Lina Romay in Die Marquise von Sade (1976)

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Review

It may seem as though horror maven Jesus Franco will be taking on history's most notorious literary scoundrel in Die Marquise von Sade (1976), but, in fact, he's actually mining Oscar Wilde—and that author's classic The Picture of Dorian Gray, to be exact. Longtime Franco muse Lina Romay portrays Doriana, who lives with her twin sister in a remote castle. Monica Swinn plays a magazine reporter who seeks to interview the mysterious siblings and learns more than she could have imagined. Doriana is essentially a sexual vampire who drains the life force from her bed partners through sheer erotic hyperactivity, while her twin feeds off the energy of those fucked to death by proxy. Die Marquise von Sade provides a potent sampling of Franco and Lina at their most libidinally unleashed. By all means, take a taste.