The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 15, 2023

Jess Franco's "The House of Lost Women" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Stephen Thrower; documentary film; audio essay; and more. In Spanish, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

According to Stephen Thrower, Jess Franco wanted to do The House of Lost Women with Jean-Claude Carriere, who years ago assisted him on the stylish Eurospy thriller Attack of the Robots. Carriere reportedly had a legit excuse not to collaborate with Franco, but it could very well be that the former no longer considered the latter suitable to work with. In fact, this appears to be the real reason Carriere frequently rejected Franco’s advances after Attack of the Robots and could not find the time to do The House of Lost Women. How do we know this? In this archival interview, Carriere describes Franco as a “character” who made “Z movies, not even B movies” and then proceeds to explain why his projects were quite chaotic and impossible to do right. Carriere is very polite and compliments Franco in several different ways, but it is quite easy to tell that he did not think highly of him. Now, consider something else. Franco and Carriere collaborated on Attack of the Robots in 1966 and only a year later the latter went on to work with Luis Bunuel on Belle de Jour. After Belle de Jour, Carriere’s career took off and he began working with some of the most talented directors in Europe. Carriere did not think highly of Franco even before Belle de Jour, so it is practically guaranteed that he did not change his mind after it, which means that he always had a legit excuse to prioritize his work with another director.

In the early 1980s, Franco returned to Spain and made several films for the local production company Golden Films International, S.A. Virtually all these films, including The House of Lost Women, are experimental films, and most, I think, are drug-induced experimental projects. I think that they are very interesting films but some did not turn out as well as they could have -- or at least not by Franco's standards.

The House of Lost Women has two crucial flaws but they are not related to its story, which Franco wrote and apparently loved so much that many decades later attempted to remake. First, The House of Lost Women is such a cheaply made film that it is difficult to describe even as a “Z movie”. Indeed, more than two-thirds of it take place inside an average-looking apartment where five actors are engaged in what is essentially a long and very rough rehearsal. Now, half of this rehearsal is cheap erotic content, too. How cheap? It makes the erotic content from Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy look as if it may have been shot by the great Federico Fellini. Second, The House of Lost Women fails to produce even a tiny whiff of the crucial atmosphere that always makes the exotic, wild, and scandalous in Franco’s film appear attractive. In other words, it is a Franco film without the most important Franco ingredient.

Had Carriere agreed to work with Franco one last time, The House of Lost Women would have told a completely different story. The current story is about a dysfunctional family living on a remote Spanish island whose members have dark secrets and darker desires. The head of the family (Antonio Mayans) is a failed, loopy actor. His second wife (Carmer Carrion) is an abusive exhibitionist, slightly loopy too. One of their daughters (Lina Romay) is a chronic masturbator. Their other daughter (Asuncion Calero) is an autist that is constantly abused. When a stranger (Tony Skios) appears out of the blue, the dark secrets are revealed and the family falls apart. Despite a decent Franco-esque twist at the end, the story is so simple that it is difficult to see how Carrierre would have been enticed to want to improve it. He would have junked it and produced something new and undoubtedly much better.

What makes The House of Lost Women interesting is Franco’s commitment to getting it done. Any other director would have either paused its production until a somewhat decent budget was secured or walked away from it to do a different film. But in this case, interesting does not mean enjoyable.

The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

The release is sourced from a recent master that was struck from the original camera negative. The film looks good. However, I am going to speculate that the original negative is not in perfect condition because there are several spots that show signs of light wear. From time to time some minor surface imperfections pop up as well. Add to this the very cheap look of the film and you have what I would is easy to describe as a somewhat uneven presentation. No, there are no serious issues here, but the reality is that The House of Lost Women does not have anything in common with the likes of Vampyros Lesbos, The Girl from Rio, and She Killed in Ecstasy. It is a cheaply made film, with very, very modest visuals, and numerous native limitations. So, delineation, clarity, and depth are good but can fluctuate a bit, while color reproduction is good but in a few areas also uneven. Image stability is good. Grain exposure could be better. I noticed small anomalies but I assume that the negative is contributing to at least a few as well. All in all, given how The House of Lost Women was shot, I think that this release offers a fine presentation of it. (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).

The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The audio is very clear and the dialog is always easy to follow. However, several areas have noticeable unevenness of the kind that is usually present on Jess Franco's smallest films. Dynamic intensity is unimpressive, but this is not surprising given that The House of the Lost Women was made with the smallest budget imaginable. The English translation is good.

The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• In the Land of Franco: Part Six - 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 release of Cries of Pleasure. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• The Island of Perversion - in this new program, Stephen Thrower discusses the conception and production of The House of Lost Women as well as the exact period it emerged from. There are comments about the complex relationships between the main characters in the film as well. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Audio Essay - this exclusive new audio essay was created by Robert Monell, curator of the website "I'm in a Jess Franco State of Mind". In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Bonus CD Soundtrack - included as a bonus on this release is Daniel J. White's In The Land Of Franco Vol. 2, an outstanding compilation of jazz tunes. Nine tracks. Total time: 52 min.

The House of Lost Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stephen Thrower describes The House of Lost Women as "one of the standouts from an extremely busy and fertile period". I disagree. The House of Lost Women is one of the weakest films Jess Franco made for Golden Films International, S.A. in Spain during the early 1980s. It is interesting because of Franco's commitment to getting it done, but in this case, interesting does not mean good or enjoyable. Severin's release of The House of Lost Women has a couple of fine bonus features and a CD with an outstanding selection of jazz tunes composed by Daniel J. White. This CD was quite a surprise because every single one of its tracks could have been used in Franco's best films and is a delight to listen to at the end of a long and exhausting day. Franco completists should consider picking up this release. RECOMMENDED.