R.I.P. Lina Romay (1954-2012)

According to José Manuel Serrano Cueto's blog, Jess Franco's muse and companion Lina Romay died of cancer in Malaga on the 15th of February. Jess did not wish to spread this shocking news until now.

Source:

CON LA VOZ ROTA

I've watched three films with Lina earlier this month, EL SEXO ESTA LOCO, 

HELTER SKELTER and ANGEL OF DEATH 2, unaware that she was no longer living. This just seems so absurd. But she is gone. So det. Alma Pereira in PAULA-PAULA must have been one of her very last roles...

                              Lina Romay in Andreas Bethmann's ANGEL OF DEATH 2


Tonight I am watching VAMPIRE JUNCTION, another one of those Jess' little talked about ONE SHOT PRODUCTIONS movies co-starring Lina Romay.
And let's face it, Romay herself was very little talked about in her lifetime. There was no site or blog dedicated to her. Well, there was one which published lots of screengrabs, but it sort of disappeared after a while.
And now that she's suddenly died, internet is exploding with finely-worded obituaries. That's the way it goes...

H E L T E R S K E L T E R - a review in progress

I am downloading a shot-on-video Jess Franco film from 2000 called Helter Skelter.

One of the director's least talked about productions.

A few less than enthusiastic user reviews on IMDb. A few blurry screengrabs. 

That's all I've researched so far.

Why choose to watch something like Helter Skelter? A film that is bound to be self-indulgent and terribly made? To see how old people cope with life. Jess evidently doesn't want to retire. I don't know if he can afford to. Perhaps not. Still, I prefer to think that Franco keeps making these 'attempts at cinema' because he loves the process, and not just to exploit his fans.

Lots of Jess' recent productions are near worthless. Exercises in padding and digital video manipulation. They're mere excuses for Franco to keep busy. He has to produce something. Something that can be  packaged with catchy cover art and  supplemented with another of his fascinating interviews. With Paula-Paula it was the extra material (Jess clad in a bright red jumper) that I could sit through without getting a headache while the main feature left almost no impression on me.

So far I've downloaded half the DVD. Some of the .VOB files are already playable. 

In such fragmented state Helter Skelter looks fascinating. 

Over-saturated colours, uncalled-for slow-motion effects, superimposed imagery plus off-screen narration. Supposedly it's quotes from de Sade. This narration could really help putting the abstract imagery and episodes of simulated copulation into context, to make the film bearable. I wonder if I'll be able to sit through at least 30 minutes of Helter Skelter once it's fully downloaded.