Wicked Women is pretty much a textbook example of what ultra-prolific director Jess Franco was churning out in the mid 70's. For what it's worth, the story entails the discovery of a naked, bloodied young woman who is found in a catatonic state in a luxurious house alongside a murdered husband and wife. She is immediately taken to a psychiatric hospital. While there a mysterious black clad killer roams the grounds, murdering several inmates.
It's the sort of narrative that seasoned Franco fans will recognise as pretty typical given that it is clearly set-up for a women in prison flick – a sub-genre that Jess was certainly well versed in. Consequently, this one is chock full of sleazy action from start to finish, with plenty of lesbian fumbles and medical examinations. But, despite being a pretty clear example of sexploitation, like quite a lot of other similar Franco efforts it isn't particularly erotic. Don't get me wrong, Jess could make quality soft-core sex films – take a look at any of the movies he made with Soledad Miranda for proof of that – but quite often his approach was to just point the camera at extended scenes of naked groping with very little overall effort beyond that. This film sort of falls into this particular category, although pleasingly it does extend itself a little beyond this with sub-plots involving a serial killer and a hunt for missing diamonds, while there is also an extended flash-back detailing the deadly love triangle that sets up the story. Needless to say, it's production values are truly rock bottom and it's micro-budget is evident at all times, nevertheless, it still has some good looking photography at times when Jess remembers to use the focus properly. Cast-wise, Franco's muse Lina Romay is once again the star attraction, sporting a cropped barnet, and she is pretty good value it has to be said.
