Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Curious Dr. Humpp Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 10, 2021

It might just be another example of the universe's sense of humor that this review is being published on what is generally known as "hump day", though that said, the humping in The Curious Dr. Humpp might be considered more play than work, if you catch my drift. This kind of almost oddly endearing Argentinian film is the latest release from the cultists at the American Genre Film Archive and as with many of the AGFA releases, there's not just humor in the films themselves, it's also on more than copious display in both the menu choice descriptions (see screenshot 20), as well as the back cover, which includes these bons mots about The Curious Dr. Humpp in a descriptive paragraph:

Directed by the prolific Emilio Vieyra in Argentina, this movie combines artful gothic horror with unhinged sex, comic book pulp, and a talking brain in a jar. Plus a monster who plays the guitar. Basically, this is what might have happened if Mario Bava collaborated with Doris Wishman after an acid binge.

If that is enough to pique the interest of any "discerning cineaste", I might refer you to a number of other plot summaries and/or descriptions that can be found online, including our synopsis right here on this very site.

While trying to be at least a bit discreet for those with more prudish sensibilities, The Curious Dr. Humpp deals with its titular "physician" (Aldo Barbero), who has monstrous henchman kidnap, um, libidinous couples in order to harvest what might be euphemistically termed their "chi", something that may result in good old eternal life. The good (?) doctor keeps his prisoners under the sway of some kind of special potion which, um, excites them, and the resultant carnal activity produces the "goods" that Humpp is in need of.

Frank Henenlotter contributes a really fun and informative commentary on this disc which gets into the transformation of the original Spanish language film La Venganza del Sexo (included on this Blu-ray as a bonus movie) into The Curious Dr. Humpp, and among the changes are all sorts of soft core inserts added by American exploitation meister Jerald Intrator. That means the opening of the film is stuffed full of supposedly salacious material, including lots of shots of "full frontal" females and at least a few shots of "full back-al" (?) males. It's all patently ridiculous and will probably be hilarious to even those more easily titillated, but as Henenlotter mentions, this "new, improved" footage is really rather artfully woven into the original Argentinian version, at least relatively speaking.

While the supposedly "scary" parts featuring Dr. Humpp (whose real name is Dr. Zoide, by the way) and his monstrous crew, not to mention the talking brain in a jar, are front and center, the film relies on the old horror movie trope of not just damsels in distress, but crusading heroes who are investigating what's going on, which of course only gets them involved in Dr. Humpp's escapades in ways they probably didn't plan on. In that regard, a character named George (Ricardo Bauleo, billed as Richard) is the putative hero of the story.

There's just a kind of delirious sensibility to The Curious Dr. Humpp that makes it seem less smarmy than it really should. Yes, there is gratuitous nudity galore, the "dialogue" is often laugh out loud stupid, and huge swaths of the film make no sense whatsoever (as, again, Henenlotter kind of alludes to on more than one occasion). But the Spanish language version of the film has an almost dreamlike, slightly psychedelic, feel that emerges largely unscathed in its American "update". There are some films that are famously called "so bad they're good", and if The Curious Dr. Humpp might not be shoehorned into that category for any number of reasons (not the least of which the cinematography is actually undeniably evocative), this is a film that might be called "so weird it's good."

The Curious Dr. Humpp Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Curious Dr. Humpp is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of AGFA and Something Weird with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.38:1. There's some maybe just slightly confusing verbiage on the back cover of this release, which first states this is a "2K restoration from the 35mm internegative", but which somewhat down the cover then states "2K restoration of the original cut of The Curious Dr. Humpp from a 35mm fine grain print", though I'm assuming maybe that comment is meant to be about the Spanish language version, which is actually called La Venganza del Sexo. Adding to the mystery of it all is Frank Henenlotter's commentary, where he explicitly states that the American version was sourced from the original camera negative. All of this aside, this is really one of the nicest looking releases AGFA has offered, with a really rather commendable transfer that, yes, has a few age related wear and tear issues, but which for the most part features really solid contrast, good to excellent detail levels and a healthy, organic appearance. There are occasional blemishes like some blanching on the right side of the frame during the opening credits scene, and a few little nicks and scratches along the way, but on the whole, this is an enjoyable, largely problem free, presentation. I noticed no huge quality variances in the footage shared between the two versions, no matter what the source elements may have been.

The Curious Dr. Humpp Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Curious Dr. Humpp features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that suffices perfectly well for a film that doesn't have huge sonic ambitions. There are some patently goofy "sci fi" sound effects in the American version (Henenlotter even mentions them) which accrue when various folks are getting aroused, but as Henenlotter also mentions, this is a rather curiously "quiet" film for something that at least dabbles in horror. Dialogue, while more than obviously dubbed, sounds fine and there are no issues with egregious damage or dropouts. There are optional English subtitles available for the Spanish language version.

The Curious Dr. Humpp Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case)


• Tomb It May Concern (1080p; 10:37) is a short from Quality Pictures starring Little Jack Little.


• Brain Damaged Trailers Direct from Dr. Humpp's Laboratory (1080p; 11:41) includes the trailer for The Curious Dr. Humpp, along with trailers for other ostensibly sexually charged exploitation fare.


• Bonus Movie: La Venganza del Sexo (1080p; 1:21:51) is other original Spanish language version of the film, presented with English subtitles.

The Curious Dr. Humpp Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without sounding too churlish about it, a lot of AGFA releases may generate another acronym from some viewers, namely WTF, but The Curious Dr. Humpp is one of those films where the WTF aspect is actually kind of bizarrely enjoyable rather than distressing or maybe even objectionable. It is great having both versions of the film to be able to contrast and compare (the two are really radically different beasts, so to speak), and the Henenlotter commentary is one of the best I've heard recently. For certain "discerning cineastes", this should be of some interest, and for those who are considering a purchase, the good news is this release sports really quite admirable technical merits for such a little known cult item.