresses the duo's cinematic/cult images, the promotion and exhibition of erotic films in Spain, and the director's working methods. Part One appears on the recent release of <Cries of Pleasure. In English and Spanish, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (10 min, 1080i).

Night of Open Sex Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Night of Open Sex is not an overlooked genre masterpiece, but it produces so many surprising curve balls that I found it enormously entertaining. It is completely unhinged and I just could not figure out where it wanted to go or why. On top of this, it looks quite stylish and has a seriously impressive soundtrack. If you decide to pick it up do not miss Severin Films' release of Cries of Pleasure, which is just as good and has the other parts of the wonderful bonus features that you will find on this release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.