The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 6, 2026

Jess Franco's "The Diabolica Dr. Z" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carierre; new program with author and critic Xavier Aldana Reyes; archval program with critic Lucas Balbo; archival audio commentary by noveist and critic Tum Lucas; and more. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked'.

Cult Spanish helmer Jess Franco completed two of his most stylish films in 1966. Both were French-Spanish co-productions, and on both Franco collaborated with Jean-Claude Carrière, who only a year later penned Luis Bunuel's transgressive masterpiece Belle de jour. These films united several terrific actors, one of whom, Fernando Rey, repeatedly played key characters in Bunuel’s films.

In Attack of the Robots, Eddie Constantine legitimized Franco’s favorite character, Al Pereira, who reappeared in various other films over the years. (Constantine had already made a name for himself by playing another much more popular character, secret agent Lemmy Caution, whose adventures were chronicled in such famous films as Bernard Borderie’s Poison Ivy and Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville). Franco constantly reinvented Pereira as a spy, private detective, and even an opportunist with a twisted mind, and often hired different actors to impersonate him. (In Downtown, Franco temporarily became Pereira, too). In Attack of the Robots, Pereira is a veteran Interpol spy, and his first big mission is to defend the world from a madman with delusions of grandeur. In Alicante, Spain, Pereira enters a deep rabbit hole, where he discovers that the madman has developed a groundbreaking technology, allowing him to manipulate the minds of strangers with a rare blood type and transform them into human robots. While rapidly multiplying the human robots and building a massive private army, the madman then declares his intention to rule the world.

In The Diabolical Dr. Z, Pereira is nowhere to be seen, but a similar groundbreaking technology becomes the catalyst for an almost identical dose of cinematic thrills. The aging Dr. Zimmer (Antonio Jiménez Escribano), a disciple of the mad genius Dr. Orloff, successfully proves that good and evil are determined by very particular neural signals dispatched by the spine and mind, which can be manipulated to shape a person’s identity and behavior. During a large symposium, Dr. Zimmer reveals his findings, hoping that his brilliance will finally be acknowledged by his colleagues, many of whom have been treating him as a charlatan for decades. However, after they dismiss his findings and vehemently shame him yet again, Dr. Zimmer suffers a fatal heart attack. Shortly after, Dr. Zimmer’s daughter, Irma (Mabel Karr), assisted by an escaped convict (Guy Mairesse) with a modified identity, abducts the stunningly beautiful nightclub performer Miss Death (Estella Blain) and uses a machine built by her father to transform her into a human robot. Miss Death is then promptly dispatched to take out Dr. Zimmer’s biggest abusers.

Despite being shot with a modest budget, The Diabolical Dr. Z produces a variety of striking visuals, most of which easily could have been used in a big European film noir. Some of these visuals also ooze a heavy Gothic atmosphere of the kind that a proper black-and-white film about Jack the Ripper would have benefited from.

The prolific character actor Howard Vernon plays one of Miss Death’s easiest targets. He dies while preparing to make love to Miss Death in a posh train cabin. Arroita-Jauregui and Cris Huerta, both targets too, have more time to react, but also die. The handsome Fernando Montes, also a target, accidentally learns that his lover, Miss Death, is no longer the quiet, beautiful girl he has been planning to settle down with. Franco pops up in front of the camera as a perplexed detective looking for answers, too.

The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a1080p transfer, The Diabolical Dr. Z arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release brings to the United Kingdom the recent 2K restoration of The Diabolical Dr. Z that was prepared on behalf of the French studio Gaumont. I like how the film looks quite a lot. However, I must mention one area of the 2K restoration that could have been managed a little bit better. In select darker areas, black levels can appear slightly elevated, similar to how they would appear if the gamma levels are set incorrectly. (This is a common flaw on many restorations of black-and-white films restored at L'Immagine Ritrovata). In these areas, small adjustments could have been made. However, I have an older release of this film where the same areas reveal the same inconsistencies, so I assume something that occurs there is inherited, which would not be surprising because many of Jess Franco's films feature such fluctuations. The rest looks great. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent. The density levels of the visuals are terrific. Also, the entire film looks very healthy, the best I have seen it. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Even though some of the actors deliver their lines in English, the French track is the original track for The Diabolical Dr. Z. However, like the English track included on this release, the French track is a fairly average dub track, so you should be prepared to hear some unevenness and sporadic thinning in the upper register. I would describe the French track as very good because I did not encounter any obvious age-related anomalies. The jazzy score sounded excellent on my system as well.

I specifically would like to mention that the size of the English subtitles is excellent. This is how all English subtitles should be presented on all releases, which is how they appeared on virtually all releases before various labels began cutting costs and opting for the cheap, small, and usually unusable PC-generated subtitles.

The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Death on the Continent - in this new program, critic Xavier Aldana Reyes discusses the origins of the European Gothic film, its evolution over the years and Mario Bava's tremendous influence on it, and Jess Franco's The Diabolical Dr. Z. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Jess Franco as Seen by Jean-Claude Carierre - in this archival program, Jean-Claude Carierre admits that he does not remember anything about the conception and production of The Diabolical Dr. Z. However, Carierre recalls how producer Serge Silberman, who funded many of Luis Bunuel's films, introduced Jess Franco to him and comments on his interactions with him. A portion of the program is also dedicated on Franco's working methods and obsession with 'different' genre films. In French, with English subtitles. (18 min).

• Lucas Balbo - in this archival program, critic Lucas Balbo discusses the genesis and style of The Diabolical Dr. Z, as well as the progression of Jess Franco's career. In French, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Stéphane du Mesnildot - in this archival program, Stephane di Mesnildot, author of Jess Franco, The Rules of Fantasy, discusses Jess Franco's relationship with producer Serge Silberman, and comments on some of the recurring themes in the Spanish helmer's oeuvre. Mesnildot also discusses The Diabolical Dr. Z and the drama that flourishes in it. In French, with English subtitles. (12 min).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critic and novelist Tim Lucas.

• Awful, Diabolical, Sadistic - this new video essay was created by critic Samm Deighan. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully restored trailer for The Diabolical Dr. Z. In French, with English subtitles. (3 min).

• Booklet -a limited edition booklet featuring new writing on The Diabolical Dr. Z and its director by Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, co-editor of The Films of Jess Franco, as well as technical credits.

The Diabolical Dr. Z Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of Spanish helmer Jess Franco's earlier films are also his most stylish. The Diabolical Dr. Z, for instance, is a legitimate competitor of Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face, which is probably why it was produced by Serge Silberman, who managed Luis Bunuel's films. If you choose to pick up The Diabolical Dr. Z for your library, I recommend that you pair it with Attack of the Robots, which legitimized Franco's favorite character, Al Pereira. These films, both completed in 1966, work with similar material and produce almost identical thrills. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.