Macumba Sexual

Watched Macumba Sexual, Jess Franco's 1981 film about a young woman who is chosen by a beautiful female sorcerer to be heiress to her bloodline... One of the most satisfying Franco films I've seen in quite some time, Macumba Sexual looks like it was dreamed into existence, the film steeped in magic and ritual and is pleasingly disorientating, seamlessly slipping between reality and dreamstate to powerful effect. The film is something of a visual feast as well, with Franco making terrific use of Canary Island locations, a sleepy seaside town, a gently rippling desert, and the Islamic style home of the sorcerer, all of which looks quite stunning thanks to the 'scope photography. Film has an interesting sound design as well, dialogue often sounds like it's drifting dreamily from an echo chamber, and the score alternates between Franco's own electro-acoustic compositions and more traditional African rhythmic music (which on more than one occasion brought Ganja and Hess to mind). Final word goes to Lina Romay for turning in another committed, fearless performance, in, and mostly out of clothes...