Mondo Macabro continues their breathtaking trend in releasing finely remastered genre gems onto DVD with Jess Franco's The Diabolical Doctor Z. A true favorite among many a Francophile Doctor Z has long been available in the form of shitty public domain dupes, certainly in desperate need of the red carpet treatment. Well god bless Mondo Macabro because here they present Doctor Z completely remastered alongside some deliciously tasty extras. Mondo Macabro's 2nd DVD to hit North American shores, Doctor Z follows in line just behind their remastered release of Alucarda, both of which serve as a most welcomed digital treat.

Diabolical Doctor Z opens on a stormy night in the dank tunnels of a prison as a death row inmate attempts a brave escape. Finding himself at the doorstep of Dr. Zimmer (aka Dr. Z played by Antonio Jiménez Escribano) the escaped convict, named Bergen is subjected to Dr. Z's mind control device, a tangled mess of steel with robotic arms and sharp pins that penetrate the spine. Dr. Z takes his medical findings to a committee of medical experts explaining how he can control the good and bad in people with his new device. The committee says nay to Z's request for permission to use human guinea pigs causing the good doctor to subsequently suffer a sudden heart attack. Z's daughter Irma (Mabel Karr) is left to carry on her father's legacy along with his dastardly experiments.

In order to raise her spirits, Irma spends some quality time at a performance art show that involves a scantily clad female dancer named Miss Death (Estella Blain), a large spider web and mannequins. After picking up a hitchhiker and taking a quick dip in the lake with her, Irma runs her over in a fit of rage and horribly scars her face while disposing of the body (this scene makes the least sense). Irma continues to stalk Miss Death (also known as Nadia), eventually using her mind-controlled servants (and false claims of a road to easy stardom) to capture Nadia and turn her into another mindless killing machine. The idea is for Nadia to achieve anonymous retribution from the men who are responsible for the death of her father. Despite her brainwashed status, Nadia still feels remorse as she seduces the doctors one by one and disposes of them with her womanly charms and poison fingernails.

Dr. Z is easily one of Franco's best pieces of work with all of the familiar Franco trends we've all come to know and love right in place, along with a super seedy jazz score and some truly breathtaking cinematography. The Franco formula is in full force with revenge antics, mindless death slaves, sexy dames (and plenty of them) and performance art with mannequins. While Dr. Z remains a prime example of Franco sleaze from start to finish, there's no denying that there's a certain level of class on display that should once and for all prove Franco to be a truly powerful filmmaking force (and let it be known that this is probably one of his least offensive films).

Performances are all adequately effective with Blain and Karr primarily leading the troops to the bitter end. Of course Franco fave Howard Vernon stops by for a bit as one of the doctors destined for doom (luckily this go round he keeps his pants on). Franco holds everything together himself with some truly outrageous set-pieces and some breathtaking ocations. The bizarre yet wholly entertaining finale, which takes place on a set of stairs in a castle ultimately leads to a most unexpected clanging sword fight!

Mondo Macabro continues their seal of excellence with their latest NTSC DVD release and once again prove that they are a DVD force to be reckoned with. Doctor Z looks simple stunning with barely even a hint of print damage (you'll have to search to find the occasional spec of dirt) and nice solid black levels. This film looks simply gorgeous, it's really like seeing this film for the first time. Outstanding.

There are a few audio options o choose from, all presented in mono (despite the boxes claim of stereo). Dr. Z is presented in both an English or French language track with optional English subtitles. Of note is the fact that the English version includes a few scenes that warrant the subs to pop on automatically. Both audio tracks are quite clean with the edge given to the French track. I know, I'm not too happy about giving the edge to the French either, but what are ya gonna do? The English track feels like it's punched up a bit and features a slight amount of background hiss or crackle. The French track is completely clean with really no evidence of background noise or hiss whatsoever. Either way both tracks feature clean dialogue, so pick yer poison (nails, that is).

Extras include a poster and stills gallery, trailer, selected bios (all well written), an alternate English language title sequence and a 15-minute documentary on Franco entitled The Diabolical Mr. Franco. The documentary doesn't really offer up a whole lot of brand spankin' new info for the genuine Franco fan, but it's still a great piece with some cool interviews (Caroline Munroe even pops in for a second for a bizarre moment of clarity) and features some great poster art - as well as including a few words from the man himself.

It's an easy one here folks. This is a must buy for Franco fans. Anyone not too familiar with Franco's work will find this disc to be a great jumping off point. This is easily one of Franco's best and least threatening pieces of work. Dig in with those poison nails of yours and see what all the fuss is about. Mondo Macabro's Diabolical Dr. Z comes highly recommended from this Franco fan, get yer sleaze on!

For more info on Mono Macabro visit their UK site by clicking here or their US site located here.