Review: Venus In Furs (A-)

Venus In Furs aka Paroxismus (1969)
Directed by Jesus (Jess) Franco
Starring James Darren, Klaus Kinski and Maria Rohm
MPAA: R
Grade: A-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Oh. My. God. This is one crazy, tripped out movie and what else can I say but - where has this movie been all of my life. Call it Euro-sleaze, call it tripped out acid sexploitation, call it whatever you want but this is an amazing film that really needs to be re-examined.

The plot is shaky at best. A jazz musician tries to piece his life together through a haze of sexual encounters as he wanders around Europe. Scenes are often in slow motion, and the colors are fantastic. He questions reality and at one point questions whether he is alive or dead. Klaus Kinski wanders around like a vampire and adds to the overrall freakiness. An art dealer that never speaks is controlled by women telepathically. The Venus In Furs? She's a lesbian with a penchant for sex and fur coats.

The freaky, acid jazz soundtrack is by Manfred Mann and it really jumps. Based on a classic novel of the same name, Venus In Furs has been released under a bunch of different names, including Black Angel, Jess Franco's Venus in Furs, and Paroxsysmos. I call it awesome.