The Diabolical Dr. Z

A 2K restoration of Jesús Franco's The Diabolical Dr. Z (AKA Miss Muerte) is being released on Blu-ray by Eureka. The image is crisp and clear but the best thing about it is the way that Daniel White's score sounds. It is an incredible soundtrack characterised by atonal jazz. Franco, a musician himself, almost always handled sound very well but this is a standout.

Some of the makeup and effects look a bit ropier than I remember. The burns to Irma Zimmer's face look like a mix of porridge and pancake makeup. Some look better. The makeup showing the disruption to her skin after the plastic surgery that dealt with the scarring is subtle. It looks almost normal, just a bit rougher and shinier. There are also small details in the film, important to the plot, that are now visible.

The disc has a fair range of special features. The audio commentary by Tim Lucas from the sadly defunct Video Watchdog is a non-stop list of fact and trivia about the film and its interconnections with other cinema. You can ignore the film and listen to it like a podcast. There are two documentary pieces that are fairly interesting and three archival interviews. There is also the original trailer - they're always fun to watch.

Reviewed on: 19 Oct 2025