Devil Hunter (1980)
Studio: CAV / Severin
Theatrical Release: December 5, 1980 (West Germany)
DVD Release: October 28, 2008
Director: Jess Franco
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
For those that don't know Spanish director Jess Franco, he had directed over 180 movies until he passed away this past April. His films were usually cheap, filled with ample amounts of nudity and sometimes graphic violence. He loved the zoom lens and would use it any chance he had. Franco has even said in countless interviews that he knew that most of his films were crap but he loved movies and enjoyed telling stories, never tiring of directing. While I respect and appreciate the man, his films were often crap. The biggest offense was that many are just downright dull. Devil Hunter is among those films.
The movie starts off rather odd as the film keeps cutting between an African woman about to be sacrificed by an African "devil" (his eyes are bugged out and it was said that Franco had the actor put ping pong balls in his eyes and added some fake blood) as an actress is bathing nude in her tub while two men in stockings over their heads kidnap her. These kidnappers take her to the jungle where this "devil" resides and hold her for ransom. Peter Weston (Al Cliver), a hired gun, along with his annoying sidekick, helicopter into the jungle to pay the ransom and get the girl back. That is, until they run into the "devil".
Devil Hunter has many actors from various parts of the world that the film was released dubbed. The dubbing is so horrible and so annoying that it is really tough to sit through this movie. Another problem is that not much happens in the film. Characters walk around screaming at one another for no particular reason and when the action starts up, the film is so cheap that it looks like it was choreographed by a bunch of young kids playing out in the woods. I think my friends and I performed better and more compelling action scenes when we were 12 years old out in my parents back yard. Even the nudity starts to get boring after awhile as most of the women are completely nude for no reason. This did make me laugh but after awhile the surprise wore off.
Devil Hunter was considered a "video nasty" back in the day and its hard to see why. There isn't much gore or violence and aside from some full frontal male and female nudity, its pretty tame. There is a really dull rape scene but even that is played almost for laughs. The DVD cover looks more brutal than the actual film. And to top it all off, the transfer is atrocious. The picture is so dark and murky, even in daylight sequences. The entire film looks like it had a brown filter put over it.
The DVD does contain an interview with Jess Franco, detailing the making of the film and the problems he had with the censors. This special feature is ten times better than the actual film. It's still not enough to warrant a purchase though. If you want to watch a decent Franco film, I recommend The Bloody Judge with Christopher Lee or the unofficial Ilsa sequel, Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Devil Hunter is a waste of 90 minutes.
[Rating: 1.5]
Theatrical Release: December 5, 1980 (West Germany)
DVD Release: October 28, 2008
Director: Jess Franco
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
For those that don't know Spanish director Jess Franco, he had directed over 180 movies until he passed away this past April. His films were usually cheap, filled with ample amounts of nudity and sometimes graphic violence. He loved the zoom lens and would use it any chance he had. Franco has even said in countless interviews that he knew that most of his films were crap but he loved movies and enjoyed telling stories, never tiring of directing. While I respect and appreciate the man, his films were often crap. The biggest offense was that many are just downright dull. Devil Hunter is among those films.
The movie starts off rather odd as the film keeps cutting between an African woman about to be sacrificed by an African "devil" (his eyes are bugged out and it was said that Franco had the actor put ping pong balls in his eyes and added some fake blood) as an actress is bathing nude in her tub while two men in stockings over their heads kidnap her. These kidnappers take her to the jungle where this "devil" resides and hold her for ransom. Peter Weston (Al Cliver), a hired gun, along with his annoying sidekick, helicopter into the jungle to pay the ransom and get the girl back. That is, until they run into the "devil".
Devil Hunter has many actors from various parts of the world that the film was released dubbed. The dubbing is so horrible and so annoying that it is really tough to sit through this movie. Another problem is that not much happens in the film. Characters walk around screaming at one another for no particular reason and when the action starts up, the film is so cheap that it looks like it was choreographed by a bunch of young kids playing out in the woods. I think my friends and I performed better and more compelling action scenes when we were 12 years old out in my parents back yard. Even the nudity starts to get boring after awhile as most of the women are completely nude for no reason. This did make me laugh but after awhile the surprise wore off.
Devil Hunter was considered a "video nasty" back in the day and its hard to see why. There isn't much gore or violence and aside from some full frontal male and female nudity, its pretty tame. There is a really dull rape scene but even that is played almost for laughs. The DVD cover looks more brutal than the actual film. And to top it all off, the transfer is atrocious. The picture is so dark and murky, even in daylight sequences. The entire film looks like it had a brown filter put over it.
The DVD does contain an interview with Jess Franco, detailing the making of the film and the problems he had with the censors. This special feature is ten times better than the actual film. It's still not enough to warrant a purchase though. If you want to watch a decent Franco film, I recommend The Bloody Judge with Christopher Lee or the unofficial Ilsa sequel, Ilsa, the Wicked Warden. Devil Hunter is a waste of 90 minutes.
[Rating: 1.5]
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