The greatest movie ever made..!

Disturbing yet enthralling

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Depending on which version of this film's title you prefer, this Jess Franco picture might well be seen as a return to the character of Doctor Orloff, originally played so brilliantly by Howard Vernon in 'The Awful Doctor Orloff'(1962). As someone who became familiar with Franco's work through his later, gaudier 'exploitation' pictures, these earlier entries are a revelation – truly he was masterful at weaving horror atmospherics, a truly talented director of unnerving imagery, using stark black and white to its fullest advantage.Interspersed with several cabaret scenes – a favourite distraction of Franco and one that would crop up in many subsequent projects – this appears to be the story of lovely Melissa (Agnès Spaak), who travels to a superbly realised sinister family castle owned by her Uncle Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui). She has been lead to believe her father Andros (Hugo Blanco) died there recently – except that her uncle has turned him into a somnambulistic zombie who sleeps upright in a glass coffin. That's what zombies do, of course? Andros is given the full horror treatment in all ways but one. Direction, sinister musical cues, creepy lighting lay the chills on thick – and yet the make-up is far too subtle to justify the screams of hysterical fear that greet his stumbling confrontations with various characters.Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui is not hugely effective as Jekyll – he lacks any of the restrained sense of power Vernon had, and Manuel (Pepe Rubio) is occasionally rather irritating as Melissa's love interest (as juvenile boyfriend characters often are), but the acting is rarely less than adequate. The characters are not as important as the atmosphere Franco weaves, and the sinister world of 'Orloff' is pleasingly recreated – whatever the main character calls himself.

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans.I watched this on Netflix streaming, so I have to say I do not think they had the best copy possible. At times it seemed like a poor digital transfer from an old source. This did not really hurt the movie, but I just want to say if you want to see this film in its best light, you may want to look elsewhere. (Though, for all I know, no good copy exists.) How this film ties together Orlof, Jekyll, an robots is a bit confusing, not helped in the least by the translation issue. I watched it as "Monster of Dr. Orlof", which seems to suggest a far different film than "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll", and yet they are one and the same.

The incredibly prolific Spanish Exploitation deity Jess Franco made his greatest films in the early days of his impressive career, and the series of 'Dr. Orloff' films are arguably his most essential creation. My choice for Franco's most brilliant achievements are the 1962 original "Gritos En La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff") and the 1966 second sequel, "Miss Muerte" ("The Diabolical Dr. Z."). While this first 'Orloff' sequel, "El Segreto Del Dr. Orloff" (aka. "The Secret of Dr. Orloff" / "Dr. Orloff's Monster" / "Dr. Jeckyll's Mistresses") of 1964 isn't nearly as good as the two aforementioned films it is yet another wonderfully atmospheric and macabre mad-science-themed Gothic gem, that no Franco fan could possibly afford to miss. Sadly, this film doesn't star Franco's Nr. 1 leading man Howard Vernon, but the full-bearded Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, who also had a role in "Miss Muerte", also does fine in the role of the mad scientist Dr. Conrad Fisherman (credited as Dr. Conrad Jeckyll on IMDb).***SPOILERS!*** "El Segreto Del Dr. Orloff" is set in my home country Austria. The beautiful orphaned girl Melissa (Agnès Spaak) is visiting her scientist uncle Dr. Conrad Jeckyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui) and his drunk wife Ingrid (Luisa Sala) in their eerie castle over the Christmas holidays. Along with his mentor Dr. Orloff, Dr. Fisherman has been developing a manner of how to control the minds of animals and human beings with the help of sound. What young Melissa does not know, is that her mad uncle keeps her late father (whom he once murdered for having an affair with his, then beautiful, wife) as a zombie slave. Using the mind-control methods developed by Dr. Orloff and himself, the mad scientist forces his late brother to strangle a bunch of strippers, prostitutes and other sexy women... Luckily for Melissa, she isn't quite alone in this dangerous situation since a lovesick fellow student, the Spaniard Juan Manuel (Pepe Rubio), has followed the young beauty to the small village...The eerie castle setting and Franco's wonderfully atmospheric black and white cinematography give "The Secret of Dr. Orloff" a wonderfully uncanny mood. The film is creepy and macabre, and, as the other 'Orloff' films it is a milestone in European Exploitation/Sleaze-Horror. Many of the sexy female cast members get topless and even naked, which was definitely not the standard in the first half of the 60s. As the other "Orloff" films, the film also includes some sadistic perversions, which, again wasn't quite the standard (though it began to be around the time). As fun this film is to watch, one has to say that it isn't entirely flawless. "The Secret of Dr. Orloff" often doesn't make sense. Unlike "The Awful Dr. Orloff" and "The Diabolical Dr. Z", for example, this film doesn't give us a reason why its villain commits his evil deeds. For one reason or another, Dr. Fisherman uses his zombie slave brother to kill seductive beauties. But for what reason? It cannot be for scientific reasons, because they don't keep the bodies. And if it was out of sadistic perversions, wouldn't he want to be present during the killings? These inconsistencies are in no way lessening the fun, however. "El Segreto Del Dr. Orloff" isn't Jess Franco's best film, but it is a nice example for the atmospheric films from his golden age. Recommended to my fellow fans of Eurohorror and Jess Franco in particular.

Although made on a shoestring budget and as a sequel to The Awfull Dr. Orloff, this is a very enjoyable flick and a fine example of early Southern European horror. It's actually better than it's predecessor.The plot is not real important (it contains a zombie-like creature, a castle and a mad scientist). What makes this movie is the mood, the often beautiful camera-angles, the art direction and the hints of later Franco movies.For example, there's several scenes with women performing, often in erotic scenes, with men watching - which is exactly the kind of voyeuristic cinema Franco would turn to in later years (Vampyros Lesbos, Demoniac).There's - of course - quite some nudity, which must have been considered quite risque in 1964. And there's a small cameo for the director himself, as a pianist who seems to be blind.....Also of interest is the use of electronic devices used to make the zombie a murderous weapon, they give a strange effect to the movie and reminded me of early 50's sci-fi B-movies.All in all, recommended for Franco fans and b/w horrormovie fans. If you've never seen a Franco I suggest starting with Vampyros Lesbos or Female Vampire.