The Grand Illusion

In 1982 – a year in which he reportedly shot 13 films – writer/director Jess Franco created THE HOUSE OF LOST WOMEN, a blithely twisted drama that is equal parts Buñuelian black comedy, over-the-top soap opera, and furiously perverse sex shocker. Starring the director’s muse Lina Romay as a pensive young nymphomaniac whose life on a remote island with her father, stepmother, and mentally-challenged sister seethes with violence, incest and some of the most degenerate scenarios of the entire Franco canon. In what could pass as an early film from Pedro Almodóvar (an admitted fan of this film and its director), Jess Franco makes one of the most fiercely angry and shockingly hilarious films of his career, one that extends forth to the work of filmmakers like John Waters and Todd Solondz, while simultaneously being one of the most handsomely mounted productions in his canon.

In Spanish with English subtitles. Scanned uncut from the original negative. Part of Francomania, a never-ending tour celebrating writer/director Jess Franco, presented by Severin Films and Chicago’s Oscarbate Film Collective.

Get there early! Severin Films will have a pop-up shop in the lobby before the screening, starting at 6:30pm.