movie circles today, this hyper-stylish sexy chiller from director Jess Franco was 
almost entirely unknown in most English-speaking territories for decades after its initial release. Franco had just come off a string of unusually ambitious, highly-budged productions for Harry Allan Towers when he embarked on this German-Spanish co-production, the ultimate star vehicle for short-lived screen siren Soledad Miranda (whom he had just worked with on Sex Charade, Nightmares Come at Night and Count Dracula). Here he allowed her unique allure to run riot and dominate the entire film, generating a hypnotic power outside of a gossamer-thin plot riffing on Bram Stoker. 
blood-drinking which plague the otherwise tranquil, sun-washed paradise. 
much more than a predatory erotic presence here, she does so magnificently and gives the film much of its visceral power. Of course, there's also the wild lounge soundtrack which belatedly became an underground club legend and popped up unexpectedly in Jackie Brown, and Miranda's appearance and stage routines have become an inspiration for exotic dancers worldwide. Both Miranda and composers Manfred Hübler and Sigi Schwab would team up again right after this for the equally hypnotic She Killed in Ecstasy, whose video history almost identically mirrors this film's. 
psychedelic cover. The anamorphic transfer was later used as the source for the domestic Image release once the Synapse one went out of print and still retains the German trailer, plus a still gallery and a trailer for She Killed in Ecstasy. 
softer Spanish cut as a bonus. The film itself looks gorgeous and is presented in the roomier, much more satisfying 1.66:1 aspect ration; it's also considerably cleaner than any of its predecessors, and as expected, the elevation to 1080p results in far more satisfying textures and other details in every scene. The DTS-HD German 2.0 mono track (with optional English subtitles) sounds terrific with more presence than before; the bass in the last eight minutes is guaranteed to grab your attention on a good sound system. The Spanish alternate version on the bonus DVD is, not surprisingly, pretty dupey quality-wise and features optional English subtitles as well. However, this 74m39s version is still definitely worth a watch as it omits all the nudity and features some fascinating alternate scenes, most notably the nightclub performances which now have a different, distinctly more Spanish slant. It also features some occasional narration apparently designed to make the film more accessible to local viewers. It's worth noting that a longer HD version of the Spanish cut (integrating the nude scenes back in) turned up for streaming but has not had a physical media release. 
pop singer. Then the always articulate and insightful Stephen Thrower puts in his two cents with an 11-minute analysis and history of the film as a key entry in Franco's move to the abstract style that would come to define his work from this point onward. He also does a great job of breaking down how the film inverts and twists the familiar narrative elements of Dracula, even explaining the rationale behind that skinny-dipping scene. Running just under three minutes, the goofy "Jess Is Yoda" is an interview outtake with the maestro holding a Santa Yoda doll(!) and discussing his favorite makeup effects artist. The German title 
sequence (different from the pristine French-language credits seen on the main feature) are also included here in a fuzzy VHS-sourced bonus, and the German trailer is also included in all its funky glory. (It's also way more satisfying than the fake modern trailers and music videos that have graced releases of the film in the past.)
